Drum Pump Shaft Support Ring for Dry-Run Vibration Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional drum or container pumps face issues with dry running, leading to high temperatures due to friction in bearings without a medium to dissipate heat, increasing complexity and material costs, and risk of lubricant contamination in explosion-protected applications.
Innovation Solution
A pump arrangement with a drive shaft supported by a support ring with an inner diameter greater than the drive shaft, allowing it to run freely without vibration, reducing friction and eliminating the need for intermediary bearings and lubricants, using materials like carbon and ceramics to prevent spark generation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If intermediary bearings are used to support the drive shaft, then the drive shaft is stabilized during rotation, but frictional heat increases during dry running and special materials or encapsulated lubrication are required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the intermediary bearing from the drive shaft support tube, extracting the source of frictional heat. The drive shaft is allowed to run freely without contact bearings, eliminating the temperature problem during dry running while maintaining stability through the support ring structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The support ring acts as an intermediary element between the drive shaft and the drive shaft support tube. It provides stabilization when needed (during vibration) without creating continuous friction contact, thus avoiding the temperature issues associated with traditional intermediary bearings.
2Stability of the object's composition
If multiple intermediary bearings are used to prevent drive shaft vibration, then drive shaft stability improves, but device complexity and material costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the intermediary bearing from the system, simplifying the device structure. Instead of adding multiple bearings to prevent vibration, the design allows the drive shaft to run freely and only provides support when actual vibration occurs.
Solution Approach 2:
The support ring is designed as a simple, inexpensive component that can be easily replaced if needed. It is a basic ring structure without complex bearing mechanisms, reducing material costs and device complexity while providing sufficient stabilization function.
3Loss of energy
If encapsulated lubrication system is used to reduce friction in bearings, then bearing operation is improved, but lubricant can exit due to wear and contaminate the medium
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the lubrication system entirely by eliminating the intermediary bearings. Without contact bearings, there is no lubricant to leak or contaminate the medium, while frictional heat generation is also eliminated.
Solution Approach 2:
The drive shaft supports itself without external lubrication by running freely in the drive shaft support tube. The system uses its own structure (the clearance between drive shaft and tube) to minimize friction without requiring additional lubrication components.
4Reliability
If constant monitoring is implemented to detect dry running, then pump operation safety is improved, but device complexity and operational burden increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the need for monitoring systems by eliminating the vulnerable components (intermediary bearings) that require monitoring. The design is inherently safe during dry running, so no additional monitoring complexity is needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The pump arrangement protects itself during dry running by design. The free-running drive shaft without contact bearings automatically prevents damage during dry operation, making the system self-protecting without requiring external monitoring or control systems.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables safe operation during dry running by preventing frictional heat and vibration, reducing material costs and ensuring safe operation in explosion-protected environments without special materials or encapsulated lubrication.
Implementation Method 1
the drive shaft does not contact the support ring as long as it rotates without vibration in a no-load condition. Only when the drive shaft starts to vibrate due to increasing speed and load
Implementation Method 2
Only when the drive shaft starts to vibrate due to increasing speed and load and, in particular when the drive shaft reaches a resonance frequency, it contacts the at least one support ring which assures only in this situation that the drive shaft does not impact the drive shaft support tube
Implementation Method 3
when the drive shaft reaches a resonance frequency
Implementation Method 4
using materials like carbon and ceramics to prevent spark generation
Data Source
AI summary
A pump arrangement for a drum or container pump, the pump arrangement including a pump housing; a drive shaft support tube received in the pump housing; and a drive shaft rotatably supported in the drive shaft support tube at a rotor side bearing and at a pump arrangement coupling, wherein the drive shaft runs freely between the rotor side bearing and the pump arrangement coupling, wherein the drive shaft runs through the at least one support ring that is fixed relative to the pump housing and that has an inner diameter that is greater than an outer diameter of the drive shaft and that is arranged between the rotor side bearing and the pump arrangement coupling.