SCIENCE CHINA

Technological Sciences
RESEARCH PAPER

July 2012 Vol.55 No.7: 19881998

doi: 10.1007/s11431-012-4867-9

Prediction method of impeller performance and analysis of loss

mechanism for mixed-flow pump
BING Hao1*, TAN Lei2, CAO ShuLiang1 & LU Li3
1

State Key Laboratory of Hydroscience and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China;
2
State Key Laboratory of Tribology, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China;
3
Hydraulic Machinery Department, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing 100038, China
Received October 12, 2011; accepted March 22, 2012; published online May 28, 2012

A loss model for the mixed-flow pump impellers was developed by summarizing a variety of loss calculation formulas systematically. The internal flow field of the impeller was obtained by employing the iterative calculation for S1 and S2 stream
surfaces to solve the continuity and motion equations of fluid. Based on the calculation method of the flow field and the loss
model, it is achieved to predict the impeller performance of the mixed-flow pump and the performance curves of a mixed-flow
pump model with adjustable blades. Compared with the test data, the loss model of the mixed-flow pump based on the iterative
calculation can predict the impeller performance quickly and accurately, which has a high value on the engineering applications. Based on the test verification, curves of various kinds of losses varied for the flow rate were analyzed under different
blade angles. In addition, the mechanisms of various kinds of losses inside the mixed-flow pump impeller were discussed
in-depth.
mixed-flow pump, loss modeling, iterative calculation, performance prediction, loss mechanism
Citation:

Bing H, Tan L, Cao S L, et al. Prediction method of impeller performance and analysis of loss mechanism for mixed-flow pump. Sci China Tech Sci,
2012, 55: 19881998, doi: 10.1007/s11431-012-4867-9

1 Introduction
The mixed-flow pumps are widely applied in the fields of
hydraulic engineering, wastewater treatment, water supply
and drainage and so on. At present, numerical simulation is
the mainly used method for performance prediction of the
mixed-flow pumps [13]. Although this method can predict
the impeller performance, it cannot meet the requirements
of optimization design for engineering, due to intensive
computation and time consuming of solving the Reynolds
averaged Navier-Stokes equation. Therefore, the research
on a new method, which can predict the mixed-flow pump
performance accurately and effectively, is very essential.
*Corresponding author (email: bg03@mails.tsinghua.edu.cn)
Science China Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2012

Combining flow channel characteristics of the mixedflow pumps, various loss models of the mixed-flow pumps
are built based on the systemic summary of loss calculation
empirical equations of common flow passage components.
On the basis of the flow field obtained by the iterative calculation of two kinds of stream surfaces inside the impeller,
the head and the efficiency characteristics can be fast predicted with the set loss models. The predicted data are then
compared with the test ones. The results show that the loss
model introduced in this paper, on the basis of the iterative
calculation of two kinds of stream surfaces, can predict the
performance of the mixed-flow pump accurately and effectively. The achievements can establish essential foundations
for the next research step of optimization design of the
mixed-flow pump and supply significantly important engitech.scichina.com

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July (2012) Vol.55 No.7

neering application value.

2.2 Impeller loss himp

2 Loss modeling for mixed-flow pump

As the main working part, the impeller of the mixed-flow

pump has very complex internal flow and loss mechanism.
Various losses are detailed in Table 1. In Table 1, losses are
also classified as internal loss and external loss according to
the effects of various losses on the pump efficiency, which
is prepared for discussing pump characteristics.

