Vacuum Pump Rotor Stator Spacer for Flooding Protection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Turbomolecular vacuum pumps face damage during severe flooding events due to improper pressure equalization, which can cause stator and rotor blades to collide, leading to damage and malfunction.
Innovation Solution
A spacer element is introduced between the rotor and stator blades, designed as a ring around the rotor's axis of rotation, to maintain a safe distance and prevent direct contact during flooding, thereby minimizing damage and ensuring smooth operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the flooding process is allowed to proceed without restriction, then pressure equalization occurs, but the stator and rotor blades may collide causing damage
Solution Approach 1:
A spacer element is introduced as an intermediary component between the rotor and stator. This spacer acts as a mediator that prevents direct contact between the rotor blades and stator blades during flooding events, thereby protecting both components from collision damage while maintaining the overall simplicity of the pump structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The spacer element is pre-installed on the rotor in advance, creating a protective barrier before flooding occurs. This preliminary protective measure ensures that when pressure equalization happens during flooding, the stator blades cannot come into contact with the rotor blades, preventing damage before it can occur.
2Ease of manufacture
If the stator is made of sheet metal for ease of manufacture, then manufacturing cost decreases, but the stator may bend during flooding and hit the rotor
Solution Approach 1:
The spacer element serves as a protective intermediary that compensates for the flexibility of sheet metal stators. Even though the sheet metal stator may bend during flooding due to pressure changes, the spacer prevents this bending from resulting in contact between the stator blades and rotor blades, thus maintaining reliability while preserving manufacturing simplicity.
3Productivity
If the rotor blades are positioned close to the stator for efficient pumping, then pumping performance improves, but the risk of contact during flooding increases
Solution Approach 1:
The spacer element acts as a protective intermediary that allows the rotor blades to be positioned close to the stator for efficient pumping during normal operation. During flooding events, the spacer prevents harmful contact between the rotor and stator blades, thus eliminating the trade-off between pumping efficiency and contact risk.
Solution Approach 2:
The spacer element provides beforehand cushioning by creating a physical barrier that absorbs or prevents the harmful effect of pressure equalization during flooding. This protective cushion allows the rotor-stator gap to be minimized for efficiency while the spacer absorbs the shock of flooding events.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2I~2III
Figure 3A~3F
AI summary
The invention relates to a vacuum pump, in particular a turbomolecular pump, with a rotor rotatably mounted in the vacuum pump and comprising a portion on which several rotor blades are arranged, and a stator axially offset from the portion of the rotor having the rotor blades in a housing of the vacuum pump and comprising at least one stator blade. A spacer element is arranged between the portion having the rotor blades and the stator, the spacer element being designed to keep the at least one stator blade at a distance from the rotor when the stator bends.