A STUDY ON THE UNSTEADY PRESSURE CHARACTERISTICS IN A DOUBLE SUCTION CENTRIFUGAL PUMP WITH STAGGERED BLADE ARRANGEMENT

The operating life of a centrifugal pump is effected by the magnitude of the radial forces. Fundamentally, these forces are due to pressure variations around the impeller periphery which is a result of the complex interaction of two main components; impeller and volute. There are several approaches in the literature for load reduction. Double volute pumps have been successfully used for years. However, this method involves serious manufacturing problems and efficiency losses. This paper aims at using the effectiveness of a new approach called staggered blade arrangement for the reduction of radial forces in a double suction pump. A comparative analysis is performed by judging several key parameters such as pressure, velocity and reaction forces. The accuracy of the developed Computational Fluid Dynamics model was also verified with the pump performance tests. The outcomes of the study revealed that staggered blade arrangement can be used as an effective tool for reducing the radial forces in a centrifugal pump without needing to double volute design