The Optimal Vortex Pump Impeller - An Experimental Study on Clogging Behaviour

Abstract

This paper analyses the clogging behavior of vortex pumps by comparing the characteristics of two impeller designs. The impellers have dissimilar heads and efficiencies; the water was either clear or it contained non-woven textiles. An acrylic casing allowed observing the operation behaviour of the vortex pump while, at the same time, monitoring the data. Principle differences in the clogging behavior of the two impellers could be observed: One impeller outperformed the other in clear water transportation and indeed pumped more of the textiles. However it also lost more of its efficiency and accumulated more textiles declining it as the harder clogging. These results speak against the common approach of designing vortex pumps impellers under clean water operation condition, assuming that the same conditions apply for solid-containing fluids. KEYWORDS VORTEX PUMP, IMPELLER, CLOGGING, EXPERIMENT NOMENCLATURE Q flow rate H head η efficiency ∆Q ratio of the flow rate under clogging to clear water operation ∆H ratio of the head under clogging to clear water operation ∆η ratio of the efficiency under clogging to clear water operation ∆textiles proportion of not-pumped textiles to total amount of textiles

The Optimal Vortex Pump Impeller - An Experimental Study on Clogging Behaviour

“…They then experimentally compared the most promising impeller designs and selected the "winner" in terms of efficiency. The geometric factors of this existing impeller design were modified in a prior study (compare Gerlach et al (2016)) and ended with the second impeller. The second impeller had 8 straight blades and a diameter of 205 mm (see the right of Figure 1).…”

“…To systematize the applied knowledge, this paper analyzed the clogging behaviors of two vortex pump impellers. These impellers were chosen due to their geometrical adjustments, which led to different heads and efficiencies in a prior investigation with clear water (Gerlach et al (2016)).…”

Visualization of the Motion of Textiles through a Waste Water Pump at Different Operating Points

“…Having the right boundary conditions for these types of simulations, the next step is to gather information to validate the new models. Gerlach et al [5] did a comprehensive study of vortex pump impeller designs, where the clogging behavior was studied through experiments utilizing artificial wastewater and a pump with a transparent housing. Recently, Tan et al [6] reported an experimental study of pass-through and collision characteristics of coarse particles Since a significant number of pumps are wet-installed [7], there is also a need for further research involving this type of pumps.…”