Experimental Investigation on Turbulence Fields in a Radial Diffuser Pump Using PIV Technique

Particle image velocimetry (PIV) technique has been successfully employed to measure the unsteady periodic flow in a low-specific speed radial diffuser pump, in order to obtain turbulence intensity fields caused by rotor-stator interaction at different operation conditions. The PIV measuring region covers a complete impeller channel and a complete diffuser channel, enabling the investigation of turbulence behavior in both the impeller and diffuser region simultaneously, and the turbulence transportation from the upstream impeller wake to the diffuser region. In addition, the flow rate effect on the turbulence field has also been investigated by comparing measured turbulence fields at different flow rates in both qualitative and quantitative manners. This work can enhance the understanding of turbulence generation mechanism, transport behavior, and development characteristics in rotor-stator interaction in vaned radial diffuser pumps.