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Instantaneous radial force induced from unsteady flow will intensify vibration noise of the centrifugal pump, especially under off-design working conditions, which will affect safety reliability of pump operation in severe cases. This paper aims to conduct unsteady numerical computation on one centrifugal pump; thus, unsteady fluid radial force upon the impeller and volute is obtained, so as to study the evolution law of instantaneous radial force, the internal relationship between radial force and pressure pulsation, the relationship among each composition of radial force that the impeller received and the influence of leakage rate of front and back chamber on radial force.

The unsteady numerical simulation with SST k-ω turbulence model was carried out for a low specific-speed centrifugal pump using computational fluid dynamics codes FLUENT. The performance tests and pressure tests were conducted by a closed loop system. The performance curves and the pressure distribution from numerical simulation agree with that of the experiment conducted. The unsteady pressure distributions and the instantaneous radial forces induced from unsteady flow were analyzed under different flow rates. Contribution degrees of three components of the radial force on the impeller and the relation between the radial force and leakage rate were analyzed.

Radial force on the volute and pressure pulsation on the volute wall have the same distribution tendency, but in contrast to the distribution trend of the radial force on the impeller. In the component of radial force that the impeller received, radial force on the blade accounts for the main position. With the decrease of flow rate, ratio of the radial force on front and back casings will be increased; under large flow rate, vortex and flow blockage at volute section will enhance the pressure and radial force fluctuation greatly, and the pulsation degree may be much more intense than that of a smaller flow rate.

This paper revealed the relation of the radial force and the pressure pulsation. Meanwhile, contribution degrees of three components of the radial force on the impeller under different working conditions as well as the relation between the radial force and leakage rate of front and rear chambers were analyzed.

Expertise in fluid engineering remains the core activity of the BHR Group. Over 46 years it has grown and diversified to meet the needs of its members for software, conferences, publications, research and development programmes, and hardware production.

Nowadays flaps and winglets are one of the main mechanisms to increase airfoil efficiency. This study aims to investigate the power performance of vertical axis wind turbines (VAWT) that are equipped with diverse gurney flaps. This study could play a crucial role in the design of the VAWT in the future.

In this paper, the two-dimensional computational fluid dynamics simulation is used. The second-order finite volume method is used for the discretization of the governing equations.

The results show that the gurney flap enhances the power coefficient at the low range of tip speed ratio (TSR). When an angled and standard gurney flap case has the same aerodynamic performance, an angled gurney flap case has a lower hinge moment on the junction of airfoil and gurney flap which shows the structural excellence of this case. In all gurney flap cases, the power coefficient increases by an average of 20% at the TSR range of 0.6 to 1.8. The gurney flap cases do not perform well at the high TSR range and the results show a lower amount of power coefficient compare to the clean airfoil.

The angled gurney flap which has the structural advantage and is deployed to the pressure side of the airfoil improves the efficiency of VAWT at the low and medium range of TSR. This study recommends using a controllable gurney flap which could be deployed at a certain amount of TSR.

This paper aims to present the design of a particular non-reactive test rig for combustion swirlers and first stage turbine nozzles. The test rig is required for important experimental activities aimed at the optimization of a specific class of gas turbines.

A multi-disciplinary team performed the design process by following a tailored design approach, which has been developed for the specific case. The design outcomes allowed to build a fully functional test rig to be introduced in a test cell and then to perform preliminary experiments about the fluid dynamic behaviour of the turbine elements.

The followed design approach allowed to efficiently perform the task, by supporting the information exchange among the different subjects involved in both the conceptual and the embodiment design of the test rig. Additionally, the performed experiments allowed to achieve a final configuration that makes the test rig a valuable test case for combustor-turbine interaction studies.

The study described in this paper is focused on the design of a specific test rig, used for first validation tests. However, the achieved results (both in terms of design and test) constitutes the underpinning of the in-depth investigations to be performed in the next steps of the experimental campaign.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the present paper is the first one that comprehensively describes the design activity of an experimental test rig for turbine application, also providing indications about the specific methodological procedure used to manage the process.

Magnetic fluid has excellent function used as lubricants in bearings and mechanical seals, and the purpose of this study is to investigate the sealing performance in a spiral groove mechanical seal lubricated by magnetic fluid.

The sealing characteristic parameters of the lubricating film between the end faces of two sealing rings were calculated based on the Muijderman narrow groove theory for a spiral groove mechanical seal lubricated by magnetic fluid. The film thickness was determined according to the balanced forces on the rotating ring, and the effects of operating conditions, intensity of the magnetic field and diameter of nanoparticles on the sealing characteristics were investigated.

