Numerical Prediction of Cavitation:

Improving Pump Design

Increased requirements in power per unit of volume
PHILIPPE DUPONT for modern centrifugal pumps have made cavitation
SULZER PUMPS the main limiting factor in pump design. Using an
inventive method, Sulzer Pumps now can take into
account the cavitation behaviour during the design
process. It helps to improve suction capabilities and
to reduce erosion and vibration, especially for high-
suction specific speed pumps.
Bubble
Bubble collapse

explosion
Vane
1 Cavitation happens when due to low pressure liquids
vaporate and bubbles are produced explosively.
The bubble envelope describes the shape of a cavity
attached on a vane of a pump.
Demand for higher power
per volume, driven by manu-
facturing costs reduction, has
changed the limits of modern
pump design. The traditional
approach tries to avoid cavitation
if possible because of the damage it
may cause in the impeller. Today,
pump designers increasingly con-
sider incipient cavitation and the
effects of the flows three-dimen-
sional behaviour when they define
the blade shape. The classical one-
dimensional design rules applied
for decades are no longer suffi-
cient. For this reason, there is a
strong need for more accurate
numerical tools to predict the cavi-
tation behaviour of pumps.
IMPROVING SUCTION
CAPABILITIES
The use of numerical tools to
design and optimise the hydraulics
of pumps is nowadays a standard
in the industry. Up to now, this
optimisation has mainly focused
on the efficiency and the stability
of the head curve through a better
control of the recirculation and a
reduction of secondary flows.
Increasingly, cavitation is also a
major limiting factor in pump
design.
Nevertheless, only a few attempts
have been made to improve cavita-
tion in pumps using numerical
approaches. Mostly, this optimisa-
tion is limited to changes of the
blade profile and finer adaptation
of vane inlet angles. They were
based upon results obtained from
cavitation-free flow analysis using
methods of computational fluid
dynamics (CFD). While this
approach usually helps to delay
cavitation inception, it does not
support the designer in improving
the suction capabilities of the
pump. Suction capabilities strong-
ly depend on the way the cavitation
develops along the vane as a func-
tion of the pressure level and how
its presence affects the perfor-
mance of the pump.
An optimisation of the suction

24 SULZER TECHNICAL REVIEW 2/2001 4015

NPSH
(m)
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3 2 The simulation shows cavity development as a function of the available
2
1 suction head for a radial pump (nq = 55) at partload. Cavitation can cause
0
severe damage to pumps.
NPSH
(m)
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
capabilities is only possible if one Experiments show that the shape
3
2
is able to control the effect of a of the cavity can be determined
1
0
modification of the vane shape on with a fast, non-iterative formula,
NPSH
the cavitation development and to the well-established Rayleigh-
(m)
10 predict when this cavitation devel- Plesset equation, as long as the
9
8 opment will impair the head devel- cavity development does not affect
7
6 oped by the pump. For that reason, the main flow. This condition is
5
4 there is a strong need for an accu- approximately met in most cases if
3
2 rate and rapid method to predict the cavity doesnt reach the throat
1
0 the three-dimensional cavities of the blade-to-blade channel.
NPSH development as well as the associ- For this method, a commonly used
(m)
10
9
ated performance drop. This is flow calculation program, which
8
7
especially true for the design of solves the Reynolds-averaged
6
5
high-suction specific speed pumps Navier-Stokes equations, yields
4
3
for which a smooth operation at the cavitation-free pressure distri-
2
1
part load can only be obtained by bution in the impellers flow field.
0
optimising the vane shape, taking Then a typical nucleus size, which
NPSH
(m) into account the three-dimensional would induce cavitation, is chosen.
10
9 behaviour of the flow. Along the mesh lines of the calcu-
8
7 lation grid, the nucleus size is com-
6
5 FAST NUMERICAL pared to the critical radius accord-
4
3 METHOD ing to the minimum pressure. If
2
1 Some commercial CFD codes offer the critical size that causes the
0
two-phase flow models, allowing a explosive development of the
NPSH
(m)
10
phase change in the flow calcula- nuclei is too small, the calculation
9
8
tion to simulate cavitation. These is not performed and the point is
7
6
methods are certainly able to real- considered free of cavitation or cor-
5
4
istically model the phenomena responding to development of iso-
3
2
involved in the cavitation develop- lated bubbles. The calculation of
1
0
ment, but their application needs bubble growth and collapse gives a
an unsteady approach. Due to the rapid estimation of the detach-
NPSH
(m)
10 long computation time, this tech- ment and the closure location of
9
8 nique doesnt meet the require- the attached cavity. The cavity
7
6 ments during a design process. length is then defined. The enve-
5
4 To predict the cavitation in pumps, lope of bubbles over the profile
3
2 Sulzer Pumps uses a simplified approximates the cavity shape
(Fig. 1).
1
0 version of a cavity interface track-
NPSH ing method developed at the Labo- The incipient cavitation coeffi-
(m)
10 ratory of Hydraulic Machines of cient, which is an important char-
9
8 the Swiss Federal Institute of acteristic value to describe the
7
6 Technology in Lausanne (LMH- pumps operational behaviour, is
5
4 EPFL). In its original form, this defined as the first non-zero cavity
3
2 method iteratively adapts the cav- length along the vane span. Due to
1
0 ity shape in order to reach a given surface tension and bubble dynam-
NPSH
(m)
condition, which can be a specific ic effects, this value does not corre-
10
9 velocity or pressure, at its bound- spond to the minimum pressure
8
7 ary. coefficient along the vane. There-
6
5
4
3
2
SULZER TECHNICAL REVIEW 2/2001 25
1
0
 NPSH
(m) 1.8
20
18 1.6
16 Shroud
1.4

