Arab J Sci Eng (2011) 36:1333–1345

DOI 10.1007/s13369-011-0119-8

R E S E A R C H A RT I C L E - M E C H A N I C A L E N G I N E E R I N G

Atia E. Khalifa · Amro M. Al-Qutub · Rached Ben-Mansour

Study of Pressure Fluctuations and Induced Vibration

at Blade-Passing Frequencies of a Double Volute Pump

Received: 15 October 2009 / Accepted: 25 May 2010 / Published online: 22 October 2011
© King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals 2011

Abstract Strong impeller–volute interaction is a major source of high-pressure pulsations and vibration in
high-powered pumps. The present study aims at establishing the foundation for correlating the pressure field
with the vibration of the pump and identifying effective solutions to reduce flow-induced vibration in double
volute pumps. Experiments were carried out on a model boiler feed pump stage to investigate the distribu-
tion of the pressure fluctuations inside the pump and pump vibration under different operating conditions.
Critical zones of high-pressure fluctuations have been identified near the volute tongues, indicating strong
impeller–volute interaction due to improper radial gap design. Vibrations closely follow the behavior of the
pressure fluctuations under different operating conditions. High speeds combined with off-design flow rates
result in higher pressure fluctuations inside the pump, which in turn excite vibrations of pump components.
Measurements at discharge and suction pipes cannot represent the true behavior or the magnitudes of pressure
fluctuations inside the pump, and hence cannot be correlated to pump vibration with fidelity. The clearance
between impeller and volute tongues needs to be optimized by experimentation to minimize flow-induced
pump vibration.

Keywords Pressure fluctuations · Pump vibration · Blade-passing frequency · Flow rate · Double volute
design

A. E. Khalifa (B) · A. M. Al-Qutub · R. Ben-Mansour

Mechanical Engineering Department, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals,
Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
E-mail: akhalifa@kfupm.edu.sa

