A ceramic pump impeller and a method of mounting the same

Abstract

This invention belongs to the field of ceramic slurry pump technology, specifically relating to a ceramic pump impeller and its installation method. It includes an impeller body, a hub insert, and a hub seal. A flow channel is provided on the front cover plate of the impeller body, and an insert groove and a seal groove are sequentially formed on the rear cover plate. The inner circle of the hub insert is mounted on the pump's main shaft, and the outer circle of the hub insert is mounted in the insert groove. The hub seal is mounted in the seal groove and covers the hub insert. Both the hub insert and the hub seal are provided with radial facets. One set of adjacent radial edges in the insert groove and the seal groove are aligned. The forward tilt angle of the front cover plate on the impeller body gradually increases near the shaft hole. The impeller body and hub seal are made of sintered ceramic. The mating surfaces between the impeller body, hub insert, and hub seal are filled with structural adhesive and a curing agent. The beneficial effects of this invention are: improved wear resistance and corrosion resistance of the ceramic pump impeller, increased strength, and increased service life under harsh working conditions.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of ceramic slurry pump technology, specifically to a ceramic pump impeller and its installation method. Background Technology

[0002] In applications requiring large diameters (greater than 500mm) and high strengths (operating pressures greater than 1.0-3.0MPa) for ceramic impellers, corrosion-resistant impeller molding technology is virtually nonexistent. The market primarily uses corrosion-resistant metal impellers for these conditions, but metal materials have poor wear resistance and are expensive to manufacture and maintain. Using ceramic impeller bodies and metal hubs presents challenges; the metal hub is typically only bonded to the impeller body's shaft hole, making it prone to detachment under high pressure. Furthermore, stress concentration at the shaft hole, combined with the low strength limit and poor toughness of ceramic materials, makes it unable to transmit large torques, easily leading to fatigue fracture of the ceramic impeller body. Additionally, the metal hub, exposed to corrosive media, is easily damaged, affecting the normal operation of the slurry pump. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The present invention addresses the problems mentioned above by designing a ceramic pump impeller and its installation method, thereby improving the wear resistance and corrosion resistance of the ceramic pump impeller, increasing its strength, and extending its service life under harsh working conditions.

[0004] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides a ceramic pump impeller, comprising an impeller body, a hub insert, and a hub seal. A flow channel is provided on the front cover plate of the impeller body, and an insert groove and a seal groove are sequentially formed on the rear cover plate of the impeller body. The inner circle of the hub insert is mounted on the pump's main shaft, and the outer circle of the hub insert is mounted within the insert groove. The hub seal is mounted within the seal groove and covers the hub insert. The impeller body, the hub insert, and the hub seal are all coaxially mounted.

[0005] By adopting the above technical solution, insert grooves and sealing grooves are sequentially opened on the impeller body to add a hub seal. The hub insert, which is assembled with the motor main shaft, is enclosed in the insert groove. During the operation of the slurry pump, the contact between the hub insert and the highly corrosive medium is reduced, protecting it from media corrosion, thereby improving the overall service life of the ceramic slurry pump and reducing equipment use and maintenance costs. The hub seal is added to the hub insert to provide axial clamping force to the hub insert, reducing the possibility of the hub insert being dislodged from the impeller body due to high back pressure. At the same time, the hub seal plays a role in buffering stress. By optimizing the stress distribution in the back area of ​​the impeller body shaft hole and the intersection area of ​​the hub seal and the impeller body, fatigue fracture of the ceramic impeller body caused by stress concentration during installation is avoided.

[0006] Furthermore, both the hub insert and the hub seal are provided with radial discs.

[0007] Using the above technical solution, the hub insert is assembled on the motor main shaft and rotates with the main shaft to transmit axial torque to the impeller body. A radial disc is provided to increase the contact area between the hub insert and the impeller body. Compared with a straight cylindrical hub insert, this can disperse the torque concentrated at the shaft hole to the back of the impeller body, improving the impeller body's high back pressure resistance and making it less prone to breakage. The hub seal is also equipped with a radial disc, which, in conjunction with the gap left after the hub insert is installed, seals the hub insert in the insert groove, preventing it from being exposed to corrosive media, reducing the degree of corrosion, and thus increasing its service life. Furthermore, it can evenly distribute the buffer stress during installation and the axial torque during impeller rotation onto the radial disc, increasing the stress-bearing area and preventing stress concentration from causing breakage of the hub seal and impeller body, thereby increasing the overall impeller service life.

