The Effect of Inlet Blade Angle

Variation on Cavitation
onmez1
Aydın Hacı D€
Mechanical Engineering Department,
Yildiz Technical University,
Istanbul 34349, Turkey
e-mail: adonmez@yildiz.edu.tr
Zehra Yumurtacı
Mechanical Engineering Department,
Yildiz Technical University,
Istanbul 34349, Turkey
e-mail: zyumur@yildiz.edu.tr
Levent Kavurmacıo
glu
Mechanical Engineering Department,
Istanbul Technical University,
Istanbul 34437, Turkey
e-mail: kavurmacio@itu.edu.tr
Performance of a Centrifugal
Pump: A Parametric Study
The aim of the current study is to investigate the effect of inlet blade angles on cavitation
performance in a centrifugal pump. In order to reveal this relationship, both hub and
shroud blade angles are considered and a two-phase three-dimensional computational
fluid dynamics (CFD) study is carried out. Shear stress transport (SST) turbulence and
Rayleigh–Plesset cavitation models are used in simulations. Inlet blade angles for both
hub and shroud are changed and pump performance (head-discharge) and cavitation
(head-inlet pressure) graphs are obtained for eight different designs. Afterward, numeri-
cal cavitation tests are conducted, required net positive suction head values of the each
design are calculated, and variations are demonstrated. Results show that hub and
shroud blade angle variations have no significant effect on the pump characteristic
curves excluding for shroud blade angle at high discharge values. However, cavitation
performance of the pump is excessively affected for both hub and shroud blade angle
alterations. Increasing hub blade angle has slightly negative effect on cavitation perform-
ance of the pump. On the other hand, while increasing shroud blade angle from 20 deg to
30 deg have positive effect on cavitation performance, it is negatively affected from
30 deg to 50 deg. [DOI: 10.1115/1.4040557]