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1 Introduction

The need for operating large hydraulic pumps under variable conditions has led to increased vibration levels
and fatigue problems, which limits the new pump designs. For these reasons, it is important to identify the
sources of vibration and the effect of pump operating conditions on vibration behavior for possible design
improvements. Strong impeller–volute interaction is a major source of high-pressure pulsations in high-power
pumps. These pressure pulsations induce noise and vibrations to both stationary and rotating pump compo-
nents and usually propagate to the attached piping system and instrumentations, effectively reducing pump
performance.
Model testing is used to assess the expected unsteady behavior of prototype pump designs. Many experi-
mental studies on pressure fluctuations have shown that the harmonics that occur with higher amplitudes depend
mainly on the flow rate, radial gap, and the number of stationary and moving blades. Detailed investigations
on the effects of various impeller and volute combinations on the forces acting on the pump impeller with
parallel examination of the hydraulic performance are few in number [1]. The magnitudes of the forces and
the hydraulic performance are dependent on the geometric details of the pump design. Also, pump geometry
plays an important role in the severity of the pressure pulsation problem specifically with off-design problems.
The design of a double (split) volute is common for large pumps and results in minimal radial forces on the
impeller and shaft when a pump has to operate under off-design conditions.
Pressure (and velocity) fluctuations have a direct impact on the mechanical damage of the pump com-
ponents [2]. The flow and the pressure fluctuations are not uniform around the impeller circumferentially
even at design conditions due to the interaction between impeller and volute [3]. Pressure fluctuations are not
circumferentially even. The unevenness depends on the flow rate and causes sidebands in frequency spectra.
Each interaction-forcing frequency possesses a global time-variant pressure distribution [4]. The pressure fluc-
tuations depend on flow rate and blade/vane angles. Vibrations which originate with rotor stator interaction
have specific characteristics that can be clearly observed in the frequency domain, namely, harmonics of the
moving blade-passing frequency and the particular relationship among their amplitudes. The frequencies and
amplitudes depend on the pump design and the operating conditions. The amplitude of harmonics increases
at off-design flow rates. The rise in the amplitudes is not equal for all harmonics; some are more affected than
others. A theoretical analysis to predict and explain these frequencies and amplitudes in a qualitative way is
presented by [5]. The analysis incorporates the number of blades, number of guide vanes, the interaction with
nonuniform fluid forces, and the sequence of interaction.
Increasing the impeller-to-diffuser clearance (radial gap) or changing the number of impeller blades
are common solutions for the high-pressure pulsation problems in diffuser pumps [6]. However, the suit-
able gap for minimum vibration depends on the particular design of impeller and volute. Thus, experi-
mental testing is needed to determine the suitable impeller/volute gap and to asses the effects of the gap
on performance for a specific pump design. Studies on the effect of flow rate on pressure fluctuations
at the blade-passing frequency at different axial planes showed that it reaches a maximum at the central
impeller plane [7]. Another type of problem in which blade-passing frequencies dominate is given by [8].
The discharge pulsation data indicated acoustic resonances and identified two response peaks, which rep-
resented the acoustic natural frequencies of the system. The root cause of failures was identified as an
acoustic resonance of the pump internals excited by the blade-passing frequency. The most practical solu-
tion appeared to be changing the blade-passing frequency of the pump by changing the number of impel-
ler blades so that the acoustic natural frequencies would not be excited within the desired operating speed
range.
Pressure fluctuations at the blade-passing frequency in pumps are successfully captured by the CFD models
for a wide range of operating flow rates. An experimental method to examine the pump acoustic characteristics
at the blade-passing frequency has been formulated [9]. It was found that the pressure wave traveling in the
direction of the pump discharge can be used to define the pump pulsation level to make a valid comparison
between different designs and for acoustic modeling of piping systems. Numerical simulations have been
proven to accurately predict the frequencies of unsteady pressure fluctuations in centrifugal pumps if a fully
unsteady calculation with relative motion of the impeller is used and the dynamic effects are taken into account
[10–12]. However, the amplitudes of the pressure fluctuations are 3D-location dependent and 3D simulations
are required to capture it accurately. It is feasible to use fluid–structure weakly coupled simulations to esti-
mate the flow-induced noise generated in turbomachinery by performing a full-scale structural simulation of
a 5-stage centrifugal pump [13]. The flow simulation was done by an LES-based CFD program, while the
vibration of the pump’s structure was simulated using a parallel explicit dynamic FEM code. These simulations

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presented a visual image of vibration modes at blade-passing frequencies and the mechanisms of resonant noise
generation and propagation.
The current research was motivated by a high-vibration problem at blade-passing frequencies of a main
boiler feed pump at one of the major electricity power plants in Saudi Arabia. The pump is a horizontal,
double-case (volute) centrifugal pump with four stages. The pump is driven by a turbine under variable load,
which depends on electricity consumption. The vibration problem has led to repeated failures to other related
or connected components and instrumentation. Field measurements of pump vibration showed that vibration
spikes mainly appeared at the first blade-passing frequency. At the same time, however, the relative vibration
(shaft movement) of the pump was smooth. Moreover, other connected equipment was not experiencing vibra-
tion behavior similar to that experienced by the pump. The vibration amplitude at blade-passing frequency
changed with speed in a pattern that could be attributed to the influence of the flow pattern. The present paper
presents the first stage of the experimental program on identifying both the cause and the possible solutions of
flow-induced vibration at blade-passing frequencies in double volute pumps. It aims at correlating the pressure
fluctuations inside the double volute pump with the pump vibration at variable flow rates and rotational speeds.
A single stage of the original boiler feed pump was modeled by reverse engineering for testing and identifying
the critical zones of high-pressure fluctuations inside the pump to estimate the applicable modification as a
remedy.

