Computer Simulation of a Reciprocating Cryogenic Pump
Project Description:
Air Products & Chemicals Incorporated (APCI) is a Fortune 300 industrial gases and chemicals supplier. Instrumentation for customer product supply systems typically requires a peripheral pumping system, which is shown below. Typical reciprocating pumps consist of an inlet valve, suction chamber, outlet valve, and piston assembly. APCI's current methodology for pump design and selection has rendered unsatisfactory results which has prompted the need for an improved methodology. Thus, the desired outcome of Team Cryo-Crew's efforts is a more accurate computational model of APCI's cryogenic pump technology.
Reciprocating Cryogenic Pump Components
The computational model was developed via Excel, wherein the complete, cyclical pumping process was incrementally modeled over finite time steps. Relevant thermodynamic properties were referenced via NIST, which is a thermodynamic properties database. All subsequent computations are based upon simple 1st Law of Thermodynamic formulations in addition to empirically-determined flowrate models. The program's outputs were then compared against CFD results.
Project Results:
The Excel Program determines the performance of a pump after user-defined inputs are entered. Inputs include pump geometries, and various inlet and outlet mixture conditions. Below are sample graphs generated by Excel for a given pump.
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