EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUES FOR PUMP SUMP MODEL INVESTIGATIONS

摘要

The paper presents a brief review of parameters affecting the performance of pump sumps and describes an experimental technique that is being developed to quantitatively assess the flow characteristics of a pump sump in a model investigation. In this study the swirl within the pump intake, located inside the pump sump, is measured using a cross vane swirlmeter for different configurations of a pump sump. An attempt has been made to investigate the validity of using the measured swirl to predict the flow conditions within a pump sump and to relate them to the geometry of the pump sump. A correlation between the measured swirl and the experimental parameters have been established and this has lead to the identification of parameters which cause the adverse effects within the pump sump. For most favourable flow conditions, velocity profiles within the pump intake have been determined with different bellmouth diameters and at various Reynolds numbers, and their effect on velocity profiles have been investigated.