Accepted Manuscript

NUMERICAL METHODOLOGY FOR THE CFD SIMULATION OF

DIAPHRAGM VOLUMETRIC PUMPS

Menéndez Blanco Alberto , Fernández Oro Jesus Manuel ,

Meana-Fernández Andrés

PII: S0020-7403(18)30242-X
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmecsci.2018.10.039
Reference: MS 4595

To appear in: International Journal of Mechanical Sciences

Received date: 23 January 2018

Revised date: 17 September 2018
Accepted date: 18 October 2018

Please cite this article as: Menéndez Blanco Alberto , Fernández Oro Jesus Manuel ,
Meana-Fernández Andrés , NUMERICAL METHODOLOGY FOR THE CFD SIMULATION OF
DIAPHRAGM VOLUMETRIC PUMPS, International Journal of Mechanical Sciences (2018), doi:
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmecsci.2018.10.039

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 ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT

HIGHLIGHTS
 CFD Modeling of an Air-Operated Double Diaphragm Pump for the first time.
 Dynamic meshes with implicit schemes fully resolve the Fluid Structure
Interaction.
 Experimental tests have validated the numerical methodology used in a 2D
model.
 Typical phenomena like ball tapping and flow leakage are accurately
reproduced.
 Flow patterns within the pump advice for the need of a 3D model in future

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work.

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NUMERICAL METHODOLOGY FOR THE CFD SIMULATION OF

DIAPHRAGM VOLUMETRIC PUMPS
Menéndez Blanco, Alberto ; Fernández Oro, Jesus Manuel  ; Meana-Fernández, Andrés
Fluid Mechanics Area, Department of Energy, University of Oviedo
C/ Wifredo Ricart, s/n. Gijón, Asturias, 33204 Spain
 [email protected] (corresponding author)

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ABSTRACT

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This paper presents the unsteady numerical methodology for the CFD simulation of Air-
Operated Diaphragm Pumps. The model reproduces the unsteady displacement of the
diaphragm using dynamic mesh techniques and fully resolves the Fluid Structure
Interaction (FSI) responsible for the motion of the check valves. The governing

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parameters have been modified with User Defined Functions (UDFs), using an implicit
scheme for the grid motion that guarantees the stability and realizability of the two-
dimensional model adopted.
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The analysis of the instantaneous delivered flow rate, as a function of the discharged
outlet pressure, has provided interesting and useful information for the future design
of new prototypes. The comparison between numerical results and the experimental
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performance curves has confirmed the accuracy of the model and the correct mesh
selection in the small gaps and passages of the pump internal geometry.
The leakage flows, especially in the exhausting valve during the forward stroke, and the
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ball tapping responsible for instabilities and high-frequency noise during oscillations of
the valves has been accurately simulated. At high-delivered pressures, it has been
observed a characteristic ripple in the instantaneous flow rate during the deceleration
of the diaphragm towards its top-dead-center, associated to a partial re-opening of the
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exhausting valve.
A closer look to the dynamics of the balls has revealed a strong coupling between inlet
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and outlet check valves. In addition, despite of the remarkable level of accuracy (less
than 9% of deviation), the recirculating cells found in the flow fields inside the pump
suggest the convenience of the development of a full-unsteady 3D model in the near
future.
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KEYWORDS: CFD Simulation, Air-Operated Double Diaphragm Pump, Dynamic

Mesh, Numerical Methodology, Layering and remeshing techniques.

Revised Version 2.0, September, 17th, 2018.

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1. INTRODUCTION
Diaphragm pumps are positive displacement pumps that use reciprocating deformable
diaphragms to generate a pulsating discharge flow. The driving mechanism can be
mechanical, using a typical crank gear mechanism to convert a rotational motion into
an alternative motion of a piston attached to the diaphragm, or fluid-operated, where
a secondary hydraulic fluid drives the motion from the opposing side of the diaphragm.
In the case of using compressed air as the driving fluid, the pumps are usually double-
acting, incorporating two diaphragms and two sets of check valves, with the air flow

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being alternated between diaphragms via a shuttle valve. These pumps are usually
known as Air-Operated Double Diaphragm (AODD) Pumps.

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The working principle of these AODD pumps is simple. The compressed air is shifted

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from one chamber to the other by a pivoting pneumatic valve, while both diaphragms
are moved simultaneously due to a central shaft. This reciprocating motion creates and
collapses cavities forcing the liquid to get out of one chamber and go into a discharging
manifold, while the other chamber is being filled with liquid coming from the inlet

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manifold at the same time. In addition, a set of check valves, operating due to the
pressure differences in the chambers, are introduced to guarantee no recirculation.
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AODD pumps are highly reliable, due to the absence of internal parts in friction, and
they do not contain sealing or lubricating oils, so leakage and contamination of the
pumping fluid is avoided. The inclusion of intermediate relief valves and additional
ports to fully-load the hydraulic chambers help to enlarge the lifespan of the pump.
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They are used for a wide range of applications, going from petrochemical to sanitary or
food and beverage industries, where highly abrasive or medium-to-high viscosity
liquids must be transferred. Slurries and all sorts of aggressive fluids, even with high
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amount of solid contents, can be also easily handled by these pumps due to their good
suction characteristics.
Manufacturers configure these pumps to the specific needs of a customer’s
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application, including selection of materials and overall pump capacity, so the

diaphragm has to be compatible with the pumped fluid and sized to match with the
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desired pump stroke and delivery flowrate. Most designs of AODD pumps are based on
a peripheral layout of the flow passages, with the pneumatic motor being placed in the
center of the pump, between both diaphragms, and ball valves acting as check valves
[1,2,3]. The simplicity and the compatibility of the design to different materials and
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heavy fluids explains its predominant use in the industry (Figure 1, left).
Recently, a new configuration with a central layout of the flow passages has been
proposed by SAMOA Industrial S.A. [4,5]. The diaphragms are placed in the central
position of the pump, in combination with the check valves, locating the pneumatic
motor outside of the core and thus reducing the total length of the manifolds (Figure
1, right). This novel design presents lower internal pressure losses, higher compactness
and superior lifespan of the diaphragms (due to the suppression of non-axial forces)
with respect to classical designs.

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Figure 1. Peripheral layout (left) versus Central layout (right) of the flow passages in an
AODD pump.