Introduction Also, the blunt profile would give the highest net positive suction
head (NPSH) value among other profiles. Friedrichs and Kosyna
Cavitation in centrifugal pumps is considered as a complex phe-
[15] compared two analogous cavitating centrifugal pump impel-
nomenon including vaporization and condensation of the working
lers with different inlet and outlet blade angles and different diam-
fluid, at low pressures. During this vaporization and condensation
eters experimentally. During experiments, rotating cavitation in
cycle, pressure fluctuations impose unfavorable noise, vibration,
both impellers was observed. Visualization is achieved by using a
and wear in the system [1–3].
high-speed digital camera. As a result, cavitation is observed ear-
There are uncommon applications of two-phase computational
lier in the second impeller with slightly higher inlet and outlet
fluid dynamics (CFD) studies on cavitating pumps like nuclear
blade angles but lower diameter. Gaetani et al. [16] performed
applications [4,5] and rocket turbopumps [6]. However, in vast
experiments on four different vane angles of a diffuser in a cen-
majority of the studies related with cavitation, pumps uses water
trifugal pump. Moreover, two-dimensional-PIV measurements
[7–9] and oil [10,11] as working fluid.
were conducted for various blade to blade surfaces. On the other
Among the first related studies, Yokoyama [12] conducted
hand, interaction of vane and impeller was considered as well.
experimental study in order to research the effect of impeller vane
Luo et al. [17] studied the effect of inlet geometry of a centrifugal
tip shape on cavitation. The inlet and outlet diameters, blade
pump on its performance. The research consists of both experi-
angles, vane thickness, and vane number set as constants in the
mental and numerical studies. Consequently, higher inlet blade
experiments. A chamfered and a sharp inlet vane profile are
angles and extended leading edge resulted in performance
obtained by trimming a round shaped vane. Eventually, as the tip
increase of the pump. Moreover, positive extending of the leading
shape gets thinner, the cavitation performance of the pump is
edge also helped to the cavitation performance of the pump.
increased. Furthermore, cavitation is not observed in impeller
Bonaiuti et al. [18] conducted experimental and numerical studies
with sharp vane. Vujanic and Velensek [13] conducted an experi-
on a mixed flow pump impeller and diffuser in order to obtain the
mental study on modified NACA 4418 blade profile and observed
best possible suction performance and efficiency. By using the
the effect of blade angle on cavitation. Also pressure, lift, and
inverse design methodology, blade profile is parameterized and
drag force and pitching moment measurements are carried out. As
obtained in terms of hydrodynamic variables. The aim is set to
a result, cavity length increased with the increasing of blade angle.
maximize the suction performance with a remarkable efficiency
It is reported that drag force increased and lift force and pitching
value. The ultimate design was also subjected to the experiments
moment decreased with the cavitation formation. Christopher and
and the results were in good concordance with the numerical
Kumaraswamy [14] investigated the effect of vane tip shape on
study. Caridad et al. [19] modeled a centrifugal pump impeller
cavitation. The experimental study is implemented with three dif-
under two-phase flow conditions numerically with a nonhomoge-
ferent vane leading edge profiles including blunt, elliptic, and cir-
neous model and observed the motion of the bubble formations.
cular. The cavitation intensity is obtained by means of vibration
The pump was an electrical submersible pump and the working
and noise mensuration. Pump performance, efficiency, power, and
fluid modelled as air–water mixture. Guo et al. [20] conducted
suction performance curves are obtained and compared with each
numerical and experimental studies on a high-speed centrifugal
other. They showed that as the vane tip profile becomes rounder,
pump in order to characterize the cavitation. Bubble formation,
the efficiency is increased up to 7.5% at best efficiency point.
growth, and collapse steps were observed and the numerical vol-
1
ume fraction results were in good agreement with experimental
Corresponding author. data. Pei et al. [21] optimized a centrifugal pump impeller in order
Contributed by the Fluids Engineering Division of ASME for publication in the
JOURNAL OF FLUIDS ENGINEERING. Manuscript received October 18, 2017; final manuscript to improve its cavitation performance by using three-dimensional
received June 8, 2018; published online June 29, 2018. Assoc. Editor: Hui Hu. CFD calculations. The effect of inlet diameter, inlet incidence