2 Experimental Setup

A single stage of the original boiler feed pump was modeled by reverse engineering. Geometrical data of the
original pump was used to produce the impeller and volute of the model pump using CNC machines. A scale
factor of 0.4 between the model and the original pumps was selected based on the similitude laws of pumps
and the practicality of the experimental setup. The selection of this factor allowed the physical dimensions
to be suitable for proper instrumentation with reasonable power requirements to drive the pump. The model
impeller was double-shrouded and had a diameter of 142 mm and the blade exit angle was 22.5◦ . The radial
gap between the impeller and volute cutwater was 3.6 mm, which was equivalent to 2.5% of the impeller
diameter. The impeller was balanced dynamically on a two-plane balancing machine to eliminate the rotor
unbalance as a source of vibration. The pump speed was controlled by a frequency inverter (LG, SV-iP5A)
that gave a maximum rotational speed of 3,540 rpm at 60 Hz. The flow rate was measured by a standard 4-in.
orifice meter with a discharge coefficient of 0.618. Orifice pressure taps were connected to a PDCR 4170,
700 mbar (±0.08% FS accuracy) differential pressure transducer to measure the pressure drop across the
orifice. A balance check on the flow rate was done using a U-tube manometer. The flow rate was controlled
by a gate valve at the discharge side. Pump components and the test section are shown in Fig. 1. A shaft-like
extension was attached to the impeller to simulate the actual flow characteristics at the suction nozzle of the
original boiler feed pump (Fig. 1a).
To investigate the effects of flow rate and pump speed on pressure distribution fluctuations inside the pump,
nine dynamic pressure transducers were placed flush within the volute plexiglass cover plate at different angu-
lar locations, as shown in Fig. 2. Table 1 gives the coordinates of these locations. Omega DPX101-250 high
response dynamic pressure transducers were used to measure pressure fluctuations.
To measure the static pressure distribution at the locations specified in Table 1, a pressure manifold with
12 outlets was connected to a single static pressure transducer. Pressure signals were transmitted using special
fittings in place of the dynamic pressure transducers. For measurements of pressure signals at the pump suction
and discharge, one pressure transducer was placed at the discharge pipe and another at the suction pipe.
To study the effect of measurement location on static and dynamic pressures, sensors were distributed in
symmetrical pairs at locations relative to the two volute tongues around the impeller. Measuring locations 2,
3, and 4 are comparable to locations 5, 7, and 9, respectively.

3 Results and Discussion

Pump performance curves were obtained to identify the best efficiency conditions corresponding to each speed.
Figure 3 shows the H–Q and η–Q curves of the pump at speeds of 3,540, 3,000, and 2,500 rpm. The flow
rate at the best efficiency point is referred to as Qn . For each speed, there is a corresponding value of Qn . For
example, Qn = 12 L/s at 3,540 rpm. The deviations between the measured capacity and head for the model
pump at the best efficiency point for each speed and the corresponding similitude calculations were found to

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Fig. 1 Photos of the model pump components and test section. a Model pump components. b Test section

Fig. 2 Locations of distributed sensors inside the pump

be <4% [14]. Detailed uncertainty analysis showed that the uncertainties calculated at the best efficiency point
for each speed are estimated to be 1% for the total head, 1.5% for the flow rate, and 2% for the efficiency. The
original boiler feed pump operates mainly at flow rates less than or close to its design value. Thus, flow ratios
(Q/Qn ) of 0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1.0, and the maximum available flow rate were tested.

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Table 1 Coordinates of measuring locations

Sensor # 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Radius (mm) 90 78 77 81 79 88 77 97 80 Suction Discharge
Angle (◦ ) 19 358 61 120 178 199 239 255 294 pipe pipe

H @ 3540 rpm H @ 3000 rpm H @ 2500 rpm

η @ 3000 rpm η @ 2500 rpm η @ 3540 rpm
60 60
55 55
50 50
Pump Head (m) 45 45
40 40
35 35

Eff.%
30 30
25 25
20 20
15 15
10 10
5 5
0 0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22
Flow rate, Q, L/s

