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Nuclear Engineering and Design

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/nucengdes

The transient flow in a centrifugal pump during the discharge valve rapid
opening process
Wu Dazhuan ∗ , Wu Peng, Li Zhifeng, Wang Leqin
Institute of Process Equipment, Zhejiang University, 38 Zheda Road, Hangzhou 310027, PR China

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: During the rapid opening period of the discharge valve in the pump system commonly used in nuclear
Received 6 May 2010 reactor operation, the flow-rate of the pump increases impulsively. In this paper, we report on experiment
Received in revised form 29 July 2010 and numerical simulations which were implemented to investigate the external transient hydrodynamic
Accepted 16 August 2010
performance and the internal flow mechanism of the pump during this transient process. External and
internal characteristics under different flow-rates were measured with an experimental system. The
simulation for steady conditions was based on detached eddy simulation (DES) and sliding mesh was
verified by comparing the simulation with test results. More importantly, the transient characteristics
during the valve’s rapid opening process were simulated using a similar method. Results show that the
Q–H curve deviates from the steady-state value. The external characteristics are further explained by
analyzing the relative velocity on the middle stream surfaces S1 m and S2 m between blades. The pump
performance during the valve’s rapid opening process is influenced both by the fluid acceleration and
instantaneous evolutions of the vortex structure.
© 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction For theoretical analysis, many researchers have used hybrid

Pumps play important roles in nuclear reactor coolant systems.
Transient operations are commonly found, such as the pump’s
starting and stopping, the flow-rate increasing and decreasing, and
power failures in the centrifugal pump motors. The responses of
the pump system in these operations show transient effects due to
changes in the operating conditions.
Boyd et al. (1961) performed a mathematical simulation for var-
ious transient conditions of coolant flow and pump speeds in a
multiloop nuclear reactor system. They studied the transient phe-
nomena due to power failure, starting pumps in idle loops, and the
opening of an active pump’s discharge valve. They emphasized that
one must consider all the components offering resistance change
in the full primary coolant flow.
Rapid changes in flow-rate will lead to sudden changes in pres-
sure which propagate from the change point to the pipe system
at the speed of sound in a liquid. This is called the water hammer
phenomenon. In some pipeline systems, where a pump is used to
lift liquid into a reservoir with a static head, the check valve down-
stream of the pump does not open until the static head is higher
than the reservoir. Joseph and Hamill (1972) investigated the water
hammer effects caused by valve openings in these operations.
∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +86 139 89880802; fax: +86 571 87952406.
E-mail address: wudazhuan@zju.edu.cn (D. Wu).
models to solve the water hammer problem. Among them, the
method of characteristics line (MOC) is the most popular one in
modeling the valve-induced water hammer equations, because of
its feasibility and advantages for complex systems (Kaliatka et
al., 2007; Werner et al., 2008). Wenxi et al. (2008) evaluated the
valve-induced water hammer phenomena in a parallel pumps feed-
water system (PPFS) during the alternate startup process of parallel
pumps. A code was developed to compute the transient phenom-
ena, including the pressure wave vibration, local flow velocity,
slamming of the check valve disc, etc.
Most studies have focused on the water hammer in pipes when
the valve is opening or closing, while the flow status in pumps
has been given little attention. In a valve’s opening process, the
flow-rate increases from zero to maximum rapidly, so most of the
time pumps operate under off-design conditions. The flow fields
under off-design conditions are influenced by complex separa-
tion and recirculation, thus making them highly turbulent and
unsteady. Numerical calculations of performance for off-design
conditions are extremely difficult using traditional steady-state
methods, because of the need to control complex physical phe-
nomena such as the boundary layer separation, vortex dynamics,
interactions between rotational and stationary components, vibra-
tions and noise, etc. (Felix et al., 2002; Rikke et al., 2003).
There are many ways that cause the flow-rate increasing or
decreasing. In this paper, rapid opening of the discharge valve is
chosen as a way to achieve the process that flow-rate is increas-

0029-5493/$ – see front matter © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.nucengdes.2010.08.024

Please cite this article in press as: Wu, D., et al., The transient flow in a centrifugal pump during the discharge valve rapid opening process. Nucl.
Eng. Des. (2010), doi:10.1016/j.nucengdes.2010.08.024
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Nomenclature

