Unitary Thrust Pad for Abrasive ESP Pump Wear
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing multistage centrifugal pumps face issues with thrust module durability in abrasive environments due to wear surface materials like silicon carbide, tungsten carbide, or zirconia being brittle and having different thermal expansion coefficients than ductile support structures, leading to assembly challenges and reliability problems with adhesives and pinning techniques.
Innovation Solution
A unitary thrust pad with integrated axial and radial wear surfaces, secured using threaded fasteners, eliminates the need for separate components and adhesives, providing reliable axial and radial support while maintaining perpendicularity and resisting wear in abrasive conditions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If carbide materials (silicon carbide, tungsten carbide, or zirconia) are used for wear surfaces, then wear resistance is improved, but brittleness increases and thermal expansion mismatch with ductile support structures causes assembly and reliability problems
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies composite materials by combining hard carbide wear surfaces with ductile Ni-Resist alloy support structures. The carbide provides exceptional wear resistance while the ductile alloy provides toughness and thermal expansion compatibility, creating a composite thrust bearing that balances wear resistance with structural integrity and reduces brittleness-related failures
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the material parameters by selecting specific carbide materials (silicon carbide, tungsten carbide, or zirconia) with appropriate hardness and wear resistance properties, and pairing them with Ni-Resist alloys that have matched thermal expansion coefficients. This parameter optimization resolves the thermal expansion mismatch problem while maintaining wear resistance
2Strength
If carbide wear surfaces are embedded in ductile support structures, then toughness is improved, but thermal expansion mismatch causes wear surfaces to come loose or interfere excessively
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material parameters by selecting Ni-Resist alloys with thermal expansion coefficients specifically matched to the carbide materials. This parameter matching prevents thermal expansion mismatch, ensuring that wear surfaces remain securely embedded in the ductile support structures across temperature variations without coming loose or causing interference
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses composite materials with compatible thermal properties, combining carbide wear surfaces with Ni-Resist alloy supports that have matched thermal expansion characteristics. This composite approach maintains both toughness from the ductile alloy and assembly stability through thermal compatibility
3Ease of manufacture
If multiple components are secured together with pins and adhesives, then assembly flexibility is improved, but reliability decreases due to adhesive failure and part movement
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple separate components (wear surfaces and support structures) into a single integrated thrust bearing assembly. This consolidation eliminates the need for pins and adhesives, removing the reliability issues associated with adhesive failure and part movement while maintaining manufacturing feasibility through integrated design
Data Source
AI summary
A multistage centrifugal pump has a rotatable shaft, a plurality of pump stages and a thrust module. Each of the plurality of pump stages has an impeller connected to the rotatable shaft and a stationary diffuser. The thrust module has a thrust runner and a unitary thrust pad. The unitary thrust pad has an axial wear face adjacent the thrust runner and a radial wear surface adjacent the rotatable shaft. The axial wear face and radial wear surface are integrated as a unitary component. The unitary thrust pad is secured to a thrust pad support with threaded fasteners that are torqued to a predetermined extent.