Rotary Pump with Opposing Rotor and Blades for Compact Fluid Transfer
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional rotary pumps face disadvantages in terms of size and weight, requiring innovative designs to achieve smaller and lighter alternatives while maintaining efficiency and scalability.
Innovation Solution
A rotary pump design featuring a planar housing with a circular center cavity, an elongated rotor, double-concave blades, and a gearbox, where the rotor and blades rotate in opposite directions without frictional interference, facilitated by a gear system, allowing for efficient fluid transfer and scalable geometry.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If conventional rotary pump designs are used, then fluid transfer capability is achieved, but size and weight are excessive
Solution Approach 1:
The pump is divided into distinct functional modules: a rotor segmented into multiple lobes, separate blade assemblies for each cavity, and a modular housing with distinct intake and discharge sections. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently for minimal volume while maintaining fluid transfer capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The rotor lobes are nested within the housing cavities, with blades positioned within the cavities to engage the rotor lobes. The gear box is integrated into the housing structure rather than being a separate external component. This nesting arrangement eliminates unnecessary clearances and reduces overall pump volume.
2Weight of moving object
If conventional rotary pump designs are used, then fluid transfer capability is achieved, but weight is excessive
Solution Approach 1:
The pump components are segmented to use materials optimally - the rotor and blades use lightweight high-strength materials, while the housing uses structural materials only where needed for pressure containment. This segmented material selection reduces overall weight while maintaining fluid transfer capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The rotor lobes and housing cavities use curved, streamlined geometries that reduce material requirements compared to angular designs. The curved surfaces also improve fluid flow efficiency, maintaining productivity with less material.
3Ease of manufacture
If simple geometry is used, then manufacturing ease is improved, but scalability is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The rotor lobe geometry serves multiple functions: it defines the cavity volume, engages the blades for sealing, and determines the displacement volume. The same basic lobe shape can be scaled to different sizes while maintaining the same functional relationships, enabling easy scalability from small to large pumps using the same design principles.
Solution Approach 2:
The pump design uses dimensionless geometric parameters (ratios of lengths, angles) that can be scaled uniformly. By changing the scale factor of the basic rotor and housing geometry, pumps can be manufactured in different sizes while maintaining the same manufacturing processes and assembly procedures.
4Loss of energy
If rotor and blades rotate in opposite directions, then frictional interference is eliminated, but gear system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The gear box acts as an intermediary mechanism that converts single-direction motor rotation into opposite-direction rotation of the rotor and blades. By placing the gear mechanism at the motor shaft rather than requiring separate drive shafts, the system eliminates frictional interference between rotor and blades while minimizing overall structural 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 design results in a smaller, lighter, and more efficient rotary pump with improved scalability, capable of handling fluid transfer with minimal waste and efficient compression ratios, addressing the limitations of conventional rotary pumps.
Implementation Method 1
The gear box is disposed on the aft cover plate and has a rotor gear wheel with adjacent corresponding blade gear wheels. The rotor gear wheel turns with the rotor shaft while engaging both blade gear wheels along their peripheries. The blade gear wheels turn with the corresponding blade shafts. The blades turn opposite to the rotor.
Data Source
AI summary
A rotary pump is provided for fluid transfer. The pump includes a planar housing, an elongated rotor, a pair of double-concave blades, fore and aft cover plates, and a gear box. The housing has a circular center cavity, and a pair of circular lateral cavities overlapping the center cavity and disposed along a longitudinal axis. The rotor is disposed on a rotor shaft along a rotation axis perpendicular to the longitudinal axis within the center cavity. The blades flank the rotor and are disposed within their corresponding lateral cavity and turn on corresponding blade shafts parallel to the rotor shaft. The fore and aft cover plates flank the housing along the rotation axis to cover the center and lateral cavities. The blades turn opposite from the rotor.