Experimental and numerical investigation on the influence of the clocking position on hydraulic performance of a centrifugal pump with guide vane

The investigation of the clocking effect mainly concentrates on turbines and compressors, but seldom in centrifugal pumps. In this paper, using numerical simulation and experiment, the influence of the clocking effect on the hydraulic performance of centrifugal pump with guide vane is studied. Numerical simulations with SST k-w turbulence model were applied to obtain the inner flow field of the test pump. The numerical simulations coincide with the test result, which indicates the accurate of the utilized numerical approach. The results show the clocking positions have an important effect on hydraulic performance of the centrifugal pump with guide vane. The pump demonstrates the higher efficiency and head as the tongue locate between two guide vanes. The hydraulic performance of the volute is a major factor impacting the performance of the centrifugal pump with different clocking positions. However, the clocking position has almost no effect on the performances of the impeller and diffuser. When the guide vane is close to the volute tongue, flow field of volute is more non-uniform, and the energy loss in volute appears to be larger. The results and the method of this paper can provide theoretical reference for the design and installation of guide vane in centrifugal pump.