Effect of the Section Area of Volute in Low Specific Speed Centrifugal Pumps on Hydraulic Performance

The volute of low specific speed centrifugal pumps has a great impact on the performance of the pump in that the highest efficiency can only be achieved when the impeller is matched with a well-designed volute. At off-BEP conditions, the performance of pumps declines as a consequence of a mismatch between characteristics of the impeller and the volute. The section area is the most important factor of volute. Numerical simulations and experimental researches have been carried out on the routine-designed impeller and the non-overloading designed impeller (different impeller outlet blade angle between two types of impellers) in the hope of finding out the effect of the section area of volute on low specific speed centrifugal pumps. It has been found that the uneven flow rate on different volute sections caused by the backflow between volute and impeller is one of the reasons for the efficiency decline of pumps at off-BEP conditions, especially in the low flow rate condition. It has also been found that the routine-designed impeller is more easily affected by the section area of volute than non-overloading designed impeller.Copyright © 2009 by ASME