Numerical investigation on altitude performance for aeroengine gerotor pump

The altitude performance is a key parameter for the aeroengine pump. Using three-dimensional unsteady numerical method, a single-stage gerotor pump was investigated with dynamic mesh to get the altitude performance curve, and the effects of different factors were analyzed. Results show that the cavitation in the gerotor pump intensifies as flight height increases, which leads to a decline in volume flow rate. When the altitude is above 8 km, volumetric efficiency decreases rapidly as the altitude increases, while with the same outlet pressure, volumetric efficiency is higher with lower rotation speed compared with higher rotation speed. When the altitude is 8 km, increasing outlet pressure leads to an increase of outlet flow pulsation amplitude from 16% to 20% of the time-averaged flow, and pulsation frequency increases with the rotation speed. Therefore, a lower rotation speed will meet the fuel feeding requirements in high altitude to reduce the system load.