Abstract: For impellers without splitter blades, with long splitter blades and short splitter blades, the unsteady CFD method is applied to study the whole 3D flow field in centrifugal pumps. The effects of blades arrangement and the shape of splitter blades on the lift, pressure fluctuation at the inlet and outlet are discussed. The pressure distribution on the blade surfaces and in the contral rotative plane is also analyzed. In comparison with the impeller without splitter blades, the impact of splitter blades on flow field is analyzed in detail, and the variation of pressure depending on the orientation of impeller relative to the tongue is also illustrated. The results give some instructive directions to reduce the vibration and noise of centrifugal pump from dy-namics.

Key words: Numerical simulation, Centrifugal pump, Splitter blades, Unsteady flow