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 the transfer of complex media, NETZSCH has stood for quality and customer satisfaction for over 70 years. With a broad portfolio of positive displacement pumps, NETZSCH offers tailor-made solutions for a wide range of applications worldwide. Thanks to a global sales and service network, NETZSCH can optimally support customers around the world and provide innovative solutions that meet the highest technical requirements. NETZSCH places great emphasis on customer satisfaction and continuous innovation to always offer state-of-the-art technologies.
At NETZSCH, progressing cavity pumps must be tested for their suitability for a wide variety of media. The challenge is to determine the performance suitability and behavior of the pumps with minimal effort. In particular, the shear behavior is very relevant for complex media and can be simulated for various pumps and operating points.
“StrömungsRaum® is highly automated, meaning you don't need any special calculation and CFD knowledge. It is actually the case that the 3D model is computed in the tool and created via parameters, and the reporting is so fully automated that a well-readable report is produced.” - Mikael Tekneyan, Team Leader for the Development of Digital Products in R&D
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. Particularly noteworthy is the shear-reduced design that gently handles sensitive media. StrömungsRaum® allows key performance indicators of the pumps to be calculated with just a few clicks, facilitating insights into process behavior and driving adjustments and innovations forward.
“We save a lot of laboratory work, which is very complex, time-consuming, and labor-intensive. It is so easy to use that even non-engineers can operate StrömungsRaum®.” - Mikael Tekneyan, Team Leader for Digital Product Development in R&D
StrömungsRaum® impresses with fully automated CFD simulations and detailed evaluations, usable without specific simulation knowledge. The solution benefits from the virtually unlimited capacity through cluster connections, enabling scalable application.
The visualization shown illustrates the flow velocity inside the pump at different rotational angles (60° and 90°). This data provides valuable insights into the distribution and dynamics of the 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 also 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 progressing cavity pump across hundreds of geometries and operating points, drawing corresponding conclusions on the processing of complex, shear-sensitive media.
This simple and quick simulation capability supports in design and enables customers to make precise predictions about the flow and shear behavior of complex media. This feature strengthens NETZSCH's market position as a leading provider of durable and high-performance pump technologies.
“I recommend StrömungsRaum® to all pump manufacturers, both for making improvements to their own products and for optimizing the design process for customers. This holds enormous potential!” - Mikael Tekneyan, Team Lead for Digital Product Development in R&D