Through the procedure of fluid motion inside the pump, the

impeller does work to produce energy, but various energy
losses are produced during energy transfer and internal flow.
Thus, research on various energy losses should be the first
step to predict the performance of the pump.
The energy loss of the pump consists of hydraulic loss,
volumetric loss and mechanical loss. Hydraulic loss, accounting for the compared large proportion of the total loss,
has direct relationship with the geometrical shape of flow
channel, structure, size and flow field distribution. Volumetric loss directly relates to seal and fluid leak at the interface between the impeller and the casing. Mechanical
loss directly relates to mechanical friction at the bearing, the
seal and so on. For the mixed-flow pumps, the mechanical
loss is little and steady, so it is always be ignored.
The losses can also be classified according to their various effects on energy characteristics of pumps [4]. External
loss is defined as additional energy loss due to internal circular flow of the pump. Internal loss is defined as other energy loss due to flow. Internal loss has direct influence on
characteristics of pump head and efficiency. External loss
only affects the efficiency characteristic. In this paper, the
models of various losses are to be built separately according
to their respective causing position, on the basis of loss
characteristics of the mixed-flow pumps.
2.1

hinc finc

It the inlet region of flow channel, the velocity of initially

tapered flow channel has a comparatively uniform distribution and increases steadily with the flow channel taper. Before accessing the impeller, the flow channel shape is
changed, which makes the fluid deflect along the axial direction to access the impeller. Thus three-dimensional flow
field here changes significantly. The fluid velocity near the
hub decreases and the fluid velocity near the tip increases
sharply. The velocity distribution of flow field is not uniform any more. Uniform flow field distribution due to the
corner flow can directly lead to part of fluid motion blocked.
The energy consumed to overcome this block is defined as
inlet suction loss, the calculation equation [5] of which is
showed below:

C02
,
2g

W1u2
,
2g

(2)

where finc is incidence loss coefficient, the value range of

which is 0.50.7 [7].
Table 1

Inlet suction loss hsuc

hsuc f suc

2.2.1 Incidence loss hinc

Under the designed flow rate, the flow angle at the inlet of
the blade usually is equal to the blade angle, which can meet
the design requirements of no incidence entrance. When the
flow rate changes, the flow angle at the inlet of the blade
usually is not equal to the blade angle any more. Incidence
at the inlet can lead to flow separation on the blade surface
(Figure 1), which will then cause incidence loss.
The relative velocity under off-design flow rate W1 is
decomposed into two components W10 and W1u. W10 has the
same direction of current from no incidence entrance under
the designed flow rate. W1u is along circumference direction,
representing the inlet incidence level.
Thus, incidence loss of blade inlet is defined as

Loss classification of mixed-flow pump impeller

Symbol
hinc
hsf
hcl
hsep
hbl
hmix
hlk
hrec

Name
incidence loss
skin friction loss
clearance loss
separation loss
blade loading loss
mixing loss
leakage loss
recirculation loss

Classification

internal loss

external loss

(1)

where fsuc is inlet suction loss coefficient. Tests show that

the value of fsuc has relationship with the inlet type [6]. C0 is
inlet absolute velocity, which is determined by flow field
calculation.

Figure 1

Schematic diagram of incidence loss.

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Figure 2

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Inlet velocity triangle.

In Figure 2, U1, C1d, W1d form the velocity triangle under

the design flow rate and U1, C1, W1 form the velocity triangle under the off-design flow rate. The equation below is
given according to triangle similarity theory.
W1u C1 C1d

.
U1
C1d

(3)

Absolute velocity Ci is proportional to flow rate Qi, eq. (3)

can also be written as eq. (4).
W1u

Q1 Q1d
U1 .
Q1d

(4)

Thus, eq. (2) can be rewritten as eq. (5).

2

hinc

f Q Q1d
inc 1
U1 .
2 g Q1d

(5)

2.2.2 Skin friction loss hsf

In the internal flow field of impeller, skin friction loss is
defined as the linear loss caused at the wall boundary layer
of the blade, the impeller chamber and so on, under the effects of fluid viscosity. For convenient calculation, the flow
of the whole channel can be equivalently simplified to Z
(number) pipe flow of Dhyd (diameter of pipe). Skin friction
loss is defined as [8]
hsf Z

lb W12 W22
,
Dhyd
4g

(6)

where Z is the number of blades, is friction resistance coefficient, lb is average length of space bone line of blade,
Dhyd is equivalent hydraulic diameter of impeller, W1,W2 are
the average relative velocities of inlet and outlet, respectively.
2.2.3 Blade loading loss hbl
Blade load is defined as the pressure difference between
pressure side and suction side of blade. The blade load distribution can directly influence the formation of secondary
flow and boundary layer separation inside impeller. In the