Fig. 3 Pump performance at different rotational speeds

3.1 Pressure Distribution

Figure 4 shows the combined effect of varying the flow rate and pump rotational speed on the static pressure
distribution inside the pump. For all speeds, if the pump operates at the best efficiency flow rate (Qn ), the
pressure has an approximately constant uniform distribution inside the pump. Operating under off-design con-
ditions, the static pressure distribution becomes uneven and the unevenness becomes more pronounced at high
speeds. As shown later, large variations in static pressure from point to point inside the pump under off-design
operating conditions excites the pressure fluctuations.
The effect of flow rate on the static pressure around the impeller at geometrically comparable pairs of
locations (2, 5), (3, 7), and (4, 9) is shown in Fig. 5 at a constant pump speed of 3,540 rpm. Similar locations
had in general fairly equal static pressures, indicating symmetrical pressure distribution around the impeller
at different flow rates. This shows the usefulness of the double volute design in maintaining the pressure
distribution symmetry around the impeller and hence minimizing the net radial force on the shaft, even at
off-design flow rates. When the pump operates at design flow rates Q/Qn = 1, the static pressure distribution
inside the pump is nearly uniform with an almost constant value. However, operating at off-design flow rates
results in a clear pressure variation from point to point inside the pump. This variation in pressure from point
to point increases as the pump flow rate diverges from the design value.

3.2 Pressure Fluctuations

When the impeller blade passes by the volute tongue, a pressure pulse is initiated by the interaction between
impeller and volute pressure fields. In the case of strong impeller–volute interaction, the pressure pulsations
become high enough to induce high vibration to pump components. In the present experiments, pressure fluctu-
ations were measured at the eleven locations mentioned in Table 1 at different flow rates and rotational speeds.
The amplitude of pressure fluctuations were measured peak-to-peak. The full picture about pressure fluctua-
tions is given by both the amplitudes and the spectral analysis using the fast Fourier transform algorithm (FFT)
spectrum analysis. As an illustration, Fig. 6 displays the waveform and the frequency spectrum at Location 3
for three different flow ratios, Q/Qn = 1, 0.5, and 1.66, at a speed of 3,540 rpm. The pressure fluctuation is
displayed in psi units (1 psi = 6,894.75 Pa). The spectrum dominant peak occurs at a frequency of 295 Hz,
which corresponds to 5× rpm or the first blade-passing frequency (first BPF or 5×). Smaller peaks appeared
at 10× rpm (second BPF) and 15× rpm (third BPF).
Using data at the design flow rate as a reference, it was noted that reducing the flow rate by 50% almost
doubled the amplitude and the FFT magnitude of pressure fluctuations at the first BPF, as shown in Fig. 6b.

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300

250

Pressure [kPa]
200

150 3540 rpm

3000 rpm
100 2500 rpm
50

0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Measuring Location #
(a)
400
350
Pressure [kPa]

300
250
3540 rpm
200
3000 rpm
150 2500 rpm
100
50
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Measuring Location #
(b)
250
Pressure [kPa]

200

150 3540 rpm

3000 rpm
100 2500 rpm

50

0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Measuring Location #
(c)
Fig. 4 Effect of flow rate and pump speed on the uniformity of static pressure distribution. a Q = Qn . b Q = 0.5Qn . c Q = Qmax

Location 2 Location 3 Location 4

Location 5 Location 7 Location 9
400

350

300
Pressure [kPa]

250

200

150

100

50

0
0 0.25 0.5 0.75 1 1.25 1.5 1.75
Flow ratio, Q/Qn

Fig. 5 Effect of flow rate on time-average static pressure at geometrically comparable locations

Increasing the flow rate ratio to 1.66 (maximum available flow rate at 3,540 rpm, Fig. 6c) resulted in more
than doubling the amplitude of the pressure fluctuation, with almost double the FFT magnitude. At the maxi-
mum flow rate, flow separation and local cavitation were observed visually through the plexiglass cover plate
at the volute tongues. The FFT magnitude at the second blade-passing frequency becomes significant when

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Fig. 6 Variation of real time pressure fluctuations and frequency spectrums with pump flow rate: Location 3 at 3,540 rpm.
a Q = Qn . b Q = 0.5Qn . c Q = 1.66Qn

compared with that of the first blade-passing frequency under such conditions. All other locations inside the
pump experienced similar behaviors under off-design flow rates. The minimum amplitudes of the pressure
fluctuations were measured at the best-efficiency flow rate at all measuring locations.