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 angle, and blade wrap angle on cavitation is investigated. Neu- Table 1 Impeller properties
mann et al. [22] conducted experimental studies on both horizon-
tally and vertically installed centrifugal pumps under two phase Head (m) 40
flow conditions and visualized gas distributions for two different Discharge (m3/h) 0.1
Rotational speed (rpm) 1500
inclination angles. Tan et al. [23] investigated the blade rotation
Specific speed 29.82
in a mixed-flow pump with six-blade impeller both experimentally Number of vanes 6
and numerically. They observed energy performance of the pump Tip diameter (mm) 420
under different rotational angles of the blade and found out that Trailing edge blade angle (deg) 22.5
the head increases at positive angles. Xu et al. [24] conducted a Hub blade angle (deg) 20  50
multiobjective optimization study of a centrifugal pump by using Shroud blade angle (deg) 20  50
Taguchi method. 16 different impeller designs are obtained from
five design parameters. As a result, 3.09% efficiency and 1.45 m
of cavitation performance increase is achieved.
This paper is related with the effect of inlet blade angles on
cavitation in centrifugal pumps. There are several studies related to divide the computational domain into sufficiently enough small
with improving cavitation performance of centrifugal pumps in size elements. This is vital for all numerical studies. Unstructured
the literature. However, very few of them consider two-phase mesh is adopted on the computational domain with ANSYS
CFD simulations. Also, most of the studies related with cavitation meshing. Due to the boundary layer meshing, dimensional wall
performance enhancements focus on inlet blade angle. This study distance (yþ) is kept under 10.
is significant because it provides a parametric database for both It is assumed that the fluid is homogenous. Navier-Stokes and
hub and shroud inlet blade angles. Two-phase CFD simulations continuity equations are solved simultaneously with finite volume
are carried out for both hub and shroud blade angles in order to method. Computational domain is divided into control volumes,
achieve more accurate results and to observe the cavitation. An the differential equation is integrated over the control volume and
impeller within the range of a centrifugal pump is designed by solution is achieved iteratively. Second-order discretization is
Vista CPD tool in ANSYS 16.0 WORKBENCH, and by changing the applied during numerical simulations. Continuity and momentum
inlet and outlet blade angles, a parametric study is conducted. The equations in Cartesian coordinates are presented, respectively:
effect of hub and shroud angles on pump characteristic curve and
cavitation performance of the impellers are obtained. As a result, @qm @ ðqm ui Þ
þ (3)
varying inlet blade angles have no remarkable effect on pump @t @xi
characteristic curves but pump cavitation performance is highly
affected from hub and shroud blade angle cavitation. Results are
demonstrated by indicating water vapor mass fractions and blade @ ðqm ui Þ @ ðqm ui uj Þ
loading charts. þ
@t @xj
   (4)
@p @ @ui @uj 2 @uk
¼ þ ðlm þ lt Þ þ  dij
Impeller Design @xi @xi @xj @xi 3 @xk
The study started with the impeller design procedure via Vista cen-
trifugal pump design (CPD) module of ANSYS 16.0 WORKBENCH. Vista
CPD enables to design the impeller by setting rotational speed,
volume flow rate, density of the fluid, and head. Other geometrical
properties such as hub and tip diameters, leading and trailing
edge angles, number of vanes etc. and hydraulic, volumetric, and
mechanical efficiencies can be either selected arbitrarily or calcu-
lated automatically. In the current study, a reference centrifugal
pump is considered to rotate at 1500 rpm with 360 m3/h volume
flow rate and 40 m head rise. As a result, specific speed nq is 30,
which means that the pump type is centrifugal. Tip diameter is set
as 420 mm. Inlet blade angle at hub and shroud are defined as hub
blade angle and shroud blade angle, respectively.
Designs are carried out by setting the incidence angle at shroud
as 0 deg. Vista CPD does not enable to specify both incidence and
shroud blade angles. Hub blade angle and mean blade angle are
calculated relative to the shroud leading edge blade angle as
( )
shroud  
hub 1 D1 shroud
b1 ¼ tan tan b1 (1)
Dhub
1

( )
Dshroud  
1
bmeanline
1 ¼ tan 1
meanline
tan bshroud
1 (2)
D1

The properties of the designed impeller can be seen from Table 1.

Also, meridional view of the impeller is presented in Fig. 1.

Mesh Generation and Computational Fluid Dynamics

Studies
Mesh generation is an important issue in order to achieve a cor-
rect solution in all CFD operations. The aim of this procedure is Fig. 1 Pump impeller generated by Vista CPD

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 Fig. 2 Mesh generation on pump impeller (a) whole passage, (b) Tetrahedrons on single passage and hexahe-
drons on vaneless diffuser, and (c) boundary layer over solid surfaces

Table 2 Mesh independency

where
Mesh type Number of elements Head (m)
qm ¼ ql al þ qv av (5)
Coarse 46,269 41.05
Medium 203,146 40.91 lm ¼ ll al þ lv av (6)
Fine 7,081,107 40.88
Here, q is density, u is velocity, l is dynamic viscosity, lt is tur-
bulent viscosity, and a is volume fraction. Subscripts i, j, and k

Fig. 3 Pump characteristic curves for different hub blade Fig. 4 Pump characteristic curves for different shroud blade
angles angles

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 Table 3 The relationship between pump head and NPSH for different hub blade angles

Angle (deg) 20 30 40 50

HUB Head (m) NPSH Head (m) NPSH Head (m) NPSH Head (m) NPSH
43.2 10.2 42.5 10.2 42.7 10.2 42.6 10.2
42.9 5.1 42.1 5.1 40.8 4.9 40.8 5.0
15.0 4.1 41.2 4.9 41.7 5.0 41.7 5.1
42.4 4.9 27.2 4.1 21.6 4.1 22.8 4.1
6.5 2.0 3.8 2.0 5.8 2.0 4.8 2.0