July (2012) Vol.55 No.7

flow channel of the mixed-flow pump, impeller rotation can

cause non-uniform pressure distribution in the sub-flow
channel between two adjacent blades. The pressure surface
of the blade has comparatively high pressure and the suction
surface has comparatively low pressure. Thus, the pressure
gradient is formed in the sub-flow channel. The fluid micelle is acted by a force in the direction from the pressure
surface of a blade to the suction surface of its adjacent surface. In the middle part of the flow channel between blades,
the fluid micelle has comparatively high motion velocity, so
the inertia force of the micelle can self balance the force
mentioned above. However, at the boundary layer between
the impeller hub and the casing, the fluid micelle has very
low motion velocity, so the inertia force of the micelle cannot balance the force mentioned above. Therefore, acted by
this force, fluid micelles form the secondary flow moving
from high pressure side to low pressure side and the secondary flow has rough vertical direction of the main stream.
The secondary flow transfers the low velocity fluid inside
the boundary layer to the suction surface of the blade. Thus,
the thicker boundary layer of the suction surface can easily
cause flow separation phenomenon.
Lieblein et al. [9] have introduced the definition of diffuser factor, representing the value of the pressure gradient
through the velocity ratio. The diffuse factor reflects comprehensively the effects of elements, such as blade parameters and the shape of the flow channel, on the load limit of
the blade. Based on great amount of test data and the assumption of uniform distribution of the blade load, Coppage
et al. [10] have developed the calculation equation of the
diffuser factor and the calculation equation of the blade load
loss:
hbl 0.05 D 2f

U 22
,
g

(7)

where U2 is the average circumferential velocity at impeller

outlet, Df is diffuser factor and its specific definition is
Df 1

W2 0.75 gH th
W2
1
,

2
W1t
U2
Z D1t 2 D1t W1t
1

D2 D 2

(8)

where W1t is relative velocity at tip of impeller inlet, Hth is

theoretical head, D1t is diameter at tip of inlet, D2 is the average diameter of outlet.
2.2.4 Mixing loss hmix
In the impeller, the secondary flow can not only affect the
structure of the main stream, but also can lead fluid micelles
of low velocity to accumulate and form a low velocity fluid
region near the tip and the suction surface of the blade,
which can lead to Jet-Wake structure at the outlet of the
impeller. In this structure, velocity distribution is obviously
non-uniform and the fluid micelle on the pressure surface of

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the blade has higher velocity than the fluid micelle on the
suction surface. Due to the thickness of the blade tail, the
fluid will experience a process of sudden expansion flow,
when out flowing from the impeller according to the
Jet-Wake structure. Thus, viscosity of fluid in the sub-flow
channel can make the high velocity fluid on pressure surface and the low velocity fluid on suction surface, near the
tip, mix together, which will then lead to mixing loss. The
calculation equation of the mixing loss [11] is

the wall to extrude the fluid outside, which will then lead to
boundary layer separation. The flow separation inside the
impeller also has relationships with various factors, such as
flow area mutation, secondary flow and bending of the flow
channel. The relative research [13] shows that the flow separation flow will occur when the ratio of impeller inlet relative velocity to outlet relative velocity is over 1.4. The calculation equation of separation loss [14] is

hmix

B Cm2 2
,
1

(1 ) 2 g

(9)

where B is the ratio of diffuser vane inlet width to impeller

outlet width, Cm2 is the average meridional velocity of impeller outlet. is wake factor and its specific definition is

W2 W1t

,
W1t W2 crit

(10)