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12 1.4

FFT of press. Fluct. at 5x

Press. fluctuation [psi] 10 1.2

1
8 3540 rpm
3540 rpm
0.8
3000 rpm
6 3000 rpm
0.6
2500 rpm
4 2500 rpm 0.4

2 0.2

0 0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Measuring Location # Measuring Location #

(a)

12 1.4

FFT of press. Fluct. at 5x

Press. fluctuation [psi]

10 1.2

1 3540 rpm
8 3540 rpm

3000 rpm 0.8 3000 rpm

6
2500 rpm 0.6 2500 rpm
4
0.4
2
0.2
0
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Measuring Location # Measuring Location #
(b)

25 2.5
FFT of press. Fluct. at 5x
Press. fluctuation [psi]

20 2
3540 rpm

15 1.5 3540 rpm

3000 rpm
3000 rpm
10 2500 rpm 1
2500 rpm
5 0.5

0 0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Measuring Location # Measuring Location #
(c)
Fig. 7 Effect of flow rate and pump speed on pressure fluctuations. a Q = Qn . b Q = 0.5Qn . c Q = Qmax

As a result of operating at off-design flow rates, internal flow circulation and a large variation of static
pressure from point-to-point inside the pump gave rise to higher pressure fluctuations, as demonstrated in Fig. 7.
Maximum pressure fluctuations were recorded at the conditions of fully opened discharge valve (maximum
flow rate). When high speeds are combined with off-design flow rates, high pressure fluctuations are expected
to arise inside the pump volute due to stronger impeller–volute interaction at the volute tongues. Examining
the variation of pressure fluctuations and their FFT, the critical locations of high-pressure pulsation inside the
pump are identified around the volute tongues, indicating strong impeller–volute interaction as the root cause
of vibration of the current problem design.
To study the effect of measuring location on pressure fluctuation, two examples are presented in Fig. 8.
The first example is a comparison between two geometrically comparable points around the impeller with
respect to the volute tongues. Locations 3 and 7 are in the vicinity of the interaction zone between the rotating
impeller blades and the volute tongues and exhibited the largest pressure fluctuations, especially at off-design
flow rates. Although the two points had comparable locations with respect to the impeller and volute tongues
and had nearly the same averaged static pressure, the amplitudes of pressure fluctuations were not the same
(Fig. 8a). This may be attributed to the fact that pressure fluctuations inside the pumps are highly nonlinear
phenomenon and the downstream flow path to the volute exit is different with respect to each location. The

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Location 3 Location 7
20

Pressure fluctuations [psi]

15

10

0
0 0.25 0.5 0.75 1 1.25 1.5 1.75
Q/Qn
(a)

Location 3 Location 4
20
Press. Fluctuation [psi]

15

10

0
0 0.25 0.5 0.75 1 1.25 1.5 1.75

Q/Qn
(b)
Fig. 8 Effect of measuring location on pressure fluctuations at 3,540 rpm. a Geometrically comparable locations 3 and 7. b Angular
consecutive locations 3 and 4

1.6
5 x rpm
FFT of fluctuations amplitudes

1.4
10 x rpm
1.2
15 x rpm
1

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

0
0 0.25 0.5 0.75 1 1.25 1.5 1.75
Q/Qn

Fig. 9 Variation of FFT of fluctuation amplitudes with flow rate for the first three blade-passing frequencies, measured at
Location 7

second example is a comparison between the two consecutive locations, 3 and 4. They are two subsequent
points in the angular direction around the impeller, in which location 3 is closer to the volute tongues. At
any given flow rate, the amplitude and strength of the fluctuations decreases as the measuring location moves
farther from the interaction zone, as shown in Fig. 8b. This is expected since the pressure pulse is relieved due
to larger clearance away from the volute cutwater.
The second and third blade-passing frequencies appeared in the spectrum but with smaller peaks compared
with the first BPF. Figure 9 shows that the FFT magnitudes at the first BPF are much higher than they are at the
second and third BPFs measured at location 7 for demonstration. It is clear that the energy content of pressure

