Turbocompressor

Abstract

The invention relates to a turbocompressor (1) having an impeller (10) which can be rotated about an axis of rotation (A) for conveying a fluid, a diffuser (21) which is connected downstream of the impeller (10), a clamping ring (22) for fixing an axial bearing (30) which axially supports the impeller (10) in a bearing seat (41), the diffuser (21) and the clamping ring (22) being integrally formed as a unit (20).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a turbo compressor with a diffuser and a clamping ring, which are integrally formed as a unit, where the turbo compressor can be understood as an axial, radial, and diagonal compressor. Background Art

[0002] Turbo compressors include radial compressors, axial compressors, and diagonal compressors, and their basic designs are well known in the prior art. In this case, a fluid or gas, especially air, is accelerated by an impeller driven by an electric motor, and the kinetic energy of the fluid is converted into pressure in a downstream diffuser.

[0003] The impeller is usually connected to a shaft, and in this case, the impeller is supported axially and radially by bearings. Depending on the specific application and main boundary conditions, the bearings can be, for example, aerodynamic bearings, also known as gas bearings or air bearings. For axial bearings in the prior art, aerodynamic bearings usually include dedicated independent bearing assemblies through which the combination of the various components of the axial bearing and the installation of the bearing assembly in the compressor are determined.

[0004] However, this results in a large number of different components that need to be coordinated and assembled with each other. Summary of the Invention

[0005] Therefore, the task of the present invention is to overcome the above-mentioned drawbacks and achieve an axial, radial, or diagonal compressor with a simple design and high cost-effectiveness.

[0006] This task is solved by the combination of features described in claim 1 of the patent.

[0007] Therefore, according to the present invention, a turbo compressor is proposed, that is, an axial, diagonal, or axial compressor, which has an impeller for conveying fluid that can rotate around a rotation axis, a diffuser fluid-technologically connected downstream of the impeller, and a clamping ring for fixing an axial bearing that axially supports the impeller in a bearing seat. Hereinafter, the radial compressor / diagonal compressor / axial compressor will be collectively referred to as a compressor.

[0008] Here, the impeller is preferably supported by an axial bearing, which is configured as an aerodynamic bearing and can be combined with a radial bearing and / or combined through a shaft that can rotate around the rotation axis, on which the impeller is fixed or on which the impeller is configured. The compressor, in the case of a radial compressor, can also be referred to as a centrifugal compressor or a radial compressor, and is preferably used in cooling applications, where the fluid conveyed by the compressor or the impeller is a coolant. For the present invention, the diffuser and the clamping ring are integrally constructed as a unit.

[0009] Accordingly, the number of parts and the assembly are significantly simplified, and other advantageous effects as described below are produced.

[0010] In this description, the axial, radial, and circumferential directions all refer to the axis of rotation, unless otherwise specified in a particular case.

[0011] An advantageous further embodiment of the compressor provides that it also has an inner housing for receiving the bearing portion formed by axial bearings and / or radial bearings, wherein a unit composed of a diffuser and a clamping ring forms the housing cover on the end side of the inner housing.

[0012] Furthermore, the inner housing has a pot-shaped part as a bearing seat for receiving the bearing portion, wherein the housing cover formed by the unit composed of the diffuser and the clamping ring can be connected to the pot-shaped part by at least one fastening element, and the bearing portion can be fixed in the pot-shaped part by the axial clamping force generated by the housing cover or by the housing cover and the axial clamping force generated by, for example, at least one clamping section provided on the housing cover as described below.

[0013] Furthermore, in a variant providing an inner housing, it is advantageously that the inner housing is configured to receive the drive impeller, a motor for driving the impeller through the shaft if necessary, and a cooling element for cooling the motor, which is, for example, configured as a cooling channel extending axially and in particular thermally connected to the stator of the motor.

[0014] Here, the inner housing determines or provides the bearing seat. The unit composed of the diffuser and the clamping ring is configured here to introduce the fluid conveyed by the impeller into the cooling element of the inner housing and / or beside it.