[0008] Furthermore, the dimensions of the hub insert match the dimensions of the insert groove, the dimensions of the hub seal match the dimensions of the seal groove, and the insert groove is aligned with one of the adjacent radial edges within the seal groove.

[0009] By adopting the above technical solution, the dimensions of each component are matched with the dimensions of its mounting slot, ensuring the overall stability of the impeller after installation and reducing the impact on equipment operation. The insert slot and the seal slot are arranged in a staggered, stepped manner. The hub seal provides a pair of mutually perpendicular clamping forces to the hub insert, including an axial clamping force parallel to the shaft hole diameter direction and a radial clamping force distributed along the radial disc, increasing the stability of the hub insert during assembly. Compared with the straight-in-straight-out assembly, when the hub insert is subjected to high back pressure, the hub seal and the impeller body can block it, making it difficult to separate from the impeller body, thus increasing the stability of the overall impeller assembly.

[0010] Furthermore, the forward tilt angle of the front cover plate on the impeller body gradually increases near the shaft hole.

[0011] The above technical solution, with its forward-inclined flow channel design, provides sufficient space to facilitate the opening of insert slots and sealing slots, and has little impact on the thickness of the impeller body. Compared with a vertical flow channel, the forward inclination of the impeller body can greatly reduce the stress at the root of the impeller blades, improve the stress state of the impeller body during rotation, thereby reducing stress concentration and material loss of the impeller body, and improving the strength of the impeller body.

[0012] Furthermore, the impeller body and hub seal are sintered ceramic parts formed by high-temperature sintering after blanking using a mold, and the hub insert is a metal hub insert formed by precision casting and precision machining.

[0013] Using the above technical solution, the hub seal is a sintered ceramic part. The dense structure of the sintered ceramic material has the advantages of good high temperature resistance, corrosion resistance and wear resistance. The high-strength hub seal makes the hub insert encloses the hub insert in the insert groove, preventing the metal hub insert from being exposed to corrosive media and rapidly corroding and failing. This increases the service life of the impeller and the slurry pump as a whole, reduces the maintenance frequency, and reduces equipment operating costs.

[0014] Furthermore, the mating surfaces between the impeller body, the hub insert, and the hub seal are filled with structural adhesive and curing agent.

[0015] By adopting the above technical solution, a curing agent is used to combine the metal hub insert with the sintered ceramic impeller body and hub seal, ensuring the overall stability of the impeller after shaping, thereby ensuring the smooth operation of the slurry pump. Different types of curing agents for structural adhesives are selected according to the acidity or alkalinity of the operating environment to slow down the curing agent's failure cycle and increase the service life of the equipment.

[0016] The present invention also includes a method for installing a ceramic pump impeller, comprising the following steps:

[0017] 1) Align the hub insert with the sealing groove, insert it axially, and then rotate it into the insert groove. The mating surfaces and gaps between the impeller body and the hub insert are filled with structural adhesive and curing agent. The curing time at room temperature is 0.2h-36h.

[0018] 2) Align the hub seal and place it axially into the seal groove. The mating surfaces and clearances between the impeller body and the hub seal are filled with structural adhesive and curing agent. The curing time at room temperature is 0.2h-36h.

[0019] 3) After grinding the rear end face of the seal between the impeller body and the hub seal, perform dynamic balancing.

[0020] In summary, the present invention has the following advantages and beneficial technical effects:

[0021] 1. This invention adds a hub seal that mates with a seal groove on the impeller body, enclosing the hub insert within the groove. This reduces the corrosive damage to the hub insert from highly corrosive media, increases the service life of the hub insert, and thus improves the overall service life of the ceramic slurry pump, saving equipment maintenance costs. The hub seal's tight installation increases back pressure on the hub insert, making it less likely to detach from the impeller body and ensuring stable equipment operation. Furthermore, the hub seal increases the contact area between the impeller and the main shaft, reducing the torque concentrated in the axial direction of the impeller body during operation, preventing stress concentration and fatigue fracture of the impeller body, and further increasing service life.

