In this work, we have studied how gas accumulates in an industrial centrifugal pump under various steady-state two-phase flow conditions. Thereby, we considered both horizontal and vertical pump installation positions. Phase fractions within the impeller region of the pump have been quantitatively disclosed using high-resolution gamma-ray computed tomography (HireCT) and applying time-averaged rotation-synchronized CT scanning technique. The study was made for inlet volumetric gas flow rates between 0% and 5%. To account for different inlet flow conditions, which are assumed to occur during unwanted gas entrainment by hollow vortices, we produced disperse and swirling gas–liquid inlet flows. In this way, the influence of inlet flow boundary conditions on the pump performance as well as gas fraction distributions and gas holdup within the impeller wheel region could be successfully analyzed and compared with respect to the impeller alignment. It was shown that the installation position offers only a minor effect on the pump performance in comparison to the inlet flow conditions. In addition, for the first time, thin gas films at the pressure side of the impeller wheel blades could be visualized in an industrial centrifugal pump.
Issue Section:
Multiphase Flows
References
1.
Caruso
, G.
, Cristofano
, L.
, Nobili
, M.
, and Vitale Di Maio
, D.
, 2014
, “Experimental Investigation of Free Surface Vortices and Definition of Gas Entrainment Occurrence Maps
,” J. Phys. Conf. Ser.
, 501
, p. 012019
.2.
Kimura
, N.
, Ezure
, T.
, Tobita
, A.
, and Kamide
, H.
, 2008
, “Experimental Study on Gas Entrainment at Free Surface in Reactor Vessel of a Compact Sodium-Cooled Fast Reactor
,” J. Nucl. Sci. Technol.
, 45
(10
), pp. 1053
–1062
.3.
Hecker
, G. E.
, 1981
, “Model-Prototype Comparison of Free Surface Vortices
,” J. Hydraul. Div.
, 107
(10
), pp. 1243
–1259
.4.
Caridad
, J.
, Asuaje
, M.
, Kenyery
, F.
, Tremante
, A.
, and Aguillón
, O.
, 2008
, “Characterization of a Centrifugal Pump Impeller Under Two-Phase Flow Conditions
,” J. Pet. Sci. Eng.
, 63
(1–4
), pp. 18
–22
.5.
Grapsas
, V. A.
, Anagnostopoulos
, J. S.
, and Papantonis
, D. E.
, 2007
, “Experimental and Numerical Study of a Radial Flow Pump Impeller With 2D-Curved Blades
,” International Conference on Fluid Mechanics and Aerodynamics
, Athens, Greece, pp. 175
–180
.6.
Pak
, E. T.
, and Lee
, J. C.
, 1998
, “Performance and Pressure Distribution Changes in a Centrifugal Pump Under Two-Phase Flow
,” Proc. Inst. Mech. Eng., Part A
, 212
(3
), pp. 165
–171
.7.
Tan
, L.
, Zhu
, B.
, Cao
, S.
, and Wang
, Y.
, 2013
, “Cavitation Flow Simulation for a Centrifugal Pump at a Low Flow Rate
,” Chin. Sci. Bull.
, 58
(8
), pp. 949
–952
.8.
Zhou
, L.
, Shi
, W.
, and Wu
, S.
, 2013
, “Performance Optimization in a Centrifugal Pump Impeller by Orthogonal Experiment and Numerical Simulation
,” Adv. Mech. Eng.
, 5
, p. 385809
.9.
Barrios
, L.
, and Prado
, M. G.
, 2011
, “Experimental Visualization of Two-Phase Flow Inside an Electrical Submersible Pump Stage
,” ASME J. Energy Res. Technol.
, 133
(4
), p. 042901
.10.
Coutier-Delgosha
, O.
, Fortes-Patella
, R.
, Reboud
, J. L.
, Hofmann
, M.
, and Stoffel
, B.
, 2003
, “Experimental and Numerical Studies in a Centrifugal Pump With Two-Dimensional Curved Blades in Cavitating Condition
,” ASME J. Fluids Eng.
, 125
(6
), pp. 970
–978
.11.
Duplaa
, S.
, Coutier-Delgosha
, O.
, Dazin
, A.
, and Bois
, G.
