Impeller With Additive-Manufactured Coiled Triangular Channels
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional impeller manufacturing methods require long lead times and high costs due to brazing and testing, necessitating a need for improved manufacturing techniques.
Innovation Solution
An impeller design utilizing additive manufacturing with laser powder bed fusion to create intricate geometries, eliminating the need for castings and brazing, and featuring coiled channels with varying cross-sections and isosceles triangular shapes for enhanced performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional manufacturing methods are used, then joint integrity can be ensured through brazing and testing, but lead time increases to 400 days and costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple separate manufacturing operations (casting, brazing, testing) into a single additive manufacturing process. The impeller with internal channels is printed as one integrated component, eliminating the need for separate brazing operations to assemble cast sections and subsequent testing to verify joint integrity, thereby reducing lead time while maintaining reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the problematic intermediate steps (brazing and testing) from the manufacturing process by using additive manufacturing to create the complete impeller in one piece. The internal channels are formed directly during printing, removing the need for post-casting brazing operations and associated quality testing
2Ease of manufacture
If conventional manufacturing methods are used, then traditional impeller structures can be produced, but manufacturing costs and lead times increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical manufacturing processes (casting, brazing, assembly) with additive manufacturing technology. The laser powder bed fusion process builds the impeller layer by layer, creating complex internal geometries that would be impossible or extremely difficult to achieve with conventional mechanical methods, thereby simplifying the overall manufacturing process and improving productivity
3Productivity
If intricate channel geometries are created, then flow performance is enhanced, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the manufacturing parameters by using additive manufacturing instead of traditional methods. This enables the creation of intricate channel geometries with varying cross-sections, coiled paths, and optimized flow areas that would be impossible to produce with conventional casting or machining, thereby enhancing flow performance without proportionally increasing manufacturing complexity
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
The new manufacturing method reduces production costs and lead times while providing superior impeller properties through precise channel shaping and material selection.
Implementation Method 1
An impeller formed using additive manufacturing techniques
Implementation Method 2
Forming can include a build direction from a vane outlet to a vane inlet
Data Source
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AI summary
AN IMPELLER An impeller includes a housing having a fluid inlet cavity (102) defining a rotational axis (104). A plurality of vane inlets (114) are arranged along an inner surface of the fluid inlet cavity and a plurality of vane outlets (110) are circumferentially arranged along a rim of the housing. Each of the vane outlets is fluidly connected to a corresponding vane inlet by a corresponding internal channel (116) situated internal to the housing. Each of the channels maintains a triangular cross-section from the vane inlet to the vane outlet.