[0022] 2. Radial discs are provided on both the hub insert and the hub seal. Through structural optimization, the stress distribution on various components is improved, including the back area of ​​the shaft hole, the intersecting area, and the blade root area, thereby increasing the back strength of the impeller and making the impeller body less prone to breakage. Compared with a straight cylindrical hub, the torque concentrated at the shaft hole is distributed to various components in the impeller, making it less likely for the hub and impeller body to separate when subjected to high back pressure. In addition, the radial discs on the hub seal increase the force-bearing area during equipment operation by changing the contact area, avoiding impeller wear caused by stress concentration and improving the overall service life of the slurry pump.

[0023] 3. Each component is matched with the dimensions of its mounting slot. Suitable installation conditions ensure the stability of the overall impeller structure during operation. By reducing the fit clearance, the impact on equipment operation is reduced. The staggered stepped arrangement of the insert slot and the sealing slot increases the clamping force of the hub sealing on the hub insert in the direction perpendicular to the shaft hole, compared with the sealing slot directly covering the insert slot, making the installation of the hub insert more stable. The alignment of adjacent radial edges increases the obstruction of the impeller body on the hub insert compared with the straight-in and straight-out assembly. Therefore, when subjected to high back pressure, the hub insert is not easy to fall out of the insert slot. By optimizing the structure of the slot, the back strength of the impeller is increased.

[0024] 4. The forward-inclined design of the flow channel increases the space for the groove, resulting in less variation in the thickness of the impeller body, saving manufacturing costs. At the same time, it improves the stress state of the impeller body during rotation. Compared with the vertical flow channel, it can reduce the concentrated stress at the shaft hole of the impeller body, reduce the material fatigue of the impeller body, and thus improve the strength limit of the impeller body.

[0025] 5. The hub seal is made of sintered ceramic material. Due to the material's excellent high-temperature resistance, corrosion resistance, and wear resistance, the hub seal can provide corrosion protection for the metal hub insert, extending its service life and thus improving the overall service life of the impeller and reducing equipment maintenance costs. It eliminates the need for expensive corrosion-resistant metal hub inserts while still meeting the overall corrosion resistance requirements of the ceramic slurry pump, saving manufacturing costs. A curing agent is used to bond all impeller components, ensuring overall stability during impeller operation. Different types of curing agents for structural adhesives are selected based on the acidity or alkalinity of the specific application scenario, reducing the impact of the working environment on the curing agent's corrosion, extending its effective lifespan, and ensuring the stability of the impeller installation. Attached Figure Description

[0026] The above and / or additional aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent and readily understood from the description of the embodiments taken in conjunction with the following drawings, in which:

[0027] Figure 1 This is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the present invention;

[0028] Figure 2 This is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the present invention;

[0029] Figure 3 This is a side view of the present invention;

[0030] Figure 4 This is a rear view of the present invention;

[0031] Figure 5 This is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of the present invention;

[0032] Figure 6 This is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the hub insert in this invention;

[0033] Figure 7 This is a rear view of the hub insert in this invention;

[0034] Figure 8 This is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the hub seal in this invention.

[0035] The reference numerals in the attached figures are:

[0036] 1. Impeller body; 101. Front cover plate; 102. Rear cover plate; 103. Insert groove; 104. Seal groove;

[0037] 2. Hub inserts; 3. Hub seals; 4. Radial discs. Detailed Implementation

[0038] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this invention clearer, the technical solutions of the embodiments of this invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals denote the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions throughout; the described embodiments are some embodiments of this invention, but not all embodiments; the embodiments and directional terms described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary and intended to explain this invention, and should not be construed as limiting this invention; all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of this invention without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this invention. The embodiments of this invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings:

[0039] The following is in conjunction with the appendix Figures 1-8 The present invention will be further described in detail below:

