CFD Approach and Visualization of Fluid Flow in a Single Acting Vane Pump

Vane pumps are widely used in many applications and often are the source of flow in hydrostatic power transmission systems. The paper deals with visualization methods of fluid flow inside a single-chamber vane pump. In this article, a stand for investigating flow phenomena in vane pumps was presented with the use of a high-speed camera. Due to the complex nature of the flow and limitations of the visual experimental method, a numerical model of the chosen pump was prepared. CFD flow simulations were performed for different values of suction pressure, discharge pressure and rotation speed. Comparison of the results of visual experimental investigation and computer simulation showed that CFD modeling can be successfully used for the prediction of fluid flow inside different vane pumps.