Inclined-Plate Axial Piston Pump for Stable High-Pressure Flow
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Solution Overview
Problem
Axial piston pumps with inclined plates experience significant flow rate fluctuations during operation, particularly in high-pressure applications, and have inefficient construction designs that are not cost-effective.
Innovation Solution
The axial piston pump is designed with more than two cylinders, featuring a compact and efficient fluid-dynamic design by minimizing the length of delivery ducts and eliminating suction ducts, utilizing a collection channel with an annular path and equidistant primary ducts, and incorporating suction valves directly in cylinder seats to reduce the pumping chamber volume.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If axial piston pumps with inclined plate use more than two cylinders, then flow rate fluctuations are reduced, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The pump divides the pumping function across multiple cylinders (at least three) arranged around a common axis, with each cylinder handling a portion of the total flow. This segmentation of the pumping function across multiple independent but coordinated units smooths out flow fluctuations while distributing the complexity across modular components.
Solution Approach 2:
The pump utilizes periodic reciprocating motion of pistons within cylinders, orchestrated through a cam mechanism, to create overlapping discharge cycles. The periodic action of multiple pistons at different phases combines to produce continuous, stable flow output, transforming discrete pulsating flows into a smooth composite flow.
2Volume of moving object
If delivery ducts are minimized in length, then pump dimensions are reduced, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The delivery ducts from multiple cylinders are merged into a common collection chamber or manifold located at the periphery. This merging approach allows all cylinders to discharge into a single consolidated space, minimizing individual duct lengths while the manifold design accommodates varying connection points without requiring extreme precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The pump architecture arranges cylinders radially around a common axis with delivery ducts extending in multiple directions toward a peripheral collection point. This three-dimensional radial configuration optimizes duct lengths by utilizing spatial distribution rather than linear arrangement, reducing the need for precise duct positioning while minimizing overall volume.
3Device complexity
If suction ducts are eliminated, then device complexity is reduced, but suction valve positioning precision must increase
Solution Approach 1:
The suction duct system is extracted and eliminated entirely by integrating suction valves directly into the cylinder bores. Each cylinder receives suction directly at its inlet port without requiring separate external suction ducts, simplifying the overall duct architecture while transferring precision requirements to the valve seat machining within each cylinder.
Solution Approach 2:
The cylinder bore serves multiple functions: it houses the piston, provides the pumping chamber, and directly incorporates the suction inlet port. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate suction ducts, as the cylinder itself performs both containment and fluid intake functions, reducing complexity while requiring precise valve seat positioning within the cylinder.
4Loss of substance
If pump chamber volume is minimized, then material usage is reduced, but stress concentration from pressure pulsations increases
Solution Approach 1:
The total pump chamber volume is segmented across multiple smaller cylinders rather than using one large chamber. This segmentation reduces the volume of each individual chamber subject to pressure pulsations, allowing use of less material per cylinder, while the distributed arrangement across multiple units collectively handles the total flow requirement.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple pistons operate in periodic cycles with different phases, creating overlapping pressure waves that partially cancel each other out. This periodic multi-phase operation reduces the amplitude of pressure pulsations in each individual chamber compared to a single-cylinder system, allowing smaller chamber volumes with adequate strength margins.
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention relates to an axial piston pump (1) of the rotating inclined plate type for pumping a liquid comprising: a head (25), a plurality of cylinders (30) made in the head (25) in a number greater than two, having axes (C) parallel to each other and the cylinders being arranged radially around a common axis (A) parallel to the axes of the cylinders, a plurality of pistons (75), each slidingly inserted within a respective cyl-inder (30) of the plurality of cylinders (30) for the pumping of the liquid, and a plurality of delivery ducts (145) made in the head (25), each of which runs directly from a re-spective cylinder (30) to a respective delivery valve (120) and is arranged transversely to the axis (C) of the respective cylinder. Where the head (25) has a first side (61) and a second side (62), the second side (62) being opposite to the first side (61) in relation to an imaginary secant plane (S) which contains the common axis (A) and which is paral-lel to the axes (C) of the cylinders (30), where the plurality of cylinders (30) comprises a first arrangement of cylinders, which has its own axis (C) between the first side (61) and the imaginary secant plane (S), and a second arrangement of cylinders, which has its own axis (C) between the second side (62) and the imaginary secant plane (S). Said delivery ducts (145) running from the cylinders (30) of the first arrangement of cylin-ders, run from the respective cylinder (30) towards the first side (61), and the delivery ducts running from the cylinders of the second arrangement of cylinders, run from the respective cylinder (30) towards the second side (62).