《《9.Hydraulic forces》.pdfVIP

9 Hydraulic forces The pressure rise in the impeller generates hydraulic forces and moments which act on the rotor. In particular forces in axial and radial direction are significant for appropriate sizing of shaft and bearings. While the radial force is determined by the pressure distribution around the impeller circumference, the axial force is governed by the flow through the impeller sidewall gaps and the resulting pres- sure distributions on the shrouds. Because of its high relevance in the determination of the axial forces acting on turbomachine rotors there is a wealth of publications dealing with the subject of flow through the impeller sidewall gaps. A comprehensive collection of relevant quotations can be found in [3.29]. 9.1 Flow phenomena in the impeller sidewall gaps For reasons of mechanical design, axial clearances are required between the shrouds of a closed impeller and the casing (called “impeller sidewall gaps”). Width and shape of the resulting liquid-filled spaces between impeller and casing are essentially determined by aspects of the mechanical design. The fluid contained in the impeller sidewall gaps cannot be at rest when the impeller rotates: immediately at the shroud the fluid adheres to the solid wall and has thus the velocity cu = ω×r. A boundary layer is formed in which the tangential velocity drops with increasing distance from the shroud. The fluid also adheres to the casing wall where the velocity is zero cu = 0. The velocity increases in the cas- ing wall boundary layer, Fig. 9.1. With tight sidewall gaps or low Reynolds numbers both boundary layers are merged; with wide gaps they are separated and a core flow is formed. The flow in the impeller sidewall gap can be laminar or turbulent. In most applications with water pumping the flow is turbulent and the boundary layers are separated as de- picted in Fig.