Relationship Between Unsteady Flow, Pressure Fluctuations, and Noise in a Centrifugal Pump—Part B: Effects of Blade-Tongue Interactions

Maps of pressure distributions computed using PDV data, combined with noise and local pressure measurements, are used for identifying primary sources of noise in a centrifugal pump. In the vicinity of the impeller pressure minima occur around the blade and near a vortex train generated as a result of non-uniform outflux from the impeller. The pressure everywhere also varies depending on the orientation of the impeller relative to the tongue. Noise peaks are generated when the pressure difference across the tongue is maximum, probably due to tongue oscillations, and when the wake impinges on the tip of the tongue.