Study on Cavitation Characteristics of a Centrifugal Pump in Spacecraft Thermal Control system

Abstract Centrifugal pump is a key core component of spacecraft thermal control system, and its operational stability directly determines the life of the spacecraft. In microgravity environment, buoyancy effect disappears, and the influence of surface tension effect on cavitation flow cannot be ignored. The centrifugal pump used in the thermal control system of spacecraft is taken as the research object. The critical cavitation coefficient of a centrifugal pump under microgravity and ground gravity, as well as the cavitation flow field at different flow rates, were studied through numerical simulation. The existence of surface tension can to some extent increase the dimensionless head of centrifugal pumps during cavitation, and the degree of increase in head by surface tension is positively correlated with the inlet flow rate. The existence of surface tension will delay the development process of cavitation in the entire impeller basin. The effect of surface tension on the cavitation of micro pumps is specifically manifested as delaying the initiation and development of bubbles, while accelerating the contraction of bubbles. The research results can provide a basis for the design optimization of centrifugal pumps in microgravity environments.