Impeller with an abradable tip

Abstract

An impeller for moving liquid through a pump system having a body, at least one vane extending from the body and capable of moving liquid through the system during rotation thereof, and a tapered, abradable tip extending from the vane wherein, during rotation of said body, the tapered end of abradable tip wears away in response to contact with the pump housing to produce a reduced amount of abradable material circulating through the system while providing nominal operational clearance between the tip and the housing to improve pumping efficiency.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0002] This application claims priority to US Provisional Patent Application No. 60 / 611,456, filed September 20, 2004, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. technical field [0003] The present invention relates generally to impellers for liquid pumps, and more particularly to an impeller with abradable tips for significantly increasing pumping efficiency. Background technique [0004] Centrifugal pumps known in the art generally include inlet and outlet pipes separated by a plenum with an impeller set. Typically, the impeller includes a disk having a plurality of radially spaced blades. The impeller is mounted on the end of a drive shaft driven by an external motor. When driven by the drive shaft, the impeller blades transfer kinetic energy to the liquid in contact therewith. These kinetic energies cause an increase in pressure, which then causes the liquid to flow from the inlet pipe...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

Typical low-cost metal stamping processes are difficult to maintain such tight tolerances

Therefore, the clearance between the impeller blades and the casing is often larger than necessary, thereby reducing the efficiency of the pump

[0007] Additionally, many hydraulic pumps operate in a closed system where the circulating fluid is not replaced or adequately filtered

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