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Due to the advances achieved in the design of centrifugal pumps during the last
decades, and their low manufacturing costs, volumetric pumps have played a minor
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role in the pumping machinery field. Research activity has followed a similar trend,
with a wide number of investigations on centrifugal pumps available in the literature,
but only a very reduced significant research on volumetric pumps (even more marginal
for diaphragm pumps). Typically, the development of AODD pumps has been based on
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experimental characterizations of their performance [6,7], mainly focused on the

materials compatibility. Up to the authors’ knowledge, no scientific references dealing
with diaphragm pumps can be found in the open literature.
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In order to propose a numerical model for the analysis of a diaphragm pump, other
types of pumps with similar working principles can be referenced. In particular, both
experimental and numerical investigations of axial piston pumps with check valves can
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be found and cited as preliminary studies for AODD pumps. Experimental studies have
analyzed the characteristics of the valve motion of a reciprocating pump [8] and even
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the detection of cavitation phenomena using high-speed cameras [9], while 1D

mathematical approaches have been proposed to model reciprocating pumps with
self-acting valves numerically [10,11], including pressure pulsations [12], or even
alternative pumps with multiple cavities [13].
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In addition, CFD simulations have recently emerged as a powerful tool to analyze in

detail the spatial characteristics of the flow patterns within volumetric flow pumps.
The performance of plunger pumps as a function of the crank angle [14], the
evaluation of its inlet stroke performance [15] and even cavitation inception [16,17]
are some examples of the potentiality of computational modelling. The unsteady
simulation of air-operated piston pumps [18] and the numerical analysis of axial piston
pumps [19,20] are also significant contributions for the study of reciprocating pumps
via CFD. Complementarily, there are also relevant examples of CFD modelling for the
study of the valve motion in check valves. The development of deformable meshes and
the implementation of deforming grids [21] have allowed the optimization of check

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valve designs [22] and the analysis of fluid-structure interactions [23], even under
incipient cavitation [24].
In the present investigation, a novel methodology for the computational analysis of
volumetric diaphragm pumps is presented. In particular, an unsteady CFD modelling
has been developed using deformable mesh techniques to simulate the flow patterns
within an AODD pump. A set of user defined functions were developed to model
accurately the dynamic movement of the pump diaphragm and the opening and
closing of the check valves. This displacement is essential to model correctly the
delivered flow rate as a function of the pressure differences in the chambers. In
addition, implicit schemes for the grid motion were found to be necessary for stability

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and accuracy of the fluid-structure interaction (FSI) of the moving balls. Well-known
phenomena like balls tapping, internal recirculations and volumetric losses have been

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successfully reproduced in the simulations. Moreover, typical delays for the opening
and closing of the check valves have been well-reproduced by the model, and their

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behavior as a function of the air supply pressure or the pump working conditions has
been also studied. The numerical model has been complemented with a set of
laboratory tests for validation purposes. Unsteady pressure signals in the diaphragm

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cavities have been measured for different operating conditions of the pump and
compared with the numerical data provided by the CFD model.
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2. STUDIED DIAPHRAGM PUMP (DP-200) AND OPERATING CYCLE
SAMOA Industrial S.A. is a European manufacturer of equipment for fluid transfer,
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disposing, dosing, recovery and inventory control. Since 1985, SAMOA Group have
been commercializing conventional AODD pumps that pump the fluid around the
outside of the pump. To overcome the issues associated with these traditional models,
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a radical inside-out concept was developed in 2000 to suppress peripheral manifolds.

The pump was redesigned with a central flow path configuration and a new air
distribution system.
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Later, the central flow concept was reengineered in 2010 refining the critical elements
and reducing the number of internal components. The so-called Directflo® pump (DP)
is an extremely simple machine, very reliable with minimal maintenance requirements
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and typical delivered flow rates in the range between 30 and 100 liters per minute. In
2014, a new series of Directflo pumps has been designed to achieve delivered flow
rates up to 200 l/min. The DP-200 series has required a careful definition of the
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internal flow passages, the diaphragm size and the check valve geometries. The pump
has been finally commercialized in February 2017. Figure 2 shows a photograph of the
DP-200 pump, in both metallic and plastic versions (left image). On the right, an inner
view reveals the different parts of the central flow concept.

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Figure 2. Metallic and plastic prototypes of DP-200 pump (left) and internal view of the
basic elements (right).

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These pumps feature two significant innovations: the flexible diaphragm suspension
and the frictionless pivoting air valve. The diaphragm is a structured circular plate that

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incorporates a ribbed underside to provide higher strength and lifespan. The
diaphragm is made of EPDM (Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer) rubber as basic
material, reinforced with a fabric and with a sheet of PTFE (Poly Tetra Fluoro Ethylene)
thermally-adhered to the diaphragm side in contact with the media. The diaphragms
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are not rigidly fixed to the shaft, reducing fatigue and contributing to extend their
service life since non-axial loads are not transmitted. On the other hand, a new
frictionless and extremely fast air valve was developed to reduce the air consumption,
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reducing the fatigue wear and allowing shorter stroke lengths. Table 1 includes all the
relevant geometrical data and summarizes the basic operating parameters of the
pump.
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Table 1. Geometrical data and operating parameters

Diaphragm external diameter, De (mm) 200
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Diaphragm internal diameter, Di (mm) 100

Diaphragm effective diameter, Dd (mm) 150
Diaphragm stroke length, Ld (mm) 31.0
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Diaphragm effective area, Ad (cm2) 176.7

Delivery per stroke, Vd (cm3) 548
Internal manifolds diameter, Dm (mm) 26.5
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Ball diameter of check valves, Dv (mm) 31.75

Ball maximum displacement, Lv (mm) 10
Check valve effective area (max), Av (cm2) 4.98
Air-operation pressure, Pair (bar) 0-8
Pressure ratio (-) 1:1
Maximum free delivery (8 bar), Q (l/min) 200
Maximum driven velocity, n (Hz) 3.0

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Figure 3. Sketch of the pneumatic operation (left) and basic dimensions of the

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diaphragm and check valves (right).

