CFD-modeling of processes in a high-pressure oxidizer pump for the turbopump assembly of a liquid rocket engine

The article presents CFD modeling of the work process in the oxidizer pump of a turbopump assembly using the ANSYS CFX software, as well as the comparison of numerical and theoretical calculations of the analytical relations based on geometric data. Problems were encountered when modeling the flow of the pump due to inaccuracies in the drawing. The spherical radius in the area of the volute chamber throat had to be reduced, otherwise the model would not be topologically consistent with the original. The data on the vane angles at the inlet and outlet of the centrifugal impeller were absent in the drawings. The blade angles were determined by the previously constructed geometric model. Negative pressure at the entrance of the impeller vanes was found in the analysis of the first results of CFD-calculation. Increasing the number of elements in this part of the calculation model made it possible to reduce the area of the negative pressure. CFD-modeling error with respect to the analytical solution does not exceed 11% by the parameters of total and static pressure. The results of the work can provide a visual representation of the processes taking place during the operation of the high-pressure pump of a turbopump assembly. The CFD-model can also be used for further research of work processes in liquid oxygen pumps to reduce the number of development tests.