[0015] Therefore, at least a part of the fluid conveyed by the impeller will deflect from the radial direction to the axial direction.

[0016] As described above, the axial bearing is an aerodynamic axial bearing with at least one axial bearing disk. An advantageous further embodiment of the present invention provides that the unit composed of the diffuser and the clamping ring is configured as an axially protruding clamping section for abutting against one of the axial bearing disks. The axial bearing disk is particularly formed by a circumferential annular protrusion, so that the axial clamping or fixing of the axial bearing disk is particularly implemented relative to other components of the bearing portion, that is, relative to the second axial bearing disk through a spacer disk or a spacer ring, and relative to the end side end of the pot-shaped part, for example, to receive the bearing portion, which can be implemented in a simple manner and without intermediate elements.

[0017] In order to eliminate the aerostatic influence exerted by the aerodynamic bearing on the shaft or the axial bearing surface and to enable pressure compensation with the ambient pressure prevailing in the bearing housing, the clamping section can also be formed by a circumferentially surrounding annular projection which is penetrated by radially extending channels for flow decoupling and, if necessary, for equalizing the ambient pressure in the bearing housing.

[0018] In general, the unit consisting of the diffuser and the clamping ring has a plurality of guide elements and / or cooling elements for cooling the fluid conveyed by the impeller and for converting its pressure, by means of which, on the one hand, the fluid can be cooled or heat can be transferred from the unit formed by the diffuser and the clamping ring to the fluid, and on the other hand, the kinetic energy of the fluid can be converted into pressure.

[0019] The unit consisting of the diffuser and the clamping ring is preferably also provided with at least one alignment element for concentric alignment relative to the axis of rotation and / or for concentric alignment of the axial bearing relative to the axis of rotation and / or for concentric alignment of the inlet nozzle arranged on the inlet side of the impeller relative to the axis of rotation.

[0020] As long as technically feasible and not mutually contradictory, the features disclosed above can be combined as required. Description of the Drawings

[0021] Other advantageous embodiments of the invention are described in the dependent claims or are explained in more detail below in connection with the description of the preferred embodiments of the invention with reference to the drawings. Among them:

[0022] Figure 1 A longitudinal sectional view of the compressor is shown. Detailed Description of the Invention

[0023] The figure is a schematic view showing a longitudinal sectional view of a compressor 1 designed according to the invention along the axis of rotation A.

[0024] Here, the compressor 1 is provided with an impeller 10 which is rotatable about the axis of rotation A for conveying a fluid and compressing the fluid, i.e., pressurizing it, wherein the impeller 10 is connected upstream in the conveying direction to an inlet nozzle 60 and downstream to a diffuser 21, by means of which the kinetic energy can be converted into pressure.

[0025] In order to support the impeller 10 or the shaft to which the impeller 10 is fastened, an axial bearing 30 is also provided, as well as a combined bearing which in this case is a combination of an axial bearing 30 and a radial bearing. In addition, these bearings are configured here as aerodynamic bearings.

[0026] In order to be able to fix the axial bearing 30 on the bearing seat 41 provided by the inner housing 40 of the compressor 1, which is specifically a can-shaped part 41, a clamping ring 22 is usually provided, by means of which a clamping force can be exerted on the axial bearing 30 and it can be fixed accordingly on the can-shaped part 41.

[0027] In this example, it is stipulated that the diffuser 21 and the clamping ring 22 are integral, that is, integrally formed as a unit 20, which not only reduces the number of components of the compressor, but also simplifies the concentric alignment with respect to the rotational axis A.

[0028] In order to fix the axial bearing 30, which is an aerodynamic bearing and has an axial bearing disk 31, the unit 20 forms an annular clamping section 23 around the rotational axis A in the circumferential direction U. The unit 20 directly abuts against the axial bearing disk 31 through this clamping section and exerts a clamping force on it axially, that is, parallel to the rotational axis A.