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The operating cycle is a consequence of the alternative displacement imposed in the
diaphragms by the pneumatic valve. When one of the diaphragms moves out, a
volume in one chamber is created causing the pressure to decrease and suction fluid
into the pump. At the same time, the other chamber is collapsed and the fluid in
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contact with the second diaphragm is discharged out of the pump. When diaphragms
reach their bottom and top dead centers (BDC, TDC) respectively, a pneumatic end
stroke sensor is triggered and the directional valve is inverted. Due to the pressure
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differences created, the ball valves are also activated at the beginning of every back-
and-forth stroke, with some delay due to inertial forces. Figure 3 shows a sketch of the
operating cycle, including the basic dimensions of the working elements.
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3. PERFORMANCE CURVES AND EXPERIMENTAL SENSORS

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The experimental performance curves of the DP-200 AODD pump have been obtained
by the manufacturer in the prototypes laboratory of the R&D department of SAMOA
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Industrial S.A. using water as the working fluid. The test facility is composed of a
closed-loop hydraulic circuit connecting two atmospheric tanks with free-surface level
sensors, following the standards ANSI/HI 10.6-2004 by the Hydraulic Institute [7] (see
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Figure 4, left). The delivered flow rate of the pump, installed between the tanks, is
measured volumetrically comparing the time required to displace a given amount of
fluid. The amount of water is calibrated on-line using an electronic balance. The
pressure rise given by the pump is obtained through the measurement of the inlet and
outlet static pressures of the pump with electronic manometers (Figure 4, right).

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Figure 4. Test laboratory in the R&D Department at SAMOA Industrial S.A. (left) and
detail of the pump instrumented with the measuring sensors (right).

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The pump is also instrumented with an inductive sensor, to obtain the instantaneous

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position of the diaphragm, and a pressure transducer to measure the static pressure in
the hydraulic chamber. In addition, the working point for the pump can be modified
using a throttle valve in the primary line of the circuit and the air-supplied pressure can

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be also regulated between 0 and 8 bar for different air consumptions, which is
measured with a thermal flowmeter. Figure 5 shows a sketch of the hydraulic facility
and Table 2 gives the accuracy and precision of the measuring devices.
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Table 2. Accuracy and precision of the measuring equipment.

Measuring device Manufacturer and model Range Uncertainty
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Inductive sensor PEPPERL-FUCHS NBN-8GM30-E2V1 0-3 mm 5% (hysteresis)

Pressure transducer TE Connectivity MEAS U5244 -1 to 13 bar ± 1%
Pressure transducer ESI Genspec GS4002 -1 to 24 bar ± 1%
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Electronic manometer Parker Service Junior SCJN-016-01 -1 to 16 bar ± 0.5%

Thermal flowmeter Testo 6442 12 to 3750 lpm ± 0.3%
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Figure 5. Sketch of the hydraulic circuit for the experimental database (left) and list of
the basic elements (right).

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To characterize the performance curves of the pump, three different air-supplied

pressures (2, 4 and 6 bar) have been tested for different discharge pressures in the
throttle valve. Hence, the experimental database is composed of 9 different working
conditions (see table 3).
Table 3. Experimental database.
Air-supply Discharge Driving Normalized
Test Volume Time Flow rate
pressure pressure frequency Efficiency
No. (l) (s) (l/min)
(bar) (bar) (Hz) (–)
#1 2 0 200 107 112.2 1.85 0.00
#2 2 1 200 206 58.2 1.0 0.36

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#3 4 0 200 83.9 144.6 2.45 0.00
#4 4 1.5 200 143 83.9 1.4 0.31

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#5 4 3 200 504 23.8 0.45 0.47
#6 6 0 200 76 157.8 2.7 0.00

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#7 6 1.5 200 104 115.4 1.8 0.24
#8 6 3.0 200 159 75.5 1.25 0.40
#9 6 4.5 200 282 42.6 0.75 0.50

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The performance curves (pressure rise and normalized efficiency as a function of the
flow rate for different air-supplied pressures) are shown in Figure 6. The efficiency has
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been obtained as the ratio between the fluid power and the driving power of the
pneumatic supply. According to the manufacturer, it has been defined that nominal
points correspond to working situations where the discharge gauge pressure is
approximately 1 bar (typical situations for transport of low-viscosity liquids).
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Additionally, using the theory of transmission of uncertainty, we have estimated the

following precision for the figures of merit of the volumetric pump: 0.12 bar in the
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measurements of the pressure rise given by the pump and maximum uncertainty of
0.7% in the measurement of the flow rate.
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Figure 6. Performance curves of the AODD pump: Pressure rise and normalized
efficiency as a function of the flow rate.

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4. NUMERICAL METHODOLOGY
The commercial package ANSYS-FLUENT® v16 [25] has been used to resolve the set of
Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations with a finite volume approach. A
dynamic based technique, using remeshing and layering functionalities, have been
employed for the simulation of the alternative deformation of the diaphragm and the
induced motion of the ball valves.
4.1. Numerical scheme
The Finite Volume Method (FVM) is employed to resolve the fluid governing equations
for incompressible flow using the RANS approach:

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 Continuity equation:

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̅

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(1)
 Momentum equation:
̅ (̅ ̅ ) ̅

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(2)
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In this case, a second-order upwind spatial scheme has been employed for the
convection terms, with a Green-Gauss cell based method for the computation of
spatial gradients in diffusion terms of the momentum equation. A segregated solver
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with the SIMPLE pressure-velocity coupling was firstly employed for preliminary
simulations in a steady fashion. Later, it was switched to a PISO algorithm for the
dynamic simulations with the deformable mesh.
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In addition, due to the turbulent regime of the flow inside the pump, a k-ε RNG
turbulence model with standard wall functions was selected due to its robustness and
versatility for a wide range of fluid machinery applications [26]. Moreover, this option
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includes the effect of swirl in turbulence and also accounts for low Reynolds number
effects. Thus, the Reynolds Stress Tensor in the momentum equation is modelled using
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an Eddy Viscosity Model, according to:

̅ ̅
̅̅̅̅̅̅ ( )
⏟
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(3)

where ̅̅̅̅̅̅̅ is the turbulent kinetic energy and is the turbulent

viscosity, with . Additional transport equations are required for the
turbulent kinetic energy and the turbulent dissipation rate, ̅̅̅̅̅̅, being

( ). In the case of the RNG model, these closure equations are for this
case (neglecting buoyancy):

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( ̅)
* +

(4)
( ̅)
* + ( )

(5)
with typical coefficients and .
A convergence criterion of 10-6 was fixed in the continuity equation for all the cases
simulated. Typical convergence thresholds of 10-8 for the two velocity components and

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10-7 for turbulent variables were also guaranteed.

