Described on this page are the CFD analysis of a regenerative turbine pump and the experimental set-up used to validate the model results. The results provide an excellent demonstration of the high level of accuracy that Stress Engineering achieves using CFD analysis.
Cross-sections of the pump and a picture of the experimental setup are presented below. The pump’s construction includes an injection-molded polypropylene body and an elastomeric impeller to handle two-phase liquid/solid flow.
Shown below are plots of the CFD solution for flow through the Poly-Pump. The left figure shows velocity vectors on a plane through the middle of the impeller; the right figure shows path lines of solid particles flowing through the pump. Stress Engineering uses visualization methods such as these to help our clients understand the effect of design decisions on material flow, wear patterns, and process efficiency.
The graph below compares the pump curve generated by the CFD model of the regenerative turbine pump with experimental results. The level of accuracy demonstrated is typical and allows us to use CFD analysis as a powerful tool for improving current designs and optimizing new products.