A0 cross sectional area (m2 )

CFL Courant Friedrichs Lewy number, CFL = Wt/x
d2 outer diameter of the impeller (mm)
H total head of the pump (m)
Hc apparent static head (m)
Hd total head of the pump at design condition (m)
Hi indicated total head (m)
Leq length of equivalent pipe (m)
n rotational speed (rpm) 
ns specific speed, ns = 3.65n Q /H 3/4
Q flow-rate (m3 /h)
Qd flow-rate at design condition (m3 /h)
Qi instantaneous flow-rate (m3 /h)
R radius (m)
Re Reynolds number, Re = U2 D2 /v
t time (s) Fig. 1. Geometry of the centrifugal pump.
t time step size (s)
h hydraulic efficiency
efficiency of h = 70%. The impeller has an outer diameter of
d2 = 238 mm and four backswept blades. In order to measure the
flow field by the particle image velocimetry (PIV) technique, the
ing rapidly. During this period, the valve is opened within a few case is designed like a box with a diffuser. The diameter of inlet
seconds, the flow rate of the pump increases rapidly. Numerical pipe is 200 mm and outlet is 156 mm.
and experimental results of external and internal characteristics The pump is designed to rotate at n = 1475 rpm, operate at a
show significant transient effects, which differ from steady-state flow-rate of Qd = 332 m3 /h and provide a pressure rise equivalent
processes. These unsteady phenomena are not predictable with the to a head of Hd = 7.1 m. The rated Reynolds number (Re = U2 D2 /v)
conventional steady-state simulation approach. based on the outer diameter of the impeller is 4.4 × 106 .
During recent years, with the expansion of centrifugal pump
applications, studies on transient characteristics during start-up
2.2. CFD code
period have received increased attention (Lefebvre and Barker,
1995; Kazem et al., 2007). Analysis methods for transient pro-
The flow fields at off-design conditions are highly turbulent and
cesses can be understood for flow-rate changes caused by fast
unsteady. Due to the complex separation and recirculation, numer-
opening and closing valves. Wang et al. (2008) used the dynamic
ical simulations of the performances for off-design conditions will
mesh method for 2D simulation of a centrifugal pump during the
be extremely difficult. Therefore, a reliable turbulence model must
start-up period, but this method requires considerable computa-
be chosen to simulate the performances more accurately.
tional resources for the large deformation and update load of the
Most of the numerical simulations for engineering applications
mesh in rotational regions. Wu et al. (2009) developed a method
at high Reynolds numbers are performed using the Reynolds aver-
to simulate the flow field during the start-up period, based on
aged Navier–Stockes (RANS) turbulence models. Tutar and Hold
the sliding mesh technique, in which interfaces were used to con-
(2001) and Benim et al. (2008) have pointed out, however, that
nect the rotational impeller and the stationary components. And
the RANS model is not appropriate for computations of transient
experiments were also carried out to verify the reliability of the
turbulent separated flow. While the RANS models are appropriate
simulation. Wu et al. (2010) also reported some experimental stud-
for simulations of attached flows, they fail to accurately capture the
ies on hydrodynamic performance of a cavitating centrifugal pump
complex flow structures in regimes substantially different from the
during transient operation.
thin shear and attached boundary layers. Thus, they are not suitable
In order to improve the accuracy of the numerical simula-
for calculating the flow with separation and recirculation under
tions and better understand the flow in the centrifugal pumps
off-design conditions.
during transient processes, a numerical method for simulations
Simulation strategies such as direct numerical simulation (DNS)
at off-design conditions is proposed and then the simulation is
and large eddy simulation (LES) are attractive as an alternative for
carried out. The method is validated by comparing with the exper-
predictions of flow fields where RANS is deficient. But they will
imental results both from the aspects of external and internal
carry a prohibitive computational cost for resolving boundary layer
characteristics. Based on the experimental and numerical results
turbulence at high Reynolds numbers.
of steady-state performances, a simulation model of the unsteady
The detached eddy simulation (DES) has been recently devel-
state is built, and a similar simulation method is applied for the
oped, and is one of the most widely used models for high speed
simulation of the valve’s rapid opening processes. Both the external
turbulent flows with massive separations. The DES model was
and internal characteristics are analyzed. The results can be used
developed to combine RANS in the attached boundary layers with
as references for future studies and applications.
LES in the shear layers and separated flow regions (Spalart et al.,
1997). It is a unified approach based on the adoption of a single
2. Numerical simulations at steady flow-rate turbulence model. It functions as a sub-grid scale LES model in the
separated flow regions where the grid is nearly isotropic, and as
2.1. Model and parameter a RANS model in the attached boundary layer regions (Basu et al.,
2005). It retains the essential features of LES type method as well as
The pump under investigation, shown in Fig. 1, is a shrouded employs a computationally cheaper RANS method in regions where
centrifugal pump with a specific speed of ns = 103 and hydraulic it is appropriate.

