Hydraulic Performance Comparison of Centrifugal Closed Impellers Fabricated by Means of Additive Manufacturing and Classical Machining for Space Active Thermal Control Systems of Satellites
Open accessAbstract
The current paper addresses the challenges in manufacturing a critical component of a centrifugal pump for space active thermal control systems of satellites, namely, the closed centrifugal impeller. Compared to the classical technologies, there is an obvious advantage of additive manufacturing of closed impellers, due to the possibility of creating complex geometries, which boost the hydraulic performances of the part and, implicitly, of the pump. In this regard, the authors performed a comparative analysis between a closed impeller obtained by classical machining and three manufactured by additive technology (selective laser melting) by means of dimensional inspection, non-destructive testing, and experimental evaluation. The study performed here showed that the additively manufactured closed impellers exhibited similar hydraulic performances to the classical one, without the need for performing post-processing of internal surfaces. Also, in terms of dimensional and geometrical stability, the additively manufactured closed impellers were within the imposed tolerances, demonstrating the feasibility of obtaining such complex parts by using additive manufacturing. Subsequently, the allocated time for manufacturing decreased by 75% for the closed impellers manufactured by additive technologies, and the need for using four technological processes was decreased to only two, printing and post-processing.
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Studies related to microstructural defects produced by additive manufacturing are still sparse, though several mention that the microstructure does not undergo radical changes.
“Studies related to microstructural defects produced by this process are still sparse, though several mention that the microstructure does not undergo radical changes [54][55][56].”
From Towards Sustainability in Hydraulic Machinery Manufacturing by 3D Printing (2024) · cites this paper as [56]
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- Authors
- Popa, I.-F., Dobromirescu, C., Vintila, I. S., Tinca, I., Mihai, D., Canache, A. M., & Crunteanu, D. E.
- Affiliations
- R&D for Satellites and Space Equipment Department, Romanian Research and Development Institute for Gas Turbines COMOTI, 220 D Iuliu Maniu Bd., Sector 6, 061126 Bucharest, Romania
- Romanian Research and Development Institute for Gas Turbines (RO)
- “Elie Carafoli” Department of Aerospace Science, Politehnica Bucharest National University of Science and Technology, 1-7 Gheorghe Polizu Str., Building A—Ground Floor, Sector 1, 011061 Bucharest, Romania
- Corresponding author
- Dobromirescu, Cristian
- Venue
- Applied Sciences
- Publisher
- MDPI AG
- Published
- 2024-10-16
- Volume
- 14
- Issue
- 20
- Pages
- 9448
- ISSN
- 2076-3417 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W4403491379
- Cited by
- 6
- References
- 17
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 1
- FWCI
- 0.65
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Applied Sciences (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Romanian Ministry of Research Innovation and Digitalization (PN23.12.06.01, 4000137441/22/NL/MG/ces)
- European Space Agency (ESA) (PN23.12.06.01, 4000137441/22/NL/MG/ces)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Automotive Engineering › Additive Manufacturing and 3D Printing Technologies
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Mechanical Engineering › Additive Manufacturing Materials and Processes
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Mechanics of Materials › Cavitation Phenomena in Pumps
- Keywords
- centrifugal pump, additive manufacturing, laser powder bed fusion, hydraulic performance, dimensional accuracy, production time reduction, complex geometries
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