(W1t/W2)crit is critical velocity ratio when fluid has flow separation to lead to Jet-Wake structure. Its general value is
1.4.
2.2.5 Clearance loss hcl
For the semi-open mixed-flow pumps, there are clearances
between the blades and the casing. Under the pressure difference between the two surfaces of the blade, small groups
of fluid flow from the pressure surface with high pressure to
the suction surface with low pressure through the clearance.
This flow process has experienced two stages, which are
sudden compression and sudden expansion which cause
clearance loss and the calculation equation [12] is
hcl 0.6

c Cu 2
b2 g

2 r1t2 r1h2

Cu 2 Cm1 ,
Zb2 r2t r1t

(11)

where c is clearance, b2 is impeller outlet width, r1t is tip

radius of impeller inlet, r1h is hub radius of impeller inlet, r2t
is tip radius of impeller outlet, Cu2 is the average value of
circumferential components of absolute velocities of impeller outlet, Cm1 is the average meridional velocity of impeller
inlet.
2.2.6 Separation loss hsep
The adverse pressure gradient in the flow direction can directly cause boundary layer separation, which will then lead
to separation loss. The impeller of the mixed-flow impeller
is the diffusion flow channel. The flow velocity decreases
steadily and the pressure increases steadily, under the joint
action of the shear stress and the internal adverse pressure
gradient of the wall boundary layer. When the energy of the
fluid itself cannot overcome the joint action of pressure difference and viscosity any more, the fluid will flow in the
opposite direction due to the adverse pressure gradient. The
occurrence of recirculation will directly cause the fluid near

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hsep

W
W 2 W1t
f sep 1t 1.4 2 ,
1.4,
W2
g
W2

W1t

1.4,
0,
W2

(12)

where fsep is flow separation loss coefficient, the general

value range is 0.40.8.
2.2.7 Recirculation loss hrec
When the mixed-flow pump operates in the condition of
low flow rate, there is comparatively large adverse pressure
gradient near the inlet and outlet of the blade. Part of the
fluid micelles of low energy flow back again to inlet region
or impeller region under the action of the adverse pressure
gradient. The recirculation fluid has obtained shaft work,
but has not flowed out of the impeller. Thus, the fluid continuously obtains the shaft work and then dissipates inside
the impeller. The shaft work loss occurring in this condition
is called recirculation loss.
Based on the research on empirical equations of recirculation loss [10, 12], Oh et al. [14] have developed the prediction model of recirculation loss of the centrifugal pump.
Considering the absolute flow angle of outlet 2, this model
employs hyperbolic function to predict the curve of recirculation loss varied for the flow rate, which can help to predict
the hydraulic performance of the centrifugal pump. Hereafter, based on the research on the centrifugal pump, Yoon et
al. [15] have developed the recirculation model of inlet and
outlet of the mixed-flow pump by amending recirculation
loss coefficient. In addition, they have also improved the
prediction of the efficiency characteristics under the condition of low flow rate. The calculation equation is
hrec f rec

sinh(3.5 23 ) D 2f U 22
g

(13)

where 2 is the absolute flow angle of impeller outlet, frec is

recirculation loss coefficient, the value range of which is
08105.
2.2.8 Leakage loss hlk
Because of the clearance between the impeller and the casing, there must be fluid leakage during the operation. Although acted by the impeller, the leaked fluid does not flow
out of the impeller with certain energy. The energy obtained
from impeller action dissipates in the process of clearance

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leakage in the form of throttling loss. This shaft work loss is

called leakage loss, the calculation equation [16] is

hlk

QclU clU 2
,
2Q* g

(14)

where Qcl is the volume of leaked fluid, Ucl is the velocity

of leaked fluid, Q* is ideal flow rate of the pump.
2.3

Outlet loss

2.3.1 Outlet diffusion loss hdiff

The flow channel of outlet region of the mixed-flow pump
impeller is generally the diffusion tube (Figure 3). Inside
this tube, the flow velocity decreases and the static pressure
increases steadily along the flow direction. In addition, the
flow separation can easily occur at the wall boundary layer
inside the tube, which can cause the diffusion loss. The outlet diffusion loss can be calculated referring to gradually
expanded loss. The calculation equation is
2

