•  
  •  
 

Corresponding Author

Wiedenroth, W.

Subject Area

Mechanical Power Engineering

Article Type

Original Study

Abstract

An approach for the prediction of erosive wear in centrifugal pump impeller handling dense slurries is presented in this paper. In this particular case of high slurry concentration flow, the mechanism of wear by friction is assumed to be a predominate mechanism. The model neglects the effect of wear by particles impingement, also it is assumed a uniform velocity pattern and constant concentration. An order of magnitude calculation is presented in this stage of research. The erosion rate is measured in a centrifugal slurry pump impeller. Two different impellers were considered. The erosion is measured by the reduction in the impeller wall thickness. The ultrasonic technique was used in the wall thickness measurement. The tests were run with constant concentration 30% by volume and constant speed. The results show that an order of magnitude of wear may be predicted from the friction power model. The erosion rate is not uniform, and dependent on the velocity pattern inside an impeller channel. The results show also that in order to present a more accurate prediction of wear propagation in the centrifugal slurry pump impeller, the deformed velocity pattern must be considered in the calculation.

Download

Share

COinS