• The KSFM Journal of Fluid Machinery
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• v.3 no.4 s.9
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• pp.7-14
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• 2000

This paper provides integrity evaluation and root cause analysis for defects observed at volute tongue, or cutwater, of the operating centrifugal pump in power plant. The cause of the cracks are analyzed and reviewed from the viewpoint of the operation and maintenance of the pumps, and the sample obtained from the cracked volute tongue of the pump are examined. At first, in-situ hardness test and microstructure examination were performed to understand the cause of cracking at volute tongue. The evaluation of structural integrity and the possibility of the crack propagation is also evaluated. Cracks were typical intergranular cracking and propagated along with prior austenite grain boundary. At easing volute tongue, the hardness was higher than ASTM requirement and a large amount of intergranular Cr carbide was precipitated. These were due to high C content in material. P content was also higher than ASTM requirement. Therefore, Cr carbide precipitation and P segregation at grain boundary, caused by higher C and P content in material, resulted in intergranular cracking of casing volute tongue. This procedure for integrity evaluation and root cause analysis is used to guide, and support the pump designer and manufacturer's material selection and process design to avoid a costly, unplanned outage of plant.

• International Journal of Fluid Machinery and Systems
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.349-359
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• 2011

An unsteady numerical analysis has been carried out to study the strong impeller volute interaction of a centrifugal pump with six backward swept blades shrouded impeller. The numerical analysis is done by solving the three-dimensional Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes codes with standard k-${\varepsilon}$ two-equations turbulence model and wall regions are modeled with a scalable log-law wall function. The flow within the impeller passage is very smooth and following the curvature of the blade in stream-wise direction. However, the analysis shows that there is a recirculation zone near the leading edge even at design point. When the flow is discharged into volute casing circumferentially from the impeller outlet, the high velocity flow is severely distorted and formed a spiraling vortex flow within the volute casing. A spatial and temporal wake flow core development is captured dynamically and shows how the wake core diffuses. Near volute tongue region, the impeller/volute tongue strong interaction is observed based on the periodically fluctuating pressure at outlet. The results of existing analysis also proved that the pressure fluctuation periodically is due to the position of impeller blade relative to tongue.

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.40-47
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• 2014

Interaction between the unsteady flow emitted from the blade of the centrifugal fan and the volute tongue region of fan duct is known as the main noise source of the centrifugal fan. In this paper, the relative contributions of the volute tongue region of the centrifugal fan is analyzed to utilize as the foundation data of low noise design. The internal hybrid CAA (Computational Aero-Acoustics) method is used to predict noise radiated from the main noise source. This method is the noise prediction technique using CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics), Acoustic analogy, and BEM(Boundary Element Method). The relative contributions of the centrifugal fan volute tongue region using the hybrid CAA method show that the region between the cut-off and the scroll has high contribution than the region between the cut-off and the outlet and the hub region of blade has high contribution than the shroud region of blade. These results is utilized as the important data for the development of low noise centrifugal fan.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.115-120
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• 2014

To enhance the performance of an automobile turbocharger compressor, the circumferential inlet heights of the volute were modified and the flow field for the combined region of the diffuser and volute was numerically investigated using commercial software. Basically, a well-designed volute should have a high pressure recovery coefficient and a low loss coefficient for the total pressure. In this study, two circular volutes with the same cross sectional shape and tongue angle, but circumferentially different volute inlet heights, were selected. One volute had the middle inlet in the cross-section at the circumferential angle of $90^{\circ}$ but gradually lower inlet heights for the angles between $90^{\circ}$ to $360^{\circ}$ with respect to the cross sectional center of the volute, while maintaining the same height between the tangential line connecting the lowest positions of the cross section and the line connecting the volute inlets in the circumferential direction (case 1 volute). The other volute has an inlet height that is 2 mm lower than in case 1 volute such that the tongue section has a tangential inlet (case 2 volute). The results showed that the case 2 volute had a higher total pressure ratio because of its higher pressure recovery coefficient and higher isentropic efficiency, resulting from the lower loss coefficient along the circumferential position than the case 1 volute.