Please cite this article in press as: Wu, D., et al., The transient flow in a centrifugal pump during the discharge valve rapid opening process. Nucl.
Eng. Des. (2010), doi:10.1016/j.nucengdes.2010.08.024
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Applications of the DES models for a wide variety of prob- Table 1

Characteristics of the mesh structure, boundary conditions, and numerical setup of
lems involving separated flow configurations have shown certain
the steady flow simulations.
degrees of success relative to the RANS predictions. But DES mod-
els have not been so widely used in pumps, thus further trials are Mesh structure
necessary for pump applications. Total number of cells 3,702,328 2,334,914 1,436,774
Realizable-DES is available in the software package FLUENT Cells in inlet section 395,116 226,818 118,694
6.3. The time dependent term scheme is 2nd-order implicit. The Cells in impeller 518,836 329,344 171,570
Cells in diffuser 319,287 183,893 97,985
pressure–velocity coupling is calculated through the SIMPLEC
Cells in outlet section 80,512 43,266 20,500
algorithm. A second-order upwind scheme with numerical under- Cells in case section 2,388,577 1,551,593 1,028,025
relaxation is applied for the discretization of convection term and
central difference schemes for diffusion terms. Boundary condition

Velocity inlet (m/s) 0.619 1.149 1.644 2.060 2.935

2.3. Computational domain and grid Pressure outlet (Pa) 0 0 0 0 0
Wall No-slip
The pump is divided into four parts: inlet, impeller, diffuser
Numerical setup
and case. Impeller is rotary and the other parts are stationary. The
geometry of the centrifugal pump is discretized by unstructured Number of time steps 2000
tetrahedral meshes. In order to check the influence of different Time step (s) 5e−4
Time steps per revolution 80
grids on the results, meshes with different quantities of elements
CPU time per time step (min) 10 4.5 3.3
are tested. Total computational time (h) 333 150 110

