A Comprehensive Review and Background on Centrifugal Pump Performance under Multiphase Flow and Varying Operating Conditions

Abstract

Centrifugal pumps play a critical role in various engineering sectors, particularly in applications involving the transportation of slurries mixtures of liquids and solid particles. Among these, slurry pumps are essential for industries such as phosphate mining and long-distance pipeline transport, where the efficient movement of abrasive and heterogeneous materials is vital. This review provides a comprehensive background on the performance of centrifugal pumps operating under multiphase flow conditions, with an emphasis on slurry handling. The interaction between pump performance and key parameters such as solid particle size, concentration, and density is examined, highlighting how these variables influence head loss, efficiency, and wear characteristics. While centrifugal pumps are widely utilized due to their cost-effectiveness and ability to manage high-throughput flow, their performance under challenging conditions—such as those involving cavitation—remains a subject of ongoing investigation. Cavitation, induced by localized pressure drops within the pump, can lead to vapor bubble formation and subsequent collapse, causing significant damage to internal components. The presence of solid particles adds complexity to this phenomenon, and the current understanding of how slurry affects cavitation behavior and long-term pump performance is still evolving. This review aims to synthesize existing research findings, identify critical knowledge gaps, and suggest directions for future studies to support the development of more robust and efficient centrifugal pump designs for multiphase flow environments.