CENTRIFUGAL PUMP

Abstract: A centrifugal pump (1) capable of accomodating entrained gas and vapour at low absolute suction pressures. The pump includes an impeller (6) mounted for rotation about an axis, the impeller having a central inlet chamber (12) with a peripheral wall concentric with the axis and at least one passage (13) extending outwardly from an inlet port in the peripheral wall to an exit port (14) radially spaced from the chamber. Preferably, the pump includes a stationary inlet port means located within the central chamber for separating the spinning impeller from incoming fluid.

Description: Title: CENTRIFUGAL PUMP Technical Field The present invention relates to pumps for pumping liquids and mixtures of liquids and gases over a wide range of pressures and flow rates. In particular, the invention provides pumps which are capable of accommodating entrained gas and vapour at low absolute suction pressures. The invention was developed for use with domestic vacuum distillation systems (desalinators) but it will be appreciated that the invention is not limited to this particular application. Deficiencies of Background Art Problems are encountered when attempting to pump liquids, and particularly mixtures of liquids and gases, at low absolute suction pressures and low flow rates using a centrifugal device. These problems arise largely from the gas and vapour content of the flow. which is more prominent at lower pressures. These may be dissolved gases which separate at low pressures or the gaseous phase of the liquid itself. At high flow rates in the order of hundreds of litres per minute, the flow velocity is such that entrained vapour tends to be purged from the system in the high velocity fluid flow. However, known centifugal pumps are unable to operate at low pressures of the order of 23 to 25 inches of mercury and low flow rates of the order of 300 is per minute. In fact these known pumps are unable to accommodate significant quantities of gas and vapour at these pressures, regardless of the flow rate. Problems are also encountered in providing reliable long lived seals for these pumps. Disclosure of the Invention According to the invention there is provided a centrifugal pump having an impellor mounted for rotation about an axis, said impellor having a central inlet chamber with a peripheral wall concentric with said axis and at least one passage extending outwardly from an inlet port in said wall to an exit port radially spaced from said chamber. In one preferred form, particularly suited to higher as well as lower flow rates, the invention provides stationary inlet port means at the impellor inlet for separating the spinning impellor from the incoming fluid flow, thereby to prevent the impellor from imparting a spinning velocity to the incoming fluid which would otherwise tend to separate the liquid from any entrained vapour and ultimately choke-off the supply entirely. In this embodiment the impellor may be arranged at any desired orientation to the vertical. It may also be located wholly within a delivery volume, this provides a very simple pump with no peripheral structure since the delivery is directly from the impellor to the surrounding fluid. In other embodiments, the invention provides means for slowing the peripheral flow velocity of fluid immediately adjacent the impellor periphery. In one of these embodiments, the invention preferably also provides a means for recirculating fluid to the peripheral stream upstream of the exit from the impellor chamber, thereby to assist in the removal of entrained vapour from the impellor chamber. Brief Description of the Drawings Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a cut-away end elevation of a first embodiment of a pump according to the invention adapted for pumping water and entrained air at low pressures and flow rates. Figure 2 is a section taken on line 2-2 of Figure 1. Figure 3 is a fragmentary section taken on line 3-3 of Figure 1. Figure 4 is a sectional side elevation of a second embodiment of a pump according to the invention. Figure 5 is a view taken generally on line 5-5 of figure 4 with the core plate removed. Figure 6 is a plan view of the pump of figure 4, and Figure 7 is an enlarged section taken on line 7-7 of igure 5. Figure 8 is a view similar to figure 7 but illustrating a third embodiment of the invention. Figure 9 is a view taken on line 9-9 of figure 8. Figure 10 is a partly sectioned side elevation of a fourth embodiment horizontal axis pump incorporating a stationary inlet port means, termed a "shear tube". Figure 11 is a view similar to figure 10 but illustrating a fifth embodiment vertical axis pump incorporaing a "shear tube" similar to figure 10. Figure 12 is a view taken on line 12-12 of figure 11. Preferred Embodiments Referring firstly to figures 1 to 3, the first embodiment pump 1 is driven by an electric drive motor 2 via a horizontally extending central shaft 3. The pump includes four major components, a support housing 4, a dividing wall 5, a impellor 6 and a cover plate 7. The impellor 6 is mounted to the motor drive shaft 3 to rotate within a impellor chamber 8 defined by the space between the dividing wall 5 and the end plate 7. Water and entrained air enter the pump at inlet port 9, passing through radial passage 10 to an axial passage 11 communicating with the centre of the impellor 6. The impellor 6 is located closely adjacent the adjoining side walls of the impellor chamber 8 and includes a central bore or chamber 12 communicating with a plurality of radial passages 13 extending from the central bore 12 to exit ports 14 spaced around the outer periphery 15 of the impellor 6. As the impellor rotates, centrifugal action moves the fluid from the pump inlet port 9, outwardly through the impellor passages 13 and into the annular space 16 surrounding the impellor. From the annular space 16 the fluid flows