A
C2
hdiff f diff sin out 1 out ,
A2
2g

(15)

where is outlet diffusion angle, which is generally given

in the design of flow channel. A2 is section area of impeller
outlet, Aout is section area of outlet of diffusion region, Cout
is absolute velocity of outlet of diffusion region, fdiff is outlet diffusion loss coefficient.
2.3.2 Outlet skin friction loss hdsf
Due to the viscous effects, there is also the friction loss in
the diffusion region. The calculation equation is
hdsf dsf

A 2 C 2
out 1 out ,
2g
8 tan / 2 A2

(16)

where dsf is friction resistance coefficient of diffusion region, the detailed definition of which is similar to in eq.
(6).

3 Calculation method of flow field

When the model introduced above is used to predict the loss

July (2012) Vol.55 No.7

of the mixed-flow pump, it is significantly important to select the fast and accurate calculation method of flow field
because the calculation results of flow field inside the impeller have direct effects on the prediction performance.
The calculation of direct problem, based on the solving of
Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes equation, needs great
amount of calculation and consumes long time, which cannot satisfy the loss model to predict the hydraulic performance of impeller quickly. The calculation method of meridional flow field, based on traditional two-dimensional
flow assumption, can improve the calculation efficiency of
the flow field. However, the velocity field calculated by this
method can only satisfy the continuity equation of fluid, but
cannot satisfy motion equation of fluid, which will lead to
lack of accuracy.
To achieve the fast and accurate calculation of the flow
field, a new method is developed in this paper, based on the
two kinds of stream surfaces theory [17]. By satisfying both
the continuity and the motion equations of fluid, the quasi-three-dimensional solution of internal flow field of the
mixed-flow pump is obtained by iterative calculation of S1
and S2 stream surface velocity potential function equations
[18]. This solution provides an important foundation for
loss model to predict the impeller performance accurately.
Figure 4 shows the meridional velocity Cm distributions
along the meridional streamline m of a mixed-flow pump
impeller based on two-dimensional assumption and quasi-three-dimensional theory respectively. It can be seen that
the two distributions have obvious difference. Especially at
the region behind the blade outlet (m>0.3 m), the velocity
field obtained with quasi-three-dimensional theory is not
uniform, but every meridional streamline at the outlet regions obtained with two-dimensional assumption is exactly
the same. It is well known that the velocity field at the impeller outlet should not be uniform.
The reasons why the two theories have so obvious differences will be detailed below. In the calculation of the
meridional flow field based on two-dimensional flow assumption, the impeller is considered to consist of an infinite
number of infinitely thin blades, so the effects of the blade
shape and the blade thickness on the flow are ignored in this
condition. However, for quasi-three-dimensional theory, the
calculation is operated completely according to the actual
three-dimensional shape of the blade, so the flow field obtained can better conform to the actual flow condition.
At the same time, this comparison above can demonstrate
that selection of quasi-three-dimensional theory to calculate
the flow field can guarantee accuracy and improve reliability.

4 Prediction results of loss model and test verification

Figure 3

Schematic diagram of flow separation in diffusion tube.

The first step is to complete the hydraulic design of the

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mixed-flow pump with specific speed of 496 and adjustable

blades. The second step is to finish the structure design
(Figure 5). On the basis of these, the third step is to build a
test rig to complete the external characteristics experiments
of the mixed-flow pump and obtain the performance curve
of the mixed-flow pump. The comprehensive error of the
whole test system is 0.27%.
The blade of the mixed-flow pump rotates 0, 2, 4, 6,
8 successively on its axis to form five various impellers.
The quasi-three-dimensional flow field information of these
impellers is obtained by iterative calculation of S1 and S2

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July (2012) Vol.55 No.7

stream surfaces. The loss model is employed to predict the

impeller performance, which is then compared with the experimental results.
Flow rate coefficient and head coefficient are defined respectively.

Q
,
nD 3

(17)

H
,
n2 D 2

(18)

where Q is flow rate, H is head, D is the diameter at the tip

of blade rotation axis, n is rotational speed of the impeller.
4.1

Figure 4 Meridional velocity distributions obtained by various methods.

