Cavitation inside a pump impeller can occur if the suction pressure is too low. This can lead to additional noise, vibration, and mechanical damage. Modern 3D-CFD methods are able to model cavitating flows, but the optimization of the cavitation performance can be extremely demanding due to the complex nature of these multiphase flows.

In this webinar, Sascha Henoch and Ralph-Peter Mueller from CFturbo, Inc. will present a guideline for the optimization of the first stage impeller for a multistage centrifugal pump. A statistical sampling method and a multi-objective genetic algorithm were used to improve the cavitation performance and the hydraulic efficiency of an initial hydraulic impeller design made with CFturbo.

CFturbo was used for the parametric, conceptual design of the turbomachinery components. A fast CFD solver was used to model the cavitating flow while an open-source optimization framework was utilized to deploy the sampling and optimization methods.