Tests were made on an 11-inch diameter axial-flow propeller pump with impeller and guide blades designed for free vortex conditions, using as a basis the modified aerofoil theory. The best overall efficiency obtained was 82 per cent. Apart from head-flow and efficiency characteristics, measurements were made of velocities and yaw angles within the pump at the design flow of 6 cusecs. and these showed where departures from the theoretical assumptions occurred.
Head-flow characteristics were obtained for various impeller blade-tip clearances from 0·015 to 0·060 inch (0·6 to 2·4 per cent blade height) and it was deduced that secondary flows were not confined to the tip region alone, but extended across the whole annulus.
The pump was on an open circuit, so that cavitation tests were limited. Nevertheless, methods of increasing the resistance to cavitation susceptibility are considered.
It was concluded that despite the fact that some of the assumptions made in the theory are invalid, this method of design may be used with confidence for pumps in the specific speed range of approximately 8,000.
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