Study on hydraulic performance of bell suction duct based on turbulent numerical simulation

Based on 3D incompressible fluid Reynolds averaged N-S equations and RNG k-epsilon turbulent model, the flow distribution of the bell suction duct with two partition piers, under seven different working conditions, is calculated by finite volume method; its flow characteristics is analyzed; the velocity distributions, in different working modes, at the bell mouth inlet and outlet cross section, are concluded; and the hydraulic loss is predicted with the loss law exposed. Through an analysis of distribution uniformity degree about the axial velocity at every cross section, and that of the velocity-weighted average angle, the nominal height range of the impeller in the bell suction duct can be marked from 1.25D to 1.40D, and the low height characteristics of the passage can be proved. The results show that RNG k-epsilon turbulence model is effective for hydraulic performance analysis.