Hindawi

Shock and Vibration

Volume 2018, Article ID 9486536, 11 pages
https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/9486536

Research Article
Experimental Investigation of Vibration Characteristics in a
Centrifugal Pump with Vaned Diffuser

Kai Wang ,1,2 Xin Lu,1 and Xianghui He3

1
Research Center of Fluid Machinery Engineering and Technology, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China
2
Institute of Fluid Engineering Equipment, JITRI, Zhenjiang 212009, China
3
TE Connectivity (Suzhou) Ltd., Suzhou 215121, China

Correspondence should be addressed to Kai Wang; wangkai@ujs.edu.cn

Received 26 August 2018; Revised 17 November 2018; Accepted 3 December 2018; Published 24 December 2018

Academic Editor: Franck Poisson

Copyright © 2018 Kai Wang et al. 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.
In order to investigate the vibration characteristics of centrifugal pump, a centrifugal pump with vaned diffuser whose specific
speed is 190 was chosen for this research. Both the experiments of energy performance and vibration characteristics of the pump
were performed. The results indicate that when flow rate of the pump is 270 m3/h, the head is 15.03 m and the efficiency is 71.47%.
The maximum efficiency is 71.71% when the flow rate of the pump is 233 m3/h and the head is 16.92 m. And a wide frequency band
of vibration appears at 600 Hz at outlet flange of the pump. The vibration intensity at the outlet flange is largest. The vibration
intensities at both sides of bearing casing are slighter than those at outlet flange and larger than those at motor base. The vibration
intensity at the motor base is larger than that at pump base, and the vibration intensity at the pump body is the lowest. The
vibration intensity of monitoring point M4 in the X direction under 0.8Qd is 1.27 mm/s, which is the maximum under three
flow rates.

