Effects of Inter-cylinder Interaction on Valve Motion and Flow Characteristics in High-pressure Plunger Pumps

Plunger pumps often employ a multi-cylinder design to alleviate flow rate and pressure pulsations. However, previous studies on plunger pumps have mainly focused on single-cylinder models, which do not account for the interaction between different cylinders. Therefore, this study aims to investigate inter-cylinder interactions. We present a ۳D computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model developed to analyze a five-cylinder high-pressure plunger pump. Comparing valve dynamics and fluid flow characteristics between single and five-cylinder configurations illustrates the impact of these interactions. Our results demonstrate that the dynamic behavior of an individual cylinder is significantly influenced by adjacent cylinders. Valve opening lag is identified as a primary driver of flow rate and pressure pulsations in the pump. Fluid compressibility is the dominant factor, accounting for approximately ۶۶.۰۹% of the total opening lag. In multi-cylinder configurations, pressure fluctuations propagate through opening valves, thereby inducing oscillations in adjacent cylinders. These inter-cylinder interactions also modulate valve opening and closing timing, resulting in an approximate ۴.۷۳% reduction in volumetric efficiency. Consequently, the analysis and design of plunger pumps must explicitly incorporate these effects.

کلیدواژه ها:

Flow characteristics ، Fluid-structure interaction ، Inter-cylinder interaction ، Plunger pump ، Valve motion