Advanced Simulation and Flow Analysis of a Centrifugal Pump Using MSC scFLOW

Abstract

In MSC scFLOW, the centrifugal pump is modelled to analyze its performance. Centrifugal pumps are widely used to transport fluids by converting rotational kinetic energy into the hydrodynamic energy of the fluid flow. This rotational energy typically comes from a motor or electric engine. The fluid enters the impeller near the centre and is accelerated by the rotating impeller, then radially flows outward into a diffuser or volute chamber (casing), where it exits. Common applications of centrifugal pumps include pumping water, sewage, oil, and petrochemical fluids, with a centrifugal fan often used to create a vacuum in systems like vacuum cleaners.

Introduction

1. MSC Software Overview

MSC Software is a global leader in engineering simulation, offering tools that help manufacturers enhance product quality, reduce design/testing time, and lower development costs. Its products are widely used in industry and academia for simulations involving:

• Finite element analysis (FEA)

• Multi-physics

• Fatigue/durability

• Optimization

• Fluid-structure interaction (FSI)

• Manufacturing process simulation

2. MSC scFLOW (CFD Tool)

MSC scFLOW is a powerful Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) tool used for simulating fluid flow and heat transfer in complex systems. It supports:

• Single and multiphase flows

• Transient and steady-state analysis

• Cavitation modeling

• Free surface modeling

• Thermal management

It is especially useful in industries like automotive and aerospace to model fluid behavior and optimize designs.

3. Centrifugal Pump Operation & Simulation

Centrifugal pumps require pre-filled casings to operate. If filled with gas, the pump becomes inoperative. The pump's efficiency depends on variables like impeller geometry, rotational speed, and flow rate.

Theoretical Calculations:

• Inlet Velocity: 2 m/s

• Flow Rate: ~15.7 L/s

• Head (H): ~15 m

• Power (P): ~2.31 kW

• Tip Speed (U): Derived using impeller diameter and RPM

• Specific Speed (Ns): ~16.4 → indicates a radial flow pump

4. Literature Review Highlights

• CFD is essential for pump design and avoids costly physical prototyping.

• Accurate meshing, turbulence modeling (e.g., k-ε, k-ω SST), and boundary settings are critical.

• MSC scFLOW supports moving mesh methods, free surface modeling, and multiphase analysis.

• Transient analysis captures dynamic phenomena like vortex shedding and pressure pulsations.

5. Simulation Setup Using scFLOW

Step-by-Step Workflow:

1. Pre-processing: Import CAD, assign parts, define rotation, and scale units.

2. Material Assignment: Define fluid and obstacle regions.

3. Boundary Conditions: Set inlet velocity (2 m/s), outlet pressure (0 Pa), define liquid/gas materials.

4. Motion Settings: Set impeller to rotate at 1000 RPM.

5. Meshing: Generate mesh using octree and model shape-oriented methods.

6. Solver Execution: Run the simulation solver.

7. Monitoring: Use SC Monitor to track solver progress and convergence.

8. Post-processing: Analyze velocity contours and verify fluid volume using visualization tools.

6. Results

Simulation results provide:

• Velocity distribution on impeller blades

• Flow patterns through the pump

• Insights into design effectiveness under operating conditions

It helps validate theoretical calculations and guides future design improvements.

Conclusion

This report modeled and analyzed the centrifugal pump with MSC scFLOW for its internal fluid dynamics. The computational fluid dynamics (CFD) workflow illustrated the velocity distributions, flow patterns, and turbulence in the pump at transient conditions. The workflow consisted of pre-processing, the assignment of materials, setup of boundary conditions, meshing and executing the solver. With regards the simulation results, the overall pump performance characteristics were provided with critical insights into the high velocity and turbulence around the impeller blades. Collectively this use of scFLOW provided a full picture of the operational use of the pump and demonstrated how powerful CFD can be in understanding centrifugal pump agriculture design to enhance reliability and improve efficiency.

References

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Copyright

Copyright © 2025 P V Mallari, E Kumara Gouda, Kiran D V, Amruth Kumar S, Anil Kumar, K Prathibha. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.