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3450 rpm 3000 rpm 2500 rpm

10

pressure fulctuation (psi)

8

0
0 0.25 0.5 0.75 1 1.25 1.5 1.75
Q/Qn
(a)
3540 rpm 3000 rpm 2500 rpm
0.7
Fluctuation magnitude, FFT

0.6

0.5

0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1

0
0 0.25 0.5 0.75 1 1.25 1.5 1.75
Q/Qn
(b)
Fig. 10 Effect of pump speed and flow rate on pressure fluctuations at the discharge pipe

fluctuations is concentrated at the first BPF for all measured flow rates. This provides guidance for attacking
this frequency for resolving the flow-induced problem of the present pump.
Measurements inside the pump are not always practically possible for large pumps. Hence, in many cases
measurements are simply made at the discharge pipe downstream from the impeller (e.g. [6]). It is interesting
to test the effect of different operating conditions on pressure fluctuations at both the discharge and suction
sides of the pump and compare the results to measurements taken inside the pump. Figures 10 and 11 show
the variation of both the amplitudes of pressure fluctuation and the FFT magnitude at the first blade-passing
frequency at the pump discharge and suction sides. It is noted that pressure fluctuations and FFT magnitude
decreases at the discharge side with decreasing pump flow rate for the highest speed of 3,540 rpm, except for
zero flow rate. It is important to observe that at high speeds, the response of pressure fluctuation to changes in
flow rate measured at the discharge pipe is opposite to pressure fluctuation behavior inside the pump volute.
For speeds of 3,000 and 2,500 rpm, it seemed that the best efficiency flow rate gave the lower fluctuations.
Measurements at the suction pipe are not very informative since it is upstream of the impeller but it indicated
that pressure fluctuations are minimal at design flow rates. The pressure fluctuations increase at off-design flow
rates and high speeds. It was noted that the FFT magnitude of the second BPF is greater than it was at the first
BPF at the suction pipe. Pre-rotation at the suction nozzle and reverse flow inside the pump due to operating
off-design excites the second BPF. Fluctuations energy, represented by FFT calculations, at both suction and
discharge sides are small compared with those measured inside the pump. Thus, internal measurements are
necessary to evaluate the behavior and the amplitudes of pressure fluctuations as a source of pump vibration.

3.3 Pump Vibration

The measurements of the vibration of pump casing were carried out using B&K 4507 Delta Tron accelerome-
ters, with 100 mV/g. Figure 12 shows a typical spectrum of the vertical vibration of pump casing at 3,540 rpm
and Q/Qn = 0.5. The vibration occurred mainly at the first blade-passing frequency (5× rpm), with smaller
peaks appearing at the second and third blade-passing frequencies. This is in complete agreement with the
measurements of internal pressure fluctuations of the model pump as well as those of the original boiler feed

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3450 rpm 3000 rpm 2500 rpm

10

Pressure fluctuation (psi)

8

0
0 0.25 0.5 0.75 1 1.25 1.5 1.75
Q/Qn
(a)

3540 rpm 3000 rpm 2500 rpm

0.7
Fluctuation magnitude, FFT

0.6

0.5

0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1

0
0 0.25 0.5 0.75 1 1.25 1.5 1.75
Q/Qn
(b)
Fig. 11 Effect of pump speed and flow rate on pressure fluctuations at the suction pipe

