Abstract
CFD analyses of the three-dimensional turbulent flow in the impeller and diffuser of an axial flow pump including suction and discharge parts are presented and compared with experimental data. The purpose of the current study is to validate the CFD method for the performance analysis of the main coolant pump for SMART and to investigate the effect of suction and discharge shapes on the pump performance. To generate a performance curve, not only the design point but also the off-design points were computed. The results were compared with available experimental data in terms of head generated. At the design point, the analysis accurately predicts the experimental head value. In the range of the higher flow rates, the results are also in very good agreement with the experimental data, in magnitude but also in terms of slope of variation. For lower flow rates, the results shows that the analysis considering the suction and discharge well describe the typical S-shape performance curve of the axial pump.
