A Numerical Study on the Distribution and Evolution Characteristics of an Acoustic Field in the Time Domain of a Centrifugal Pump Based on Powell Vortex Sound Theory

The acoustic field distribution and evolution characteristics in a time domain inside a centrifugal pump are studied. During the fluid motion process, the acoustic source and acoustic pressure are basically less than 0, and the minimum value of the two parameters is distributed near the tongue. Additionally, the concentration, break, extend, migration and reaggregation phenomena of the minimum acoustic source region exist. Specifically, as the blade passes through the tongue, the minimum acoustic source region concentrates on the tongue firstly, then extends and migrates downstream slightly with the blade motion, and aggregates again around the tongue, which results in the similar evolution characteristics of acoustic pressure. Moreover, the standard deviation (STD) of acoustic source mainly focuses near the pressure side of blade tail and volute tongue, and the maximum STD is located at the tongue. Compared with the source component induced by stretching of the vortex, the source component induced by non-uniformity of fluid kinetic energy is closer to the overall acoustic source. Take the tongue as an example, at various rotational speeds, the STD proportions of the two components are about 5% and 95%, respectively. This study discusses the generation, distribution and evolution characteristics of acoustic field, which lays a foundation to analyze the acoustic field propagation mechanism of centrifugal pumps.