through a port 17 in the dividing wall 5 into a static chamber 18, finally leaving the pump through the rearwardly directed exit port 19. Rotation of the impellor in the direction shown also imparts a similarly directed peripheral flow velocity to the fluid in the annular space 16. This flow velocity produces a centrifugal separation of fluid and vapour such that any entrained air tends to cling to the impellor periphery 15. This build-up of entrained air adjacent the impellor periphery interferes with flow from the radial passages 13 while tending to accumulate and remain in the impellor chamber as a fresh supply of water and entrained air enters to replace the water leaving the impellor chamber through port 17. The peripheral flow velocity also has the effect of reducing the relative velocity of fluid moving past the radial passage exit.ports 14. It is desirable to have this relative velocity in order to augment the centrifugally induced pressure drop by superimposing a bernoulli effect at the exit port, thereby dropping the pressure still further. In order to slow the circulating peripheral flow velocity and also to promote the physical removal of segregated air bubbles from closely adjacent the impellor periphery, the invention provides a scoop 20 with its sharp leading edge 21 located as close as possible to the impellor periphery. It will be appreciated that the scoop fulfils two functions in physically removing entrained air and also providing an obstruction in the annular space 16 for slowing the ' circulating peripheral flow velocity and thereby improving the pump suction characteristics by increasing the bernoulli effect at the impellor exit ports 14. To further improve the pump performance by promoting removal of entrained air from the impellor chamber, the invention provides a recirculation of substantially air-less water into the peripheral stream upstream of the scoop 20. This is achieved by means of a passage 24 through the dividing wall 5 interconnecting the static chamber 18 with the impellor chamber 8 at a point below the port 17 through which air and water enter the static chamber. Since the flow within the static chamber is relatively slow, entrained air bubbles are able to separate out from the water in the lower part of the static chamber such that the recirculated flow is substantially depleted of air. The velocity of the recirculating water is preferably kept as slow as possible to prevent recirculation of entrained air along with the water. The addition of the substantially airless water into the annular space 16 causes a greater proportion of entrained air to be removed by the scoop 20 than would otherwise have been the case. Figures 4 to 7 illustrate a second embodiment of the invention. Corresponding reference numerals have been used to identify corresponding integers throughout the various embodiments. The pump 40 of the second embodiment is similar in many respects to pump 1 of the first embodiment except in that the scoop 20 is replaced by a diffusor ring 41 which surrounds the impellor periphery 15 and is spaced closely thereto. The ring 41 has a plurality of generally radially extending passages through it comprising a first circumferential array of passages 42 which are centrally located so that they may come into register with the exit ports 14 of the impellor 6, and a second circumferential array of passages 43 which are arranged in pairs. Each pair of passages 43 is disposed between adjacent passages 42 with the individual passages 43 being axially spaced apart one on either side of the array of passages 42 as shown in Figure 7. The passages 42 enable water to flow directly from the radial passages 13 to the impellor chamber 8, whilst the passages 43 enable bubbles to escape from the gap between the impellor periphery 15 and the ring 41 to the impeller chamber 8. As can be seen in figure 5 the passages 42 and 43 are located only in the nine o'clock to eleven o'clock and the one o'clock to three o'clock sectors. The passages 42 and 43 in the nine o'clock to eleven o'clock sector extend radially whilst those in the one o'clock to three o'clock sector are inclined upwardly. It has been found that this configuration prevents or at least reduces undesirable circulatory flow in the impellor chamber 8. The configuration also causes the flow to be generally in the direction of an upwardly directed exit port 44, which replaces exit port 19 of the first embodiment. The pump 40 further includes a recirculation passage 45 which extends from the impellor chamber 8 to the radially innermost area of the impellor 6. Water at a higher pressure in the impellor chamber 8 is able to flow through the passage 45 to the innermost area of the impellor face which is at a lower pressure, thereby to reduce the tendency of unwanted air to enter the space between the impellor face and the pump housing from inlet port 9. Whilst the static chamber 18 of the first embodiment is not necessary, it is used to conduct water which flows through the axial passages 46 to a seal 47 to affect its lubrication. It will be appreciated that the static chamber 18 could be replaced with a suitable duct. A third embodiment of the pump is illustrated in figures 8 and 9. This embodiment is similar in most respects to the second embodiment of figures 4 to 7 and corresponding features have been given corresponding reference numerals. However, in this embodiment the passages 42 and 43 in the diffusor ring 41 have been replaced with a plurality of slots 50. The slots may be all radially extending or some or all of them may be inclined in the same way as the passages shown in figure 5. The ring is preferably formed integral with the dividing wall 5 but it may be separately formed. In this latter case the slots can be cut from both sides of the ring in alternating castellated formation. The impellor of the third embodiment includes two axially