It has been found that the intensity of magnetic field has a great effect on the viscosity of magnetic fluid, film thickness and friction torque while has a little effect on the mass flux of magnetic fluid. The film thickness, mass flux of magnetic fluid and friction torque increase with the increasing volume fraction, rotating speed and diameter of magnetic nanoparticles in magnetic fluid. The mass flux of magnetic fluid decrease with the increasing closing force, and the friction torque decreases with the increase of media pressure.

The change of intensity of magnetic field can affect the viscosity of magnetic fluid and then changes the sealing performance in a mechanical seal lubricated by magnetic fluid. To reduce the mass flux of magnetic fluid and friction torque, the volume fraction, diameter of solid magnetic particles and film thickness should be 5%–7%, 8–10 nm and 2–9.3 µm, respectively.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-02-2023-0032/

This study aims at investigating two-dimensional laminar flow of power-law fluids around three unconfined side-by-side cylinders.

The numerical study is performed by solving the governing (continuity and momentum) equations using a finite volume-based code ANSYS Fluent. The numerical results have been presented for different combinations of the governing dimensionless parameters (dimensionless spacing, 1.2 = L = 4; Reynolds number, 0.1 = Re = 100; power-law index, 0.2 = n = 1.8). The dependence of the kinematic and macroscopic characteristics of the flow such as streamline patterns, distribution of the surface pressure coefficient, total drag coefficient with its components (pressure and friction) and total lift coefficient on these dimensionless parameters has been discussed in detail.

It is found that the separation of the flow and the apparition of the wake region accelerate as the dimensionless spacing decreases, the number of the cylinder increases and/or the fluid behavior moves from shear-thinning to Newtonian then to shear-thickening behavior. In addition, the distribution of the pressure coefficient on the surface of the cylinders presents a complex dependence on the fluid behavior index and Reynolds number when the dimensionless spacing between two adjacent cylinders is varied. At low Reynolds numbers, the drag coefficient of shear-thinning fluids is stronger than that of Newtonian fluids; this tendency decreases progressively with increasing of Re until a critical value; beyond the critical Re, the opposite trend is observed. The lift coefficient of the middle cylinder is null, whereas, the exterior cylinders experience opposite lift coefficients, which show a complex dependence on the dimensionless spacing, the Reynolds number and the power-law index.

The flow over bluff bodies is a practical engineering problem. In the literature, it can be seen that the previous studies on non-Newtonian fluids are limited to the flow over one or two cylinders (effect of an odd number of cylinders on each other). Besides that, the available results concerning the flow of Newtonian fluids over three cylinders are limited to the high Reynolds numbers region only. However, this work treats the flow of non-Newtonian power-law fluids past three circular cylinders in side-by-side arrangements under a wide range of Re. The outcome of the present study demonstrates that the augmentation of the geometry complexity to three cylinders (effect of pair surrounding cylinders on the surrounded ones in what concerns Von Karman Street phenomenon) causes a drastic change in the flow patterns and in the macroscopic characteristics. The present results may be used to predict the flow behavior around multiple side-by-side cylinders.

One of the best methods to improve wind turbine aerodynamic performance is modification of the blade’s airfoil. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of gurney flap geometry and its oscillation parameters on the pitching NACA0012 airfoil.

This numerical solution has been carried out for different cases of gurney flap mounting angles, heights, reduced frequencies and oscillation amplitudes, then the results were compared to each other. The finite volume method was used for the discretization of the governing equations, and the PISO algorithm was used to solve the equations. Also, the “SST” was adopted as the turbulence model in the simulation.

In this paper, the different parameters of gurney flap were investigated. The results showed that the best range of gurney flap height are between 1 and 3.2% of chord and the best ratio of lifting to drag coefficient is achieved in gurney flap with an angle of 90° relative to the chord direction. The dynamic stall angle of the airfoil with gurney flap decreases were compared to without gurney flap. Earlier LEV formation can be one of the main reasons for decreasing the dynamic stall angle of the airfoil with gurney flap. Increasing the reduced frequency and oscillation amplitude causes rising of maximum lift coefficient and consequently lift curve slope. Moreover, gurney flap with mounting angle has a lower hinge moment than the gurney flap without mounting angle but with the same vertical axis length. So, there is more complexity in structural design concerning the gurney flap without mounting angle.

