Energy performance and flow characteristics of a slanted axial-flow pump under cavitation conditions

Cavitation is a complex flow phenomenon that hinders the efficient, safe, and stable operation of hydraulic machinery. To investigate the effect of cavitation on energy performance and flow characteristics of hydraulic machinery, cavitating flow in a slanted axial-flow pump based on entropy production theory and vortex dynamics is studied. The results show that the impeller chamber is a primary region of cavitation and energy loss generation under different cavitation conditions, including the incipient, growing, and wedge-shaped cavitation stages. In the incipient cavitation stage, as degree of cavitation strengthens, the flow at the impeller blade is smooth with little cavitation, and the variation in entropy production is constant, resulting in a stable energy performance. As it evolves into the wedge-shaped stage, the cavitation grows from the tip region near the impeller blade to the hub. At this time, the entropy production increases in the impeller chamber, resulting in a drop in energy performance. Meanwhile, flow separation appears at the impeller blade, and a secondary tip leakage vortex is promoted. The region with high vorticity basically matches the region with the high local entropy production rate. According to the relative vorticity transport equation, compressibility of cavitation strongly affects the relative vorticity in the impeller chamber, indicating that cavitation indirectly increases entropy production and energy loss by affecting the vorticity distribution, resulting in the drop in energy performance.