1. Introduction weaken. The vibration mechanisms of the centrifugal pump

The vibration characteristics of centrifugal pump affect its
safety in engineering application. The good vibration resis-
tance not only ensures the stable operation but also prolongs
the service life of pump. Corresponding to this, the severe
vibration will lead to decrease of safety, the reliability, and
the stability of the pump. So, vibration reduction has become
an important part of the performance improvement of
centrifugal pump. Many scholars have studied the vibration
source of the centrifugal pump. Jeon and Lee [1] who studied
the flow field, vibration, and noise in a centrifugal pump
with numerical simulation found that the vibration and
noise of the centrifugal pump are mainly caused by the
internal flow-induced vibration. Huang et al. [2] found that
the pulsation of internal flow of centrifugal pump is the main
source that causes vibration and noise. And the vibration of a
marine centrifugal pump is reduced by the structure of the
double-channel volute and guide vane.
After determining the vibration source, vibration of
centrifugal pump becomes more convenient to monitor and
were studied by numerical simulation and experiment
measurement [3–8]. Fiebig and Korzyb [9] performed nu-
merical simulation on the structure vibration in a centrifugal
pump. Jiang et al. [10] numerically simulated the internal
flow-induced vibration and noise of a centrifugal pump
based on LES. The results indicated that it is feasible to
predict the flow-induced noise in rotating machinery by the
fluid-structure coupling simulation. Dai et al. [11] measured
the vibration of pump as turbine under different rotation
speeds and flow rates. It was found that the level of vibration
rises with the increase of rotation speed and flow rate. Sun
et al. [12] and Zhou [13] studied the influence of off-design
condition deviation on vibration. Duan et al. [14] and
González et al. [15] analyzed the vibration signal and the
cause of the vibration of the centrifugal pump. Wang et al.
[16] measured and analyzed the pressure pulsation, vibra-
tion, and noise characteristic of a multistage centrifugal
pump under different flow rates.
However, the experimental research studies on vibration
of centrifugal pump with vaned diffuser are relatively less so
2 Shock and Vibration
far. Therefore, the vibration characteristics of a centrifugal
pump with vaned diffuser, whose specific speed is 190, were
measured and analyzed to provide the basis for the sub-
sequent structure optimization and vibration reduction.
2. Experimental Bench
2.1. A Centrifugal Pump with Vaned Diffuser. Design pa-
rameters of a centrifugal pump with vaned diffuser are as
follows. The design flow rate Qd is 270 m3/h, the design
head Hd is 15 m, the rotational speed n is√1450
�� r/min, and
the specific speed ns is 190 (ns � (3.65n Q /H3/4 ), where
units of flow rate, rotational speed, and head are m3/s,
r/min, and m, respectively). The structure diagram of the
centrifugal pump with vaned diffuser is shown in Figure 1.
The pump body, including suction chamber and dis-
charge chamber, was directly casted by stainless steel. In
order to improve flow surface accuracy, the impeller and
vaned diffuser were firstly formed by 3D printing and then
casted by stainless steel. The wax molds of impeller and
vaned diffuser are shown in Figure 2(a). The impeller,
vaned diffuser, and pump body after casting are shown in
Figure 2(b).
2.2. Experimental Bench. The experiment sketch and bench
are shown in the Figures 3(a) and 3(b), respectively. Ex-
periment equipment of energy performance includes a
motor, a flow meter, two pressure transmitters, a three-phase
PWM digital power meter, etc. The flow rate, head, and
power were measured severally by the flow meter, pressure
transmitters, and digital power meter in the experiment. All
of the experimental data were managed and analyzed by the
data acquisition instrument.
Energy performance curves of the centrifugal pump with
vaned diffuser are shown in Figure 4. It can be observed from
Figure 4 that under the design flow rate (i.e., Qd), the head of
the pump is 15.03 m and the efficiency is 71.47%. Under
0.8Qd, the head of the pump is 17.26 m and the efficiency is
70.25%. Under 1.2Qd, the head of the pump is 12.59 m and
the efficiency is 65.88%. The maximum efficiency is 71.71%
when the flow rate of the pump is 233 m3/h and the head is
16.92 m.
2.3. The Arrangement of Monitoring Points. Monitoring
points M1∼M16 were selected to measure vibration char-
acteristics of the centrifugal pump with vaned diffuser.
These points were at the outlet flange (M1), the inlet
flange (M2), the bearing casings (M3 and M4), the pump
base, and motor base (M5∼M8).
The front pump cavity, which is shown in Figure 5(b), is
between pump body and front cover shroud. Corresponding
to this, the rear pump cavity shown in Figure 5(c) is between
pump body and rear cover shroud. Monitoring points
M9∼M12 and M13∼M16 were located on the surface of front
pump cavity and rear pump cavity, respectively.
The positions of the sixteen monitoring points are shown
in Table 1.
3. Experimental Results and
Analysis of Vibration
The vibration velocity measured by the three-phase trans-
ducer concludes the horizontal direction, the axial direction,
and the vertical direction, that is, the vibration velocity in the
X, Y, and Z direction.
3.1. Amplitude of Vibration Velocity. The vibration intensity is
proportional to the vibration velocity when the vibration
frequency is within the range of the intermediate frequency.
The centrifugal pump is an intermediate frequency machine, so
the vibration velocity can commendably reflect the vibration
level of the pump. The vibration velocity was selected as a
parameter to analyze the vibration of the pump. Figure 6 shows
the vibration velocities at monitoring points M1∼M8 of the
centrifugal pump with vaned diffuser under different flow rates.
(1) The amplitude ranges of vibration velocity in the X,
Y, and Z direction are expanded gradually, and the
trends of amplitude of vibration velocity are similar.
The amplitude of the vibration velocity decreases
gradually with the increase of flow rate from 0.2Qd to
0.6Qd. The amplitudes of vibration velocity at ma-
jority monitoring points increase when the flow rate
increases to 0.8Qd. The amplitude of the vibration
velocity decreases when flow rate increases to 1.2Qd,
and there is a certain increase when the flow rate
increases from 1.2Qd to 1.3Qd.
(2) The range of amplitude of the vibration velocity in
the Z direction is more extensive than that in the X
direction and Y direction, i.e., the difference in the Z
direction between maximum and minimum value of
the amplitude is the largest. Except for difference of
vibration velocity value, the change trends of the
vibration velocity at each monitoring point are
consistent.
(3) In three directions, the minimum vibration velocity
amplitudes of M1∼M8 appear in the range of 1.0Qd
to 1.2Qd. And the vibration amplitudes at moni-
toring point M5 (right side of pump base) are the
smallest. These amplitudes are 0.35 mm/s in the X
direction, 0.38 mm/s in the Y direction, and 0.3 mm/
s in the Z direction, respectively.
(4) The amplitude of vibration velocity at the outlet flange
(M1) is higher than that at other monitoring points.
There is a noticeable rise in amplitudes of vibration
velocity in the Z and Y direction from 0.8Qd to 1.0Qd
and the amplitudes of vibration in the Y direction
increase by 75% because the outlet flange is located at
the end of the diffuser section of pump body, whose
vibration is more affected by pressure pulsation at the
outlet and flow vortex in diffuser section.
Figure 7 shows the amplitudes of vibration velocity in the
X, Y, and Z direction at monitoring points M9∼M16.
(1) Comparing Figures 6 and 7, amplitudes of vibration
velocity at M9∼M16 are generally lower than those at
Shock and Vibration 3

