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Abstract Side channel pumps are low specific speed pumps with high head and low flows. The ability to process high amounts of gas in the fluid as well as the self-priming makes them a perfect match for oil and gas applications. In recent years, more attention is paid to side channel pumps especially due to their benefits in LNG (liquid natural gas) applications, e.g. as fuel pump to fulfill the increasing emission limits of cargo vessels by dual fuel or LNG propulsion. To increase the performance of side channel pumps by increasing head and efficiency, the blade shape is investigated more in detail. Common side channel pump impeller blades have a triangular or straight cross section. Based on earlier investigations on the flow phenomena in side channel pumps we are able to adapt the shape of the blades to the flow angle inside the pump, resulting in a new impeller blade design with a curved cross section. As the flow angle differs from inner to outer diameter and from pressure to suction side of the blade, the blade shape was optimized to maintain the flow rate of the best efficiency point. The new design is investigated in numerical simulation with ANSYS CFX and measurements on a water test rig at the manufacturer. A comparison with former measurements and simulations of traditional designs highlights the benefits of the new design by describing the internal flow.
Fleder et al. (2024) studied this question.