Table 4 The relationship between pump head and NPSH for different shroud blade angles

Angle (deg) 20 30 40 50

SHROUD Head (m) NPSH Head (m) NPSH Head (m) NPSH Head (m) NPSH
40.2 10.2 40.4 10.2 39.4 10.2 37.4 10.2
39.3 5.1 40.4 5.1 39.5 5.1 37.2 5.1
17.6 4.1 34.6 4.1 31.0 4.1 35.0 4.6
5.9 4.3 40.4 4.9 38.5 4.6 36.5 4.7
23.4 4.6 38.7 4.3 38.0 4.5 2.4 2.0
2.4 2.0 2.8 2.0 2.2 2.0 25.9 4.1

stand for axis directions in Cartesian coordinates and l, v, and m
represent liquid, vapor, and mixture, respectively.
Mesh Independency. In CFD studies, mesh independency pro-
cess is an essential issue because the results are highly affected by
the mesh number. In order to obtain a grid independent solution,
three different computational domains are created in the same
geometry and results are compared. On the other hand, there is no
inconvenience considering the single passage to conduct the cal-
culations in order to get rid of computational time requirements.
For this purpose, one sixth of the impeller is modeled due to its
rotational periodicity, rather than whole passage. This situation
can be seen in Fig. 2. The extra domain for outlet represents the
vaneless diffuser of the pump. While meshing the single blade

Fig. 5 Two-phase cavitation analysis for different hub angles (a) 20 deg, (b) 30 deg, (c) 40 deg, and (d) 50 deg

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 Fig. 6 Two-phase cavitation analysis for different shroud angles (a) 20 deg, (b) 30 deg, (c) 40 deg, and (d) 50 deg

passage, unstructured tetrahedrons are used. However, hexahedral medium mesh scheme, although the total mesh number is
elements are set with multizone mesh method for the vaneless dif- increased 35 times. Accordingly, taking into consideration the
fuser. Finer grids are adopted on hub, shroud, and blade surfaces computational time requirements, medium mesh scheme with
in order to observe the flow in detail. 203,146 elements is selected.
In the current study, computational domain is divided into small
size elements according to three different schemes: fine, medium, Turbulence Model Selection. The simulations are carried out
and coarse. CFD calculations for different body sizing values are by using shear stress transport (SST) turbulence model. The
conducted and pump head is obtained respectively. The relation- advantage of the SST turbulence model is that it employs k–x
ship between the element size and error rate is tabulated in model in the boundary layer but switches to k–e model in the free
Table 2. When fine grid is adopted on the computational domain, stream. Governing equations of the turbulence model can be seen
there was no significant difference in pump head compared to below [25]. First two equations represent turbulence kinetic
energy (k) and specific dissipation rate (x), respectively.
 
@ ðqkÞ @ ðqUi kÞ @ @k
þ ¼ P~k  b qkx þ ðl þ r l
k tÞ (7)
@t @xi @xi @xi
 
@ ðqxÞ @ ðqUi kÞ 2 2 @ @x
þ ¼ aqS  bqx þ ðl þ rx lt Þ
@t @xi @xi @xi
1 @k @x
þ 2ð1  F1 Þqrx2 (8)
x @xi @xi

where
8( " ! #) 4 9
< =
k1=2 500 4qrx2 k
F1 ¼ tanh: min max  ; 2 ; ; (9)
b xy y x CDkx y2

 
1 @k @x
CDkx ¼ max 2qrx2 ; 1010 (10)
Fig. 7 NPSHR values for varying hub and shroud blade angles
x @xi @xi

