Numerical studies of the velocity distribution within the volute of a centrifugal pump

Centrifugal pumps play an essential role in engineering systems since they are widely used in the process and power industries. The performance of a centrifugal pump needs to be maximised due to its importance and this depends on the flow structure within the pump. The flow structure within a pump is very complex due to the presence of a rotating impeller and its interaction with the volute casing. In this paper, a numerical investigation using CFD analysis has been carried out to determine the effect of volute geometry on the flow field within a centrifugal pump. The results obtained from the numerical investigation have been validated with the experimental data. Further analyses have been carried out to investigate the effect of volute cross-sectional area on the velocity distribution. The overall results indicate that the head increases as the volute cross-sectional area increases.