2.4. Boundary conditions at operating conditions

Table 2
numerical setup of the unsteady flow simulations.
Simulations are carried out over a wide range of operating
Numerical setup 1s 0.5 s 0.25 s
points, from shutoff to the maximum flow rate. Walls are mod-
eled using the standard wall functions. Velocity in axial direction is Number of time steps 2400 1200 600
specified as inlet boundary, while the average static pressure field is Time step (s) 5e−4 5e−4 5e−4
Time steps per revolution 80 80 80
defined as the outlet boundary. The inlet and outlet boundary con- CPU time per time step (min) 10 10 10
ditions are placed far away from the impeller component in order Total computational time (h) 400 200 100
to minimize the influence of the boundary conditions on the flow
field.
The flow in the impeller is defined as moving mesh zone, while same except the inlet velocity, which is defined by a UDF pro-
the flow in the inlet pipe, diffuser, and outlet pipe is calculated in gram. During the period of increasing flow-rate in a centrifugal
the stationary reference frame. The connection between the rotary pump, the flow-rate increases rapidly from shut-off to its operat-
impeller and the stationary components is linked by interfaces. That ing flow-rate and then remains at this flow-rate. Variations of the
means that the node of each side of the interface does not have to flow-rate under three different valve’s opening times are defined
match while the meshes are moved. This method is called sliding by functions (1)–(3). The previously calculated result of flow field
mesh method which is commonly used for unsteady flow field sim- at shut-off condition is used as the initial flow field for unsteady
ulation of pumps (Croba and Kueny, 1996; Gonzalez et al., 2002). flow simulations.
Six different flow-rates with a rotational speed of 1475 rpm are ⎧
⎪
⎨ 0 t < 0.07 s
simulated: 0, 70, 130, 186, 233, and 332 m3 /h.
Q (t) = 233(t − 0.07) (m3 /h) 0.07 s ≤ t < 1.07 s (1)
⎪
⎩
2.5. Numerical setup 233 t ≥ 1.07 s
⎧
In order to resolve the real temporal variation of the flow, the ⎪
⎨ 0 t < 0.07 s
time-step has been adjusted to t = 5 × 10−4 s, which ensures a Q (t) = 466(t − 0.07) (m3 /h) 0.07 s ≤ t < 0.57 s (2)
reasonable CFL number based on physical time less than 1.0. This ⎪
⎩
time-step is equivalent to 80 time-steps per impeller revolution. 233 t ≥ 0.57 s
The flow fields at different flow-rates have been iterated for ⎧
2000 time-steps, respectively, equivalent to 24 revolutions. Simu- ⎪
⎨ 0 t < 0.07 s
lations have been parallelly performed on a Linux PC cluster of eight Q (t) = 932(t − 0.07) (m3 /h) 0.07 s ≤ t < 0.32 s (3)
Intel Xeon processors (3.2 GHz) at institute of process equipment ⎪
⎩
233 t ≥ 0.32 s
in Zhejiang University.
An overview of mesh structure, boundary conditions, and An overview of the numerical setup is provided in Table 2.
numerical setup of the simulations is provided in Table 1.
4. Results and discussion
3. Numerical simulations of valve rapid opening process
4.1. Comparison of external characteristics between steady
In practical applications, flow-rate may be increased impul- flow-rate simulations and experimental results
sively from shutoff to maximum. In these operations, pumps
operate under off-design conditions. Based on the simulated Six different operating conditions at a flow-rate of 0, 70, 130,
method above, this special transient operation can be simulated 186, 233 and 332 m3 /h are simulated under a rotational speed of
using a similar method. 1475 rpm. Because the simulation method is unsteady, rotor–stator
To compare different phenomena between steady flow-rate and interaction phenomena between impeller and case can be captured
increasing flow-rate operations, all of the numerical setups are the (Gonzalez et al., 2002). One impeller revolution has 80 time-steps

Please cite this article in press as: Wu, D., et al., The transient flow in a centrifugal pump during the discharge valve rapid opening process. Nucl.
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Fig. 2. Fluctuant curve of the instantaneous head.

Fig. 5. Internal flow comparison between simulation and PIV test.

Fig. 3. General view of the pump.

Fig. 6. Comparison between steady and unsteady flow-rate simulation.

Fig. 4. Comparison between experimental result and simulated results with differ-
ent grid quantity. Fig. 7. Total head comparison between steady and unsteady flow-rate simulation.

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and the impeller has four vanes, so the period of head oscilla-
tions caused by rotor–stator interaction is about 20 time-steps.
Take the curve of Q = 233 m3 /h in Fig. 2 as an example. There are
four obvious peaks which are nearly 14 m, and the time-steps are
126, 150, 173 and 190. So the period of the curve oscillation is
nearly 20 time steps, it is equal to the rotor–stator interaction
period. Beside, the amplitude of the instantaneous head grad-
ually increases as the flow-rate increases. This is because fluid
discharged from diffuser includes two parts: fluid circularly flow-
ing in diffuser and that discharged from impeller. The former flow
is steady and the latter fluctuates, which causes a fluctuant head.
As the flow-rate is decreased, fluid which flows from impeller to
diffuser is also decreased. Accordingly, the fluctuation of head is
decreased.
In order to compare with experimental results, the instanta-
neous head was averaged in a rotational period of impeller, which
is called available head. Steady performance of the pump was tested
in a test rig, and the case part is shown in Fig. 3. The accuracy of
the flow rate and pressure sensor is 0.5%. Fig. 4 shows simulated
results of three different grid quantities and the corresponding
experimental results. Through comparison, one concludes that a
grid quantity of 3.7 × 106 can accurately simulate the external char-
acteristics.
As shown in Fig. 4, the maximum error comparing between sim-
ulated and experimental results is about 7% at shut-off condition.
This is because the flow field at shutoff condition is so complex
that some vortices cannot be captured accurately. As the flow-rate
increases, simulated results are well in agreement with experimen-
tal results. At the flow rate of 70 m3 /h, the error is 3%. The steady
state simulation is only used for method validation, such accu-
racy is enough for unsteady flow rate simulation and engineering
applications.

