• Journal of Advanced Marine Engineering and Technology
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.31-35
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• 2017

The internal flow of a pump system that is installed in the interior of large vessels such as tankers is largely affected by the water level and flow conditions of the pump sump. However, the performance of the pump is generally evaluated with the consideration of only the performance of the pump itself, without considering the pumping station operating environment. Therefore, if the pump is affected by the incoming flow that exhibits vortex and swirl, the occurrence of vortex and swirl accompanied with air may cause problems with the pump sump. This effect of flow condition can lead to a decrease in efficiency, increase in vibration, and noise generation in the pump. In this study, to investigate the internal flow of the pump sump according to several water levels, a pump sump scale-model was designed and constructed. The frequency of vortex occurrence and the shape of the vortex were investigated according to the different water levels of a fundamental test. The Class C vortex type, which has a larger volume of air intake to the pump, was confirmed by the higher occurrence frequency at a relatively lower water level.