Effect of Suction Diameter Variations on Performance Of Centrifugal Pump

The The performance of the centrifugal pump drops because the suction of the pump does not allow a smooth flow of the fluid as the fluid enters the pump. The high pressure in the pump causes cavitation, and this is because the high pressure is not enough. This can result in the component of the pump breaking. The purpose of the project is to design a centrifugal pump and develop a model that can predict the amount of flow required at the suction to keep the centrifugal pump running efficiently. Suitable material was chosen based on application criteria. For most water and other noncorrosive services, grey cast iron material satisfies these criteria for the impeller and the casing of the pump. Design constraints and limitations were identified. Boundary conditions were selected. Design of the pump assembly was done on SolidWorks. Results obtained from SolidWorks were interpreted and simulated in ANSYS to determine high stress points and deformation. Different suction diameter sizes were used to simulate, the sizes were 55mm, 65mm and 75mm. Theoretical calculations were done and the results were compared with the results obtained from ANSYS. From all the results, it is found that an increase in suction diameter size can help limit cavitation and pump failure.