Investigation on the Impact of Trailing Edge Stacking Styles on Hydraulic Performance in the Multistage Submersible Pump Space Diffuser

Abstract

To investigate the effect of the different wrap angles from the hub to the shroud surface in the space diffuser (i.e., the trailing edge stacking style) on the principle of corner separation vortex flow, a numerical simulation method has been conducted in a multistage submersible pump. Building a linear equation on the profile line of the diffuser trailing edge to optimize the wrap angle on every spanwise from the hub to the shroud, and the mapping response relationship between the wrap angle difference and the hydraulic performance in the space diffuser has been analyzed. Under the variable wrap angle difference (Δϕ=ϕhub−ϕshroud), the secondary flows in different directions, non-uniformity, diffuser efficiency, and pressure recovery are compared. The positive wrap angle difference (i.e., the shroud wrap angle is smaller than the hub one) improves the strength of the secondary flow and partly corner separation vortex in the diffuser, so the hydraulic characteristic of positive cases is better than the negative wrap angle difference. Moreover, in scheme A (in which the hub wrap angle is constant and the shroud wrap angle decreasing), the transversal secondary flow has been weakened, the low-energy fluid located in the corner has been suppressed, the extensional secondary flow has been increased, the diffuser hydraulic performance has been improved, and unidirectionally increases with the wrap angle difference increasing. When the shroud wrap angle is constant, the extensional secondary flow has been enhanced by the increasing hub wrap angle. Meanwhile, the increasing extensional secondary flow has been countered by the deteriorating extensional flow at the diffuser inlet and transversal secondary flow, the diffuser hydraulic performance increases and then decreases as the wrap angle difference increases, with an optimal wrap angle difference is about 20°.