Erosion Simulation of Submersible Pump in an Ultra-High Voltage Transformer

Numerical simulations were conducted on the erosion and wear phenomena of submersible pumps during operation, and the erosion rates were calculated under different particle sizes, particle concentrations, and submersible pump speeds condition. The results show that the main erosion area was concentrated on the upper edge of the blade, and with the increase of metal particle size and concentration, the average erosion rate of each component of the submersible pump would also increase. In addition, under the same erosion conditions, the erosion distribution on the entire impeller surface exhibited asymmetry, with differences in the erosion morphology and rate of each blade. The distribution angle of the eroded area of the snail shell in the circumferential direction generally did not exceed 180 °. When the impeller speed was increased from 900 r/m to 1 500 r/m, the average erosion rate of the impeller increased by 6 times. The obtained conclusions could provide reference for the impurity monitoring design and fault warning scheme of submersible oil pumps.