Optimization of Cold-Start Strategies for Seawater Pumps in Polar Ice Conditions

Optimization of Cold-Start Strategies for Seawater Pumps in Polar Ice Conditions | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Optimization of Cold-Start Strategies for Seawater Pumps in Polar Ice Conditions Fukang Ma, Yuxiang Chen, Chiyu Wang, Lingfei Kong, Zhengyang Liu, and 2 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8860812/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Seawater pumps operating in polar low-temperature, ice-laden environments are subject to a high risk of start-up failure, in which the transport, accumulation, and blockage of ice crystals within the pump play a critical role in determining start-up reliability. To investigate the cold-start behavior of seawater pumps under polar ice conditions, a transient multiphase numerical model incorporating ice–water two-phase coupling effects is developed. The model is employed to systematically examine the influences of the motor acceleration index and the impeller–volute clearance on ice-crystal blockage risk and start-up response characteristics.For a representative operating condition with an ice-crystal volume fraction of 10%, the transient internal flow and phase distribution evolution are simulated using an Eulerian–Eulerian multiphase framework, and the numerical predictions are validated against experimental results. The results demonstrate that the acceleration index primarily affects the start-up stabilization time and peak torque by regulating the rotational speed ramp-up rate and the unsteady evolution of the flow field during the start-up process; however, its contribution to improving ice-crystal passability is relatively indirect. In contrast, the impeller clearance significantly reshapes ice-crystal transport pathways by modifying leakage-flow intensity and flow connectivity, thereby providing a more direct and sustained mitigation of localized high-concentration accumulation and blockage risks. These findings offer quantitative guidance for the optimization of start-up strategies and the design of anti-blockage structures for seawater pumps operating in polar regions. Physical sciences/Energy science and technology Physical sciences/Engineering Polar ice conditions seawater pumps cold start ice crystals multiphase flow Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files Articlehighlights.docx DeclarationofInterestStatement1.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8860812","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":597730829,"identity":"09e2ab9c-53a2-4cc4-a0c1-9fde0e44354b","order_by":0,"name":"Fukang Ma","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"North University of China","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Fukang","middleName":"","lastName":"Ma","suffix":""},{"id":597730830,"identity":"faaa2faf-f3e0-41f5-b29c-47b5926d53b1","order_by":1,"name":"Yuxiang Chen","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"North University of 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flow","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8860812/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8860812/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eSeawater pumps operating in polar low-temperature, ice-laden environments are subject to a high risk of start-up failure, in which the transport, accumulation, and blockage of ice crystals within the pump play a critical role in determining start-up reliability. To investigate the cold-start behavior of seawater pumps under polar ice conditions, a transient multiphase numerical model incorporating ice\u0026ndash;water two-phase coupling effects is developed. The model is employed to systematically examine the influences of the motor acceleration index and the impeller\u0026ndash;volute clearance on ice-crystal blockage risk and start-up response characteristics.For a representative operating condition with an ice-crystal volume fraction of 10%, the transient internal flow and phase distribution evolution are simulated using an Eulerian\u0026ndash;Eulerian multiphase framework, and the numerical predictions are validated against experimental results. The results demonstrate that the acceleration index primarily affects the start-up stabilization time and peak torque by regulating the rotational speed ramp-up rate and the unsteady evolution of the flow field during the start-up process; however, its contribution to improving ice-crystal passability is relatively indirect. In contrast, the impeller clearance significantly reshapes ice-crystal transport pathways by modifying leakage-flow intensity and flow connectivity, thereby providing a more direct and sustained mitigation of localized high-concentration accumulation and blockage risks. These findings offer quantitative guidance for the optimization of start-up strategies and the design of anti-blockage structures for seawater pumps operating in polar regions.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Optimization of Cold-Start Strategies for Seawater Pumps in Polar Ice Conditions","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-03-03 10:00:27","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8860812/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"6c5971c1-0293-496e-b014-364413f0f8d1","owner":[],"postedDate":"March 3rd, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[{"id":63610296,"name":"Physical sciences/Energy science and technology"},{"id":63610297,"name":"Physical sciences/Engineering"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-04-14T08:39:53+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-03-03 10:00:27","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-8860812","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-8860812","identity":"rs-8860812","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}