, 2013
, “X-Ray Measurements in a Cavitating Centrifugal Pump During Fast Start-Ups
,” ASME J. Fluids Eng.
, 135
(4
), p. 041204
.12.
Suhane
, A.
, 2012
, “Experimental Study on Centrifugal Pump to Determine the Effect of Radial Clearance on Pressure Pulsations, Vibrations and Noise
,” Int. J. Eng. Res. Appl.
, 2
(4
), pp. 1823
–1829
.13.
Hampel
, U.
, Bieberle
, A.
, Hoppe
, D.
, Kronenberg
, J.
, Schleicher
, E.
, Sühnel
, T.
, Zimmermann
, F.
, and Zippe
, C.
, 2007
, “High Resolution Gamma Ray Tomography Scanner for Flow Measurement and Non-Destructive Testing Applications
,” Rev. Sci. Instrum.
, 78
(10
), p. 103704
.14.
Bieberle
, A.
, Schleicher
, E.
, and Hampel
, U.
, 2010
, “Temperature Control Design for a High-Resolution Gamma-Ray Tomography Detector
,” Rev. Sci. Instrum.
, 81
(1
), p. 014702
.15.
Bieberle
, A.
, Schleicher
, E.
, and Hampel
, U.
, 2007
, “Data Acquisition System for Angle Synchronized γ-Ray Tomography of Rapidly Rotating Objects
,” Meas. Sci. Technol.
, 18
(11
), pp. 3384
–3390
.16.
Bieberle
, A.
, Berger
, R.
, Yadav
, R.
, Schleicher
, E.
, and Hampel
, U.
, 2012
, “Design of a Modular Signal Processing Board (MSPB) for Gamma-Ray Imaging Applications
,” Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. Sect. A
, 663
(1
), pp. 14
–21
.17.
Bieberle
, A.
, Nehring
, H.
, Berger
, R.
, Arlit
, M.
, Härting
, H.-U.
, Schubert
, M.
, and Hampel
, U.
, 2013
, “Compact High-Resolution Gamma-Ray Computed Tomography System for Multiphase Flow Studies
,” Rev. Sci. Instrum.
, 84
(3
), p. 033106
.18.
Kemoun
, A.
, Cheng Ong
, B.
, Gupta
, P.
, Al-Dahhan
, M. H.
, and Dudukovic
, M. P.
, 2001
, “Gas Holdup in Bubble Columns at Elevated Pressure Via Computed Tomography
,” Int. J. Multiphase Flow
, 27
(5
), pp. 929
–946
.19.
Rollbusch
, P.
, Becker
, M.
, Ludwig
, M.
, Bieberle
, A.
, Grünewald
, M.
, Hampel
, U.
, and Franke
, R.
, 2015
, “Experimental Investigation of the Influence of Column Scale, Gas Density and Liquid Properties on Gas Holdup in Bubble Columns
,” Int. J. Multiphase Flow
, 75
, pp. 88
–106
.20.
Parasu Veera
, U.
, 2001
, “Gamma Ray Tomography Design for the Measurement of Hold-Up Profiles in Two-Phase Bubble Columns
,” Chem. Eng. J.
, 81
(1
), pp. 251
–260
.21.
Prasser
, H.-M.
, Baldauf
, D.
, Fietz
, J.
, Hampel
, U.
, Hoppe
, D.
, Zippe
, C.
, Zschau
, J.
, Christen
, M.
, and Will
, G.
, 2003
, “Time Resolving Gamma-Tomography for Periodically Changing Gas Fraction Fields and Its Application to an Axial Pump
,” Flow Meas. Instrum.
, 14
(3
), pp. 119
–125
.22.
Schäfer
, T.
, Bieberle
, A.
, Neumann
, M.
, and Hampel
, U.
, 2015
, “Application of Gamma-Ray Computed Tomography for the Analysis of Gas Holdup Distributions in Centrifugal Pumps
,” Flow Meas. Instrum.
, 46
(B
), pp. 262
–267
.23.
Bieberle
, A.
, Schäfer
, T.
, Neumann
, M.
, and Hampel
, U.
, 2015
, “Validation of High-Resolution Gamma-Ray Computed Tomography for Quantitative Gas Holdup Measurements in Centrifugal Pumps
,” Meas. Sci. Technol.
