Optimizing impeller geometry for performance enhancement of a centrifugal pump using the Taguchi quality concept

Abstract

This article discusses a research methodology for performance enhancement of centrifugal pump through Taguchi's parametric design concept. The objective is to find an optimum impeller design and geometry that makes the pump functionally reliable for winning customer's confidence. Computational fluid dynamic (CFD) analysis has been done to know how the flow pattern changes in the impeller when the pump is required to run at different operating conditions. The streamline analysis from CFD plots gives informative pictures of the flow field, which help the designer understand how the effect of deviation made in the impeller design specifications significantly influence the pump performance. CFD results match well with the predictions of the pump performance at the duty point as regard to head, discharge, and efficiency of the prototype model. The study infers that the CFD prediction tallies with Taguchi's experimental results.Keywords: pump impeller, performance enhancement, orthogonal array, design of experiments, signal-noise ratio, analysis of variance, response analysis, computational fluid dynamic analysis LITERATURE REVIEWThe design of hydraulic machinery involves a lot of parameters that are interdependent and, in turn, iterative, which makes the problem at hand more complex for the human brain to manipulate [1 -3]. However, the innovation in computational fluid dynamic (CFD) field has made it possible to simulate and visualize some of the features of flow through rotating machines that would be difficult to measure experimentally [4 -8]. The importance of pumps in hydraulic field had been sensed by mankind over the 20th and 21st centuries (see References). The global market of today is flooded with plenty of varieties, types, and sizes of pumps. In spite of its age, even today the design of pumps has not attained the saturation stage. In fact, pump design compatible with the production environment had been a major challenge to researchers. Particularly, researchers along with engineers had been striving to improve the design of impellers with the specific attention directed to enabling the enhancement of pump performance [9 -11]. Li [12] formulated a method for analysing the performance of centrifugal oil pump, whereas Li et al. [13] analysed in their work the influence of a number of impeller blades on the performance of centrifugal oil pumps.Performance prediction procedures for centrifugal and axial flow turbomachines have been widely published by several researchers [14-18] since the early days of turbomachine design, whereas those for mixed flow machines are not well established in the open literature because of the industrial sources being classified as competition-sensitive by every industry. Sarkar [19,20] presented the performance prediction method for a mixed flow impeller on the basis of the two-dimensional cascade theory, extending Howell's [14] calculation for the analysis of axial Ã

Defect control analysis for improving quality and productivity: an innovative Six Sigma case study

“…Most emblematic among the originators of this interest is the Japanese Engineer Genichi Taguchi. He invented and promoted an offline quality control concept that encompasses all stages of the product/process development (Nataraj and Arunachalam, 2006). This concept represents a view on quality in which variation plays a dominant role.…”

Bir Santrifüj Pompa Performansının En Uygun Çark Tasarımı İle İyileştirilmesi

“…Enerji kaynaklarının gitgide azaldığı bu sebeple verimliliğinin hayati öncem arz ettiği günümüz şartlarında daha verimli çalışan bir pompa tasarımı kaçınılmaz olmuştur. Nataraj ve Arunachalam [1] bir santrifüj pompanın performansını iyileştirmek amacıyla Taguchi parametrik tasarım yöntemini kullanarak optimum çark geometrisi üzerine çalışma gerçekleştirmişlerdir. Çalışmada pompanın tahliye ettiği debiyi artırmak, güç tüketimini en aza indirmek ve dolayısıyla verimi iyileştirmek için santrifüj pompanın 8 farklı çark modeli, farklı çark çapı, kanat genişliği, kanat çıkış açısı ve kanat çapı kombinasyonları ile belirlenmiştir.…”

Analyzing pump impeller for performance evaluation using RSM and CFD

“…A CFD code with 2D cascade model was developed to predict the cavitation behavior around the impeller blades of the impeller in a centrifugal pump [8]. Key parameters in the design process that are likely to have an effect on the head, discharge, and power variation in the pump had been discussed by many researchers [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]. Multiobjective optimization of the semi-open impeller in a centrifugal pump was done using numerical analysis [17].…”