Comparison of Swirl measurement techniques for model studies of pump intakes.

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Jospeh Orlins, Justin Arnold

Friday 3 july 2015

8:45 - 9:00h at Africa (level 0)

Themes: (T) Special session, (ST) Design of intake stations

Parallel session: 14D. Special session: Design of intake stations

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Measurements of swirl angle at pump inlets were made in physical hydraulic models using traditional swirl meters and a 2-D laser Doppler velocimeter (2-D LDV). Tests were conducted for 25 test conditions using two different physical hydraulic models. Using the LDV, measurements were made of axial and tangential flow components at 24 discrete locations at a pump inlet. There is a positive correlation between the average of the measurements taken at the discrete locations and those made using a traditional swirl meter, but the discrete measurements were consistently larger in magnitude than those from the swirl meters. Additional research is required to gain better correlation between the measurement techniques. The technique holds promise as a way to develop meaningful comparisons between physical model studies and CFD simulations of pump intakes. Keywords: Pump Intakes; Physical Model Comparison; LDV