[0040] like Figures 1-8As shown, this embodiment discloses a ceramic pump impeller, including an impeller body 1, a hub insert 2, and a hub seal 3. A flow channel is provided on the front cover plate 101 of the impeller body 1. An insert groove 103 and a seal groove 104 are sequentially formed on the rear cover plate 102 of the impeller body 1. The inner circle of the hub insert 2 is threadedly connected to the pump's main shaft. The outer circle of the hub insert 2 is installed in the insert groove 103 and transmits torque through its fit with the shaft hole of the impeller body 1. The hub seal 3 is installed in the seal groove 104 and covers the hub insert 2. The impeller body 1, hub insert 2, and hub seal 3 are all coaxially mounted. Radial runners 4 are provided on the outer circles of both the hub insert 2 and hub seal 3. The radial runners 4 have four axially symmetrically arranged runners. The dimensions of the hub insert 2 match the dimensions of the insert groove 103, and the hub seal 3 is connected to the seal groove 104. The dimensions are matched, and the insert groove 103 and the sealing groove 104 are arranged in a staggered stepped manner, with the sealing groove 104 on the upper step and the insert groove 103 on the lower step. The mounting grooves of the radial flower disc 4 and the flower handle are aligned with a group of adjacent radial edges, and the extension line of the radial edge is located on the axis of the shaft hole. The forward tilt angle of the front cover plate 101 on the impeller body 1 gradually increases near the shaft hole, and the flow channel on the front cover plate 101 is set in a forward tilt. The impeller body 1 and the hub sealing part 3 are both sintered ceramic parts that are made into blanks by using molds and then sintered at high temperature. The hub insert 2 is a metal hub insert 2 that is precision cast and precision machined. The mating surfaces between the impeller body 1, the hub insert 2 and the hub sealing part 3 are all filled with structural adhesive and curing agent. Depending on the acidity or alkalinity of the environment, the structural adhesive can be epoxy adhesive, phenolic adhesive and vinyl chloride adhesive.

[0041] The working principle of a ceramic pump impeller of the present invention is as follows:

[0042] 1. This impeller includes an impeller body 1, a hub insert 2, and a hub seal 3. A flow channel is provided on the front cover plate 101 of the impeller body 1. An insert groove 103 and a seal groove 104 are sequentially formed on the rear cover plate 102 of the impeller body 1. The inner diameter of the hub insert 2 is threaded onto the pump's main shaft. The outer diameter of the hub insert 2 is installed in the insert groove 103 and transmits torque through its fit with the shaft hole of the impeller body 1. The hub seal 3 is installed in the seal groove 104 and covers the hub insert 2. The impeller body 1, hub insert 2, and hub seal 3 are all coaxially mounted. The hub seal 3 provides enclosed protection for the hub insert 2, reducing contact with highly corrosive media in the working environment, lowering the corrosion level of the hub insert 2, and extending its service life. The hub seal 3 is installed on the back of the hub insert 2, serving as a fastener and providing axial clamping force to fix the hub insert 2 in place. At the same time, the hub seal 3 acts as a stress buffer, changing the stress distribution applied to the impeller body 1 during operation, preventing stress concentration at the shaft hole of the impeller body 1 from causing fatigue fracture of the material, and thus improving the strength limit of the impeller body 1.

[0043] 2. Both the hub insert 2 and the hub seal 3 are provided with radial discs 4 on their outer circumferences. The radial discs 4 have four axisymmetrically arranged flower handles. The radial discs 4 on the hub insert 2 increase the distribution area of ​​the torque on the back of the impeller body 1 during operation, disperse the torque concentrated at the shaft hole, and improve the back pressure bearing capacity of the impeller body 1. The radial discs 4 on the hub seal 3, together with the gap left after the hub insert 2 is installed, can achieve the sealing protection of it. At the same time, they can transfer part of the stress applied to the impeller body 1 to the hub seal 3, increase the stress area, improve the strength limit of the impeller body 1, and increase the service life.

[0044] 3. The dimensions of the hub insert 2 match the dimensions of the insert groove 103, and the dimensions of the hub seal 3 match the dimensions of the seal groove 104. The insert groove 103 and the seal groove 104 are arranged in a staggered stepped manner, with the seal groove 104 on the upper step and the insert groove 103 on the lower step. In both, the adjacent radial edges of the mounting grooves of the radial disc 4's handle are aligned, and the extension lines of the radial edges are located on the axis of the shaft hole. The dimensions of each component and its mounting groove are matched to reduce clearance and lower weight. The impact on equipment operation ensures the stability of the overall impeller structure. The staggered, stepped arrangement of the hub seal 3 provides axial clamping force to the hub insert 2, while adding another set of clamping forces arranged symmetrically and perpendicular to the shaft hole direction. The clamping forces in multiple directions fix the hub insert 2. At the same time, the impeller body 1 increases the obstruction of the hub insert 2, which, together with the clamping force provided by the hub seal 3, strengthens the hub insert 2 and prevents it from coming off the impeller body 1 when subjected to high torque.

