The turbulence dissipation will cause the increment of energy loss in the multiphase pump and deteriorate the pump performance. In order to research the turbulence dissipation rate distribution characteristics in the pressurized unit of the multiphase pump, the spiral axial flow type multiphase pump is researched numerically in the present study. This research is focused on the turbulence dissipation rate distribution characteristics in the directions of inlet to outlet, hub to rim, and in the circumferential direction of the rotating impeller blades. Numerical simulation based on the RANS (Reynolds averaged Navier–Stokes equations) and the k-ω SST (Shear Stress Transport) turbulence model has been carried out. The numerical method is verified by comparing the numerical results with the experimental data. Results show that the regions of the large turbulence dissipation rate are mainly at the inlet and outlet of the rotating impeller and static impeller, while it is almost zero from the inlet to the middle of outlet in the suction surface and pressure surface of the first-stage rotating impeller blades. The turbulence dissipation rate is increased gradually from the hub to the rim of the inlet section of the first-stage rotating impeller, while it is decreased firstly and then increased on the middle and outlet sections. The turbulence dissipation rate distributes unevenly in the circumferential direction on the outlet section. The maximum value of the turbulence dissipation rate occurs at 0.9 times of the rated flow rate, while the minimum value at 1.5 times of the rated flow rate. Four turning points in the turbulence dissipation rate distribution that are the same as the number of impeller blades occur at 0.5 times the blade height at 0.9 times the rated flow rate condition. The turbulence dissipation rate distribution characteristics in the pressurized unit of the multiphase pump have been studied carefully in this paper, and the research results have an important significance for improving the performance of the multiphase pump theoretically.

In this paper, the k-ω SST (Shear Stress Transport) turbulence model is employed to study the effect of flow rate on regular patterns of pressure load distribution characteristics on the helico-axial pump impeller blade surface. The results show that all the curves of pressure load distribution of helico-axial pump impeller blade surface at different blade heights under different flow rates show a similar trend of increasing first and decreasing then. At the impeller blade inlet area, with the increase of flow rate, the range of negative blade pressure load in this area gradually increases. When the pump runs under small flow rate conditions, within the range of relative position from 0 to 0.2 of the hub, the work capacity of the hub is obviously stronger than that of other areas of the impeller, while within the range of relative position from 0.2 to 1, the work capacity from hub to rim gradually enhances. With the increase in flow rate, the area with a strong work capacity of the hub gradually expands while the area with a strong work capacity of the rim gradually narrows. The research results can provide a theoretical reference for the optimization design of pump supercharging performance.

With the exploitation of deep sea and desert oil fields, multiphase pumps have come into the public eye. However, due to the nature of the medium and operating environment, the performance of traditional multiphase pumps has diminished, leading to problems such as increased recovery cycles and rising costs. In order to obtain a high-head, high-reliability multiphase pump, this paper uses the model optimization method to design a complex pattern impeller. The best complex impeller with 17.25% increase in head was selected with the external characteristics as the optimization index, and a comparative analysis of the internal flow field was carried out between the complex impeller and original impeller when the inlet gas volume fraction was 10%. The results show that in the complex impeller, the short blade reduced the proportion of the high-speed zone, inhibited the appearance of the main blade suction surface low-speed zone, and significantly improved the return flow. The slope of the pressure boosting curve at the relative position 1.5–2.0 was increased, and the pressure boosting capacity was increased by 16.34 kPa. The short blade weakens the leakage movement while reducing the pressure effect on the main blade. In addition, the short blade not only improved the gas phase gathering but also reduced its size and made it closer to the main blade suction surface, which improved the uniformity of the gas phase distribution in the flow channel and also enhanced the inlet flow capacity. The results can provide a reference for future optimization and performance improvement of multiphase pump models.

The axial flow screw-type oil-gas multiphase pump is mainly applied to oil and gas transport in the deep sea. In the process of transporting the multiphase medium, the gas volume fraction (GVF) on the gas phase changes from time-to-time, resulting in the performance of the oil-gas multiphase pump being greatly influenced by the gas phase. This paper presents a detailed analysis of the gas-phase distribution law and the vortex distribution in the flow passages within the oil-gas multiphase pump by means of numerical calculations, supplemented by experimental verification. The results show that the gas phase is mainly concentrated in the diffuser at different GVFs, and the gas phase gathering in the diffuser becomes more significant with the increase in the GVF. The gas-phase volume fraction increases gradually from rim to hub, that is, the gas-phase gathering degree increases. The maximum gas-phase volume distribution area is mainly concentrated in the area near the hub of the diffuser inlet and the middle blade height area at the outlet of the diffuser. The flow in the impeller is relatively stable under the different GVFs, while there is a large vortex near the inlet of the diffuser near the hub, and there is a backflow phenomenon between the outlet of the diffuser and the tip clearance of the impeller. The volume fraction of the gas phase near the rim fluctuates more than that near the hub because the gas phase is squeezed by the liquid phase more violently. The research results can provide theoretical guidance for the optimal design of oil-gas multiphase pump blades.

When the multiphase pump is running, the internal medium often exists as bubble flow. In order to investigate the bubble occurrence characteristics in the pressurization unit of the multiphase pump more accurately, this paper couples computational fluid dynamics (CFD) with a population balance model (PBM) to investigate the bubble size distribution law of the multiphase pump under different operating conditions, taking into account the bubble coalescence and breakup. The research shows that the mean bubble size in the impeller domain gradually decreases from 1.7013 mm at the inlet to 0.6179 mm at the outlet along the axis direction; the average bubble diameter in the diffuser domain fluctuates around 0.60 mm. The bubbles in the impeller region gradually change from the trend of coalescence to the trend of breakup along the axial and radial directions, and the bubbles in the diffuser tend to be broken by the vortex entrainment. The bubble size development law is influenced by the inlet gas volume fraction (IGVF) and the rotational speed, showing a more obvious rule, where the gas phase aggregation phenomenon enhanced by the increase in IGVF promotes the trend of bubble coalescence and makes the bubble size gradually increase. The increased blade shearing effect with the increase in rotational speed promotes the trend of bubble breakup, which gradually reduces the size of the bubbles. In addition, increasing the bubble coalescence probability is a key factor leading to changes in bubble size; the bubble size development law is not very sensitive to changes in flow, and the bubble size is at its maximum under design conditions. The research results can accurately predict the performance change of the multiphase pump and provide technical guidance for its safe operation and optimal design.