Multi-Stage Pump Segmented Pressure Housing Design
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Multi-stage high-pressure pumps face challenges with increased pressure leading to larger, more costly outer casings and component deformation due to high pressure differences across sealing parts, resulting in wear and inefficiency.
Innovation Solution
A pump design with a single high-pressure outlet chamber and two pressure chambers of lower pressure, separated by a rotating separating element, reduces the pressure within the outer housing, allowing for thinner walls and smaller diameters, and uses sealing elements to maintain the high-pressure area, minimizing deformation and manufacturing costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stress or pressure
If the pressure inside the outer housing is increased to achieve high-pressure pumping, then the pumping performance is improved, but the wall thickness and diameter of the outer housing must be increased, leading to higher costs and larger size
Solution Approach 1:
The pressure chamber is segmented into multiple independent sections using separating elements. Each section operates at a lower pressure level, allowing the outer housing to be designed for lower pressure requirements while still achieving high-pressure pumping through the series arrangement of pump modules. This segmentation enables the housing to maintain smaller dimensions and thinner walls.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from a single high-pressure chamber design to a multi-sectioned pressure chamber arrangement. By organizing pump modules in series across multiple sections with intermediate separating elements, the system achieves high-pressure output without requiring the entire housing to withstand high pressure, thus reducing overall housing volume and material requirements.
2Stress or pressure
If the pressure difference across sealing parts is increased to maintain high-pressure pumping, then the pumping performance is improved, but component deformation and wear increase, reducing reliability
Solution Approach 1:
The separating elements divide the pressure chamber into multiple sections, reducing the pressure difference across each individual sealing interface. Each seal only needs to withstand a fraction of the total pressure difference, minimizing deformation and wear while maintaining overall high-pressure pumping capability through the series configuration.
Solution Approach 2:
The separating elements act as intermediary components between pump modules, providing sealing interfaces that operate at reduced pressure differences. These intermediaries protect the sealing parts from excessive stress by distributing the pressure load across multiple lower-stress interfaces rather than one high-stress interface.
3Stress or pressure
If the wall thickness of the outer housing is increased to withstand high pressure, then the pressure containment capability is improved, but the manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the pressure chamber into multiple sections with separating elements, the required pressure containment is distributed across multiple smaller components rather than requiring the entire outer housing to withstand high pressure. This allows the housing to be manufactured with thinner walls at lower cost while maintaining adequate pressure containment through the segmented design.
4Stress or pressure
If the diameter of the outer housing is increased to accommodate high-pressure components, then the pressure handling capability is improved, but the pump size and material usage increase
Solution Approach 1:
The segmented pressure chamber design allows each section to be compact since they operate at lower pressure levels. The series arrangement of pump modules across sections achieves high-pressure output without requiring a large-diameter housing, thus reducing overall pump size and material usage while maintaining pressure handling capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent arranges pump modules in a series configuration along the axial direction rather than requiring a large radial diameter. This dimensional reorganization allows high-pressure handling to be achieved through the series multiplication of pressure stages rather than through a large single-chamber design, reducing the overall pump footprint.
Data Source
Figure 1
AI summary
The pump has an outer housing (513) which are provided with a discharge chamber (532) that is provided with an outlet port. A separator (512) is provided between the pump sections (534,535). A rotor shaft (539) is rotatably mounted in the pump sections. A separating element is provided between pressure chamber (511) and the outer housing. The separating element is provided between pressure chambers (511,540), so that discharge chamber is formed as a single high-pressure region of the pump main portion (530).