Improving aerodynamic efficiency of airfoils is vital for obtaining more output power in VAWTs. Gurney flaps are one of the best mechanisms to increase the aerodynamic performance of the airfoil and increases the efficiency of VAWTs.

Investigating the hinge moment on the connection point of the airfoil, gurney flap and try to compare the gurney flap with and without angle.

To analyze the work principle and capacity of energy conversion in each segment of profile lines, the energy transfer from impeller to transmission medium is separated into head coefficient and load coefficient to analyze the energy transfer process. The concepts of airfoil lift coefficient and drag coefficient are used; the third manifestation of the Euler equations is used as well.

The numerical simulation of energy conversion mechanism based on load criteria of vane airfoil has been established in screw centrifugal pump to explain its energy conversion mechanism in an impeller. Upon this basis, the velocity and pressure along the entire blade are investigated through the numerical simulation of internal solid–liquid flow in the pump. The energy conversion process under load criteria in the blade airfoil has also been obtained.

The research suggests that the mathematical model of energy conversion mechanism based on the load criteria of the vane airfoil is reliable in the screw centrifugal pump. The screw centrifugal blade has twice or even several times the wrap angle than the ordinary centrifugal blade. It is a large wrap angle that forms the unique flow channel which lays the foundation for solid particles to pass smoothly and for soft energy conversion. At the same time, load distribution along the profile line on the long-screw centrifugal blade is an important factor affecting the energy conversion efficiency of the impeller.

The quantitative analysis method of energy in the screw centrifugal pump can help the pump designer improve certain features of the pump and shorten the research cycle.

This paper aims to analyze the effect of fin geometry on mechanisms of flow induced vibration. Finned tube arrays are used in a heat exchanger to increase its efficiency. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the effect of geometric parameters of the fin fluid elastic instability and vortex shedding. In this paper, the effect of fin height, fin density and tube pitch ratio for parallel triangular tube array on fluid elastic instability and vortex shedding is analyzed.

Experimental analysis was carried out on a parallel triangular finned tube array with a pitch ratio of 1.79 subjected to water crossflow. The experimentation aims to study fluid elastic instability and vortex-induced vibration mechanism responsible for flow induced vibration for finned tube array. A fully flexible finned tube array of the copper tube was used with its base diameter of 19.05 mm and thickness of 2 mm. Over the tube surface, crimped fins of height 6 mm and the same material are welded spirally with fin density 8.47 mm and 2.82 mm. Experimental analysis was carried out on a test setup developed for the same. The results obtained for the finned tube array were compared with those for the plain tube array with the same base tube diameter.

For parallel triangular tube array of copper material, test results show that critical velocity increases with an increase in fin pitch density for low pitch tube array. Before the occurrence of instability, the rate of growth in tube vibrations is high for plain tubes compared to that with fin tubes. The results based on Owen’s hypothesis show vortex shedding before the occurrence of fluid elastic instability. The effect of fin geometry on vortex-induced forces is analyzed. For the tube array pattern understudy, the values of Conner’s constant K for coarse fin-tube and fine fin tube array are obtained, respectively, 6.14 and 7.25.

This paper fulfills the need for research on the effect of fin geometry on fluid elastic instability and Vortex shedding on a tube array subjected to water cross flow when the pitch ratio is less than two, i.e. with a low pitch ratio.

Abnormal vibrations often occur in the liquid oxygen kerosene transmission pipelines of rocket engines, which seriously threaten their safety. Improper handling can result in failed rocket launches and significant economic losses. Therefore, this paper aims to examine vibrations in transmission pipelines.

In this study, a three-dimensional high-pressure pipeline model composed of corrugated pipes, multi-section bent pipes, and other auxiliary structures was established. The fluid–solid coupling method was used to analyse vibration characteristics of the pipeline under various external excitations. The simulation results were visualised using MATLAB, and their validity was verified via a thermal test.

In this study, the vibration mechanism of a complex high-pressure pipeline was examined via a visualisation method. The results showed that the low-frequency vibration of the pipe was caused by fluid self-excited pressure pulsation, whereas the vibration of the engine system caused a high-frequency vibration of the pipeline. The excitation of external pressure pulses did not significantly affect the vibrations of the pipelines. The visualisation results indicated that the severe vibration position of the pipeline thermal test is mainly concentrated between the inlet and outlet and between the two bellows.

The results of this study aid in understanding the causes of abnormal vibrations in rocket engine pipelines.

The causes of different vibration frequencies in the complex pipelines of rocket engines and the propagation characteristics of external vibration excitation were obtained.