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 a1 k viscosity, l is molecular dynamic viscosity, and y is the interval
t ¼ (11) to the closest wall.
maxða1 x; SF2 Þ
The constants are
2" !#2 3
1=2
2k 500
F2 ¼ tanh4 max  ; 2 5 (12) a1 ¼ 5=9; a2 ¼ 0:44; b1 ¼ 3=40; b2 ¼ 0:0828;
b xy y x
b ¼ 0:09; rk1 ¼ 0:85; rk2 ¼ 1; rx1 ¼ 0:5; rx2 ¼ 0:856
 
@Ui @Ui @Uj
Pk ¼ lt þ ! P~k ¼ minðPk ; 10  b qkxÞ (13)
@xj @xj @xi Cavitation Model Selection. There are several studies con-
ducted with Rayleigh–Plesset cavitation model in the literature in
Here, F1 and F2 are blending functions. S is the invariant measure order to examine the cavitation phenomena in centrifugal pumps
of the strain rate. q is density, t ¼ lt/q is turbulent kinematic [26–29]. On the other hand, some authors [8,30–32] prefer to use

Fig. 8 Water vapor mass fraction contours for varying hub and shroud blade angles: (a) 20 deg hub angle, (b)
20 deg shroud angle, (c) 30 deg hub angle, (d) 30 deg shroud angle, (e) 40 deg hub angle, (f) 40 deg shroud angle,
(g) 50 deg hub angle, and (h) 50 deg shroud angle

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 Fig. 8 Continued
the Zwart–Gerber–Belamri model [33], which is a Rayleigh–
Plesset-based model considering the bubbles in the system are
identically sized.
During numerical simulation procedure, Rayleigh–Plesset cavi-
tation model is used. This model considers bubble dynamics and
assumes that cavitation occurs by formation of nuclei, bubble
growth, and collapse. Governing equation of the model can be
seen below [34].
 2
pB ðtÞ  p1 ðtÞ @ 2 Rb 3 @Rb 4L dRb 2r
¼ Rb 2 þ þ þ (14)
ql @t 2 @t Rb dt qL Rb
Here, pB is the pressure of the bubble surface, p1 is the ambient
pressure, ql is the density of liquid,  L is the kinematic viscosity
of liquid, Rb is the radius of spherical bubble, and r is the surface
tension.
Boundary Conditions. Setting reasonable boundary conditions
is important during all CFD operations. In this study, total pres-
sure at inlet and mass flow at outlet are used.
While obtaining pump characteristic curves, inlet boundary
condition was fixed and different flow rate values were given in
order to obtain the pump performance at off-design conditions.
On the other hand, inlet boundary condition is changed during
pump cavitation performance analysis.
Results and Discussion
In order to understand the effect of the blade inlet angles on
cavitation, four different angles starting from 20 deg for both hub
and shroud are considered (20 deg–50 deg). Two-phase CFD sim-
ulations are carried out throughout the whole study. Pump charac-
teristic (H-Q) and cavitation (H-NPSH) curves are formed for
each design.
The Effect of Hub Blade Angle. In this section, the effect of
hub blade angle is handled. Inlet hub angle started from 20 deg
and increased ten by ten up to 50 deg.
Pump characteristic curves are obtained for each impeller by
giving different outlet flow values. According to the varied flow
rates, pump head data are collected in all cases and pump charac-
teristic curves are formed. Figure 3 illustrates that all four curves
are almost identical. This means that changing shroud blade angle
at inlet has no observable effect on pump characteristic curve.
Cavitation performance of the each impeller is examined by
decreasing the inlet pressure value gradually. At a certain value,
head drop is observed in all simulations. Nevertheless, the pump
characteristic curves are identical, head drops occur in different