4
Acceleration [m/s2]

3.2
2.8
2.4
2
1.6
1.2
800m
400m
0
0 200 400 600 800 1k 1.2k 1.4k 1.6k 1.8k 2k
Frequency [HZ]
Fig. 12 Typical vibration behavior of the pump outer casing: vertical direction, Q/Qn = 0.5 at 3,540 rpm, peak frequency at the
first BPF (5×)

pump. The behavior of the pump vibration in relation to the internal pressure fluctuation and its FFT magnitude
measured at location 3 is shown in Fig. 13 at different flow rates. Location 3 was selected for this comparison
since it was closest to the impeller–volute interaction zone at the volute tongues and it is experiencing the high-
est fluctuations inside the pump. The minimum vibrations were measured at the design flow rate (Q/Qn = 1) in
correspondence with the pressure fluctuation. The pump vibration followed the behavior of both the amplitudes
and FFT of pressure fluctuations inside the pump under variable flow rate conditions. This behavior proves that
the pump vibration was induced by pressure pulsations inside the pump due to the impeller–volute interaction.
It also proves that measurements of the unsteady pressure field inside the pump can be used to identify and
resolve the pump vibration problem. As a final note, the horizontal vibration of the pump casing was found to
be significant only at low flow rates (typically <50% of Qn ).

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6000 20
vibration
18

press. fluct. [psi], point 3

Press. fluct.

Acceleration [mm/s2]
5000
16
14
4000
12
3000 10
8
2000
6
4
1000
2
0 0
0 0.25 0.5 0.75 1 1.25 1.5 1.75
Q/Qn
(a)

6000 1.8
vibration
FFT Mag. 1.6

Amplitudes FFT, Point 3

Acceleration [mm/s2]

5000
1.4

4000 1.2

1.0
3000
0.8

2000 0.6

0.4
1000
0.2

0 0.0
0 0.25 0.5 0.75 1 1.25 1.5 1.75
Q/Qn
(b)
Fig. 13 Comparing pump vibration with the amplitudes of pressure fluctuation and their FFT magnitudes at different flow rates,
measured at 5× rpm frequency at Location 3. a Pump case vibration versus amplitudes of pressure fluctuations. b Pump case
vibration versus FFT of fluctuation amplitudes

4 Conclusion

A detailed experimental investigation has been conducted on a double volute pump to study the unsteady
pressure field and flow-induced vibration phenomenon resulting from impeller–volute interaction. The strength
of pressure fluctuations depended on the pump speed, the flow rate, and the location inside the pump. The
pulsation wave originating due to the impeller–volute interaction at volute tongues propagated inside the pump
under the effect of the acoustic and rotational speeds. It then spread around the impeller circumferentially and
became weaker as it moved away from the interaction zone. In the present experiments, the energy of pressure
fluctuations is concentrated at the first blade-passing frequency and is sensitive to the flow rate. Measurements
of pressure fluctuations in discharge pipe at high speed gave opposite trends compared with measurements
inside the pump at various flow rates. Moreover, the magnitude and strength of fluctuation inside the pump
were much higher than the discharge or suction pipes signals. Hence, it is concluded that it is difficult to rely
on measurements at discharge and suction pipes to identify pump vibration. Pump vibration is correlated to
the internal pressure fluctuations and occur at the same blade-passing frequencies. Hence, measurements of
the unsteady pressure inside the pump are necessary to identify the root cause of the vibration and to help
in finding an applicable solution to minimize the vibration levels without affecting the pump performance.
Based on the experimental results of high-pressure fluctuations near the volute tongues, it was clear that the
clearance between the impeller and volute tongues was the major factor contributing to the high vibration.
The current gap design of 2.5% of the impeller diameter seems very small for such a high-power pump. The
optimum gap value depends on the particular pump design, impeller–volute combination, and the operating
conditions. Unfortunately, such data for double volute pumps are not available. This study serves as a basis
for future work to conduct more experiments on the pump design to resolve the high flow-induced vibration
problem for the present pump and others of a similar nature.

Acknowledgments This research work was funded by the Saudi Electricity Company (SEC), Project No. CER-2289. The authors
greatly appreciate the support provided by SEC and King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals during this research.

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