Turbocompressor

Abstract

The invention relates to a turbo compressor (1) with an impeller (10) rotatable about a rotational axis (A) for conveying a fluid, a diffuser (21) arranged downstream of the impeller (10) in terms of flow technology, and a clamping ring (22) for fixing an axial bearing (30) axially supporting the impeller (10) in a bearing holder (41), wherein the diffuser (21) and the clamping ring (22) are formed integrally and in one piece with one another as a unit (20).

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a turbocompressor with a diffuser and a clamping ring, which are formed integrally and in one piece as a unit, wherein the term turbocompressor is understood to mean axial, radial and diagonal compressors.

[0002] Turbocompressors, which include radial compressors, axial compressors, and diagonal compressors, as well as their basic design, are well known in the art. In these systems, a fluid or gas, especially air, is accelerated by an impeller driven by a motor, and the fluid's kinetic energy is converted into pressure in a downstream diffuser.

[0003] The impeller, usually connected to a shaft, is supported axially and radially by a bearing. Depending on the specific application and the prevailing conditions, the bearing may, for example, be an aerodynamic bearing, which can also be referred to as a gas bearing or air bearing. In the prior art, the aerodynamic bearing often comprises a dedicated and separate bearing assembly, which determines the cohesion of the individual components of the axial bearing as well as the assembly of the bearing assembly in the compressor.

[0004] However, this leads to a multitude of different components that have to be coordinated and assembled.

[0005] The invention is therefore based on the object of overcoming the aforementioned disadvantages and of realizing an axial or radial or diagonal compressor with a simple and thus cost-effective design.

[0006] This problem is solved by the combination of features according to patent claim 1.

[0007] According to the invention, a turbocompressor, i.e. an axial, diagonal or axial compressor, is therefore proposed, comprising an impeller rotatable about a rotational axis for conveying a fluid, a diffuser fluidically connected downstream of the impeller, and a clamping ring for fixing an axial bearing axially supporting the impeller in a bearing receptacle, wherein hereinafter the radial compressor / diagonal compressor / axial compressor is generally referred to as a compressor. The impeller is preferably mounted with an axial bearing designed as an aerodynamic bearing, which can be combined with a radial bearing, and / or via a shaft rotatable about the rotational axis, to which shaft the impeller is fixed or with which the impeller is formed.The compressor, which in the case of a radial compressor can also be referred to as a centrifugal compressor or radial compressor, is preferably used in cooling applications in which the fluid pumped by the compressor or impeller is a coolant. A key feature of the invention is that the diffuser and the clamping ring are integrally formed as a single unit.

[0008] Accordingly, the number of parts and assembly are significantly simplified, with additional advantageous effects that will be explained below.

[0009] In the context of this description, axial direction, radial direction and circumferential direction refer to the axis of rotation unless otherwise stated in the specific case.

[0010] According to the invention, the compressor further comprises an inner housing for receiving a bearing formed by the axial bearing and / or a radial bearing, wherein the unit comprising diffuser and clamping ring forms a front housing cover of the inner housing.

[0011] Furthermore, the inner housing can have a pot as a bearing receptacle for receiving the bearing, wherein the housing cover formed by the unit of diffuser and clamping ring can be connected to the pot by at least one fastening element and the bearing can be fixed in the pot by the housing cover or an axial clamping force that can be generated via the housing cover and, as mentioned below, by, for example, at least one clamping section provided on the housing cover.

[0012] Furthermore, the invention provides that the inner housing is designed to accommodate an electric motor that drives the impeller, possibly via the shaft, and that it forms cooling elements for cooling the electric motor, for example in the form of cooling channels running in the axial direction and, in particular, thermally conductively connected to a stator of the motor. The inner housing determines or provides the bearing mount. The unit consisting of the diffuser and clamping ring is designed to direct the fluid conveyed by the impeller into and / or onto the cooling elements of the inner housing.

[0013] Accordingly, at least a part of the fluid conveyed by the impeller is deflected from the radial direction into the axial direction.

[0014] As already explained in the introduction, it can be provided that the axial bearing is an aerodynamic axial bearing with at least one axial bearing disk, wherein an advantageous further development of the invention for such a case provides that the unit comprising diffuser and clamping ring forms a clamping section which projects in the axial direction for contact with one of the axial bearing disks, which clamping section is formed in particular by an annular projection running in the circumferential direction, so that the axial clamping or fixing of one of the axial bearing disks, in particular against the other components of the bearing, ie via a spacer disk or a spacer ring against a second axial bearing disk and via this against, for example, a front end of the pot for receiving the bearing, can be carried out in a simple manner and without intermediate elements.

[0015] In order to decouple the aerostatic effects on the shaft or on an axial bearing surface caused by the aerodynamic bearing and to enable pressure equalization with an ambient pressure prevailing in the bearing cup, the clamping section can also be formed by an annular projection running circumferentially and perforated by channels running in the radial direction for flow decoupling and, if necessary, for homogenizing an ambient pressure in the bearing cup.

[0016] Typically, it can also be provided that the unit consisting of the diffuser and clamping ring has a plurality of guide elements and / or cooling elements for cooling and pressure conversion of the fluid conveyed by the impeller, by means of which the fluid can be cooled on the one hand or heat can be transferred from the unit formed by the diffuser and clamping ring to the fluid and on the other hand the kinetic energy of the fluid can be converted into pressure.

[0017] The unit comprising diffuser and clamping ring also preferably provides at least one directional element for concentric alignment with respect to the rotation axis and / or for concentric alignment of the axial bearing with respect to the rotation axis and / or for concentric alignment of an inlet nozzle arranged on the inflow side of the impeller with respect to the rotation axis.

