Slurry Pump Multi-Outlet Design for Agitation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional slurry pumps with a single discharge outlet are prone to inefficiency or inoperability due to blockages, limited output capacity, and inadequate coverage, especially when agitating slurry with fibrous materials, and often have blind spots in slurry tanks.
Innovation Solution
A slurry pump design featuring a rotor housing with multiple discharge outlets at varying heights and orientations, allowing for increased output capacity and pressure while preventing complete pump failure from blockages, and enabling comprehensive tank agitation without blind spots.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the discharge outlet cross-sectional area is increased to increase output capacity, then the output capacity increases, but the output pressure decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The single discharge outlet is segmented into multiple discharge outlets (first discharge outlet and second discharge outlet). This allows the pump to distribute the flow across multiple smaller outlets, maintaining higher velocity and pressure at each outlet while collectively achieving increased output capacity. The impeller is correspondingly segmented with multiple discharge channels to feed each outlet.
2Device complexity
If a single discharge outlet is used, then the pump structure is simple, but the pump becomes inoperable when the outlet is blocked
Solution Approach 1:
The single discharge outlet is divided into multiple independent discharge outlets. This segmentation ensures that if one outlet becomes blocked, the pump can continue to operate through the other outlets, significantly improving operational reliability. The pump body includes multiple discharge outlet channels that are independently connected to the impeller discharge periphery.
3Device complexity
If a single discharge outlet is used, then the pump structure is simple, but the spray coverage area is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The multiple discharge outlets are arranged in different spatial positions and orientations (different dimensions), allowing slurry to be sprayed in multiple directions simultaneously. This dimensional arrangement significantly expands the effective spray coverage area compared to a single outlet, enabling more comprehensive field coverage without increasing pump complexity excessively.
4Stress or pressure
If the impeller rotor is driven at higher velocity to increase pressure head, then the pressure head increases, but the power consumption increases inefficiently
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of increasing the rotational velocity of a single impeller to increase pressure head, the invention segments the discharge into multiple outlets. This allows the impeller to operate at optimal velocities while the multiple outlets efficiently distribute the pressure head, achieving higher effective pressure and capacity without excessive power consumption. Each outlet receives optimized pressure from the segmented impeller discharge periphery.
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 multi-outlet design enhances efficiency by maintaining pressure and output capacity, allowing for broader coverage and faster agitation of slurry, while preventing pump inoperability from single outlet blockages and addressing blind spots in tank agitation.
Implementation Method 1
The rotation of the impeller rotor builds up a pressure head in the rotor housing. The magnitude of the pressure head is relative to the rotational velocity of the impeller rotor.
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention is directed towards a slurry pump (102) comprising an impeller rotor (114) mounted within a rotor housing (112); the rotor housing comprising a single inlet opening (115), wherein, the rotor housing further comprises a plurality of discharge outlets (116) emanating from the rotor housing. The advantage of using a plurality of outlets is that the output capacity of the pump can be increased for the same power input, whilst a suitable pressure is maintained at the outlets. Furthermore, the plurality of discharge outlets form multiple spray outputs and consequently increase the area covered by the multiple spray outputs. This decreases the amount of time needed to be spent by the pump operator spraying the field. Moreover, a blockage in one discharge outlet will not render the entire slurry pump inoperable, and the pump operator may continue to use the pump with only one discharge outlet functioning. The slurry pump can hence jet slurry through the plurality of discharge outlets in different directions.