Numerical Research on Pressure Fluctuation Characteristics of Small-Scale and High-Speed Automotive Pump

Rotor–stator interaction and the coupling between the clearance flow and main flow amplify the flow complexity in small-scale, high-speed automotive pumps. This degrades the pressure fluctuations, compromising the operational stability of these pumps. To better understand the pressure fluctuation di...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Lulu Zheng, Xiaoping Chen, Jinglei Qu, Xiaojie Ma
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-07-01
Series:Machines
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1702/13/7/584
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Rotor–stator interaction and the coupling between the clearance flow and main flow amplify the flow complexity in small-scale, high-speed automotive pumps. This degrades the pressure fluctuations, compromising the operational stability of these pumps. To better understand the pressure fluctuation distribution characteristics within such a pump, the Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations and the shear stress transport <i>k-ω</i> turbulence model were applied to numerically compute the pump. The simulation results were compared with experimental data, and good agreement was achieved. The results show that pressure fluctuations in the main flow region are mainly dominated by the blade passing frequency, and the intensity of pressure fluctuations in the near-field area of the tongue reaches its peak value, showing significant fluctuation characteristics. Significant peak signals are captured in the low-frequency band of pressure fluctuations in the clearance region. The pressure fluctuation characteristics are also affected by the rotor–stator interaction between the impeller front shroud and the volute casing, while the dominant frequency is still the blade passing frequency. In addition, the dominant frequencies of pressure fluctuations in the main and clearance flows show a similar distribution to the flow rate, but the minimum amplitude corresponds to different flow rates.
ISSN:2075-1702