inlet pressure values. Although this differentiation is less in low
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shroud blade angles, it becomes significant as the angle increases.
The relationship between pump head and NPSH for different hub
blade angles is tabulated in Table 3.
The Effect of Shroud Blade Angle. A similar operation with
varying shroud angles is carried out in this section. Shroud blade
angle is also started from 20 deg and the procedure is repeated for
four different angles (20 deg  50 deg).
Pump characteristic curves are attained by getting the relation-
ship between the pump discharge and head, in a similar manner.
When examined, pump characteristic curves are similar in all hub
blade angles, except for high flow rates. Figure 4 demonstrates the
pump characteristic curves for varying shroud blade angles.
In contrast to the situation represented in Fig. 3, cavitation
curves differ from each other. The most cavitation resistant situa-
tion is observed at 30 deg shroud blade angle due to the lowest
pressure value where head drop is observed among all other
designs. In a similar manner, the relationship between pump head
and NPSH for different shroud blade angles is tabulated in
Table 4.
As it is seen from Fig. 4, curves have similar trend and the
selected points of the characteristic curves are overlapping each
other except the highest discharge. The gap between the points
rises as the flow rate increase. Finally, this differentiation rate
reaches up to 35% by comparison with the design with the best
cavitation performance among all other designs.
Comparison of Required Net Positive Suction Head
(NPSHR). Net positive suction head for the pumps is defined as
the difference of inlet pressure and vapor pressure of the fluid.
Required net positive suction head (NPSHR) is the minimum net
positive suction head that pump can operate without cavitation.
NPSHR can be calculated by using the formula below:
Pc  Pv
NPSHR ¼ (11)
qg
The cavitation test is conducted by decreasing the inlet pressure
of the fluid slowly. Pump head does not change until a certain
inlet pressure value. Afterward, pump head starts to decrease dra-
matically. It is hard to determine the exact point where head drop
started in practice so, 3% head drop as against the head working
without cavitation is considered as cavitation limit of the pump at
that discharge. Figures 5 and 6 demonstrate cavitation tests per-
formed with CFD for varying hub and shroud angles, respectively.
Figure 7 shows the NPSHR values of the pumps for varied hub
and shroud blade angles. Since there is dramatic change in NPSHR
for 20 deg to 30 deg shroud blade angle, two more models with
FEBRUARY 2019, Vol. 141 / 021101-7
 22 deg and 25 deg are designed and variations are presented in
Fig. 7.
Design Comparison With Water Vapor Mass Fractions and
Blade Loadings. Water vapor mass fractions on blade and blade
loadings of the impellers are compared in order to provide a better
understanding of the physics of the phenomenon. In order to utilize
the advantage of two-phase (water and water vapor) CFD simula-
tions, water vapor mass fraction contours on each blade and the blade
loading graphics are compared. During the visualization process min-
imum and maximum values of water vapor mass fraction, contours
are appointed as same values. For comparison, water vapor mass
fraction contours and blade loading charts for varying hub and shroud
blade angles are presented together in Figs. 8 and 9, respectively.