(a) Two-dimensional assumption; (b) quasi-three-dimensional theory.

Figure 5

Structural design diagram of the mixed-flow pump.

Head prediction

Under the condition of the impeller having an infinite number of infinitely thin blades, the relative motion of the fluid
in the impeller is strictly restricted and the motion trajectory
of the fluid particle can coincide with the spatial bone line
of the blade. In addition, the flow angle is equal to the blade
angle at the blade outlet, which can be showed as 2=b2.
Under this assumption, the outlet velocity triangle is composed of U2, C2, W2 (Figure 6). However, the number of
blades is finite and the blade has certain thickness in the
practical situation, so the blade cannot control the flow direction of the fluid strictly. Adjustment of the flow direction
cannot meet the requirements limited by the shape of the
spatial bone line of the blade. Generally, the flow angle is
smaller than the blade angle at the blade outlet, which can
be showed as 2<b2. The practical outlet velocity triangle
of impeller is composed of U2, C2, W2 (Figure 6).
Slip phenomenon is defined as the fluid in the impeller
under steering due to the effects of finite number of blades.
This phenomenon occurs not only because of finite blades
lacking in control of the fluid, but also due to the axial vortex in the rotating impeller. A circumferential velocity
component Cu is generated at the blade outlet due to the
existence of the axial vortex, which can directly lead to
change of the velocity triangle. Slip phenomenon makes the
impeller reduce the ability to do work to the fluid, the reflex
of which is head decrease. Therefore, it is necessary to calibrate the theoretical head obtained under the assumption of
infinite blades when predicting the head.

Figure 6

Outlet velocity triangle of the mixed-flow pump.

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According to Euler equation of hydraulic mechanism, the

theoretical head equation is as follows under the conditions
of finite blades and no prerotation at the pump inlet (Cu1=0):
H th

Cu 2U 2
.
g

(19)

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The actual head of the mixed-flow pump H is

H H th hin t ,

where hint is the total hydraulic loss of the impeller, which

is the sum of the following 9 internal losses.
hint hsuc hinc hsf hbl hmix

According to the velocity triangle at the mixed-flow

pump outlet, the velocity relationship is
Cu 2 U 2

Cm 2
,
tan b2

(20)

where Cu2 is circumferential component of outlet absolute

velocity under the condition of infinite blades, b2 is the
blade angle of the outlet.
To consider the effects of finite blades, slip coefficient is
defined as

Cu 2 Cu 2
.
U2

(21)

In addition, Wiesner equation [19] is selected to calculate

slip coefficient.

sin b2
Z

0.7

(22)

Eqs. (19)(22) are solved simultaneously to obtain

H th

U 22
g

Figure 7

sin b2
Cm 2
1

0.7

U 2 tan b2
Z

(23)

(24)

hcl hsep hdiff hdsf .

(25)

The model above is used to predict head characteristics of

the mixed-flow pump impellers with different rotation angles. Figure 7 demonstrates that the predicted results have
completely the same overall trend with the test results,
which shows that the loss model has high accuracy and reliability.
4.2

Efficiency prediction

Recirculation loss and leakage loss are additional energy

loss caused by the internal circular flow of the pump. These
losses must lead to higher shaft power, so their effects
should be considered in the efficiency prediction.

H th hin t
.
H th hrec hlk

(26)

The model above is employed to predict the efficiency

characteristics of the mixed-flow pump impellers with different rotation angles. Figure 8 shows that the efficiency
predicted by loss model is basically the same with the test
result, within a comparatively wide range of the flow rate.

Flow rate-head curves of comparison of the predicted values and experimental values. (a) 0; (b) 2; (c) 4; (d) 6; (e) 8.

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Figure 8

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July (2012) Vol.55 No.7

1995

Flow rate-efficiency curves of comparison of the predicted results and experimental results. (a) 0; (b) 2; (c) 4; (d) 6; (e) 8.

