Comparative analysis of methods for increasing the pressure of low-speed axial pumps in power supply systems for aircraft engines

In this article, a comparative analysis of two methods of increasing the pressure in the zone of subsidence of the energy characteristics of a low-speed axial pump is carried out: the installation of an inlet guide vanes (IGV) and an upper-rotor device with axial grooves (J-Grooves). Axial pumps are widely used in power systems for liquid rocket engines, as well as in aircraft hydraulic power systems. Modern aircraft engines are capable of deep throttling, which puts forward important requirements for high-speed pumps. One of these requirements is multi-mode – the ability to work in a wide range of costs and operating speeds. The relevance of the work is due to the fact that the pressure characteristics of axial pumps in the vast majority of cases have non-monotonic curves, which complicates the process of their design and regulation. Increasing the head in the area of falling productivity and striving for a monotonically falling pressure characteristic of the axial pump is one of the most important goals in the design of the unit. In this work, the energy characteristics of an axial pump with an inlet vane device installed in the form of guide vanes (IGV), which create a preliminary twist of the flow at the peripheral sections in the inlet line and an optimal upper-rotor device (J-Grooves) in the form of axial ducts, were obtained by numerical computer modeling. Their influence on the energy characteristics of the object of study and the magnitude of reverse currents is shown, and a comparison is made with the research results of foreign and domestic authors.