The performance of centrifugal pumps subjected to a liquid-gas-mixture flow is a significant concern to manufacturers and to some users such as Chemical, Nuclear Power Plants, and Gas-Oil Industries. Particularly in the nuclear power industry, the prediction of performance degradation under the two-phase flow conditions occurring in a Loss of Coolant Accident (LOCA) is a significant part of the overall analysis of that accident.; In this experimental work, the pressure distribution was measured in a rotating, partially shrouded, open, radial impeller and volute under a wide range of air-water two-phase flow conditions. To obtain these pressure measurements, small-diameter pressure-tap holes were drilled through the casing of the radial pump. High speed photography was used to determine the flow regime of the air-water mixture through the vane and in the volute. An analytical model was developed to predict the radial pump single- and two-phase flow pressure distribution. This distribution was compared with the test data for different suction void fractions. The physical mechanism responsible for pump performance degradation was also investigated.
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