Integrated Pump Rotor-Impeller Layout for Low-Weight Electric Drive
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing pump systems in the aerospace industry face challenges in integrating electric motors efficiently, particularly in terms of weight, cost, and space considerations, as conventional electrically driven pumps are heavy and inefficient.
Innovation Solution
A pump design that integrates an electric motor by configuring the housing as both a pump housing and a stator, with a cylinder acting as both an impeller and a rotor, utilizing magnetic fields and split impeller portions to induce radial vortex passes, reducing weight and cost while maintaining performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Extent of automation
If an electric motor is integrated into the pump housing, then the pump can be electrically driven, but the weight of the pump increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the pump housing and motor housing into a single integrated structure. The stator is positioned within the pump housing, eliminating the need for a separate motor housing. This integration reduces overall weight while maintaining electrical drive capability, as the motor components share space with the pump components rather than adding to it.
Solution Approach 2:
The pump housing serves multiple functions: it contains the pump components (impeller, casing) and simultaneously houses the motor stator. This multi-functionality allows the same structural elements to support both pumping and motor functions, reducing the total weight compared to separate pump and motor assemblies.
2Reliability
If a separate motor housing is used to house the stator, then the motor components are protected, but the space required increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the pump housing and motor housing into a single integrated structure. The stator is positioned within the pump housing, eliminating the need for a separate motor housing. This integration reduces overall volume while maintaining component protection, as the motor components share space with the pump components rather than requiring additional external space.
Solution Approach 2:
The stator is nested within the pump housing, utilizing the existing structural space. The motor components are arranged concentrically with the pump components, allowing the stator to be positioned around the cylinder/impeller assembly. This nesting arrangement protects motor components while minimizing the increase in overall pump volume.
3Ease of manufacture
If the housing acts as both pump housing and stator, then manufacturing cost is reduced, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the pump housing and motor housing into a single integrated structure, reducing the total number of parts that need to be manufactured and assembled. This consolidation lowers manufacturing costs by eliminating separate housing components and reducing assembly steps, despite the increased complexity of the integrated housing design itself.
Solution Approach 2:
The housing is designed to serve multiple functions: containing pump components and housing motor components. This multi-functionality reduces the total number of components needed, lowering manufacturing costs. The housing acts as both the pump casing and the motor stator housing, eliminating the need for separate motor housing manufacturing.
4Device complexity
If the cylinder acts as both impeller and rotor, then the number of parts is reduced, but the precision required for manufacturing increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the impeller and rotor into a single cylinder component. This consolidation reduces the total number of parts that need to be manufactured, assembled, and maintained. The cylinder is designed with features that simultaneously provide impeller functionality (fluid moving surfaces) and rotor functionality (magnetic coupling surfaces), reducing part count despite increased manufacturing precision requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The cylinder is designed to perform multiple functions: it acts as the impeller that moves fluid and as the rotor that couples with the magnetic field from the stator. This multi-functionality reduces the number of separate components needed. The same cylindrical component provides both the fluid-moving surfaces and the magnetic coupling surfaces, eliminating the need for separate impeller and rotor parts.
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
This design allows for the integration of electric motors within existing pumps, reducing weight, cost, and space requirements while maintaining or improving pump performance, enabling efficient fluid pressure increase through radial vortex passes.
Implementation Method 1
the first housing portion can include one or more field windings configured to generate a magnetic field to drive rotation of the cylinder
Implementation Method 2
the second cylinder portion can include one or more blades configured to induce turbulence in a fluid passing from the one or more fluid inlets to the one or more fluid outlets
Implementation Method 3
the fluid passing though the housing and the clearance can be configured to act as coolant for the motor
Data Source
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AI summary
In accordance with at least one aspect of this disclosure, a pump (100) includes a housing (102) having one or more fluid inlets (104) and one or more fluid outlets (106). The housing is configured to act as a pump housing for passing a fluid from the one or more fluid inlets to the one or more fluid outlets and configured to act as a stator for a motor. The pump also includes a cylinder (110) encased within the housing and mounted on a shaft for rotation within the housing. The cylinder is configured to act as an impeller to drive fluid from the one or more fluid inlets through the housing to the one or more fluid outlets and configured to act as a rotor for the motor.