Development of Sewage Pumps with Numerical and Experimental Support

Abstract

Especially in the field of sewage pumps, the design of radial impellers focuses not only on maximum efficiency but also on functionality in terms of susceptibility to clogging by fibrous media. In general, the efficiency of sewage impellers is significantly lower than that of clear water impellers. These sewage impellers are designed with a low number of blades to ensure that fibrous media can be pumped. This paper describes the methodology of an optimisation for a sewage impeller. The optimisation is carried out on a semi-open two-channel impeller as an example. Therefore, a new impeller is designed for a given volute casing. Based on a basic design for given boundary conditions, the impeller is verified by means of numerical simulation. The manufactured impeller is then tested on the test rig to verify the simulation. With regard to the optical investigations, the clogging behaviour of the impeller is specifically improved over three different modifications in order to finally present an impeller with good efficiency and a low clogging tendency.