staggered arrays of equally spaced radial passages 13. For example, a total of 20 radial passages 13 may be equally spaced around the impellor 6. The slots 50 extend a sufficient distance across the diffusor ring 41 to encompass the passages. A fourth embodiment pump is shown in figure 10. In this embodiment the impellor drive shaft axis 51 is horizontal and the impellor is located wholly within a delivery tank volume 52. The pump has no periphery structure since the exit ports 14 deliver directly to the tank. This embodiment is suitable for low pressure flows at much higher flow rates in the order of many litres per minute. In order to accommodate the entrained vapour the central chamber 12 of the impellor 6 is provided with a stationary inlet port means in the form of a "shear tube" 53. The shear tube 53 is stationary and includes a plurality of delivery ports 54 arranged around the upper half of the tube. If the impellor of figure 10 is disposed with, its axis in a vertical orientation the shear tube ports 54 would be disposed around the centre circumference of the shear tube. These may be holes as shown in figure 10 or slots as illustrated in figure 11. These stationary ports 54 convey incoming fluid from the axial inlet passage to the central chamber 12 of the impellor 6. This chamber 12 is enlarged slightly as shown by the shallow V-sectioned circumferential groove 55 to facilitate supply of fluid to the passages 13. The shear tube separates the incoming fluid from the spinning impellor and thereby prevents induced rotation of the incoming fluid. This avoids "pre-whirl" - the formation of a gas or vapour pocket along the axial centreline 51 of the pump inlet due to centifugal motion of the incoming fluid and vapour mix. The shearing effect on the liquid/vapour mix as this passes through the shear tube ports 54 and comes into contact with the spinning inner periphery of the impellor central chamber 12 keeps the vapour interspersed with the liquid as it enters and passes up the impellor passages 13. Figure 11 illustrates a fifth embodiment pump similar to the pump of figure 10 but with the impellor axis vertical. This pump can also operate wholly within the delivery tank 52 without any peripheral structure surrounding the impellor. In this case the shear tube 53 takes the form of a blind ended extension from a vertically extending axial passage 11. The ports 54 are formed by circumferentially spaced axially elongate slots extending radially outward as best shown in figure 12. The shear tube 53 is spaced slightly from the impellor 6 which is itself radially slotted to define a plurality of radially extending passages 13. This embodiment is particularly suited to high flow rates. If required, the impellor and shear tube arrangements of figures 10, 11 and 12 may be incorporated into the previously described embodiments. Although the invention has been described with reference to specific examples, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the invention may be embodied in many other forms.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. A centrifugal pump having an impellor mounted for rotation about an axis, said impellor having a central inlet chamber with a peripheral wall concentric with said axis and at least one passage extending outwardly from an inlet port in said wall to an exit port radially spaced from said chamber. 2. A centrifugal pump according to Claim 1 having stationery inlet port means located within said chamber for separating the spinning impellor from incoming fluid entering said inlet port means thereby to prevent induced rotation of said incoming fluid, said stationary inlet port means including an annular portion concentric with said axis and in substantial alignment with said impellor inlet port, at least one passage extending radially outwardly from the interior to the exterior of said annular portion for supplying said incoming fluid to said impellor passage. 3. A centrifugal pump according to Claim 2 wherein said impellor and stationary inlet port means both include a plurality of circumferentially spaced outwardly extending passages. 4. A centrifugal pump according to Claim 3 wherein said passages are straight and directed radially outward. 5. A centrifugal pump according to Claim 2 wherein said impellor is located wholly within a delivery volume so as to deliver directly from said impellor to the surrounding fluid. 6. A centrifugal pump according to Claim 5 wherein said stationary inlet port means comprises a blind ended extension from an axially extending incoming passage. 7. A centrifugal pump according to Claim 1 or Claim 2 including means for slowing the peripheral flow velocity of fluid immediately adjacent the impellor periphery. 8. A centrifugal pump according to Claim 7 wherein said means for slowing the peripheral flow velocity comprises a scoop having a sharp leading edge located closely adjacent the impellor periphery and directed against the direction of impellor rotation. 9. A centrifugal pump according to Claim 8 including means for recirculating substantially vapour-less fluid into the peripheral stream upstream of said scoop. 10. A centrifugal pump according to Claim 7 wherein said means for slowing the peripheral flow velocity comprises a diffusor ring surrounding the impellor periphery and spaced closely thereto, said ring including a plurality of outwardly extending passages. 11. A centrifugal pump according to Claim 10 wherein some of said passages are directed in tangentially opposite directions thereby to reduce circulatory flow. 12. A centrifugal pump according to Claim 10 includng a passage for directing part of the fluid from downstream of said impellor periphery to said central chamber.

Inventors: KEANE BRIAN, KEANE, BRIAN
Applicants: VAQUA LTD, VAQUA LIMITED
Application year: 1987
Main classification: F04D1
IPC codes: F04D1, F04D7, F04D29, F04D31