High flow/high efficiency centrifugal pump having a turbine impeller for liquid applications including molten metal
First Claim
1. A centrifugal pump impeller system for pumping fluid, including molten metal, comprising:
- an impeller adapted for rotating about an axis in a certain pumping direction of rotation, comprising;
a circular and generally flat base; and
a plurality of vanes mounted to the base, the vanes extending radially from a radially inward portion of the base to an outer-most edge of the base, each vane having a concave leading wall and a convex trailing wall, the trailing wall of each vane cooperating with the leading wall of an adjacent vane to define a curved passage, wherein the trailing wall of each vane is complementary in shape to the adjacent leading wall, such that the passage has a gradually increasing cross-sectional area from a radially inward inlet to a radially outward outlet;
wherein said impeller is rotatable about a central axis such that fluid flowing through each passage follows the curved leading wall into the same general direction as the pumping direction of rotation.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A centrifugal pump having a turbine impeller having a plurality of curved vanes. The vanes curve from the inlet end to the outlet end in the direction of pumping rotation of the impeller, such that the leading wall of each vane re-directs a portion of the radial velocity of the fluid flowing through the passage to increase the total tangential velocity provided by the impeller. Each curved passage has cooperating inlet and outlet areas and a smooth curved shape to ensure that the radial velocity of the liquid does not decrease dramatically while flowing through the passage, while ensuring that any solid particulates and contaminants entering the impeller will pass therethrough.
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Citations
22 Claims
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1. A centrifugal pump impeller system for pumping fluid, including molten metal, comprising:
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an impeller adapted for rotating about an axis in a certain pumping direction of rotation, comprising; a circular and generally flat base; and a plurality of vanes mounted to the base, the vanes extending radially from a radially inward portion of the base to an outer-most edge of the base, each vane having a concave leading wall and a convex trailing wall, the trailing wall of each vane cooperating with the leading wall of an adjacent vane to define a curved passage, wherein the trailing wall of each vane is complementary in shape to the adjacent leading wall, such that the passage has a gradually increasing cross-sectional area from a radially inward inlet to a radially outward outlet; wherein said impeller is rotatable about a central axis such that fluid flowing through each passage follows the curved leading wall into the same general direction as the pumping direction of rotation. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A centrifugal pump for pumping fluid, including molten metal, comprising:
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a pump framework; a pump motor mounted on the pump framework; a pump housing attached to the pump framework, the pump housing having an impeller chamber and an exit opening fluidly connected to the impeller chamber for discharging a fluid therethrough; an impeller shaft attached to and rotated by the pump motor; an impeller structure attached to the impeller shaft to be rotated about an axis in a certain direction of rotation and mounted within the impeller chamber, the impeller structure comprising; a circular and generally flat base; a plurality of vanes mounted to the base, the vanes running radially away from an inward portion of the base adjacent to the axis to a circular outer-most edge of the base, each vane having a leading wall and a trailing wall, the trailing wall of each vane cooperating with the leading wall of an adjacent vane to define a passage; wherein the leading wall of each vane is concave, while the trailing wall of each vane is convex and complementary in shape to the adjacent leading wall, whereby each passage has a constant height and a gradually increasing cross-sectional area and curves toward the direction of rotation terminating at an outlet opening. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A centrifugal pump impeller system for pumping fluid, including molten metal, comprising:
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an impeller adapted for rotating about an axis in a certain pumping direction of rotation, comprising; a circular and generally flat base; and a plurality of vanes mounted to the base, the vanes extending radially from a radially inward portion of the base to an outer-most edge of the base, each vane having a concave leading wall and a convex trailing wall, the leading wall terminating at a radially outer-most leading edge and the trailing wall terminating at a radially outer-most trailing edge, the trailing wall of each vane cooperating with the leading wall of an adjacent vane to define a curved passage, wherein the passage has a gradually increasing cross-sectional area from a radially inward inlet to a radially outward outlet; wherein the tangent of the curved leading wall at the leading edge forms an angle with the tangent of the base edge at the leading edge, wherein the angle is in the range of 15 to 45 degrees; each vane has a radially outer-most wall that depends from both the leading wall and trailing wall, wherein the outer-most walls of the vanes cooperate to define a generally circular outer surface, each of said outer-most walls including a concave cavity, the cavity having a curved trailing wall which is adjacent to the vane'"'"'s trailing wall, wherein the tangent of the cavity trailing wall at the outer surface forms an angle with the tangent of the circular base edge at the, wherein the angle is approximately equal to the vane leading wall angle; wherein said impeller is rotatable about a central axis such that fluid flowing through each passage follows the curved leading wall into the same general direction as the pumping direction of rotation and add a portion of a radial velocity of the fluid flowing through each passage to a tangential velocity of the fluid imparted by rotation of the impeller structure in the certain direction of rotation.
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17. A method of making a centrifugal pump for pumping a fluid, including molten metal, comprising the steps of, but not necessarily in this order of:
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providing a base having an impeller chamber and a base exit opening that is fluidly connected to the impeller chamber for discharging a fluid therethrough; rotatably mounting an impeller structure in the impeller chamber; connecting a shaft to the impeller structure for rotation therewith about an axis in a certain direction to discharge a fluid from the base exit opening; and providing the impeller structure with a plurality of passages defined by adjacent radially extending vanes that curve toward the certain direction of rotation, each passage having a constant passage height and a gradually increasing cross-sectional area that follows the curved vanes to an impeller exit opening.
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18. A method of making a centrifugal pump for pumping a fluid, including molten metal, comprising the steps of, but not necessarily in this order of:
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providing a base having an impeller chamber; fluidly connecting the impeller chamber to a base exit opening for discharging a fluid therethrough; rotatably mounting an impeller structure in the impeller chamber; connecting a shaft to the impeller structure for rotation therewith about an axis in a certain direction to discharge a fluid from the base exit opening; and providing the impeller structure with a plurality of passages which curve from an inner end to an outer end toward the direction of rotation, thereby adding a portion of a radial fluid velocity to a tangential fluid velocity out of the impeller structure. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22)
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Specification