, 26
(9
), p. 095304
.24.
Hampel
, U.
, Hoppe
, D.
, Diele
, K.-H.
, Fietz
, J.
, Höller
, H.
, Kernchen
, R.
, Prasser
, H.-M.
, and Zippe
, C.
, 2005
, “Application of Gamma Tomography to the Measurement of Fluid Distributions in a Hydrodynamic Coupling
,” Flow Meas. Instrum.
, 16
(2–3
), pp. 85
–90
.25.
Hampel
, U.
, Hoppe
, D.
, Bieberle
, A.
, Kernchen
, R.
, Diele
, K.-H.
, Schleicher
, E.
, da Silva
, M. J.
, and Zippe
, C.
, 2008
, “Measurement of Fluid Distributions in a Rotating Fluid Coupling Using High Resolution Gamma Ray Tomography
,” ASME J. Fluids Eng.
, 130
(9
), p. 091402
.26.
Bieberle
, A.
, Schubert
, M.
, da Silva
, M. J.
, and Hampel
, U.
, 2010
, “Measurement of Liquid Distributions in Particle Packings Using Wire-Mesh Sensor Versus Transmission Tomographic Imaging
,” Ind. Eng. Chem. Res.
, 49
(19
), pp. 9445
–9453
.27.
Schubert
, M.
, Bieberle
, A.
, Barthel
, F.
, Boden
, S.
, and Hampel
, U.
, 2011
, “Advanced Tomographic Techniques for Flow Imaging in Columns With Flow Distribution Packings
,” Chem. Ing. Tech.
, 83
(7
), pp. 979
–991
.28.
Schubert
, M.
, Hessel
, G.
, Zippe
, C.
, Lange
, R.
, and Hampel
, U.
, 2008
, “Liquid Flow Texture Analysis in Trickle Bed Reactors Using High-Resolution Gamma Ray Tomography
,” Chem. Eng. J.
, 140
(1–3
), pp. 332
–340
.29.
Bieberle
, A.
, Härting
, H.-U.
, Rabha
, S.
, Schubert
, M.
, and Hampel
, U.
, 2013
, “Gamma-Ray Computed Tomography for Imaging of Multiphase Flows
,” Chem. Ing. Tech.
, 85
(7
), pp. 1002
–1011
.30.
Leon
, M. A.
, Maas
, R. J.
, Bieberle
, A.
, Schubert
, M.
, Nijhuis
, T. A.
, van der Schaaf
, J.
, Hampel
, U.
, and Schouten
, J. C.
, 2013
, “Hydrodynamics and Gas–Liquid Mass Transfer in a Horizontal Rotating Foam Stirrer Reactor
,” Chem. Eng. J.
, 217
, pp. 10
–21
.31.
Tschentscher
, R.
, Schubert
, M.
, Bieberle
, A.
, Nijhuis
, T. A.
, van der Schaaf
, J.
, Hampel
, U.
, and Schouten
, J. C.
, 2013
, “Gas Holdup of Rotating Foam Reactors Measured by γ-Tomography-Effect of Solid Foam Pore Size and Liquid Viscosity
,” AIChE J.
, 59
(1
), pp. 146
–154
.32.
Visscher
, F.
, Bieberle
, A.
, Schubert
, M.
, van der Schaaf
, J.
, de Croon
, M. H. J. M.
, Hampel
, U.
, and Schouten
, J. C.
, 2012
, “Water and n-Heptane Volume Fractions in a Rotor-Stator Spinning Disc Reactor
,” Ind. Eng. Chem. Res.
, 51
(51
), pp. 16670
–16676
.33.
Bieberle
, A.
, Hoppe
, D.
, Schleicher
, E.
, and Hampel
, U.
, 2011
, “Void Measurement Using High-Resolution Gamma-Ray Computed Tomography
,” Nucl. Eng. Des.
, 241
(6
), pp. 2086
–2092
.34.
Gordon
, R.
, Bender
, R.
, and Herman
, G. T.
, 1970
, “Algebraic Reconstruction Techniques (ART) for Three-Dimensional Electron Microscopy and X-ray Photography
,” J. Theor. Biol.
, 29
(3
), pp. 471
–481
.Copyright © 2016 by ASME
You do not currently have access to this content.
