In heavy engineering industry, sumps are used to store & supply liquid to the pumps. It is very important that pump suction should receive uniform, vortex free & swirl free flow from the sump, so that pump can perform efficiently at its operating point. Sump containing the multiple number of components make it more complex system to study & judge. CFD helps in understanding the sump performance by simulating all complexities within the sump & also helps in improving the sump performance by carrying out various design modification iterations within the sump.
Flow analysis of Pump-Sump is quite challenging due to consideration of various components like multiple number of pumps, sluice gates, raking-screens, travelling screens & strainers which makes the Sump system highly complex to study & judge. CFD helps in identifying the formation of vortex & swirl below bell-mouth, which reduces pump performance by increasing swirl angle at pump suction. After identifying all above issues sump design modified to improve flow pattern within sump & below the bell-mouth which further helps in reducing swirl angle at pump suction. Also CFD helps in determining sump performance during cross flow within sump under various pump & sluice gate working combinations.