Numerical and experimental approach to cavitation surge obstruction in water pump

Purpose - This study aims to present the analysis of methods for cavitaion surge obstruction in water pump systems with particular focus on the two different inlet geometry configurations. Design/methodology/approach - A cavitating flow field was simulated by RANS based computational fluid dynamics (CFD) program for different pump configurations operating in the unstable cavitation regime, inducing surging process. Numerical simulation results were compared to visualization and measurements results. Findings - Presented results show that a hydro dynamically induced surging regime could be limited and further advantages regarding operating characteristics of radial pumps could be achieved with presented geometry modifications. Originality/value - This study provides insight into complicated transient cavitation flow patterns in conventional centrifugal pumps and introduces effective geometry optimization ideas useful to researchers and engineers in the area of fluid dynamics and hydromachinery.