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In summary, for this numerical model, the following assumptions have been adopted:

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 Two-dimensional simulation of the transversal, central section of the AODD
pump for both static and dynamic (unsteady) conditions using deformable
mesh.



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Incompressible, viscous flow of a single-phase Newtonian fluid (water).
Thermal and buoyancy effects have been neglected.
Turbulent flow regime with a characteristic Reynolds number of 60000 (based
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on the diameter of the balls and the flow velocity in the vicinity of the valves),
resolved with a two-equation turbulent modelling.
 Implicit resolution of the flow fields using a pressure-based solver with also an
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implicit scheme of the grid motion when using dynamic mesh (see section 4.6
later). Implementation of parametric UDFs to simulate the alternative
displacement of the diaphragm and the FSI of the check balls.
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4.2. Baseline mesh and boundary conditions

Firstly, a 2D baseline mesh was resolved in a steady model as a first approach to the
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problem in order to define an accurate cell density and a correct identification of the
critical parameters. A transversal section of the AODD pump, comprising one of the
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two diaphragms only, is considered as the representative domain for the simulations.
Also, the inlet and outlet interior manifolds of the pump have been rotated 90 deg in
order to be aligned with the diaphragm axis.
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For economy, a hybrid 2D structured mesh was implemented in the whole domain
using the grid builder ANSYS-ICEM® v16.2 [27]. The complete geometry was split in
different rectangular blocks that are later reshaped to match with the real contours of
the pump (see Figure 7, left). Afterwards, every block is meshed using structured cells.
Local refinements have been introduced towards the end-walls and in the small gaps
between the different elements of the pump. Typical y+ values in the range between 3
and 6 have been found in the valve walls. With this strategy, it was possible to obtain
minimum skewness (index below 0.45) and high orthogonal qualities (index above
0.55). Since the diaphragm region will require a remeshing utility for the dynamic

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approach, a mesh with triangular cells was already introduced in that zone (see Figure
7, right).

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Figure 7. Multiblock meshing strategy in ICEM (left) and final structured mesh with
local refinements (right).
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The different boundary conditions introduced in the model are also represented in
Figure 7 (identified with additional annotations). For the ending sections of the
domain, a total pressure equal to zero at the inlet ( ) and a pressure drop
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proportional to the kinetic energy at the outlet ( ), representing different

throttle valve conditions, were defined. Precisely, this outlet boundary condition
allows to change the flow rate conditions, imposing different values of the constant
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which mimics the closure of the valve. In particular, the values of employed to
obtain different averaged static pressure at the outlet are summarized later in Table 5.
All the solid boundaries have been defined as non-slip end-walls (in case of moving
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zones, the walls are also defined stationary in the relative frame of reference, ⃗ ).
Finally, to simulate the pressure rise given by the volumetric principle using a steady
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model, an actuator disc approach was implemented in the middle section of the
diaphragm at its TDC and the ball valves were set to their opening position to allow a
continuous flow delivery.
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4.3. Static model

In order to compare the results of this 2D static model with the real 3D experimental
curves, it is necessary to introduce some scaling factors. Calculating the ratio of the
volumetric flow rates generated by the diaphragm in both 2D and 3D situations (in 2D,
the flow rate is per unit length; whereas in 3D is considering the real area of the
diaphragm) and imposing that value for the delivered flow rate at the discharge
sections, a scaling factor for the velocities between the 2D and 3D cases is obtained.
On the other hand, assuming that pressure losses inside the passages of the pump are
quadratic with respect to the bulk velocities, a scaling factor for the pressure values
can be also derived, yielding to:

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( ) ( )

(6)

Where Dd stands for the effective diameter of the diaphragm and Dm is the diameter of
the discharge manifold.
Under free delivery conditions, the experimental flow rate is firstly used to calibrate
the model: A tentative pressure rise is iterated until the desired flow rate is obtained.
With that solution, the pressure loss coefficient of the hydraulic model can be
determined. This coefficient is thus imposed for the hydraulic losses in the rest

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working points simulated. Following, the pressure rise is intended in the other cases

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(to reproduce the experimental values) and the delivered flow rate by the pump in the
model is finally considered as an estimation of the solution. Table 4 shows the

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comparison of the experimental values (when working at non-zero discharge pressure)
with the numerical estimations. Note that the assumption of constant loss coefficient
is validated due to the reduced deviation (a maximum 15%) of the numerical solutions.

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In addition, these results confirm that the spatial discretization adopted for the model
can be accepted (in these applications, the precise computation of the fluid turbulent
boundary layer and the associated pressure losses are marginal with respect to the
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pressure rises generated volumetrically).

Table 4. Comparison of experimental and numerical results.

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Experimental Numerical
Test Air-supply Discharge Relative error
flow rate flow rate
No. pressure (bar) pressure (bar) (%)
(l/min) (l/min)
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4 4 1.5 83.9 80.9 3.57

5 4 3 23.8 20.2 15.1
7 6 1.5 115.4 113.1 1.99
8 6 3.0 75.5 71.6 5.16
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9 6 4.5 42.6 38.2 10.3

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Also, and because of the relatively low Reynolds number in the pump, the results for
the k-ε RNG model have been compared with other two-equation turbulence models
for low Re: The Realizable k-ε and the k-ω SST. The results obtained for the flow
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patterns at the TDC are shown in Figure 8. Both k-ε models present a very similar
behavior, with the RNG being more susceptible for internal recirculations. The flow
pattern in the gap of the discharge valve is practically identical, although there are also
significant differences in the outgoing flow close to the domain outlet. In the case of
the k-ω SST model, a large recirculation cell (established downstream of the ball)
induces a large blockage and a broader jet that leads to an earlier detached flow on
the sphere, resembling the characteristics of a laminar regime. Though not shown
here, the analysis of the ball motions with the dynamic mesh also reveals that the
instantaneous response of the valves is severely mitigated with the SST model, thus
underpredicting inertial effects on the flow. Hence, for this application, it is concluded

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that the k-ω option introduces excessive damping to instabilities and ball oscillations
and it should not be recommended for the modelling of turbulence.

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Figure 8. Comparison of flow patterns (velocity contours) for different turbulence
models: k-ε RNG; k-ε Realizable; k-ω SST
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4.4. Dynamic meshes: remeshing & layering techniques.

