Pumplinx

Last updated
PumpLinx
Developer(s) Simerics
Stable release
V.3.0 / 2011
Operating system Cross-platform
Type Computational Fluid Dynamics Software
License Proprietary
Website PumpLinx Software

PumpLinx is a 3-D computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software developed for the analysis of fluid pumps, motors, compressors, valves, propellers, hydraulic systems and other fluid devices with rotating or sliding components.

Contents

Features

The software imports 3-D geometry from CAD data in the form of STL files. [1] It has geometry Conformal Adaptive Binary-Tree mesh generation tool which creates 3-D grid from CAD surfaces. For liquid devices, PumpLinx has a cavitation model to account for the effect of liquid vapor, free/dissolved gas, and liquid compressibility.

PumpLinx provides templates for different categories of devices, including: axial piston pumps, centrifugal pumps, gerotors, gear pumps, progressive cavity pumps, propellers, radial piston pumps, rotary vane pumps, submersible pumps, and valves.

Those templates create an initial grid for special rotors; for example, grids around gears of a gear pump, and then re-meshes the grid for a moving simulation, and provide device specific input and output. The output from the code include velocities, pressures, temperatures, and gas volume fractions of the flow field, together with integrated engineering data such as loads and torques.

PumpLinx uses a single Graphical User Interface (GUI) for grid generation, model set-up, execution, and post processing.

Market

The software is used primarily by component and system engineers in the automotive, [2] hydraulic, [3] and aerospace industry as a virtual test-bed to study efficiency, cavitation, pressure ripple, and noise for hydrodynamic pumps, [4] and fluid power equipment.

Related Research Articles

Cavitation Formation of vapour-filled low-pressure voids in a liquid

Cavitation is a phenomenon in which rapid changes of pressure in a liquid lead to the formation of small vapor-filled cavities, in places where the pressure is relatively low.

Pump Device that moves fluids by mechanical action

A pump is a device that moves fluids, or sometimes slurries, by mechanical action. Pumps can be classified into three major groups according to the method they use to move the fluid: direct lift, displacement, and gravity pumps.

Computational fluid dynamics branch of fluid mechanics that uses numerical analysis and data structures to solve and analyze problems that involve fluid flows

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is a branch of fluid mechanics that uses numerical analysis and data structures to analyze and solve problems that involve fluid flows. Computers are used to perform the calculations required to simulate the free-stream flow of the fluid, and the interaction of the fluid with surfaces defined by boundary conditions. With high-speed supercomputers, better solutions can be achieved, and are often required to solve the largest and most complex problems. Ongoing research yields software that improves the accuracy and speed of complex simulation scenarios such as transonic or turbulent flows. Initial validation of such software is typically performed using experimental apparatus such as wind tunnels. In addition, previously performed analytical or empirical analysis of a particular problem can be used for comparison. A final validation is often performed using full-scale testing, such as flight tests.

Fluid power use of fluids under pressure to generate, control, and transmit power

Fluid power is the use of fluids under pressure to generate, control, and transmit power. Fluid power is subdivided into hydraulics using a liquid such as mineral oil or water, and pneumatics using a gas such as air or other gases. Compressed-air and water-pressure systems were once used to transmit power from a central source to industrial users over extended geographic areas; fluid power systems today are usually within a single building or mobile machine.

Hydraulic machinery machinery and tools that use liquid fluid power to do simple work

Hydraulic machines use liquid fluid power to perform work. Heavy construction vehicles are a common example. In this type of machine, hydraulic fluid is pumped to various hydraulic motors and hydraulic cylinders throughout the machine and becomes pressurised according to the resistance present. The fluid is controlled directly or automatically by control valves and distributed through hoses, tubes, and/or pipes.

Hydraulic analogy

The electronic–hydraulic analogy is the most widely used analogy for "electron fluid" in a metal conductor. Since electric current is invisible and the processes at play in electronics are often difficult to demonstrate, the various electronic components are represented by hydraulic equivalents. Electricity was originally understood to be a kind of fluid, and the names of certain electric quantities are derived from hydraulic equivalents. As with all analogies, it demands an intuitive and competent understanding of the baseline paradigms.

Mesh generation is dividing a geometric space into discrete cells

Mesh generation is the practice of creating a mesh, a subdivision of a continuous geometric space into discrete geometric and topological cells. Often these cells form a simplicial complex. Usually the cells partition the geometric input domain. Mesh cells are used as discrete local approximations of the larger domain. Meshes are created by computer algorithms, often with human guidance through a GUI, depending on the complexity of the domain and the type of mesh desired. The goal is to create a mesh that accurately captures the input domain geometry, with high-quality (well-shaped) cells, and without so many cells as to make subsequent calculations intractable. The mesh should also be fine in areas that are important for the subsequent calculations.

Axial piston pump

An axial piston pump is a positive displacement pump that has a number of pistons in a circular array within a cylinder block. It can be used as a stand-alone pump, a hydraulic motor or an automotive air conditioning compressor.

Hydraulic motor hydro pohon

A hydraulic motor is a mechanical actuator that converts hydraulic pressure and flow into torque and angular displacement (rotation). The hydraulic motor is the rotary counterpart of the hydraulic cylinder as a linear actuator. Most broadly, the category of devices called hydraulic motors has sometimes included those that run on hydropower but in today's terminology the name usually refers more specifically to motors that use hydraulic fluid as part of closed hydraulic circuits in modern hydraulic machinery.

Hydraulic pump type of a pump

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The spatial twist continuum is a dual representation of an all hexahedral mesh that defines the global connectivity constraint.

A rotodynamic pump is a kinetic machine in which energy is continuously imparted to the pumped fluid by means of a rotating impeller, propeller, or rotor, in contrast to a positive displacement pump in which a fluid is moved by trapping a fixed amount of fluid and forcing the trapped volume into the pump's discharge. Examples of rotodynamic pumps include adding kinetic energy to a fluid such as by using a centrifugal pump to increase fluid velocity or pressure.

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References

  1. "PumpLinx: A Modelling Tool for Pump Designers", International Journal of Fluid Power, Vol. 8, No. 1, March 2007
  2. Y. Jiang and D. Zhang, “A Three-Dimensional Design Tool for Crescent Oil Pumps,” 2008 SAE conference, Detroit, Michigan.
  3. O. Meincke and R. Rahmfeld, “Measurements, Analysis and Simulation of Cavitation in an Axial Piston Pump”, 6th International Fluid Power Conference, Dresden, 2008. Archived 2008-07-19 at the Wayback Machine
  4. H. Ding, F.C. Visser, Y. Jiang and M. Furmanczyk, 2011 “Demonstration and Validation of a 3-D CFD Simulation Tool Predicting Pump Performance and Cavitation for Industrial Applications,” In: ASME Journal of Fluids Engineering, Volume 133, Issue 1, 011101