Introduction

A Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulation conducted to analyze the flow patterns and Erosion at the internal faces of the coolant jacket of a rotating shaft due to suspended solid impurities present within the coolant. The primary goal was to study erosion rate, wear depth, and mass loss on the critical surface of the shaft after eighty hours of operation.

Challenges

A major challenge in CFD simulation is to exactly predict the location and rate of erosion at specific critical locations. A combination of rotating/moving domains with changing surface topologies added complexity to the simulation approach and the time required for the solution. Additionally, an efficient evolving mesh is to be generated to capture the sophisticated flow physics.

Solution

Shaft rotation was modeled with the Moving Reference Frame (MRF) approach; Discrete Phase Model (DPM) with injection was implemented to model suspended sand particles. DPM model coupled with Moving Dynamic Mesh (MDM) is used to model the erosion dynamics of the impacted surfaces.

Benefits

The DPM coupled with the MDM approach gave insights into sand flow patterns, impact regions and helped to visualize change in eroded surface topology with time. The simulation also provided insights into the effects of different parameters such as fluid velocity, particle size, particle concentration, and impact angle on the erosion process.