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After the validation of the baseline mesh, the next step is the introduction of
deformable regions in the numerical model. Dynamic techniques allow the
displacement of the domain boundaries in the CFD simulations, adjusting the
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associated meshes accordingly. The solid boundaries can be modified in time due to a
prescribed motion or due to the interaction with the fluid (fluid-structure interaction).
To introduce this technique, the grid velocity of the boundaries has to be introduced in
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the conservation equations [28]. Hence, it is possible to evaluate correctly both inlet
and outlet flows on that moving zones and also take into account the variation of the
cells size in the temporal term of the equations.
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Basically, three fundamental methods for mesh reconstruction can be found in the
literature: smoothing, layering and remeshing techniques. However, smoothing is only
viable in case of small deformations, so it has been discarded for the present
application. For the check valves, taking advantage of the linear up-and-down motion
of the balls, a layering method was employed due to its higher efficiency and economy.
It was necessary to encapsulate the balls in a body-fitted cylinder (Figure 9, left) with a
structured mesh in order to allow an efficient generation and collapse of cell rows.
Moreover, the cylinder sidewall was defined as a sliding interface to allow the flow
between fluid zones. For the diaphragm, due to the its flexible motion (from concave

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to convex in every stroke), a remeshing technique was used so the mesh had to be
rebuilt after updating the diaphragm in every time step of the simulation (Figure 9,
right).
Precisely, the velocity of the mesh nodes co-located in the diaphragm is imposed with
a compiled User Defined Function (UDF) that associates a cosine law for the movement
of the diaphragm. Note that the amplitude of every node is a function of its radial
position with respect to the center of the diaphragm, thus allowing the periodic
deformation of the diaphragm, according to ( ) ( ). Here, xP
corresponds to the position of the node overtime, t; Ad is the amplitude of the node

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(equal to the diaphragm stroke, Ld, in the non-deformable inner disc of the diaphragm;

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and with a decreasing linear variation in the deformable outer ring) and f is the
reciprocating frequency.

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Figure 9. Details of the remeshing and layering techniques.

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4.5. Used Defined Functions (UDFs)

The behavior of the deformable regions is controlled with User Defined Functions
(UDFs) which include the governing laws for the displacements of the diaphragm and
the check valves.
On the one hand, the diaphragm motion is prescribed with two remeshing functions
for the diaphragm in the first UDF. A Define-Grid-Motion macro is executed at the
beginning of every time step to identify those nodes of the domain located on the
diaphragm and to relocate them to their new positions. Following, a Define-Adjust
macro is called at the first iteration to calculate the grid velocity of the nodes, which is

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simply computed as the relative movement divided by the time step (Figure 10). The
UDF also includes control parameters for the stability and accuracy of the dynamic
mesh like the spring constant, set to 0.3, or the threshold values for setting off the
remeshing: cells sizes between 0.1 and 1.5 mm (minimum and maximum cell sizes
permitted) and maximum skewness of 0.7.
On the other hand, the second UDF for the check valves includes only one function for
layering. The motion of the balls as rigid bodies is controlled with a Define-CG-Motion
macro that is executed at the beginning of every time step. In this kind of macros, the
current velocity of the ball must be given as an input, so it has to be calculated in the

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UDF code as a function of the velocity at the end of the previous time step and the
corresponding fluid forces acting on the ball. According to an explicit, first-order

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numerical integration, this can be expressed as:

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∫ ∫( ) ⇒ ( )

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Where F is the force exerted by the fluid (including both viscous and pressure terms)
(7)
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and mb is the mass of the ball. Following, the position of the ball is also calculated from
the velocity value according to , although it is mandatory to check if
the ball is still placed between upper ( ) and bottom ( ) tops.
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Otherwise, the velocity is set to zero to avoid further non-allowed movements.

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Figure 10. Sequence of the UDFs for the remeshing routines with the explicit scheme.

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Note that every ball has to be tracked with its own particular macro. In this case, the
control parameters of the layering are the collapse factor, which is set to 0.2 (cells are
suppressed when its size is only a 20% of the original one), and the splitting factor,
which is set to 0.4 (a cell is divided in two when its size is a 140% larger than the
original value).
Complementarily, a third UDF based on the Define-Execute-At-End macro is
implemented in the code to perform post-processing routines like collecting relevant
data and/or exporting main variables into output files. Figure 11 shows the necessary
sequence followed to employ the layering macro in an explicit fashion. More details

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with complete coding of the UDFs can be found in [29].

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Figure 11. Sequence of the UDFs for the layering routines with the explicit scheme.
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4.6. Explicit VS Implicit schemes.

The explicit scheme for the grid motion is desirable because allows the updating of the
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mesh only once at the beginning of every time step using the flow variables from the
previous instant. Figure 12, left, shows how the complete explicit routines for layering
and remeshing techniques are incorporated in the computational procedure of the
ANSYS-FLUENT solver. However, significant restrictions arise for the grid motion in
order not to violate the mesh Courant number [30], i.e. balls and diaphragms motions
should not exceed the size of the collapsing cells. Typically, this requires the
employment of reduced time steps (below 5·10-5 s for the grid density of the static
model).
Another important restriction is associated to the very small gaps used for the closure
of the valves in the dynamic mesh. Since a complete closure is not possible (in order to
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avoid singularities, the mesh cannot be completely vanished), a minimum clearance

has to be maintained for realizability of the model. Hence, it has been fixed to 0.15 mm
(a 0.5% of the ball diameter) in the present simulations, preserving only 2 cells in the
valve seat gap. In addition, due to the highly-refined meshes in that region (y+= 4÷9),
an Enhanced Wall Treatment (EWT) was also employed for the turbulence modelling
[31]. A hybrid mesh with approximately 33000 cells was finally used for the whole
domain.
This is an additional problem for the explicit scheme because of the extremely reduced
time steps required when the balls are closing the check valves. Preliminary

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simulations, under free-discharge conditions, exhibited problems of convergence due
to unstable calculations of the forces acting on the balls and non-realistic velocity

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estimations. Additional attempts reducing the time steps from 10-5 to 10-6 and even 10-
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did not resolve the problems. After a few cycles, the instabilities are amplified and

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the simulations blow-up due to the mesh corruption produced by an out-of-scale
motion of the balls (figure 12, right).

