THE INFLUENCE OF IMPELLER BLADE NUMBER VARIATIONS ON FLUID PRESSURE IN A CENTRIFUGAL PUMP USING THE COMPUTATIONAL FLUID DYNAMICS (CFD) METHOD

Abstract

A centrifugal pump is one of the essential components in fluid transfer systems, widely used in both household and industrial sectors. This study aims to analyze the effect of varying the number of impeller blades on the pressure and velocity of fluid flow in a centrifugal pump. The method used is numerical simulation with a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) approach. The blade variations studied include 5, 6, and 7 blades. Simulation results show that the impeller with 5 blades produces the highest fluid pressure and velocity compared to other configurations, with an outlet pressure of 130,540 Pa and a fluid velocity of 7.51 m/s. Increasing the number of blades to 6 and 7 actually results in decreased pressure and velocity, due to increased flow resistance and narrowing of the fluid pathway inside the pump. It can be concluded that the impeller with 5 blades provides the most optimal performance in generating fluid pressure and flow velocity in the centrifugal pump.