Pump body Impeller Vaned diffuser

Figure 1: Structure of the centrifugal pump with vaned diffuser.

(a) (b)

Figure 2: Component of centrifugal pump. (a) Wax models of impeller and vaned diffuser. (b) Component after casting.

INV3020C-type data
acquisition system
Flow Ball
meter valve
Computer
Pressure Vacuum pump
transmitter
Pressure
Motor Vibration
pulsation sensor
sensor Pressure transmitter Ball valve

Ball valve

(a) (b)

Figure 3: (a) Sketch of the experiment bench. (b) Experiment bench of the centrifugal pump with vaned diffuser.
4 Shock and Vibration

24 80

70
20
60
16
50
H (m)

η (%)
12 40

30 20
8
15
20

P (kW)
4 10
10
5

0 0 0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350
Q (m3/h)
H
η
P
Figure 4: Energy performance curve of the centrifugal pump with vaned diffuser.

Z Z
X X
Y Y
M1
M10 M14

M7
M4
M6
M3
M2 M11 M9 M13 M15
M8

M5 M12 M16

(a) (b) (c)

Figure 5: Arrangement of vibration monitoring points: (a) M1∼M8, (b) M9∼M11, and (c) M14∼M16.

Table 1: Arrangement of vibration monitoring points.

Monitoring point M1 M2 M3 M4
Location Outlet flange Inlet flange Left side of bearing casings Right side of bearing casings
Monitoring point M5 M6 M7 M8
Location Right side of pump base Left side of pump base Left side of motor base Right side of motor base
Monitoring point M9 M10 M11 M12
Right side of front pump Upside of front pump Left side of front pump Downside of front pump
Location
cavity cavity cavity cavity
Monitoring point M13 M14 M15 M16
Left side of rear pump Upside of rear pump Right side of rear pump Downside of rear pump
Location
cavity cavity cavity cavity

M1∼M8. Amplitudes of vibration velocity at M9∼ (2) Vibration velocities at the monitoring points on the
M16 present a regular tendency, that is, decreasing pump body are mainly in the X direction. The vi-
firstly and then increasing slightly with the increase bration at monitoring points M9∼M16 is mainly
of flow rate. caused by the shunt phenomenon when the fluid
Shock and Vibration 5

2.1
2.5
Amplitude of vibration velocity (mm/s)

Amplitude of vibration velocity (mm/s)