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Figure 12. Flowchart for the explicit scheme (left) and diverging instabilities in the
computation of the fluid forces exerted on the balls (right).

Most of the simulation parameters were also modified without significant progress:
high-order discretization schemes, other turbulence models (S-A, k-ω), coupled solver

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and even other remeshing strategies in the check valves. Hence it is concluded that
there is a high coupling between the solid-body motion of the balls and the fluid-flow
structures (FSI) that cannot be solved with a conventional explicit scheme for the grid
motion.
To confirm this hypothesis, a simplified case with a diaphragm and a single ball without
valve-seat restrictions was modelled. The ball was encapsulated with a structured
mesh and the UDFs were also simplified considering remeshing only with the explicit
scheme (Figure 13, left). It was observed a clear trend for numerical instability and a
high dependency on the time step size. Figure 13, right, shows the evolution of the

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force exerted over the ball for several cycles of the diaphragm motion, as the time step
is progressively reduced. Only a narrow range of time steps derives in a controlled

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evaluation of the force. If the time step is high, large oscillations arise in the
computations of the force; but if the time step is too reduced, new instabilities are also

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produced. Consequently, the realizability of the model is seriously compromised and
difficult to be determined in aprioristic basis.

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Figure 13. Simplified model for the evaluation of the explicit scheme (left) and
temporal evolution of the force in the ball as a function of the time step size (right).
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Effectively, the employment of explicit schemes in fluid-solid interactions is not

recommended when the density ratio of the fluid with respect to the solid is around or
above unity (here, the balls are made of PTFE with a typical density of 2200 kg/m3).
Small pressure fluctuations may lead to significant oscillations in the body motion and
eventually set off an unstable feedback that breaks up the simulation [32], as
previously evidenced. Therefore, the numerical methodology was reoriented towards
an implicit scheme, despite of the large CPU times required. The significant increment
of the computational costs is based on the grid updating that must be completed now
at every iteration in the time step. Approximately, 400 hours (2-3 weeks) of CPU time

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were necessary to resolve one single cycle of the diaphragm in the two-dimensional
domain of 33K cells using a 4-nodes Intel Core i7-5820K at 3.3 GHz and 64Gb RAM.
Previous UDFs are re-used, but now updating both local and global variables in every
iteration. In order to improve the coupling between the velocity and the forces acting
on the balls, a second-order backward approach is also employed to calculate the
velocity of the balls:

( ( ) )⁄

(8)

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The convergence of the implicit scheme for the mesh is also enhanced introducing

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under-relaxing factors during the iterative process in a given time step. The following
equation is implemented [25] to control the relative changes in the grid velocity

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between consecutive iterations:
( ) ( ) ( )
( )

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where indicates the current iteration, ( ) stands for the velocity computed in the
(9)
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previous iteration, ( ) is the non-relaxed velocity for the current iteration and is
the under-relaxing factor (that must be fixed between 0 and 1). To speed up the whole
calculation, the under-relaxing factor is re-calculated in every iteration according to
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the following mathematical expression:

( )
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(10)

defines the under-relaxing factor in the first iteration, while controls the
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asymptotic evolution of the relaxing factor towards unity (i.e., when is no longer
relaxing). In the present simulations, the values and were found to
provide a reasonable ratio between economy and accuracy.
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In addition, the mesh updating was finally not performed at every iteration. Only
during the first numbers of iterations, the update was maintained without skipping.
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After the initial five iterations, the update was performed every two iterations and
finally after every five iterations. Figure 14, right, shows the asymptotic evolution of
the under-relaxing factor (black solid line), and the iterating intervals for the mesh to
be updated. Note how the oscillations in the calculation of the force (red line) are
damped during the initial iterations.
All these features have allowed to economize the computational costs and also to
increase the time step sizes without divergence issues. The instabilities leading to non-
realistic motions and mesh divergence during the initial iterations of the critical time
steps (those in the proximity of the valve seat) are now under control. Figure 14, left,

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shows the definitive flowchart of the dynamic calculations with UDFs for the implicit
scheme.

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Figure 14. Evolution of the under-relaxing factors and grid updating intervals in a time
step (right) and final flowchart for the implicit scheme (left).
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4.7. Final unsteady resolution with FSI.

The final numerical model with implicit scheme for the mesh update in the moving
zones was executed for all the operating points characterized experimentally. To
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reproduce the different cases, the outlet boundary condition (a pressure drop
proportional to the kinetic energy) had to be fixed changing the value of the loss
coefficient. Note that this procedure mimics the partial closure of the throttle valve in
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the experiments. Precisely, the loss coefficient is estimated from the experiments,
computing the ratio between the RMS value of the static pressure measured with the
electronic manometer (see figure 15, left) and the mean bulk velocity at the pump
discharge:

̅
(11)

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The different loss coefficients used for the numerical simulations are presented in
Table 5 below (fourth column). The time step used in every case and the driving
frequency imposed for the diaphragm (measured experimentally) is also given in the
table. Note that, from a physical point of view, it is necessary to preserve a reasonable
Courant number (around unity) in order to obtain a resolution with physical sense
when performing the unsteady computations. Considering that the smallest cells in the
valve seats are in the order of a fraction of a millimeter (10-4 m), with expected
velocities in the range of 2.5 m/s, time steps were fixed in the order of 5·10-5 to 10-5
as a convenient selection for accuracy and stability.

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Table 5. Numerical database. Outlet BC and time step sizes.

