Application of the semi-analytical cavitation model to flows in a centrifugal pump

Visualization experiments are carried out to investigate the cavitating flows in a centrifugal pump at different flow rates. The cavity lengths under different pump inlet pressure are obtained. The semi-analytical cavitation model is improved since it is not suitable for predicting large cavities full of vapor. The improved cavitation model is used to numerically study the steady and rotating cavitation in the centrifugal pump. Compared with the Zwart cavitation model, the numerical results predicted by the semi-analytical model agree much better with the experiments, especially for large cavities. The cavity lengths at the suction side are overestimated during the simulations, especially by using the Zwart model. At low flow rates, the prediction of the rotating cavitation effect is weaker and the cloud shedding frequency is smaller than those in the experiments.