[0045] 4. The forward tilt angle of the front cover plate 101 near the shaft hole on the impeller body 1 gradually increases, and the flow channel on the front cover plate 101 is set forward tilting; providing sufficient space to realize the design of the insert groove 103 and the sealing groove 104, so that the thickness of the impeller body 1 changes less and the manufacturing cost is saved; the forward tilting design of the flow channel improves the stress state of the impeller body 1 when it rotates, reduces the stress concentrated at the root of the blade of the impeller body 1, improves the strength of the impeller body 1, and reduces fatigue fracture caused by material loss.

[0046] 5. Both the impeller body 1 and the hub seal 3 are sintered ceramic parts formed by high-temperature sintering after the blanks are made using molds. The hub insert 2 is a metal hub insert 2 formed by precision casting and finishing. The impeller body 1 and hub seal 3, made of sintered ceramic materials with good high-temperature resistance, corrosion resistance and wear resistance, protect the metal hub insert 2, slow down the corrosion rate, extend the overall service life of the slurry pump and reduce equipment maintenance costs.

[0047] 6. The mating surfaces between the impeller body 1, hub insert 2, and hub seal 3 are all filled with structural adhesive and curing agent to achieve the composite between components of different materials and ensure the smooth operation of the impeller. Depending on the acidity or alkalinity of the specific operating environment, epoxy adhesive, phenolic adhesive, and vinyl chloride adhesive can be selected for the structural adhesive. Different curing agents with different compositions are used for different environments to slow down the failure cycle of the curing agent, thereby fixing the various components of the impeller and increasing its service life.

[0048] The present invention provides a method for installing a ceramic pump impeller as follows:

[0049] Step 1: Align the hub insert with the sealing groove, insert it axially, and then rotate it into the insert groove. The mating surfaces and gaps between the impeller body and the hub insert are filled with epoxy resin curing agent, and the curing time at room temperature is 24 hours.

[0050] Step 2: Align the hub seal and place it axially into the seal groove. The mating surfaces and gaps between the impeller body and the hub seal are filled with epoxy resin curing agent, and the curing time at room temperature is 24 hours.

[0051] Step 3: After grinding the rear end face of the seal between the impeller body and the hub seal, perform dynamic balancing.

[0052] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, and not to limit them. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications can still be made to the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or equivalent substitutions can be made to some of the technical features; and these modifications or substitutions do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for installing a ceramic pump impeller, characterized in that: The ceramic pump impeller includes an impeller body, a hub insert, and a hub seal. A flow channel is provided on the front cover plate of the impeller body, and an insert groove and a seal groove are sequentially opened on the rear cover plate of the impeller body. The inner circle of the hub insert is mounted on the main shaft of the pump, and the outer circle of the hub insert is mounted in the insert groove. The hub seal is mounted in the seal groove and covers the hub insert. The impeller body, the hub insert, and the hub seal are all coaxially mounted. Both the hub insert and the hub seal are provided with radial discs; The dimensions of the hub insert match the dimensions of the insert groove, the dimensions of the hub seal match the dimensions of the seal groove, and the insert groove is aligned with one set of adjacent radial edges within the seal groove; The forward tilt angle of the front cover plate on the impeller body gradually increases near the shaft hole; The impeller body and hub seal are sintered ceramic parts formed by high-temperature sintering after blanking using a mold, and the hub insert is a metal hub insert formed by precision casting and precision machining. The mating surfaces between the impeller body, the hub insert, and the hub seal are filled with structural adhesive and curing agent; The installation of the ceramic pump impeller includes the following steps: aligning the hub insert with the sealing groove, inserting it axially, and then rotating it into the insert groove; the mating surfaces and gaps between the impeller body and the hub insert are filled with curing agent, and the curing time at room temperature is 0.2h-36h.

2. The method for installing the ceramic pump impeller according to claim 1, characterized in that: Align the hub seal and place it axially into the seal groove. The mating surfaces and gaps between the impeller body and the hub seal are filled with curing agent, and the curing time at room temperature is 0.2h-36h.

3. The method for installing the ceramic pump impeller according to claim 2, characterized in that: After grinding the rear end face of the seal between the impeller body and the hub seal, dynamic balancing is performed.

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