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Supplied Discharge Loss
Test Driving Time step, Δt
pressure pressure, coefficient,
No. frequency (Hz) (s)

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(bar) PRMS (bar) Kv (-)
#1 2 0 0 1.85 5·10-5
#2 2 1.16 75.1 1.0 5·10-5
#3 4 0 0 2.45 5·10-5
#4
#5
#6
4
4
6
1.99
3.65
0
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62.1
1411
0
1.4
0.45
2.7
5·10-5
5·10-5
2.5·10-5
2.5·10-5
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#7 6 1.97 32.5 1.8
#8 6 3.63 139.9 1.25 5·10-5
#9 6 4.14 500.8 0.75 5·10-5
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In addition, it was necessary to run the simulations during two initial cycles to
eliminate the transient state in the pump. Of course, this increased notably the
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required CPU time, but it is unavoidable to obtain a representative solution for the
model. A fully-periodic response was achieved from the third cycle on, so monitoring
of the relevant variables and significant intermediate positions was then activated.
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5. NUMERICAL RESULTS
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5.1. Comparison of performance curves

After the application of the scaling factors defined in eq. (6), the delivered flow rate in
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the two-dimensional model, as a function of the discharge pressure, is compared with

the experimental curves in figure 15, right. All the flowrate results have been
duplicated taken into account the existence of two symmetric diaphragms in a parallel
arrangement. Even with the 2D flow assumption, it is noticeable the overall good
agreement, especially at high discharged pressures. At atmospheric outlet conditions,
the numerical model overpredicts the delivered flowrate because of the relevant
mechanical losses (friction) at low pressure regimes that the simulations are not
modelling. For all the air-supplied pressures, the discrepancy between the
experimental and numerical values is enlarged as the output pressure decreases. The

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higher discrepancy is around a 9% in the case of the 4 bar curve at free-delivery

conditions.
The plot in figure 15, right, also highlights two nominal points (at moderate discharge
pressures) representing the situations for high (6 bar) and low (2 bar) air-supplied
pressures. This is equivalent to high (1.8 Hz) or low (1.0 Hz) driving velocities. The
evolution of the flow rate and the motion of the check valves for these operating
points will be discussed in detail in the following subsection.

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Figure 15. Left: Static pressure at the pump discharge (red line) and its computed RMS
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value (black line) for Test #5. Right: Comparison of CFD and experimental results.
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5.2. Nominal operation.

Following, the evolution of the pressure in the diaphragm chamber and at the pump
outlet, as well as the flowrate and the position of the check valves, are monitored
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during a converged diaphragm cycle (denoted as period, T). Figure 16, left, shows the
results for the high air-supplied pressure.
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The pressure in the chamber rises abruptly with two significant peaks at the beginning
of the diaphragm displacement. The maximum pressure coincides with the middle
position of the forward stroke of the diaphragm (black line at t=T/4). At that moment,
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the exhausting valve is completely opened but with the ball starting to drop. Between
T/4 and T/2, the delivered flow rate experiences a sudden bump, associated to a
partial re-opening of the exhaust valve. In the second half of the cycle, the diaphragm
is suctioning fluid and the incoming flow exhibits a sinusoidal pattern, in total
agreement with the theoretical response (dashed lines). Note that the model is
capable to reproduce the inertial delays in the openings and closings of the valves,
which are identified as local decays of the flowrates at the beginning of the back-and-
forth movements.
Figure 16, right, shows a similar representation but for the case with low-pressure. All
the evolutions of the delivered flow rate and the pressure in the pump behave more

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theoretically. However, due to the lower pressure, there are much more oscillations of
the exhausting ball, which represents a continuous tapping (high-frequency noise) and
the origin of instabilities in the closure of the check valve. This feature is well-known by
the pump manufacturer.

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Figure 16. Temporal evolutions of the pressure, flow rates and check valves during the
diaphragm cycle for high-pressure (left) and low-pressure (right) nominal conditions.

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To provide more insight, Figure 17 represents the associated description of the flow
patterns at four relevant intermediate positions of the diaphragm cycle for the high-
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pressure situation. Only at T/4 the exhausting valve is partially opened; in the rest of
the snapshots, it is practically closed. It is quite significant the appearance of several
recirculating cells of fluid all through the internal passages, especially in the final
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contour at the BDC of the diaphragm (t=T). This can be indicating the need for a full 3D
geometry for a more realistic description of the internal flow. This evidence is also
associated with the fact that the flow in the gap of the valves is developed with a two
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high-velocity jets structure at both sides of the ball. Obviously, this is a clear restriction
of the 2D geometry, that probably may be different in a real 3D model where the flow
can be circumferentially redistributed around the ball. Note also the flow separation in
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the outlet manifold at t=T/4 and the accurate guidance of the suctioning flow when it
is introduced in the diaphragm chamber (t=3T/4).
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Figure 17. Description of the flow patterns for the high-pressure conditions (6 bar).
5.3. Free-delivery conditions.

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To conclude, free-outlet conditions are also analyzed for high (6 bar) and low (2 bar)
air-supplied pressures. Because of the atmospheric conditions at the pump discharge,
the driving frequencies of the diaphragm are increased to 2.7 and 1.85 Hz respectively.
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Figure 18, left, shows the evolutions of the main parameters for the high pressure
case. Note that significant pressures (up to 2 bar) are attained in the diaphragm
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chamber during the forward stroke. The most relevant characteristic is the long delay
for the closure of the exhausting valve, between t=0 and T/8. Consequently, there is a
very important reduction of the delivered flow rate when the single diaphragm is
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pumping. The ball experiences a similar drop after reaching its upper stopper (between
T/4 and T/2). This is also manifested with a characteristic flowrate bumping when the
diaphragm is decelerating towards its TDC that reveals significant instabilities. Finally,
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in the second half of the cycle, it is also noticeable the same delay problem in the
other valve, with a notable internal leakage for the suctioning flow rate between T/2
and 5T/8.
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For the lower pressure case, Figure 18 (right), all the variables exhibit a similar
behavior. However, since the pressure in the diaphragm chamber is lower, the
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flowrate bumping at the end of the forward stroke is also less pronounced. As a
consequence, due to a smoother transition for the closure of the exhausting valve, the
leakage in the suction valve is clearly attenuated.

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Figure 18. Temporal evolutions of the pressure, flow rates and check valves during the

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diaphragm cycle for high-pressure (left) and low-pressure (right) free-delivery
conditions.

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A closer look to the behavior of the valves is presented in Figure 19 with the
representation of the forces and velocities obtained in the balls during the back-and-

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forth motions of the diaphragm. The black solid line represents the valve
displacement, the thin solid line is the ball velocity and the dashed line is the force
acting on the ball. Plots on top correspond to the exhausting check valve, whereas
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plots on the bottom show the behavior of the valve in the suction region. As before,
left column shows the results for the high pressure and the right column for the low
pressure.
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The most significant feature is the strong coupling between the movements of the
balls. Note, for instance, how during the closure of the exhausting valve in the low
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pressure case, there is an evident slope change during its displacement, accelerated in
the final part of the closure. This effect is clearly produced by the total closure of the
suction ball when it reaches the valve seat.
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Another example is clearly observed in the high pressure case. After a partial re-
opening of the exhausting valve between T/4 and T/2, the valve is closed again,
exhibiting some oscillations in its vertical velocity, but also significant force fluctuations
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arise in the suction valve (which is completely closed) in return. In addition, note how
negative forces (to close the valves towards their seats) are easily maintained, while
positive forces are not stable (due to gravity) so the balls cannot be maintained
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completely opened for the full stroke.