Fig. 9 Blade loading charts for varying hub and shroud blade angles: (a) 20 deg hub angle, (b) 20 deg shroud
angle, (c) 30 deg hub angle, (d) 30 deg shroud angle, (e) 40 deg hub angle, (f) 40 deg shroud angle, (g) 50 deg hub
angle, and (h) 50 deg shroud angle

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 Fig. 9 Continued

First of all, water vapors are observed in the suction sides of the analogous from the point of head and discharge. The only
blades on designs carried out by hub blade angle variation. Red significant variation is observed when hub blade angle
contours in the smallest region are monitored in Fig. 8(c). This changed at high flow rates (off-design conditions).
aspect can be validated by taking a glance at Fig. 7. According to (2) Cavitation performance of each design differs from each
Fig. 7, the design with 30 deg shroud blade angle has the lowest other. Increasing hub blade angle has slightly negative
NPSHR value. Furthermore, the largest area covered by red con- impact on cavitation performance. When shroud blade
tours can be visualized in Fig. 8(a), which shows the worst cavita- angle increases from 20 deg to 30 deg, cavitation perform-
tion performance. Moreover, Fig. 7 shows that NPSHR of this case ance improved substantially. However, increasing the angle
has the highest value all others. So, it is definite that there is a from 30 deg to 50 deg has remarkable adverse effect on
tightly coupled relation between the volume mass fraction of the cavitation.
working fluid on blade and cavitation performance of the pump. (3) Blade loading charts demonstrates that there is a decrease
The blade loading diagrams on 50% span are presented in Fig. 9. in blade loadings at pressure side of the blades between 0
Considering the blade loading diagrams, a decrease in pressure and 0.2 span. This is the region where vaporization occurs.
values can be found varying between 0 and 0.2 streamwise. This Furthermore, blade loading results are in good agreement
region is the place where water vapor is observed. with two phase cavitation analysis results. For instance,
In the second case, water vapor mass fractions of pumps with higher values of blade loadings at pressure side of the blade
varying shroud blade angles are considered. Unlike the circum- resulted in higher pump head.
stance in varying hub blade angles, at 20 deg shroud blade angle, (4) According to the results, the best performances are
water vapor is observed at the pressure side of the blade. How- achieved at 20 deg hub and 30 deg shroud blade angles; so,
ever, this vapor formation is relatively small scaled with respect these values for hub and shroud blade angles can be
to other blade angles. Yet, water vapor formations started to be recommended.
comprised of on suction side of the blade as the shroud blade (5) This study will fill the gap in investigating the effect of
angle increase. Water vapor covers much more regions in Figs. inlet blade angle variation on cavitation performance of
8(f) and 8(h) compared to Figs. 8(b) and 8(d). Moreover, another centrifugal pumps.
beneficial datum about cavitation performance of the impellers is
procured by analyzing blade loadings for varying hub and shroud
angles. It is obvious that even though water vapor covers more Funding Data
regions in Fig. 8(f) rather than Fig. 8(h), maximum pressure at
pressure side of blade is higher in design with 40 deg shroud blade  Yildiz Technical University Scientific Research Projects
angle, with respect to design with 50 deg shroud blade angle. This Coordinatorship (2014-06-01-DOP01).
incident resulted in that the cavitation performance of the pump  Teknopark.
decreases as the shroud blade angle increases.
Nomenclature
Conclusions g¼ gravitational acceleration, m/s2
H¼ head, m
The current study focuses on the relationship between the inlet k¼ turbulence kinetic energy, m2/s2
blade angles (both for hub and shroud) of a centrifugal pump nq ¼ specific speed, min-1
impeller and cavitation occurrence. Two-phase CFD calculations P¼ pressure, Pa
are carried out. By decreasing inlet pressure of each model, Q¼ flow rate, m3/s
numerical cavitation tests are performed and head drops are Rb ¼ bubble radius
observed. Moreover, after determining 3% head drop, NPSHR of S¼ invariant measure of the strain rate
each model is obtained: u¼ velocity, m/s
(1) According to the study, varying hub and shroud blade y¼ interval to the closest wall, m
angles generally have no remarkable effect on pump char- yþ ¼ dimensionless wall distance
acteristic curves. This situation makes the pumps almost a¼ volume fraction

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 b¼ blade angle, deg [14] Christopher, S., and Kumaraswamy, S., 2013, “Identification of Critical Net
Positive Suction Head From Noise and Vibration in a Radial Flow Pump for
l¼ molecular dynamic viscosity, Pas Different Leading Edge Profiles of the Vane,” ASME J. Fluids Eng., 135(12),
lt ¼ turbulent viscosity p. 121301.
¼ Eddy viscosity, m2/s [15] Friedrichs, J., and Kosyna, G., 2002, “Rotating Cavitation in a Centrifugal
q¼ fluid density, kg/m3 Pump Impeller of Low Specific Speed,” ASME J. Fluids Eng., 124(2), pp.
356–362.
r¼ surface tension [16] Gaetani, P., Boccazzi, A., and Sala, R., 2012, “Low Field in the Vaned Diffuser
x¼ specific dissipation rate, s-1 of a Centrifugal Pump at Different Vane Setting Angles,” ASME J. Fluids Eng.,
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