Mitigating Sediment Erosion of a Centrifugal Pump Impeller Using a Passive Flow Control Method

Abstract In centrifugal pumps operating in sediment-laden rivers, sediment erosion usually occurs on the overflow components, adversely affecting their efficiency and operation. This study focuses on severe sediment erosion at the blade outlet of a centrifugal pump. Here, we present a method to mitigate this severe sediment erosion. The proposed method incorporates a passive flow control strategy utilizing biomimetic structures. The underlying mechanisms contributing to severe erosion at the blade outlet, as well as the effects of the proposed method on pump erosion and performance, are investigated through numerical simulations and experiments. The results indicate that flow separation, accompanied by a recirculation vortex, is responsible for the severe erosion at the blade outlet. The recirculation vortex traps particles, leading to repeated impacts of particles on the blade. The biomimetic structures effectively inhibit the formation of flow separation, thereby reducing severe erosion at the blade outlet. In the optimal configuration, the flow separation region is reduced by 40%, and the severe erosion region decreases by 8%. Furthermore, the biomimetic structures have a negligible impact on pump performance because of their diminutive size.