[0029] In this case, the clamping section 23 intersects the channel 24 in the radial direction R. Through this channel, the radially inner cavity communicates with the radially outer cavity, so as to equalize the ambient pressure around the aerodynamic axial bearing 30 and dissipate the unwanted excess pressure that may be generated on the axial bearing 30.

[0030] In addition, the unit 20 can also be connected and tightened to the inner housing 40 by fastening elements 42, so as to achieve the concentric alignment of the unit 20 and the inner housing 40 through the alignment element 26, which is configured as an annular mating surface extending around the rotational axis A.

[0031] The diffuser 21 has a plurality of guiding elements 25, which are configured here to introduce fluid between the cooling elements 43 provided on the inner housing 40 and configured as cooling fins, so as to effectively cool the inner housing 40 and the motor 50 accommodated therein for driving the impeller 10.

[0032] The present invention is not limited to the above preferred embodiments. On the contrary, the present invention can also have many variants, which also utilize the above embodiments that are basically different from the present invention.

Claims

1. A turbo compressor (1) having an impeller (10) rotatable about a rotational axis (A) for conveying a fluid, a diffuser (21) connected downstream of the impeller (10), and a clamping ring (22) for fixing an axial bearing (30) axially supporting the impeller (10) in a bearing housing (41). Among them, The diffuser (21) and the clamping ring (22) are integrally constructed as a unit (20). Wherein, the turbo compressor further has an inner housing (40) for accommodating a support portion formed by an axial bearing and / or a radial bearing, and the inner housing provides the bearing housing (41). Wherein, the unit (20) composed of the diffuser (21) and the clamping ring (22) forms a housing cover on the end side of the inner housing (40). Wherein, the inner housing (40) is further configured to accommodate a motor (50) for driving the impeller (10) and a cooling element (43) for cooling the motor (50). Wherein, the unit (20) composed of the diffuser (21) and the clamping ring (22) is configured to introduce the fluid conveyed by the impeller (10) into and / or beside the cooling element (43) of the inner housing (40).

2. The turbo compressor according to claim 1 Among them, The inner housing (40) has a can-shaped member (41) as the bearing housing (41) for accommodating the support portion. The housing cover formed by the unit (20) composed of the diffuser (21) and the clamping ring (22) can be connected to the can-shaped member (41) by at least one fastening element (42), and the support portion can be fixed in the can-shaped member (41) by the axial clamping force generated by the housing cover.

3. The turbo compressor according to any one of the preceding claims Among them, The axial bearing (30) is an aerodynamic axial bearing with at least one axial bearing disk (31), and wherein, the unit (20) composed of the diffuser (21) and the clamping ring (22) is configured as an axially protruding clamping section (23) for abutting against one of the axial bearing disks (31), and the axial bearing disk is particularly formed by an annular protrusion in the circumferential direction (U).

4. The turbo compressor according to the previous claim Among them, The clamping section (23) is formed by an annular protrusion extending in the circumferential direction (U), and the protrusion is penetrated by a channel (24) extending in the radial direction (R) for flow decoupling.

5. The turbo compressor according to any one of the preceding claims Among them, The unit (20) composed of the diffuser (21) and the clamping ring (22) has a plurality of guiding elements (25) and / or cooling elements for cooling the fluid conveyed by the impeller (10) and performing pressure conversion thereon.

6. The turbo compressor according to any one of the preceding claims Among them, The unit (20) composed of the diffuser (21) and the clamping ring (22) has at least one alignment element (26) for concentric alignment relative to the rotational axis (A) and / or for concentric alignment of the axial bearing (30) relative to the rotational axis (A) and / or for concentric alignment of the inlet nozzle (60) arranged on the inlet side of the impeller (10) relative to the rotational axis (A).

7. The turbo compressor according to any one of the preceding claims, Among them, wherein the turbo compressor is a radial compressor, an axial compressor or a diagonal compressor.

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