1.8
2.0
1.5
1.5
1.2

0.9 1.0

0.6 0.5

0.3
0.0
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4
Q/Qd Q/Qd
M1 M7 M6 M1 M7 M6
M3 M2 M8 M3 M2 M8
M5 M4 M5 M4
(a) (b)
2.8
Amplitude of vibration velocity (mm/s)

2.4

2.0

1.6

1.2

0.8

0.4

0.0
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4
Q/Qd
M1 M7 M6
M3 M2 M8
M5 M4
(c)

Figure 6: Amplitudes of vibration velocity at M1∼M8 in the (a) X direction, (b) Y direction, and (c) Z direction.

flows through the impeller and the vaned diffuser It can be observed from Figure 8 that there are relatively
and the impact of the fluid on the pump body. more excitation frequencies at monitoring points M1∼M8,
(3) In the X direction, the amplitude of vibration ve- and the main excitation frequency is rotating frequency
locity at M10 is relatively larger, whose value is (25 Hz), 2nd harmonic, 3rd harmonic, 4th harmonic, 5th
2.1 mm/s. There are drastic changes in vibration harmonic (i.e., blade passing frequency), and 6th harmonic
velocity at M10, and the minimum value of vibration of rotating frequency.
velocity is 0.47 mm/s because monitoring point M10 The amplitude of vibration velocity at outlet flange (M1)
is located near the outlet of the front pump cavity, is larger than that at other monitoring points, and a wide
whose vibration velocity is greatly affected by the frequency band of vibration appears at 600 Hz at M1. The
internal flow of diffuser section. The amplitude of vibration at M1 includes flow-induced vibration and me-
vibration velocity at M10 is larger than that at other chanical vibration because outlet flange is rigidly connected
monitoring points. with outlet pipes and the vibration of the outlet pipeline
passes to M1 through the pipeline. In the X, Y, and Z di-
3.2. Frequency Spectrum of Vibration. The frequency spec- rections, there is high frequency vibration that is produced
trums of vibration in each X, Y, and Z direction are compared by the overlap between the natural frequency of mechanical
and analyzed. The frequency spectrums of vibration at force and flow force, which is related to mechanical vibration
M1∼M8 and M9∼M16 are shown in Figures 8 and 9. and vibration through pipeline.
6 Shock and Vibration

1.5

Amplitude of vibration velocity (mm/s)

Amplitude of vibration velocity (mm/s)
2.0

1.2
1.6

0.9
1.2

0.6
0.8

0.3
0.4

0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4
Q/Qd Q/Qd
M9 M15 M14 M9 M15 M14
M11 M10 M16 M11 M10 M16
M13 M12 M13 M12
(a) (b)
1.6
Amplitude of vibration velocity (mm/s)

1.4

1.2

1.0

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

0.0
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4
Q/Qd
M9 M15 M14
M11 M10 M16
M13 M12
(c)

Figure 7: Amplitudes of vibration velocity at M9∼M16 in the (a) X direction, (b) Y direction, and (c) Z direction.

Moreover, the mechanical vibration at pump foot (M5 mechanical vibration. So the high-frequency vibration is
and M6) is relatively smaller, and amplitudes of vibration at easy to appear at those monitoring points.
M5 and M6 are lower than those at other monitoring points Figure 10 shows the frequency spectrum of vibration in
because the pump foots are fixed by foundation bolts. X, Y, and Z direction at M1∼M8.
It can be indicated from Figure 9 that the vibration in the As can be observed in Figure 10, the main frequency at
X and Y direction at the outside of the pump body outlet flange (M1) and inlet flange (M2) is 5th harmonic of
(M9∼M16) is smaller than that in the Z direction. The main rotating frequency (125 Hz), which is the same with blade
direction of vibration is the Z direction, which is mainly passing frequency. The secondary frequencies are 3rd har-
caused by the mechanical vibration. monic of rotating frequency (75 Hz) and 4th harmonic of
For flow-induced vibration, the main vibration fre- rotating frequency (100 Hz). The vibration at M1 and M2 is
quency is the rotating frequency (25 Hz), 2nd harmonic mainly horizontal vibration, and the amplitude of the vibra-
(50 Hz), 3rd harmonic (75 Hz), 4th harmonic (100 Hz), and tion in the X and Y direction is much higher than that in the Z
5th harmonic of rotating frequency (125 Hz). The moni- direction. A wide frequency band of vibration caused by the
toring points at front pump cavity are more susceptible to vibration of pipeline appears in the range of 400∼500 Hz at
flow-induced vibration than those in rear pump cavity. The M1, and the amplitude in the Y direction is the maximum.
monitoring points in rear pump cavity are located on the There is high frequency vibration at M2 in the range of
pump cover, which makes the vibration more affected by 800 Hz∼1000 Hz, which is caused by the mechanical vibration.
Shock and Vibration 7

