Performance Analysis of Medium Specific Speed PAT for Back Cavity Filling Using CFD

Due to several limitations, it appears that not everyone is now receiving the electricity produced around the world. Furthermore, one of the main ways to generate electricity, fossil fuels, is depleting rapidly. Hence, renewable energy sources are the only alternative solution. One of the best renewable energy sources for producing electricity is hydro energy. Due to their lower payback times and cost economics as independent or isolated energy sources, micro hydropower plants (MHPs) have surged in popularity in recent years. The most often utilized turbines in an MHP are those with low to medium head and medium flow rates. In certain MHPs, pumps are operated in reverse mode, or turbine mode, to lower the overall plant cost. Pumps, however, are not designed to function as turbines. Therefore, there is still potential to enhance the pump in turbine mode with simple, affordable changes. This work aims to numerically evaluate the performance characteristics of a medium-specific speed centrifugal pump operating in turbine mode for one of the minor performance-enhancing back cavity filling modifications. Performance analysis is done for various flow rates at a 1000 rpm shaft speed.