Fig. 8. Velocity vector graphs at unsteady condition of different flow-rate.

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4.2. Internal flow comparison of steady flow-rate between
simulations and experiments
The velocity vector graph on cross-section of the pump shown in
Fig. 3 is caught by a 2D PIV device. The comparison between simula-
tions and PIV experimental results at shutoff condition is shown in
Fig. 5. The maximum velocity in simulation is about 3 m/s, while at
the same position of the measured velocity is 2 m/s. An anticlock-
wise vortex exists above the diffuser in the two graphs, because
at shut-off condition the fluid is blocked off by valves and cannot
discharge out. It continues to circulate in the pump. Comparing
with the flow structure of simulated results shown in Fig. 5, flow
captured by the PIV method is a little flat. This is because bubbles
produced in the pump at start-up affect the PIV results. In addition,
the simulated model has its own error. So the PIV result can only
be a qualitative comparison.
By comparing the internal and external characteristics of the
pump between experiment and simulation, this simulation method
can be used for pump simulation from shutoff to maximum flow-
rate.
In the present paper, as shown in Fig. 1, the passage area of the
pump does not change so significantly, so the average of the area
is taken as the passage area A(s), and length of the middle stream-
line is taken as Leq . Following Eq. (4), the total head of the pumps
can be calculated. As shown in Fig. 7, at low flow-rate, the head
of 1 s opening time is the lowest and is highest at 0.25 s, with 0.5 s
being intermediate. Meanwhile, at high flow-rates, the three differ-
ent opening ways are nearly the same. To explain this phenomenon,
the internal flow of the pump must be analyzed.
4.4. Internal flow simulation result of valve rapid opening process
To analyze the transient evolution of the flow field during the
process of variable flow-rates, simulated results of flow-rate at
1.163, 82.44, 164.14 and 251.72 m3 /h were undertaken. Compar-
ison between different flow-rates of velocity vector graphs on
cross-section near the diffuser is shown in Fig. 8. As can be seen
from the graphs, large-scale vortices exist in impeller and diffuser at

4.3. External characteristic simulation result of valve rapid

opening process

The method mentioned above can accurately calculate the

external characteristics and internal flow at conditions from shut-
off to maximum flow-rate. Based on this method, unsteady flow is
simulated with the shut-off condition as the initial flow field.
Similarly, instantaneous head is also averaged to obtain the
available head. Simulated results of steady state and increased
flow-rate with different valve opening times are shown in Fig. 6.
The unsteady Q–H curve lies under the steady Q–H curve. With
increases in flow-rate, the velocity of the fluid in pipes increases,
and part of the energy exported by the pump is used to provide
fluid acceleration. Thus, the faster the valve opens, the greater the
head loss. With increases in flow-rate, the transient head curve
approaches the steady-state curve gradually. This phenomenon
agrees well with the experimental results of Wang et al. (2003).
With increases in flow-rate, velocity of the fluid in pipes increases,
part of the energy exported by the pump is used to provide fluid
acceleration, so at the same flow-rate unsteady flow process has a
smaller head. This is because the flow-rate increases to the design
operating point, the flow separation phenomenon in the impeller
lessens, causing the transient curves to move closer to the steady-
state curve.
In order to analyze the transient effect in the process of flow-
rate increases, it is necessary to differentiate the total head of the
pump H(t) from the indicated total head between the suction port
and the discharge of the pump Hi (t). The total head is affected by
the acceleration of the water contained in the pump casing. So the
true total head rise H(t) is obtained by subtracting the apparent
static head Hc (t) due to the acceleration from the indicated total
head Hi (t), as the following equation shows (Tsukamoto and Ohashi,
1982):
 L  dQ (t)
eq i
H(t) = Hi (t) − Hc (t) = Hi (t) + (4)
gA0 dt

where the pump is represented by a straight pipe with cross sec-

tional area A0 and length Leq . The equivalent pipe Leq of the pump
is calculated by the equation:
L A 
0
Leq = ds (5)
s=0
A(s)

where s is the distance measured from the suction port, and L is the Fig. 9. Relative velocity evolutions of different conditions on the middle stream
total path length. surfaces S1 m .

