Cavitation performance and flow characteristic in a centrifugal pump with inlet guide vanes

The influence of prewhirl regulation by inlet guide vanes (IGVs) on cavitation performance and flow characteristic in a centrifugal pump is investigated. At the impeller inlet, the streamlines are regulated by the IGVs, and the axial velocity distribution is also influenced by the IGVs. Due to the total pressure loss on the IGVs, the cavitation performance of the centrifugal pump degrades. The cavitation area in impeller with IGVs is larger than one without IGVs. The specify values of total pressure loss between the suction pipe inlet and impeller inlet for three cavitation conditions show that the IGVs will generate additional pressure loss, which is related to the IGVs angles and cavitation conditions