Studying the Effect of Splitter Blades on the Performance of a Centrifugal Pump with Two-Phase Flow

Slurry flow, a solid-liquid two-phase flow, has long been one of the most challenging industrial processes. The existence of the solid phase in centrifugal pumps decreases the pump efficiency and output head as well as increases the consumed power. Furthermore, it increases the pressure fluctuations inside the pump resulting in increased vibrations, noise, cavitation vulnerability, and abrasion of the pump components. Accordingly, in the present study, the effect of splitter blades on the performance and pressure fluctuations of a centrifugal pump handling solid-liquid two-phase flow is numerically investigated. The proposed splitters have the same profile as the impeller blades and are 50% of the impeller blades’ length. Each splitter is placed at the centre of the impeller blades’ passages, and consequently, the splitter blades have the same number as the main blades. The numerical simulations are carried out based on the three-dimensional, incompressible, turbulent, and unsteady Reynolds-Average Navier-Stokes (URANS) equations along with the k-ε turbulence model. In this study, experimental results from the literature are used to validate the results predicted by the current numerical model. Predicted results revealed that using splitter blades has a positive effect on the performance of the pump handling two-phase flow by increasing the net pump head by 11.8 % at the design point compared with the original impeller. Moreover, the fluctuation in pressure within a whole impeller cycle is significantly reduced by utilizing the proposed splitters.