NETZSCH Optimizes Pump Technology Efficiently with FlowSpace® | NETZSCH
Higher efficiency and significant cost savings through fully automated, digital simulations and parametric adjustments
NETZSCH
NETZSCH Pumpen & Systeme GmbH optimized their pump technology using IANUS's AI-driven StrömungsRaum® simulation, resulting in significant cost savings as well as improved efficiency and performance of their systems.
Solution
By utilizing the StrömungsRaum® platform, NETZSCH was able to optimize pump geometry, reduce wear, and make the production processes more efficient.
Company size
4,600 employees
Revenue
856 million EUR
Challenge
As a global specialist in handling complex media, NETZSCH has represented quality and customer satisfaction for over 70 years. With a wide portfolio of positive displacement pumps, NETZSCH offers customized solutions for a diverse range of applications worldwide. Thanks to a global sales and service network, NETZSCH can optimally support customers around the world and offer innovative solutions that meet the highest technical demands. NETZSCH places great importance on customer satisfaction and continuous innovation to always provide the most advanced technologies.
At NETZSCH, eccentric screw pumps must be tested for their suitability with various media. The challenge lies in determining the performance suitability and behavior of the pumps with minimal effort. Particularly, shear behavior is highly relevant for complex media and can be represented through simulation for a wide range of pumps and operating points.
"StrömungsRaum® is highly automated, meaning no special calculation or CFD knowledge is required. It is indeed true that the 3D model is calculated within the tool and created through parameters, and the reporting is so fully automated that it results in a well-readable report." - Mikael Tekneyan
Result
With StrömungsRaum®, IANUS Simulation offers an innovative solution that assists NETZSCH in precisely simulating and optimizing the behavior of their pumps during the development phase. Notably, this includes shear-reduced design for gentle conveyance of sensitive media. StrömungsRaum® allows for the calculation of key pump performance metrics with just a few clicks, thereby providing insights into process behavior and driving adjustments and innovations.
"This saves us a lot of laboratory activities that are very complex, time-consuming, and labor-intensive. It is so easy to use that even non-engineers can operate StrömungsRaum®." - Mikael Tekneyan
StrömungsRaum® impresses with fully automatic CFD simulations and detailed evaluations that can be utilized without specific simulation knowledge. The solution benefits from nearly unlimited capacity through cluster integration, enabling a scalable application.
The visualizations shown depict the flow velocity within the pump at various rotation angles (60° and 90°). These data provide valuable insights into the distribution and dynamics of flow within the pump system, which is crucial for efficiency and performance optimization. The same applies to shear distribution and turbulent kinetic energy. By analyzing these simulation results, NETZSCH can make targeted adjustments to maximize pump performance for different media while reducing operating costs. These simulation approaches enable precise optimization of pumps for specific application requirements.
Process
By automating the pump simulation, NETZSCH has the ability to simulate 100% of pump geometries with customer-specific process and material requirements as needed, without tying up additional resources in the development department. Even hundreds of simulations can be processed simultaneously, allowing for significant insights to be generated overnight. The geometry necessary for the eccentric screw pump is represented through parameterization, enabling the geometry to be automatically created by specifying a few key values.
Thus, it is not necessary to involve the design department for a multitude of geometry variations. Parameterization also leads to the fully automatic generation of a high-quality computational grid, which forms the basis for realistic computational results. Since the visualization and evaluation of results are also fully automated, a comparable data set is available regardless of the processor, further simplifying the management of insights at NETZSCH.
Conclusion
Through the parametric automation of pump simulation, NETZSCH was able to analyze the shear behavior of the progressive cavity pump across hundreds of geometries and operating points, drawing relevant conclusions regarding the processing of complex, shear-sensitive media.
This simple and rapid simulation capability aids in the design process and enables customers to make precise predictions about the conveying and shear behavior of complex media. This feature enhances NETZSCH's market position as a leading provider of durable and high-performance pump technologies.
“I recommend StrömungsRaum® to all pump manufacturers, firstly to implement improvements in their own products. Secondly, to optimize the design process for their customers. This harbors enormous potential!” - Mikael Tekneyan
