Centrifugal Pump Heat Exchanger Integration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems for cooling lubricants in gearboxes, such as those powering fluid pumps, often require separate cooling mechanisms and seals, which can be inefficient and prone to failure due to excessive heat buildup.
Innovation Solution
A centrifugal pump with an integrated heat exchange system where the lubricant is pumped through a passageway that shares a common wall with a waterway, allowing for direct heat transfer between the lubricant and cooling fluid without the need for additional seals, thus cooling the lubricant and warming the pump to prevent freezing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If a separate cooling mechanism with additional seals is used to cool lubricant in the gearbox, then the lubricant cooling function is provided, but the system complexity increases and reliability decreases due to more potential failure points
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the cooling function with the existing pump structure by integrating a cooling jacket directly into the pump casing. The cooling jacket is formed as an integral part of the pump housing, sharing common walls with the pump's fluid passages. This merging eliminates the need for separate cooling mechanisms and additional seals, thereby maintaining reliability while achieving effective lubricant cooling.
Solution Approach 2:
The pump structure is designed to serve multiple functions: it performs the primary fluid pumping function while simultaneously acting as a heat exchanger for cooling the lubricant. The cooling jacket integrated into the pump casing allows cooling fluid to flow through passages that share walls with the lubricant passages, enabling the pump to cool lubricant without requiring a dedicated cooling device.
2Temperature
If a copper tube with coolant is inserted directly within the gearbox cavity to cool the interior, then the cooling effect is achieved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of inserting a separate copper tube into the gearbox, the patent merges the cooling function into the pump structure itself. The cooling jacket is integrated into the pump casing, which is already present in the system. This approach avoids adding extra components to the gearbox cavity and reduces overall device complexity while achieving the same cooling effect.
Solution Approach 2:
The pump casing is designed to serve dual purposes: housing the pumping mechanism and providing the cooling jacket structure. This multi-functional design eliminates the need for separate cooling tubes in the gearbox, simplifying the overall device structure while maintaining effective cooling capability.
3Temperature
If separate seals are used between flowing lubricant and another fluid in the heat exchange system, then the fluid separation is maintained, but the reliability decreases due to additional seal failure points
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the cooling jacket passages with the pump structure such that they share common walls. The cooling jacket is formed as an integral part of the pump casing, with the wall separating the cooling fluid passage from the lubricant passage being a structural element of the pump housing itself. This integration eliminates the need for separate seals at the interface between cooling fluid and lubricant, as the common wall provides inherent separation without requiring additional sealing components.
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 solution effectively cools the lubricant and warms the pump, reducing the risk of lubricant degradation and gear failure while eliminating the need for separate seals, thereby enhancing the reliability and efficiency of the cooling process.
Implementation Method 1
the inboard head has a common wall in part defining a lubricant or oil passageway, the common wall separating the lubricant passageway from the fluid passageway
Implementation Method 2
allowing for direct heat transfer between the lubricant and cooling fluid without the need for additional seals
Data Source
AI summary
A specialty pump and heat exchange system having a fluid pump driven by a gear assembly. The fluid pump has a pump casing and an inboard head that form a fluid passageway when connected together. The gear assembly uses lubricant in the transmission and that lubricant is cooled by being pumped from the gear assembly through a lubricant passageway in the inboard head and then recycled back to the gear assembly for further use. In addition to cooling the lubricant, the system warms the fluid pump and/or fluid passing through the fluid pump.