Vane pumps are prevalently used in pumping industries because of their reliability and efficiency. While these pumps are highly efficient, severe wear and tear may occur inside because of their complex design, leading to reduced performance and heightened cost.

These pumps consist of a rotor with vanes inside an enclosed circular cavity to generate positive displacement to transfer fluid. This makes it difficult to predict and prevent damages inside as the visibility is limited and the operation is complex.

Fortunately, with the help of advanced simulation services like CFD simulation services, experts can simulate, understand, predict, and prevent erosion in vane pumps efficiently.

This article will teach you how CFD consultancy can optimize vane pump performance by predicting and preventing wear and tear in pumps, but before that, it is crucial to understand what causes such damage in vane pumps.

Vane Pumps and Some of Their Consistent Issues

Characterised by their durability and sturdiness, Vane pumps are widely used in many industries: oil, power, gas, chemical, water treatment plants, etc. They play a critical role in these industrial processes and systems to ensure a seamless supply of fluids.

Any disruptions in their performances originating from the excessive erosion can lead to downtime, which in turn requires repair, ultimately causing a stoppage of supply and increased costs.

How Does Damage Occur in Vane Pumps?

Wear and tear in pumps are mainly caused by many factors, such as:

1. Fluid Properties

Fluid properties themselves have a significant impact on the components of vane pumps, resulting in hard wear.  On top of that, some fluids tend to be highly abrasive and corrosive as they have gritty particles and contaminants that cause gradual degeneration inside the walls of pumps.

2. Operating Conditions

The operating conditions, such as pumps’ temperature, pressure, and speed, also significantly influence the corrosion in pumps.

Extreme temperatures, regardless of whether high or low, affect the physical properties of pumps’ components. High temperatures can cause thermal expansion in components, leading to heightened stress. On the other hand, low temperatures can cause increased viscosity, hindering fluid flow and causing extra friction and acceleration of wear.

Operating at high pressure and speed can also damage the pumps. High pressure is responsible for increased stress on the components of pumps, and high speed causes more friction and heat, increasing the depletion of the vanes and seals.

3. Inadequate Material and Design

Pump material and design can also affect pumps for wear and tear as not every design pattern, and material is suitable for all kinds of fluid transportation.

The selection of proper material must be made following the fluid types the pump needs to transfer and the operational conditions it will use to withstand corrosion and abrasion, leading to reduced damages.

The design of pumps should be made efficiently, especially vane geometry and clearance. Inadequate geometry and clearance can lead to more friction in pumps.

Normally, prediction of how and when wear and tear can occur in pumps is costly and time-consuming as it requires physical testing and experimentation, etc.

However, CFD simulation services have emerged as the game changer in this scenario. Let us discuss this in detail.

Enhancing Vane Pumps With CFD Simulation Services

CFD simulation services consultants leverage the advanced simulation tool CDF (Computational Fluid Dynamics), which allows experts to create a replica of systems, also known as virtual models and fluid flow representation in a computer program.

Subsequently, experts analyze fluid flow behaviour concerning the system under different conditions by implementing fluid dynamic equations concerning fluid flow. Finally, they evaluate the system thoroughly and predict issues that may cause inefficiency and system breakdowns.

In the case of vane pumps, CFD experts first create a virtual model of vane pumps and their surrounding environments that can influence fluid flow in any way. After that, they assess the virtual model under different flow conditions and predict factors that can influence wear and tear in vane pumps.

How Do CFD Simulation Services Predict Wear and Tear in Pumps?

Here is a detailed breakdown of the process:

1. Fluid Flow Simulation

CFD simulation services of vane pumps enables experts to analyze complex fluid flow patterns, such as high-velocity zones, turbulences, etc., in pumps. It helps to identify the causes of wear and tear in pumps induced by flows.

A high-velocity zone is a particular area where velocity is extremely high, which causes high friction on components of pumps, such as casing and vanes.

Turbulences in particular areas of pumps cause high stress, leading to rapid damage to pumps. Therefore, the simulation of vane pumps enables CFD consultants to figure out the areas where velocity is high and frequent turbulence occurs, thereby helping to optimize vane pumps.

2. Structure Analysis

With the help of stress analysis in the simulation, experts can figure out impacted areas in the pumps due to high stress and plan mitigation measures to avoid depletion in vane pumps.

The simulation also allows experts to perform many analyses, such as material selection, design optimization, testing, etc., virtually at an economical cost to predict and prevent the issues of wear and tear.

Case Study: CFD Simulation Services and FEA analysis of Francis Turbine

Mechartes conducted FEA and CFD simulation services for Francis Turbine to study flow patterns inside the turbine runner and to evaluate flow behavior inside the runner in order to determine and locate the areas of minimum pressure inside the runner of the turbine using computational fluid dynamics to improve runners’ efficiency.

After conducting the simulation, experts at Mechartes provided informative data that can be used to improve the turbine runner’s efficiency significantly.

Learn more about the case study below.

Key Takeaways

CFD simulation services are of inestimable value for vane pumps to predict and prevent wear and tear inside them. It is a powerful tool that allows CFD engineers to evaluate, understand, and predict causes of damages in vane pumps and help fine-tune them virtually at an economical cost.

Mechartes is a leading CFD and FEA simulation service provider with extensive experience in diverse projects across continents. We provide an exceptional solution for various domains, such as oil, power, gas plants, chemical plants, and pumping systems, including vane pumps and turbines, large structures, etc.