[0018] The features disclosed above can be combined as desired, as long as this is technically possible and they do not contradict each other.

[0019] Other advantageous developments of the invention are characterized in the subclaims or are presented in more detail below, together with the description of the preferred embodiment of the invention, with reference to the figure. It shows: Fig. 1a longitudinal section through a compressor.

[0020] The figure is exemplary schematic and shows a compressor 1 designed according to the invention in longitudinal section along the rotation axis A.

[0021] In this case, the compressor 1 is provided with an impeller 10 which can be rotated about an axis of rotation A for conveying a fluid and pressurizing the fluid, ie compressing the fluid, wherein an inlet nozzle 60 is arranged upstream of the impeller 10 with respect to the conveying direction and a diffuser 21 is arranged downstream of the impeller 10, by means of which kinetic energy can be converted into pressure.

[0022] To support the impeller 10 or a shaft to which the impeller 10 is attached, an axial bearing 30 and, in this case, a combination bearing comprising an axial bearing 30 and a radial bearing are also provided. Furthermore, these bearings are designed as aerodynamic bearings.

[0023] In order to be able to fix the axial bearing 30 in a bearing receptacle 41 provided by an inner housing 40 of the compressor 1, specifically as a pot 41, a clamping ring 22 is usually provided, with which a clamping force can be applied to the axial bearing 30 and this can be fixed accordingly in the pot 41.

[0024] In the present case, it is provided that the diffuser 21 and the clamping ring 22 are formed integrally with one another, ie in one piece as a unit 20, which not only reduces the number of parts of the compressor, but also simplifies the concentric alignment with respect to the rotation axis A.

[0025] To fix the axial bearing 30, which has an axial bearing disk 31 as an aerodynamic bearing, the unit 20 forms a clamping section 23 which runs annularly around the rotation axis A in the circumferential direction U, with which the unit 20 lies directly against the axial bearing disk 31 and exerts a clamping force on it in the axial direction, ie parallel to the rotation axis A.

[0026] In this case, the clamping section 23 is cut in the radial direction R by channels 24, through which a radially inner cavity is connected to a radially outer cavity, so that an ambient pressure around the aerodynamic axial bearing 30 can be homogenized and any undesired overpressures arising at the axial bearing 30 can be dissipated.

[0027] Furthermore, the unit 20 can be connected and screwed to the inner housing 40 via fastening elements 42, wherein a concentric alignment of the unit 20 with the inner housing 40 is achieved by a directional element 26, which is designed as a fitting surface that runs annularly around the rotation axis A.

[0028] The diffuser 21 has a plurality of guide elements 25, which are designed in the present case to direct the fluid between cooling elements 43 provided on the inner housing 40 and designed as cooling fins, so that efficient cooling of the inner housing 40 and the electric motor 50 accommodated therein for driving the impeller 10 is possible.

[0029] The invention is not limited to the preferred embodiments described above. Rather, a number of variants are conceivable that utilize the presented solution even in fundamentally different embodiments.

Claims

1. Turbocompressor (1) with an impeller (10) rotatable about a rotational axis (A) for conveying a fluid, a diffuser (21) arranged downstream of the impeller (10) in terms of flow technology, and a clamping ring (22) for fixing an axial bearing (30) axially supporting the impeller (10) in a bearing holder (41), wherein the diffuser (21) and the clamping ring (22) are formed integrally and in one piece with one another as a unit (20), characterized in thatthe turbocompressor (1) further comprises an inner housing (40) for receiving a bearing formed by the axial bearing and / or a radial bearing, which provides the bearing receptacle (41), wherein the unit (20) comprising the diffuser (21) and the clamping ring (22) forms a front-side housing cover of the inner housing (40), wherein the inner housing (40) is further designed to receive an electric motor (50) driving the impeller (10) and forming cooling elements (43) for cooling the electric motor (50), and wherein the unit (20) comprising the diffuser (21) and the clamping ring (22) is designed to direct the fluid conveyed by the impeller (10) into and / or onto the cooling elements (43) of the inner housing (40).

2. Turbocompressor according to claim 1, wherein the inner housing (40) has a pot (41) as a bearing receptacle (41) for receiving the bearing and the housing cover formed by the unit (20) comprising diffuser (21) and clamping ring (22) can be connected to the pot (41) by at least one fastening element (42) and the bearing can be fixed in the pot (41) by an axial clamping force that can be generated via the housing cover.

3. Turbocompressor according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the axial bearing (30) is an aerodynamic axial bearing with at least one axial bearing disc (31) and wherein the unit (20) comprising diffuser (21) and clamping ring (22) forms a clamping section (23) projecting in the axial direction for engagement with one of the axial bearing discs (31), which clamping section is formed in particular by an annular projection running in the circumferential direction (U).

4. Turbocompressor according to the preceding claim, wherein the clamping section (23) is formed by an annular projection running in the circumferential direction (U) and pierced by channels (24) running in the radial direction (R) for flow decoupling.

5. Turbocompressor according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the unit (20) comprising diffuser (21) and clamping ring (22) has a plurality of guide elements (25) and / or cooling elements for cooling and pressure conversion of the fluid conveyed by the impeller (10).

6. Turbocompressor according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the unit (20) comprising diffuser (21) and clamping ring (22) has at least one directional element (26) for concentric alignment with respect to the axis of rotation (A) and / or for concentric alignment of the axial bearing (30) with respect to the axis of rotation (A) and / or for concentric alignment of an inlet nozzle (60) arranged on the inflow side of the impeller (10) with respect to the axis of rotation (A).

7. Turbocompressor according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the turbocompressor is a radial compressor or an axial compressor or a diagonal compressor.

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