Abstract:Based on Reynoldsaveraged equations closed by SST k-ω model, numerical simulations of flow in a lowspecificspeed singlestage centrifugal pump
with three different volutes were carried out by using ANSYS CFX 11.0 software. For the volute geometry, the crosssection of the original volute was a horseshoe
section, and the other two new ones were designed as fully circular and rectangular geometries, respectively. The numerical results show that the differences in theperformance of different volutes are quite small. At large flow rate operating regime, the efficiency of the pump with the circular and rectangular volutes is higher appreciably than that of the original one, while at the best efficiency point it is a little lower than that of the original one. For the head differences of the pumps, at low flow rate the head of the pump with the rectangular and original volutes is higher than that of the circular one, and at high flow rate the head of the original volute pump drops obviously, and is lower than that of the rectangular one. In addition, the hydraulic losses in the pump with three different volutes are dissimilar with the flow variation. At low flow rate the hydraulic loss in the original volute pump is the minimum, and the one in the circular volute pump is maximum. While at high flow rate the hydraulic loss in the circular volute pump is the minimum, and the one in the rectangular volute pump is maximum.