How does it work?
In the volute of the pump fluid enters the pump axially through the eye of the impeller (low pressure area) which rotates at high speed. As the impeller and blades rotate, they transfer momentum to incoming fluid. The fluid accelerates radially outward from the pump chasing and a vacuum is created at the impellers eye that continuously draws more fluid into the pump. As the fluid’s velocity increases its kinetic energy increases. Fluid of high kinetic energy is forced out of the impeller area and enters the volute. In the volute the fluid flows through a continuously increasing cross-sectional area, where the kinetic energy is converted into fluid pressure (according the Bernoulli’s principle).
The impeller blades are usually backward-curved, but there are also radial and forward-curved blade designs. The output pressure slightly changes according to the design used. The blades may be open or closed. Also the diffuser may be fitted with fixed vanes to help guide the flow toward the exit. The energy transferred to the liquid corresponds to the velocity at the edge of the impeller. The faster the impeller revolves or the bigger the impeller is, the higher will the velocity head be.
Main Parts of a Centrifugal Pump
Each centrifugal pump is made of hundreds of parts. There are a few components that virtually every centrifugal pump has in common. These components can be subdivided into the wet end and the mechanical end.
The wet end of the pump includes those parts that determine the hydraulic performance of pump. The two primary wet ends are the impeller and casing. In some cases the first radial bearing can be water lubricated. In this case also bearing can belongs to wet ends.
The mechanical end includes those parts that support the impeller within the casing. The mechanical end of the pump includes the pump shaft, sealing, bearings and shaft sleeve.
These components are designed to perform specific tasks:
- Impeller. Impeller is a rotor used to increase the kinetic energy of the flow.
- Casing (Volute). The casing contains the liquid and acts as a pressure containment vessel that directs the flow of liquid in and out of the centrifugal pump. The volute is a curved funnel that increases in area as it approaches the discharge port. The volute of a centrifugal pump is the casing that receives the fluid being pumped by the impeller, slowing down the fluid’s rate of flow. Therefore, according to Bernoulli’s principle, the volute converts kinetic energy into pressure by reducing speed while increasing pressure. Some centrifugal pumps contain diffusers. A diffuser is a set of stationary vanes that surround the impeller. The diffuser directs the flow, allows a more gradual expansion and therefore increases the efficiency of the centrifugal pump.
- Shaft (Rotor). The impeller is mounted on a shaft. Shaft is a mechanical component for transmitting torque from the motor to the impeller.
- Shaft sealing. Centrifugal pumps are provided with packing rings or mechanical seal which helps prevent the leakage of the pumped liquid.
- Bearings. Bearings constrain relative motion of the shaft (rotor) and reduce friction between the rotating shaft and the stator. There are at least 5 common types of bearing, each of which operates on different principles:
- Plain bearing
- Rolling-element bearing
- Jewel bearing
- Fluid bearing
- Magnetic bearing
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