Numerical Modeling of the Hydrodynamic Performance of Slanted Axial-Flow Urban Drainage Pumps at Shut-Off Condition

Increasing extreme rainfall events caused by global climate change have had a significant impact on urban drainage systems. As a critical component of a pumping station, a large-scale slanted axial-flow pump (SAFP) featuring high specific speed plays a critical role in mitigating urban flooding and waterlogging. In this study, to reveal the transient characteristics of a SAFP at shut-off conditions, a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) based approach with dynamic mesh was proposed. Multiple shut-off conditions with various shut-down speeds of the sluice gate (SG) were modeled. Our analysis demonstrated that both the shut-off conditions and the slanted structure have conspicuous impacts on the hydrodynamic performance of a SAFP. Reducing the shut-down speed leads to a greater reverse flow rate and higher runner speed. The water hammer effect was simulated with different shut-down speeds, increasing the water head by 5.07-10.42 m, the axial force by 163.46-297.06 kN center dot m, and the axial moment by 116.05-224.01 kN center dot m. Compared with the axial direction, moments in the radial directions were found with more obvious oscillation as a result of stronger rotor-stator interaction. Due to the gravitational effect of the slanted structure, the fluctuation of the runner in vertical direction presented an off-axis characteristic compared with the horizontal one. As the SG speed increased, pressure fluctuations gradually decreased at various locations across the SAFP.