Overall, the loss model introduced in this paper can

comparatively accurately predict the efficiency characteristics of the mixed-flow pump blades with different rotation
angles, which can be an important helpful tool for impeller
optimization.

5 Analysis of flow loss of impeller

The mechanism of the internal flow loss of the mixed- flow
pump impeller should be further studied based on the test
research. The prediction platform of impeller performance
built in this paper is used to predict various kinds of losses
with different blade angles inside the impeller model and
analyze their trends and effects on the overall impeller performance. To compare the same kind of losses with difference rotation angles on the same scale, it is important to
normalize the various kinds of losses and select the maximum loss value of each kind of losses as 1.
When the flow angle at the blade inlet is equal to the
blade angle, the inlet incidence loss of impeller is 0. When
the flow angle is not equal to the blade angle, the greater the
difference between the two is, the bigger the inlet incidence
loss is. Figure 9 shows curves of the incidence loss. It can
be seen from this figure that operating points of no incidence inlet move towards low flow rate operation as the
blade rotates clockwise on its own axis. This trend is the
same as the trend of the maximum values of efficiency
curves varied for blade angles in Figure 8. This can also

demonstrate that adjusting the blade angle of the mixedflow pump clockwise can effectively improve the impeller
performance within the low flow rate range.
The reasons are analyzed below. Along the flow direction of the fluid, the blade curve is dextrogyrate. Therefore,
the blade angle at the inlet b1 will get smaller when the
blade rotates clockwise. According to the inlet velocity triangle (Figure 10), the circumferential velocity (U1=r1) will
not change when the blade angle b1 gets smaller. In order
to satisfy the condition of no incidence inlet, it is necessary

Figure 9 Incidence loss curves of impeller model under different blade

angles.

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to increase the absolute velocity C1 to meet the triangle relationship (C1=U1tgb1). Smaller C1 means weaker discharge capacity of the impeller, so operating points of no
incidence inlet must move towards low flow rate operation.
Figure 11 shows the curves of the skin friction loss, the
trends of which are the same with different blade angles. As
the flow rate increases, the skin friction loss will increase
sharply. In addition, the skin friction loss in the stable operation condition will increase as the blade rotates clockwise.
The reason is that the clockwise blade rotation can lead to
stronger bend of the flow channel between blades compared
with inlet and outlet regions, more inordinate internal flow
of the impeller and higher skin friction loss.
Figure 12 shows the clearance loss curves. The trends of
these curves should be similar to each other under different
blade angles. The clearance loss will decrease continuously
as the flow rate increases. It is easy to understand that the
flow rate increase can effectively weaken the clearance flow
between the blade and the casing, which can then reduce the
flow loss at the clearance.
Accompanying the clockwise rotation process of the
blade, the clearance loss decreases under the constant flow
rate and the decrease extent will grow up sharply as the
flow rate increases. It can be seen from eq. (11) that the
clearance loss is proportional to Cm0.51 Cu1.52 . The meridional

Figure 10

July (2012) Vol.55 No.7

velocities of the impeller inlet Cm1 are the same under the
conditions of the same flow rates and different blade angles.
It can be seen from this that Cu2 decreases continuously as
the blade rotates clockwise.
The production procedure of this change can be detailed
below according to Figure 13. At the impeller outlet, the
meridional velocity Cm2 stays constant and the circumferential velocity U2=r2 also keeps constant, under the constant
flow rate. The blade angle b2 decreases continuously as the
blade rotates clockwise. According to the triangle relationship Cu2=U2Cm2ctgb2, Cu2 decreases as b2 decreases. It
can be also known that the clearance loss is proportional to
Cu2 to the power of 1.5, so the change of the clearance loss
is comparatively obvious. As the flow rate increases, Cm2
increases, which means that the coefficient of ctgb2 increases. Therefore, the decrease extent of Cu2 will increase
accordingly, which can cause the clearance loss to change
even more obviously as the blade rotates.
Figures 14(a)14(c) show three groups of curves of separation loss, blade loading loss and mixing loss, respectively.
These three groups of curves have the same trends, the loss
decreases sharply as the flow rate increases. These three
kinds of losses play a key role within the low flow rate
range, but their effects on the impeller performance can be
ignored within the high flow rate range. Under the compar-

Inlet velocity triangle of impeller model.