0.65 0.5

Amplitude of vibration

Amplitude of vibration
0.52

velocity (mm/s)
0.4

velocity (mm/s)
0.39 0.3
0.26 0.2
0.13 0.1
0.00 0.0
M1 M1
M2 M2
M3 M3
M4 M4
M5 M5
M6 M6
M7 M7
M8 M8
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000
Frequency (Hz) Frequency (Hz)

(a) (b)
0.5

Amplitude of vibration
0.4

velocity (mm/s)
0.3

0.2

0.1

0.0
M1
M2
M3
M4
M5
M6
M7
M8
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000
Frequency (Hz)

(c)

Figure 8: Frequency domain of vibration at M1∼M8 in the (a) X direction, (b) Y direction, and (c) Z direction.

1.20 0.90
Amplitude of vibration

Amplitude of vibration
0.96 0.72
velocity (mm/s)

velocity (mm/s)
0.72 0.54

0.48 0.36

0.24 0.18

0.00 0.00
M9 M9
M10 M10
M11 M11
M12 M12
M13 M13
M14 M14
M15 M15
M16 M16
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000
Frequency (Hz) Frequency (Hz)

(a) (b)
0.5
Amplitude of vibration

0.4
velocity (mm/s)

0.3

0.2

0.1

0.0
M9
M10
M11
M12
M13
M14
M15
M16
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000
Frequency (Hz)

(c)

Figure 9: Frequency domain of vibration at M9∼M16 in the (a) X direction, (b) Y direction, and (c) Z direction.
8 Shock and Vibration

0.60 0.5

Amplitude of vibration

Amplitude of vibration
0.48 0.4

velocity (mm/s)

velocity (mm/s)
0.36 0.3

0.24 0.2

0.12 0.1

0.00 0.0
X X

Y Y

Z Z

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000
Frequency (Hz) Frequency (Hz)

(a) (b)
0.420 0.60

Amplitude of vibration

Amplitude of vibration
0.336 0.48

velocity (mm/s)

velocity (mm/s)
0.252 0.36

0.168 0.24

0.084 0.12

0.000 0.00
X X

Y Y

Z Z

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000
Frequency (Hz) Frequency (Hz)

(c) (d)
0.340 0.460
Amplitude of vibration

Amplitude of vibration
0.272 0.368
velocity (mm/s)

velocity (mm/s)
0.204 0.276

0.136 0.184

0.068 0.092

0.000 0.000
X X

Y Y

Z Z

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000
Frequency (Hz) Frequency (Hz)

(e) (f )
0.65 0.60
Amplitude of vibration

Amplitude of vibration

0.52 0.48
velocity (mm/s)

velocity (mm/s)

0.39 0.36

0.26 0.24

0.13 0.12

0.00 0.00
X X

Y Y

Z Z

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000
Frequency (Hz) Frequency (Hz)

(g) (h)