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Figure 19. Temporal evolutions of the velocity and forces on the check valves during
the diaphragm cycle for high-pressure (left) and low-pressure (right) free-delivery

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conditions.

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6. CONCLUSIONS
An unsteady numerical methodology for the CFD simulation of Air-Operated Double
Diaphragm (AODD) Pumps has been developed using dynamic meshes with layering
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and remeshing techniques. In particular, a set of User Defined Functions (UDFs) were
developed to model accurately the dynamic movement of the pump diaphragm,
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implemented with a prescribed sinusoidal motion, and the opening and closure of the
check valves, fully-resolving the Fluid Structure Interaction (FSI) over the balls.
In addition, an implicit scheme for the grid motion was found to be necessary for the
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stability and realizability of the model adopted. Explicit schemes, less time-consuming,
exhibited divergence problems for the check balls approaching the valve seats even
with extremely reduced time steps. A simplified model, without geometrical
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restrictions for the ball stroke, also confirmed this evidence. Moreover, to speed up
the implicit iterative process, an adaptive updating of the mesh motion, reinforced at
the initial iterations of every time step, was also introduced.
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The numerical database was validated with a set of experimental tests performed in
the Prototypes Laboratory of the R&D Department at SAMOA Industrial S.A. Different
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air-supplied pressures and outlet discharge pressures for the pump were considered in
order to obtain the delivered flow rate and the diaphragm reciprocating frequency.
Some of this data was also employed as BCs for the numerical model and scaling
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factors for the pressure and the velocities in the 2D model were defined to allow the
comparison between the CFD results and the real performance curves of the pump.
A detailed analysis of the working parameters of the pump (displacement of the check
valves, instantaneous flow rate and discharge pressure) has revealed significant
internal leakages, especially for the exhausting valve at low pressure regimes. In the
case of high pressure conditions, the relevant feature is the arising of a sudden ripple
in the delivered flow rate when the diaphragm is decelerating in the forward stroke.
Whatever the case, the exhausting valve and the corresponding flow rate is more
susceptible for instabilities than the incoming flow through the suction region.

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Furthermore, at lower pressure, the exhausting ball is continuously fluctuating towards

its end position, revealing a well-known tapping phenomenon that causes vibration
and tonal noise. When working at atmospheric conditions, the behavior found in the
different elements is similar, but with more pronounced leakages in the exhausting
valve.
A closer look to the balls dynamics has also revealed the strong coupling between inlet
and outlet check valves. This is clearly evidenced with the delay of the exhausting valve
opening which is accelerated after the complete closure of the suction valve. Another
example are the instabilities arising in the forces exerted on the balls as a consequence

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of the partial re-openings in the other valve.

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Finally, despite of the remarkable accuracy attained with the simulations (maximum
deviations of a 9% in the estimation of the flow rate), the recirculating cells and the

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flow characteristics around the check valves, shown in the representation of the flow
patterns inside the pump, suggest the convenience for a complete 3D modelling of the
pump. Future work will be focused on the development of a full-unsteady 3D model of

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an AODD pump using the presented methodology with dynamic meshes.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors acknowledge the technical support and collaboration given by SAMOA
Industrial S.A. during the execution of this Research and its kind permission for
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publication. Also, the financial support from the University Institute of Industrial
Technology of Asturias (IUTA) under R+D+i Project “Application of CFD Modelling for
the Design of Air-Operated Diaphragm Pumps” is gratefully recognized.
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NOMENCLATURE
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Δp2D Pressure drop (2D model value)

Δp3D Pressure drop (3D real experimental value)
Δt Time step size
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ωr Under-relaxation factor
̅ Mean bulk velocity at the pump discharge
ρ Fluid density
Ad Diaphragm effective area, node displacement amplitude
Av Check valve effective area
AODD Air-Operated Double Diaphragm (pump)
BDC Bottom Dead Center
CFD Computational Fluid Dynamics
Dd Diaphragm effective diameter
De Diaphragm external diameter
Di Diaphragm internal diameter
Dm Internal manifolds diameter

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Dv Ball diameter of the check valves

DP Directflo® Pump
EPDM Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer
F Force exerted by the Fluid on the ball valves
f Reciprocating frequency
FSI Fluid-Structure Interaction
Kv Pressure loss coefficient
Ld Diaphragm stroke length
Lv Ball maximum displacement
mb Mass of the valve ball
n Driving frequency, current iteration
pRMS Root-mean-square value of static pressure

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pair Air operating pressure

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PTFE Poly Tetra Fluoro Ethylene
Q Pump flow rate
r1 First parameter for the recalculation of the under-relaxation factor

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r2 Second parameter for the recalculation of the under-relaxation factor
t Simulation time
TDC Top Dead Center
Vb
Vd
Volume of the valve ball
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Delivery (volumetric capacity) per stroke
Non-relaxed velocity computed in the iteration n
Velocity computed in the iteration n
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v2D Bulk velocity (2D model value)
v3D Bulk velocity (3D real experimental value)
xP Position of a mesh node co-located with the pump diaphragm
yt Position of the ball valve at time t
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REFERENCES
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[1] Bahrton, S., “Double Acting Pump,” US Patent 6299415 B1, 2001.
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*4+ Bahrton, S., “Reversing Valve for a Diaphragm Pump,” US Patent 6419463 B1, 2002.
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*9+ Opitz K.; Schlücker, E., “Detection of Cavitation Phenomena in Reciprocating Pumps
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*16+ Iannetti, A.; Stickland, M.T.; Dempster, W.M., “A CFD Study on the Mechanisms
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*17+ Iannetti, A.; Stickland, M.T.; Dempster, W.M., “A CFD and Experimental Study on
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[18] Menéndez-Blanco, A.; Fernández Oro, J.M., “Unsteady Numerical Simulation of an

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[20] Kumar, S.; Bergada, J.M.; Watton, J., “Axial Piston Pump Grooved Slipper Analysis
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