Byung-Ha Kim

Experimental and CFD analysis for prediction of vortex and swirl angle in the pump sump station model

Sump model testing is mainly used to check flow conditions around the intake structure. In present paper, numerical simulation with SST turbulence model for a scaled sump model was carried out with air entrainment and two phases for prediction of locations of vortex generation. The sump model used for the CFD and experimental analysis was scaled down by a ratio of 1:10. The experiment was performed in Korea Maritime and Ocean University (KMOU) and the flow conditions around pumps intake structure were investigated. In this study, uniformity of flow distribution in the pump intake channel was examined to find out the specific causes of vortex occurrence. Furthermore, the effectiveness of an Anti Vortex Device (AVD) to suppress the vortex occurrence in a single intake pump sump model was examined. CFD and experimental analysis carried out with and without AVDs produced very similar results. Without the AVDs, the maximum swirl angle obtained for experimental and CFD analysis were 10.9 and 11.3 degree respectively. Similarly, with AVDs, the maximum swirl angle obtained for experimental and CFD analysis was 2.7 and 0.2 degree respectively. So, with reference to the ANSI/HI 98 standard that permits a maximum swirl angle of 5 degree, the use of AVDs in experimental and CFD analysis produced very desirable results which is well within the limit.