Performance optimization of centrifugal pump for crude oil delivery

S. A.I. Bellary, A. Husain*, A. Samad, R. A. Kanai

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

13 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Crude oil transport is an essential task in oil and gas industries, where centrifugal pumps are extensively used. The design of a centrifugal pump involves a number of independent parameters which affect the pump performance. Altering some of the parameters within a realistic range improves pump performance and saves a significant amount of energy. The present research investigated the pump characteristics by modifying the number of blades and the exit blade-angles. Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes equations with standard k-e two-equation turbulence closure were used for steady and incompressible flow of crude oil through the pump. The experimental set-up was installed and the pump performance calculated numerically was compared with the experiments. The investigations showed that the number of blades and the exit blade-angles have a significant influence on the head, shaft power, and efficiency. The vortical flow structures, recirculation and reverse flow characteristics around the impeller were investigated to explain the flow dynamics of impeller and casing. A larger number of blades on the rotor showed dominant streamlined flow without any wake phenomena. The combined effect of the number of blades and exit blade angle has led to an increase in head and efficiency through the parametric optimization.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)88-101
Number of pages14
JournalJournal of Engineering Research
Volume15
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2018

Keywords

  • Centrifugal pump
  • Exit blade-angle
  • Number of blades
  • Pump efficiency
  • Recirculation
  • Reverse flow
  • Vortical Structures

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Engineering

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