• International Journal of Fluid Machinery and Systems
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.75-86
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• 2013

The effects of acoustic resonance and volute geometry on phase resonance are studied theoretically and experimentally using a centrifugal fan. One dimensional theoretical model is developed taking account of the reflection from the discharge pipe end. It was found that the phase resonance occurs, even with the effects of acoustic resonance, when the rotational speed of rotor-stator interaction pattern agrees with the sound velocity. This was confirmed by experiments with and without a silencer at the discharge pipe exit. The pressure wave measurements showed that there are certain effects of the cross-sectional area change of the volute which is neglected in the one dimensional model. To clarify the effects of area change, experiments were carried out by using a ring volute with a constant area. It was demonstrated that the phase resonance occurs for both interaction modes travelling towards/away from the volute. The amplitude of travelling wave grows towards the volute exit for the modes rotating towards the volute exit, in the same direction as the impeller. However, a standing wave is developed in the volute for the modes rotating away from the volute exit in the opposite direction as the impeller, as a result of the interaction of a growing wave while travelling towards the tongue and a reflected wave away from the tongue.

• The KSFM Journal of Fluid Machinery
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• v.9 no.2 s.35
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• pp.44-49
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• 2006

In this study, the effects of volute area distribution on the performance of a centrifugal pump were numerically studied using a commercial CFD code. To reduce the shutoff head, maintaining head and efficiency at a design flow rate, the flat head-capacity characteristic curves in which the head varies only slightly with capacity from shutoff to design capacity are frequently required. In order to control the shutoff head of a pump, several volute cross-sectional area distributions were proposed as a main parameter with the same impeller geometry The calculation results show that the slope of the performance characteristic curve of the centrifugal pump can be controlled by modifying the area distribution from volute tongue to volute outlet with fixed volute outlet area and also varied volute outlet area.

• 유체기계공업학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2005.12a
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• pp.497-502
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• 2005

In this study. the effect of volute area distribution on the performance of a centrifugal pump were numerically studied using a commercial CFD code. To reduce the shutoff head, maintaining head and efficiency at a design flow rate. the flat head-capacity characteristic curves in which the head varies only slightly with capacity from shutoff to design capacity are frequently required. In order to control the shutoff head of a pump, several volute cross-sectional area distributions were proposed as a main parameter with the same impeller geometry. The calculation results show that the slope of the performance characteristic curve of the centrifugal pump can be controlled by modifying the area distribution from volute tongue to volute outlet with fixed volute outlet area and also varied volute outlet area.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.37 no.5
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• pp.531-538
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• 2013

The primary function of centrifugal compressor volute is to flow from the impeller and diffuser to the pipe system. The strength of the scroll vortex and flow pattern in the volute vary with the operating point. This is largely caused by the interaction between the impeller and the volute flow fields. The recirculation flow around the tongue and the scroll vortex can be used to understand the characteristics of the volute flow at off-design points. The present study aims to find the characteristics of a flow pattern in the diffuser and volute of a centrifugal compressor from the rectangular cross section of the volute. Measurements are carried out using PIV. The results obtained in this study show that the separation region around the tongue is reduced and that the recirculation flow increases as the flow coefficient decreases.

• International Journal of Fluid Machinery and Systems
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.237-244
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• 2016

An unsteady three-dimensional simulation based on Reynolds time-averaged governing equation and RNG $k-{\varepsilon}$ turbulence model, was presented for pump-as-turbine, the pressure fluctuation characteristic of hydraulic turbine with guide vane was obtained. The results show that the time domains of pressure fluctuation in volute change periodically and have identical cycles. In volute tongue and inlet pressure fluctuations are light, while in dynamic and static coupling interface pressure fluctuations are serious; In impeller blade region the pressure fluctuation of pressure surface are lighter than that of suction surface. The dominant frequencies of pressure fluctuation concentrate in low frequency region, and concentrate within 2 times of the blade passing frequency.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2007.05b
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• pp.2603-2608
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• 2007

Flows in the centrifugal compressor volute with circular cross section are numerically investigated. The computational grid for the calculation utilized a multi-block arrangement to form a butterfly grid and flow calculations are performed using commercial CFD software, CFX-TASCflow. The centrifugal compressor of this study has axial diffuser after radial diffuser because of the shape of inlet duct and installation constraints. Due to this feature the swirling flow pattern is different from the other investigations. The flow inside volute is very complex and three dimensional with strong vortex and recirculation through volute tongue. The calculation results show circumferential variations of the swirl and through flow velocity and pressure distribution. The mechanism deciding flow structure is explained by considering the force balance in volute cross section. And static pressure recovery and total pressure loss are estimated from the calculated results and compared with Japikse model.