Simulation study on the flow-induced vibration and noise in marine centrifugal pumps

Due to the three-dimensional non-axisymmetric shape of the volute, its interaction with the impeller increases the internal flow field complexity and instability of the marine centrifugal pump, representing the main reason for pump body vibration and hydraulic noise. First, the basic principle of fluid machinery noise calculation was explained based on the Lighthill acoustic analogy method and Curle’s theory. Then, the fluid pressure pulsation and flow characteristics of centrifugal pumps were analyzed using the Fluent software, after which the Actran software was used to examine the flow-induced vibration noise properties. The results showed that the clearance size significantly impacted the pump head, while the peak value of the flow-induced vibration response was mainly twice the blade frequency. Although a larger ring clearance increased the structural vibration, it had little impact on the sound pressure level changes in the external sound field. The results provided a new method for the structural optimization and low-noise design of marine centrifugal pumps.