Figure 12
angles.

Figure 11 Skin friction loss curves of impeller model under different

blade angles.

Clearance loss curves of impeller model under different blade

Figure 13

Outlet velocity triangle of impeller model.

Bing H, et al.

Figure 14

Sci China Tech Sci

July (2012) Vol.55 No.7

1997

Loss curves of impeller model under different blade angles. (a) Separation loss; (b) blade loading loss; (c) mixing loss.

Figure 15

Loss curves of impeller model under different blade angles. (a) Leakage loss; (b) recirculation loss.

atively low flow rate, clockwise rotation of the blade can

comparatively obviously reduce these three kinds of losses,
which can demonstrate that the clockwise rotation of the
blade angle can achieve improvement of the impeller performance within the low flow rate range.
Figures 15(a) and 15(b) show two groups of curves of
leakage loss and recirculation loss, respectively. It can be
seen that the two groups of curves have basically the same
trends, the loss decreases continuously as the flow rate increases. For the leakage loss, the gradient of loss varied for
the flow rate basically stays constant. The loss decreases
steadily as the flow rate increases. For the recirculation loss,
the change gets acuter. The loss decreases sharply as the
flow rate increases within the low flow rate range, but the
gradient decreases steadily. Recirculation phenomenon occurs within the low flow rate range, mainly because the adverse pressure gradient exits along the flow direction at the
inlet and the outlet when the flow rate is comparatively low.
The low energy fluid micelles cannot overcome the effects
of the adverse pressure gradient so that the flow separation
and the recirculation phenomenon occur in this situation.
From Figure 15, we can also have other findings. Firstly,
the leakage loss decreases comparatively steadily as the
blade rotates clockwise under the constant flow rate, and the
decrease extent grows up a little as the flow rate increases.

Secondly, the recirculation loss decreases sharply as the

blade rotates clockwise under the constant flow rate and its
decrease extent falls strictly as the flow rate rises. All the
above can demonstrate that adjusting the blade angle
clockwise appropriately can effectively control the occurrence of recirculation phenomenon, which can then significantly improve the performance of the model pump within
the low flow rate range.

6 Conclusions
(1) A set of loss calculation models for the mixed-flow
pump has been developed based on the summarization and
the analysis of loss models for various pumps, which are
introduced in the published papers. The internal flow field
of the mixed-flow pump is solved by using iterative calculation for two kinds of stream surfaces, which provides an
important foundation for the loss model to predict the impeller performance accurately. The prediction method of the
impeller performance of the mixed-flow pump is achieved
by combining the flow field calculation method and the loss
model.
(2) The head characteristics and the efficiency characteristics of a mixed-flow pump with adjustable blades have

1998

Bing H, et al.

Sci China Tech Sci

been predicted based on the prediction method of the impeller performance of the mixed-flow pump. The test results
show that the loss model can predict the head and the efficiency characteristics accurately within a wide flow rate
range, which can prove the reliability of the loss model and
the iterative calculation method of the flow field. In addition,
it can also be demonstrated that the prediction method of the
impeller performance of the mixed-flow pump, introduced
in this paper, can be used to predict the impeller performance quickly and accurately and supply an effective tool
for the impeller optimization design.
(3) Based on the test verification, the curves of various
losses, under different blade angles, varied for the flow rate
have been predicted individually by employing the prediction method of the impeller performance of the mixed-flow
pump, introduced in this paper. In addition, the productions
and the change mechanisms of various kinds of losses have
been discussed in-depth and the effects of blade rotation on
various kinds of losses have also been especially analyzed.
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of
China (Grant No. 51176088) and the Open Research Foundation of State
Key Laboratory of Hydroscience and Engineering of Tsinghua University
(Grant No. 2009T3).
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