Experimental research and numerical simulation on impeller exit flow field of bulb tubular pump

Three dimensional Laser Doppler Velocimetry (3D-LDV) technique was used to measure the impeller exit flow field of bulb tubular pump, the average velocity distribution of the exit section was obtained, and the energy performance of bulb tubular pump was obtained by model test. The flow field of tubular pump also simulated by CFD based on Navier-Stokes equations and RNG k-ε model. The calculated performance curve was consistent with the model test results, and the calculated velocities of impeller exit compared with the LDV measurement results, it was shown that the distribution of circumferential velocity and axial velocity were close to each other, but the radial velocity deviation between the LDV results and the CFD ones was obviously, the reasons of deviation were analyzed. The experimental results can provide the references for the impeller and diffuser design of tubular pumps, it also can improve the accuracy of calculation and perfect simulation.