Experimental and numerical analysis of steam jet pump

Steam jet pump is the best choice for pumping radioactive and hazardous liquids because it has no moving parts and so no maintenance. However, the physics involved is highly complicated because of the mass, momentum and energy transfer between the phases involved. In this study the characteristics of SJP are studied both experimentally and numerically to pump water using saturated steam. In the experimental study the static pressure, temperature along the length of the steam jet pump and the steam and water flow rates are recorded. The three dimensional numerical study is carried out using the Eulerian two-phase flow model of Fluent 6.3 software and the direct-contact condensation model developed previously. The experimental and CFD results, of axial static pressure and temperature, match closely with each other. The mass ratio and suction lift are calculated from experimental data and it is observed that the mass ratio varies from 10 to 62 and the maximum value of suction lift is 2.12 m under the conditions of the experiment.

► Steam jet pump is studied, experimentally and numerically, to suck water.
► 3D, steady state simulations in Fluent with condensation model, developed and published earlier, embedded.
► Good agreement between experimental and numerical results.
► At constant suction pressure, mass ratio increases with steam pressure.
► The pump can suck water from 2.12 m depth, ignoring friction losses.