Figure 10: Frequency domain of vibration in the X, Y, and Z direction at (a) M1, (b) M2, (c) M3, (d) M4, (e) M5, (f ) M6, (g) M7, and (h) M8.
Shock and Vibration
Figures 10(c) and 10(d) show the vibration at M3 and
M4. The vibration velocity in the X direction at M3 and M4 is
larger than that in the Y and Z direction. The main frequency
at M3 is the 3rd harmonic of rotating frequency (75 Hz). The
main frequency at M4 is the 5th harmonic of rotating
frequency (125 Hz), and the secondary frequency is the 3rd
harmonic of rotating frequency (75 Hz). The vibrations at
M3 and M4 are mainly radial, which is caused by the ex-
citation force of imbalance of the rotor.
The main frequencies at the pump foot (M5 and M6) and
motor base (M7 and M8) are the rotating frequency (25 Hz),
3rd harmonic of rotating frequency (75 Hz), and 5th har-
monic of rotating frequency (125 Hz). There are differences
in the distribution of frequency.
For monitoring points M7 and M8, the peaks of vi-
bration velocity at the rotating frequency (25 Hz) are larger
than those at other main frequencies. This is because the
monitoring points M7 and M8 are arranged on the motor
base and mainly affected by the vibration of the motor in
which main frequencies are the same with rotating fre-
quency. For monitoring points M5 and M6, the peak of
vibration velocity at 5th harmonic of rotating frequency
(i.e., blade passing frequency) is larger than that at other
main frequencies because monitoring points M5 and M6 are
arranged on the pump body base, which is mainly affected by
the pressure pulsations of the fluid.
3.3. Vibration Intensity. Vibration intensity is an important
parameter that is used to evaluate the vibration state of
machine. The calculated value of the vibration intensity
Vmax is the maximum value of the root mean square of the
vibration velocity in the X, Y, and Z direction under 0.8Qd,
1.0Qd, and 1.2Qd and can be obtained by the following
equation:
􏽳�����������
1 N−1 2
Vims � 􏽚 v (n), (1)
N n�0
where N is the number of discrete points of the measured
signal, v is the vibration velocity of the pump, and Vims is the
root mean square of the vibration velocity.
The vibration intensities of each monitoring point are
shown in Figure 11.
The vibration intensity at the outlet flange (M1) is larger
than that at other monitoring points, and the vibration
intensity at the inlet flange (M2) is 54% of that at M1.
According to the above analysis, the main frequencies at M1
and M2 are both 5th harmonic of rotating frequency
(125 Hz), which is the same with blade passing frequency,
and the vibrations at those monitoring points are mainly
affected by the pressure pulsations of the fluid. But M1 is
additionally affected by the diffusion impact and flow sep-
aration that happen in the diffuser section of the pump,
which leads to the increase of the vibration intensity.
Comparing the vibration intensities on both sides at
bearing casings (M3 and M4), there is a significant difference
in the magnitude of the vibration intensity, and the vibration
intensity at M4 is larger than that at M3. The vibration at
monitoring points M3 and M4 are mainly affected by the
9
motor. And the monitoring point M4 is placed closer to the
motor so that the vibration intensity at M4 is larger than that
at M3. The average vibration intensity on the bearing is
0.76 mm/s, which is only lower than the vibration intensity
at the outlet flange.
For the base of pump and motor, the average vibration
intensity on the pump bases (M5 and M6) is 0.57 mm/s, and
the average vibration intensity on the motor bases (M7 and
M8) is 0.69 mm/s. And both are lower than the average
vibration intensity on the bearing casings.
The vibration intensity distributing in the front pump
cavity (M9∼M12) is not uniform. The vibration intensity at
M10 is the maximum because monitoring M10 is located at
the upper side of front pump cavity, which is affected by the
unstable flow in the diffuser section of the pump. The av-
erage vibration intensity on pump body is 0.52 mm/s, which
is the lowest.
Because the bearing casings could transmit vibration
energy between two vibration sources (i.e., motor and
pump), M3 and M4 at the bearing casing were selected as
the main monitoring points to further analyze the vibration
state of the pump. Table 2 shows the vibration intensities
at M3 and M4 in the three directions under 0.8Qd, 1.0Qd,
and 1.2Qd.
It can be indicated from Table 2 that the vibration in-
tensities in the X and Z direction are larger than those in the
Y direction. And the maximum of the vibration intensity at
M4 under 0.8Qd is 1.27 mm/s. The vibration mainly happens
in radial direction because the vibration of the motor is
generated by the excitation force of imbalance of the rotor
and the vibration of the pump is caused by the imbalance
when the impeller rotates.
The average vibration intensity in the X direction under
0.8Qd, 1.0Qd, and 1.2Qd is 0.95 mm/s, 0.7 mm/s, and
0.63 mm/s, respectively. And the average vibration intensity
in the Z direction under 0.8Qd, 1.0Qd, and 1.2Qd is 0.78 mm/
s, 0.76 mm/s, and 0.71 mm/s, respectively. The vibration
intensity gradually decreases with the increase of flow rate. It
might be because the internal unsteady flow and the flow-
induced vibration are serious when the pump is operated
under low flow rate, and the flow-induced vibration de-
creases with the increase of flow rate. The vibration intensity
in the X direction under 1.2Qd is smaller than that in the Z
direction because of the imbalance caused by the outlet of
the pump body.
4. Conclusions
In this research, an experimental bench of a centrifugal
pump with vane diffuser was built and several monitoring
points were located at the pump base, motor base, flanges,
bearing casings, and pump body. The energy performance
and vibration characteristics of the pump under different
flow rates were measured. The vibration velocity, vibration
frequency domain, and vibration intensity of the pump were
analyzed.
The maximum efficiency is 71.71% when the flow rate of
the pump is 233 m3/h and the head is 16.92 m. Under 1.0Qd,
the head of the pump is 15.03 m and the efficiency of the
10 Shock and Vibration

