Study on cavitation performance of inducer with annulus inlet casing

In order to better understand the occurrence of cavitation in a certain centrifugal pump of liquid rocket engine, on the basis of SIMPLEC algorithm, the study on cavitation performance of the inducer with annulus inlet casing is carried out by using the time-averaged N-S equation, Realizable k-ε turbulent model and mixture multiphase model. In the process of flow field calculation, the effect of each component on cavitation performance is analyzed. The results indicate that asymmetry flow in the inducer and annulus inlet casing depress the cavitation performance of inducer. Finally, by modifying the area ratio of annulus inlet casing and adjusting the axial distance between the casing and inducer, the exit flow of annulus inlet casing is contracted and uniform velocity distributions are obtained in accelerated flow. Thus, the flow parameters at the entrance of inducer are improved, and the cavitation performance of inducer is enhanced. The adopted corrective method has certain directive significance to the development and optimization of centrifugal pumps of liquid rocket engine.