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Inspired by wide application of the second law of thermodynamics to flow and heat transfer devices, local entropy production analysis method was creatively introduced into energy assessment system of centrifugal water pump. Based on Reynolds stress turbulent model and energy equation model, the steady numerical simulation of the whole flow passage of one IS centrifugal pump was carried out. The local entropy production terms were calculated by user defined functions, mainly including wall entropy production, turbulent entropy production, and viscous entropy production. The numerical results indicated that the irreversible energy loss calculated by the local entropy production method agreed well with that calculated by the traditional method but with some deviations which were probably caused by high rotatability and high curvature of impeller and volute. The wall entropy production and turbulent entropy production took up large part of the whole entropy production about 48.61% and 47.91%, respectively, which indicated that wall friction and turbulent fluctuation were the major factors in affecting irreversible energy loss. Meanwhile, the entropy production rate distribution was discussed and compared with turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rate distribution, it showed that turbulent entropy production rate increased sharply at the near wall regions and both distributed more uniformly. The blade region in leading edge near suction side, trailing edge and volute tongue were the main regions to generate irreversible exergy loss. This research broadens a completely new view in evaluating energy loss and further optimizes pump using entropy production minimization.

The ultra-low specific speed centrifugal pump has been widely applied in aerospace engineering, metallurgy, and other industrial fields. However, its hydraulic design lacks specialized theory and method. Moreover, the impeller and volute are designed separately without considering their coupling effect. Therefore, the optimal design is proposed in this study based on the local entropy production theory. Four geometrical parameters are selected to establish orthogonal design schemes including blade outlet setting angle, wrapping angle volute inlet width, and throat area. Subsequently, a 3D steady flow with Reynolds stress turbulent model and energy equation model is numerically conducted and the entropy production is calculated by a user-defined function code. The range analysis is made to identify the optimal scheme indicating that the combination of local entropy production and orthogonal design is feasible on pump optimization. The optimal pump is visibly improved with an increase of 1.08% in efficiency. Entropy production is decreased by 16.75% and 6.03% in impeller and volute, respectively. High energy loss areas are captured and explained in terms of helical vortex and wall friction, and the turbulent and wall entropy production are respectively reduced by 3.82% and 14.34% for the total pump.