Dual-Material Screw Pump for Vibration Damping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing screw pump designs face challenges in enhancing performance and durability, particularly in terms of material stiffness and vibration damping, which affect efficiency and longevity.
Innovation Solution
The use of a dual-material screw design, where a stiffer center shaft made of metal (e.g., stainless steel) is embedded within a less stiff polymer body, combined with a flexible coupling and anti-rotation features, to enhance structural reinforcement and vibration damping.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If a single-material screw design is used, then the manufacturing process is simple, but the structural integrity and vibration damping are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The screw is constructed as a composite structure with a center shaft made of a first material (e.g., metal or stiff polymer) and a screw body molded from a second material (e.g., polymer). This composite design combines the high strength and stiffness of the center shaft with the vibration damping properties of the polymer body, resolving the contradiction between structural integrity and vibration damping while maintaining manufacturing simplicity through a single molding process.
Solution Approach 2:
The center shaft is embedded within the screw body in a nested configuration, where the first material center shaft is housed inside the second material screw body. This nesting arrangement allows the stronger center shaft to provide structural support while the outer polymer body provides vibration damping, effectively combining the benefits of both materials in a compact integrated structure.
2Strength
If a stiffer material is used for the screw, then the structural reinforcement is improved, but the vibration damping is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The screw employs local quality differentiation by using a stiffer first material for the center shaft where structural reinforcement is needed, and a less stiff second material (polymer) for the screw body where vibration damping is required. This spatial differentiation of material properties allows the screw to simultaneously achieve both structural strength and vibration reduction without compromise.
Solution Approach 2:
The composite construction with a stiff center shaft embedded in a more compliant polymer body creates a multi-material system that exhibits both high structural reinforcement from the center shaft and effective vibration damping from the polymer matrix, resolving the contradiction between these two opposing requirements.
3Strength
If a dual-material screw design is used, then the structural reinforcement and vibration damping are enhanced, but the manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The center shaft is inserted into the mold as a core around which the second material (polymer) is molded. This nesting approach during manufacturing allows the dual-material screw to be produced in a single integrated molding process, eliminating the need for separate assembly steps and reducing manufacturing complexity despite the use of two different materials.
Solution Approach 2:
The composite screw is manufactured using a co-molding or insert molding process where the first material center shaft is positioned in the mold and the second material is molded around it in one operation. This integrated manufacturing approach for composite materials simplifies production by eliminating multiple assembly steps, resolving the contradiction between enhanced structural properties and manufacturing ease.
Data Source
AI summary
The disclosure relates to a screw pump (2) comprising: a casing (3) with an inlet (30), an outlet (31) and a flow chamber (32) between the inlet and the outlet, and at least two screws (4, 5, 6) housed in the flow chamber to force a fluid flow through the flow chamber from the inlet to the outlet, wherein at least one of the screws (4) comprises a center shaft (40) made of a first material on which the screw is molded from a second material.