Effect of Impeller Roughness on the Hydraulic Performance of a 5-ton-class Liquid Rocket Engine ElecPump System

For 5-ton-class liquid rocket engine ElecPump system, the hydraulic performance of an additively manufactured impeller was evaluated and compared before and after abrasive flow machining(AFM) of its internal flow passages. A pump performance test facility with water as a working fluid was established, and hydraulic performance tests were conducted at various flow rate conditions. Test results revealed that, at the rated flow rate, the head of the system met the rated operating conditions both before and after AFM. The system efficiency at the rated flow rate was up to 3.5%p lower than the rated operating condition before AFM but improved by 1.1%p after AFM. The performance improvement after AFM increased with flow rate, which is attributed to reduced friction loss in the internal flow passage of the impeller.