Calculated cavity length

14 Throat at shroud
12
Mid span
10 1.2 Throat at mid-span
8
Hub
6
1.0 Throat at hub
4
2
0 0.8
NPSH
(m) 0.6
20
18 0.4
16
14
0.2
12
10
0
8
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2
6
4 = 0.3 Cavitation reaches throat
2
0
NPSH 4 The length of the cavity is determined depending on the sigma value,
(m)
20 which is determined by the acceleration due to gravity, the NPSH and the
18
16 tip peripheral speed at impeller inlet. Here, a sigma of 0.3 is predicted.
14 With this information, it is possible to predict the pumps operating range
12
10
more accurately.
8
6
4
2 fore, the incipient cavitation coef- rate. It has to be noted that, at
0 ficient cant be predicted based part-load, the head impairment is
NPSH
(m) only on the minimum pressure cal- most of the time caused by the cav-
20
culated from the cavitation-free ity reaching the blade-to-blade
18
16 condition. throat at the hub even if the cavity
14 starts to develop at the shroud
12
10 REDUCING THE RISKS OF much sooner than at hub (Fig. 4).
8 VIBRATION AND EROSION This is due to the fact that the
6
4
With the aid of this new tool, throat area is positioned more
2 Sulzer engineers can calculate the downstream at shroud than at
0 evolution of the length of an hub, allowing a larger cavity to
NPSH
(m) attached cavity with the NPSH develop before reaching the blade-
20
18
(net positive suction head) value to-blade throat. It indicates the
16 taking into account the viscous, necessity to calculate accurately
14 turbulent and three-dimensional the cavity length along the span of
12
10 nature of the flow in a pump. With the vane as a function of the cavi-
8 this knowledge, they can predict tation coefficient to be able to pre-
6
4
the head impairment due to the dict the associated head impair-
2 cavitation development. The cavi- ment.
0 tation development can take place Such a procedure can also signifi-
NPSH
(m) on the suction side (Fig. 2) or on cantly improve the reliability of
20
18
the pressure side of the vanes high-suction specific speed pumps,
16 (Fig. 3), depending on the flow allowing to better forecast the
14
effect of possible inlet recirculation
12
10 at part-load on cavitation behav-
8 iour. Cavitation associated with
6
4 3 The simulation shows cavity development along the inlet recirculation is one of the pos-
2 pressure side of the vanes as a function of the available sible causes of vibration at part-
0
suction head for a radial pump (nq = 55) at overload. load. If cavitation can be avoided

26 SULZER TECHNICAL REVIEW 2/2001


during the design process, it is pos-
sible to extend the operating range
of a pump.
For the pump designer, this
method will help to improve the
suction capabilities of the im-
pellers by an accurate prediction of
the effects of geometry modifica-
tions.
The accurate prediction of the cav-
ity length is also used to better
estimate the erosion rate for differ-
ent rated operating points and by
this means to more precisely pre-
dict the requested NPSH for a safe
operation with reduced costs for
model testing.
PROVEN BY MEASUREMENTS
Previous to the use in the industri-
al design process the cavitation
prediction program was applied to
a variety of radial and semi-axial
pumps spanning the range of pos-
sible application.
For a radial volute pump of medi-
um specific speed, predicted and
measured cavity lengths are com-
pared (Fig. 5). The numerical
results fit very well the measured
ones. The example illustrates one
of the advantages of using such a
cavitation prediction tool. No cavi-
ty length measurement was avail-
able for flow coefficient around the
local calculated maximum in the
visible cavitation inception. For
that reason, the required cavita-
tion-free NPSH across the entire
flow range based on the measure-
ment data was probably underes-
5 Results from
Relative cavity length 0.01 measured measurements show
Relative cavity length 0.01 calculated strong correlations
Relative cavity length 0.1 measured
Relative cavity length 0.1 calculated
between predicted
Cavitation coefficient
Beginning head impairment measured and measured
Beginning head impairment calculated cavity lengths for a
radial volute pump
of medium specific
speed (nq = 55).
Flow coefficient
Incipient calculation
Relative cavity length 0.01 measured
Relative cavity length 0.01 calculated
Relative cavity length 0.1 measured
Cavitation coefficient
Relative cavity length 0.1 calculated
Beginning head impairment measured
Beginning head impairment calculated
Flow coefficient
6 As measurements show limit of cavitation-free operation at partload is
predicted exactly for a pump of nq = 33.
timated for this pump. With the FOR MORE DETAILS
insight gained from the numerical Sulzer Pumpen AG
calculation, it is possible to operate Philippe Dupont
this pump in a wider range of oper- Postfach 414
ation than previously expected. CH-8401 Winterthur
Measurements performed for a Switzerland
pump with the specific speed of Telephone +41(0) 52-262 40 03
nq = 33 (specific speed of pump Fax +41(0) 52-262 01 80
stage [min1]; VS Ns = 1700) clear- E-mail philippe.dupont@sulzer.com
ly show that the new calculation
program can predict the limits of
cavitation-free operating condition
with great accuracy (Fig 6).
Thanks to the improved numerical
prediction, the understanding re-
garding pump operational range
has been improved.
SULZER TECHNICAL REVIEW 2/2001 27