A numerical study in a mini trochoidal-gear pump based on an ingenious strategy to adapt the background mesh to the profiles shape and a new boundary condition is presented. The strategy achieves a final background mesh better adapted to the geometries and, additionally, the cells are more homogenous and less distorted when the trochodial-profiles are moved. The new boundary condition to simulate the multi-meshing contact points is applied at every time step by means of the viscous wall approach, a home-made ad-hoc code, which has been integrated in an OpenFOAM solver that also includes the dynamic mesh functionality by deforming the mesh following the trochoidal-gear rotation. The presented numerical study establishes the basis that will allow simulating more realistic aspects of a new design of a mini trochoidal-gear pump once the need for a continuous fluid domain is overcome reproducing actual contacts between the rotors and will guide to a better understanding of the new design.

Peer Reviewed