Segmented Pump Power End Frame for Vibration-Resistant Assembly
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional reciprocating pump power end housings are prone to damage from excessive vibrations, bending moments, and deformation due to their weight and complex assembly requirements, making them difficult to manufacture and assemble effectively.
Innovation Solution
A power end frame assembly for reciprocating pumps is designed with a segmented structure comprising end plate segments and middle plate segments, featuring extensions and support feet for enhanced structural rigidity and ease of assembly, utilizing forged steel for increased strength and reduced weight, and incorporating a method for assembling these segments with welding and recessed surfaces to support bearings and crosshead tubes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If conventional power end housings are used, then structural strength is maintained, but weight is excessive and assembly difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The power end housing is divided into multiple segments including end plate segments and middle plate segments that can be manufactured separately and assembled together. This segmentation reduces the weight of individual components and simplifies the assembly process while maintaining the overall structural strength of the housing.
2Reliability
If conventional power end housings are used, then structural integrity is maintained, but susceptibility to vibration damage increases
Solution Approach 1:
Extensions are added to the plate segments that align and contact with corresponding extensions on adjacent plates, creating a combined rigid structure. This merging of segments through the extensions enhances the overall rigidity and resistance to vibration damage while maintaining structural integrity.
3Ease of manufacture
If conventional power end housings are used, then structural stability is maintained, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The housing structure is segmented into standardized plate segments with consistent features including openings for bearing support surfaces and extensions for rigid connection. This segmentation reduces manufacturing complexity by allowing repeated use of standardized components while maintaining structural stability.
4Ease of operation
If segmented plate structure is used, then assembly ease is improved, but structural rigidity may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The extensions on adjacent plate segments are designed to align and contact with each other, merging the segments into a rigid integrated structure. This combining approach maintains structural rigidity while preserving the assembly advantages of segmentation.
Solution Approach 2:
The extensions provide additional dimensional connectivity between plate segments, creating rigid connections in multiple directions. This dimensional enhancement ensures structural rigidity is maintained despite the segmented construction allowing easy assembly.
Data Source
AI summary
A plate segment for a reciprocating pump power end frame assembly, the power end frame assembly having a pair of end plate segments and at least one middle plate segment disposed between the end plate segments. The plate segment consists of the middle plate segment or one of the pair of end plate segments and includes a plate having a front wall, a rear wall, a top wall, a bottom wall and a pair of sidewalls and at least one opening forming a bearing support surface, the opening extending through the plate. The plate segment further includes at least one extension extending from at least one of the sidewalls of the plate at a position to align with and contact a corresponding extension on an adjacently positioned plate.