The Influence of Air Entrainment on the Fluid Pressure Transients in a Pumping Installation

Abstract

A four-equation, two-fluid model of two-component flow has been developed to study the effects of air entrainment on the pressure transients in a pumping installation. A semi-implicit hydrodynamic numerical scheme is applied. Free and dissolved gases in the fluid and cavitation at the gas saturation pressure are modeled. The mechanism and behaviors of the pressure transients are discussed. Numerical experiments show that the first pressure peak is mainly dominated by two factors: one is the delay in wave reflection from the reservoir; the other is the change of wave speed in the mixture, which directly cause changes in wave speed. The magnitude of the first pressure peak depends on the overlapping of the effects of these two factors. The air volume at the check valve is mainly controlled by the local pressure there and the initial air void fraction. Comparably, the air volume at peak level is dependent on the local pressure and air release with initial air entrainment less than 10 -2, but dependent on the local pressure, air release and initial air void fraction together with initial air entrainment greater than 10 -2.