Shred and Shear Pump Cutter Bar Radial Axial Rings
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional pumps fail to effectively shred and shear solids, particularly woven fibrous materials, leading to clogging and pump failure due to inadequate cutting mechanisms, resulting in increased costs and larger pump sizes to accommodate larger intakes.
Innovation Solution
A centrifugal pump design featuring a radial cutter ring assembly and axial cutter ring assembly with a rotating cutter bar that provides both shredding and shearing cutting actions, along with adjustable interfaces to maintain optimal performance and prevent clogging, allowing for efficient passage of solids through a smaller pump design.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional non-clog style impeller design is used to suck solids into the pump, then the pump can handle solids to varying degrees, but woven fibrous materials are not sheared into passable sized solids and become balled around the impeller eye, causing clogging and pump failure
Solution Approach 1:
The cutter bar and cutter ring perform preliminary cutting and shearing of solids before they enter the impeller. This preliminary action reduces solids to smaller particles that can be safely conveyed by the impeller without causing clogging or wrapping, thereby preventing harmful effects before they occur.
Solution Approach 2:
The cutting mechanism is segmented into two distinct components: a cutter bar with cutting edges for initial size reduction, and a cutter ring with additional cutting edges for further size reduction. This segmentation allows progressive size reduction of solids, ensuring they are small enough to pass through the pump without causing problems.
2Productivity
If conventional chopper pump design with cutting system is used, then solids can be chopped and macerated, but solids must travel across to the back plate before cutting action, causing wrapping and clogging before cutting occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The cutter bar is positioned at the intake portion of the pump, performing preliminary cutting of solids immediately as they enter. This eliminates the need for solids to travel across to a back plate, preventing wrapping and clogging from occurring before the cutting action takes place.
3Reliability
If conventional grinder pump design with impeller positioned at intake is used, then impeller can be used as part of cutting mechanism, but solids are not allowed to gain entry until sliced into smaller particles, resulting in unsuccessful kick-out actions and accumulation of woven fibrous materials
Solution Approach 1:
The cutter bar and cutter ring perform preliminary cutting of solids before they reach the impeller. This ensures solids are reduced to smaller particles in advance, preventing the impeller from having to perform unsuccessful kick-out actions and avoiding accumulation of woven fibrous materials that would lead to clogging.
Solution Approach 2:
The cutting function is separated from the impeller function. The cutter bar and cutter ring handle the cutting of solids, while the impeller handles the conveying of the liquid and reduced solids. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function effectively without interference.
4Object-generated harmful factors
If higher capacity pumps with larger motors and intake openings are used to allow passage of solids, then solids can pass through more easily, but pump cost increases due to over-sizing
Solution Approach 1:
The cutter bar and cutter ring perform preliminary size reduction of solids, allowing a smaller pump with smaller intake opening to handle solids effectively. This eliminates the need to over-size the pump, reducing manufacturing costs while maintaining the ability to pass solids through the system.
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 effectively reduces clogging and pump failures by simultaneously performing shredding and shearing actions, enabling the use of smaller pumps for handling modern wastewater and other liquid applications while maintaining the efficiency of larger pumps, thus reducing costs and improving operational reliability.
Implementation Method 1
a rotating cutter bar provides a shredding cutting action of solids between the rotating cutter bar and a radial cutter ring assembly held stationary
Implementation Method 2
a rotation of the cutter bar provides a shearing cutting action of solids by the rotating cutter bar and an axial cutter ring assembly
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention is a pump used for applications where a solid is present in wastewater and other liquids that requires cutting and reduction in size so as to pass the solid through the inlet to the outlet of the pump. The pump has a pump casing with an inlet and an outlet formed therein. A drive unit rotates a drive shaft extending axially through the pump casing to an impeller and a cutter bar. The pump is further configured with a radial cutter ring assembly positioned adjacent the cutter bar and the inlet providing a shredding cutting action of solids between the rotating cutter bar sliding past a radial cutter ring assembly held stationary, e.g. cutting blades formed in an edge of the cutter bar rotate across an internal surface of the radial cutter ring assembly. The pump also has an axial cutter ring assembly with one or more blades forming openings adapted for the passage of solids from the inlet to the outlet to provide a shearing cutting action of solids by a rotation of an upper surface of the cutter bar sliding past an axial cutting surface of the blades of the axial cutter ring assembly. The shred and shear pump may be configured with a plurality of slots on the internal surface of the radial cutter ring assembly to hold woven fibrous material for the shredding cutting action. The pump also features improved optimized flow, cutting and reducing solids in the form of woven fibrous materials, and adjustability of the cutter housing for precision and wear adjustment.