Please cite this article in press as: Wu, D., et al., The transient flow in a centrifugal pump during the discharge valve rapid opening process. Nucl.
Eng. Des. (2010), doi:10.1016/j.nucengdes.2010.08.024
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Fig. 10. Relative velocity evolutions of different conditions on the middle stream
surfaces S2 m .
low flow-rate. As the flow-rate increases gradually, more compact
vortices are generated in the flow passage of the impeller, while
vortices in the case are smaller, fluid flowing to the outlet more
intensively. The main reason is that at off-design conditions, due to
the liquid viscosity, flow separation occurs on the blade surface, and
thus vortices are generated. As the flow-rate increases, flow sepa-
ration on the blade surface decreases, and vortices in the impeller
are also decreased.
Fig. 9 shows the relative velocity evolutions of different open-
ing times at flow-rate of 100 m3 /h (left) and 233 m3 /h (right) on
the middle stream surfaces S1 m in the impeller. As can be seen
from the graphs, when the valve is opened in 0.25 s, at a flow-
rate of 100 m3 /h, vortices on the middle stream surfaces S1 m are
small and compact; when valve is opened in some vortices develop
at the trailing edge of the suction face; when valve is opened in
large vortices can be observed on the pressure face. At the flow-
rate of 233 m3 /h, there is almost no difference on the middle
stream surfaces S1 m , and the internal flow is very smooth along
the blades.
Fig. 10 shows the relative velocity evolutions of different open-
ing times at a flow-rate of 100 m3 /h and 233 m3 /h on the middle
stream surfaces S2 m in the impeller. As the opening time increases,
the structure of the vortices becomes more complex at a flow-rate
of 100 m3 /h, while the internal flow is very smooth along the blades
at a flow rate of 233 m3 /h.
As was stated above, the internal flow shown in Figs. 9 and 10
agrees with Q–H curve shown in Fig. 7 on the whole. Pump per-
formances in valve opening processes are both influenced by the
acceleration of the fluid and transits effect of flow revolution.
Please cite this article in press as: Wu, D., et al., The transient flow in a centrifugal pump during the discharge valve rapid opening process. Nucl.
Eng. Des. (2010), doi:10.1016/j.nucengdes.2010.08.024
7
5. Conclusion
Based on the experimental and simulated results of internal and
external characteristics at steady operation from shutoff condition
to design condition, DES and silding mesh were used to explore
the transient characteristic of the process when valve was rapidly
opened. The results show that:
(1) Simulated results of steady operation using DES model agree
well with the experimental results, and the phenomenon of
head fluctuation caused by the impeller–volute interation is
well predicted. The results indicate that the proposed method is
capable of solving complex flow in the centrifugal pump under
off-design conditions.
(2) The Q–H curve of valve opening process lies under the steady
Q–H curve, which reflects the acceleration effect when the flow-
rate is increasing.
(3) Besides the acceleration effect, a transits effect of the vortics
revolution is also a main factor which influences the perfor-
mance of the pump.
In this context, flow-rate variations are defined as linear func-
tions and outlet pressure is set to constant, which is different
from the actual situation. the pipelines and pump should be cou-
pled together for further study so that the boundary conditions
of flow-rate and pressure better approximate the actual situation.
The contents and conclusions of the current work can provide ref-
erences for the performance prediction, design optimization and
fluid control of the pump used in the transient process of valve
rapid opening.
Acknowledgement
This study was performed as part of National Natural Science
Foundation of China, the project numbers are 50776077, 50979095
and 50906074. This support is gratefully acknowledged.
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Please cite this article in press as: Wu, D., et al., The transient flow in a centrifugal pump during the discharge valve rapid opening process. Nucl.
Eng. Des. (2010), doi:10.1016/j.nucengdes.2010.08.024