1.4

1.2

1.0

Vibration intensity (mm/s) 0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

0.0
M1 M2 M3 M4 M5 M6 M7 M8 M9 M10 M11 M12 M13 M14 M15 M16
Monitoring points of vibration

Figure 11: Vibration intensity at each monitoring point.

Table 2: Vibration intensity at monitoring points M3 and M4 Conflicts of Interest

(unit: mm/s).
The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
Direction Flow rate M3 M4
0.8Qd 0.63 1.27
X 1.0Qd 0.56 0.85 Acknowledgments
1.2Qd 0.53 0.74
0.8Qd 0.59 0.62 The authors gratefully acknowledge the support from the
Y 1.0Qd 0.52 0.53 National Key Research and Development Program of China
1.2Qd 0.41 0.45 (Grant no. 2016YFB0200901), the National Natural Science
0.8Qd 0.63 0.93 Foundation of China (Grant nos. 51679110 and 51579117),
Z 1.0Qd 0.64 0.88 and Six Talent Peaks Project in Jiangsu Province of China
1.2Qd 0.59 0.83 (Grant no. 2018-GDZB-154).

References
pump is 71.47%. Under 0.8Qd, the head of the pump is
17.26 m and the efficiency of the pump is 70.25%. Under
1.2Qd, the head of the pump is 12.59 m and the efficiency of
the pump is 65.88%.
Analyzing frequency domain spectrum of vibration, the
flow-induced vibration and mechanical vibration are the
main vibration source in the centrifugal pump with vane
diffuser. The vibration velocity in the radial direction is
larger, and the vibration velocity in axial direction is rela-
tively smaller.
Based on the vibration intensity at monitoring points,
the vibration intensity at the outlet flange is largest and the
vibration intensities at both sides of bearing casing are
smaller than those at the outlet flange and larger than those
at the motor base. The vibration intensity at the motor base is
larger than that at pump base, and the vibration intensity at
the pump body is the lowest.
The vibration intensity of monitoring point M4 in the X
direction under 0.8Qd is 1.27 mm/s, which is the maximum
under three flow rates.
Data Availability
The data used to support the findings of this study are
available from the corresponding author upon request.
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