Design Parameters of Vortex Pumps: A Meta-Analysis of Experimental Studies

Abstract

Vortex pumps can impel solid-containing fluids and are therefore widely applied, from wastewater transport to the food industry. Despite constant efforts to improve vortex pumps, however, they have remained relatively inefficient compared to conventional centrifugal pumps. To find an optimized design of vortex pumps, this paper provides a systematic analysis on experimental studies that investigated how variations in geometric parameters influence vortex pump characteristics, in particular the pump head, the pressure coefficient and the efficiency for best point operation. To this end, an extensive literature search was conducted, and eighteen articles with 53 primary investigations were identified and meta-integrated. This showed that it is not yet clarified how vortex pumps operate. Two different assumptions of the underlying operating principle of a vortex pump lead to diverging design principles. From the results of this meta-analysis, we deduce recommendations for a more efficient design of a vortex pump and emphasize further aspects on the underlying operating principle of a vortex pump.

Investigation of the impact of the geometric dimensions of the impeller on the torque flow pump characteristics

“…The difference with the results obtained in [3,4] is explained by the following. At a change in the blade outlet angle β 2 , the blade installation angle in the blade inlet angle β 1 does not change.…”

“…Investigation [3] determined that an increase in the blade inlet angle β 1 at impeller input leads to lower head and pump efficiency while in the blade outlet angle β 2 -to an increase in the head and efficiency.…”

A method of designing of torque­-flow pump impeller with curvilinear blade profile

“…The study [3] made a qualitative assessment of the effect of changing the impeller parameters on the nominal operating parameters of torque-flow pumps. The research was conducted with pumps with different specific speeds n s .…”

DEM-CFD Simulation and Experiments on the Flow Characteristics of Particles in Vortex Pumps

“…Due to the semi-open impeller structure and the existence of a bladed area, the anti-clogging performance of vortex pumps is better than that of general pumps. However, the efficiency of vortex pumps is usually less than 50%, which is lower than that of traditional centrifugal pumps [1][2][3]. This is because the current state research on the movement of solid particles in pumps is still immature, especially for two-phase flow pumps such as vortex pumps which still use the hydraulic design method based on the clean water pump.…”