KR20170044003A - Pump for conveying a highly viscous fluid - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a pump for conveying a highly viscous fluid. The pump includes: a casing (2) having a first inlet (3) and an outlet (4), at least for a fluid; and an impeller (5) for conveying the fluid from the inlet (3) to the outlet (4). The impeller (5) is arranged on a rotation shaft (6) to rotate around an axial direction (A). Also, the impeller includes a front shroud (7) facing the first inlet (3) of the pump. The casing (2) accommodates the front shroud (7) of the impeller (5) and has a fixed impeller opening (8) having a diameter (D). The front shroud (7) and the fixed impeller opening (8) have a gap (9) with the length (L) of the axial direction (A). The maximum ratio of the length (L) of the gap (9) to the diameter (D) of the impeller opening (8) is 0.092. The pump for conveying a highly viscous fluid has an increased ratio of power transmitted by the pump when pumping the fluid.

Description

[0001] DESCRIPTION [0002] PUMP FOR CONVEYING A HIGHLY VISCOUS FLUID [0003]

The present invention relates to a pump for delivering high viscosity fluids, according to the preamble of the independent claims.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Pumps for delivering high viscosity fluids are used in many different industries, such as the oil and gas processing industries for delivering hydrocarbon fluids. Here, these pumps are used for other purposes such as extracting crude oil from an oil field, pipelines, or transporting oil or other hydrocarbon fluids within a refinery. However, in other industries, such as the food or chemical industries, it is often necessary to deliver high viscosity fluids.

The viscosity of a fluid is a measure of the internal friction produced by the flowing fluid and is a characteristic of the fluid. The term " viscosity "or" viscous "as used herein refers to the kinematic viscosity of a fluid, and" high viscosity fluid "means that the fluid has a kinematic viscosity of at least 10 ^-4 m ² / s (100 centistokes .

It is known to use centrifugal pumps to pump high viscosity fluids. When pumping a high viscosity fluid to a centrifugal pump, considerably more pump power is needed than, for example, when pumping water. The higher the viscosity of the fluid, the more power the pump needs to deliver the required amount of pumping. In particular, in the oil and gas industry, the focus has been, at least in the past, on the amount of pumping (i.e., the flow generated by the pump) and the reliability of the pump, rather than on the efficiency of the pump. Today, however, more efficient use of the pump is sought. It is preferable that the ratio of the power required to drive the pump to the power transmitted by the pump (in particular, the hydraulic power) is as high as possible. This desire is based primarily on increasing awareness of the environmentally responsible and responsible processes of available resources and on increasing energy costs.

In order to improve the efficiency of pumps for pumping high viscosity fluids, it is known to use certain impeller designs, in particular impellers having a high head coefficient. The head coefficient of the impeller can be increased, for example, by increasing the blade outlet angle or the number of blades or the impeller outlet width. Despite these measures, there is still a need to further improve the efficiency of the pump for pumping high viscosity fluids.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a method for pumping a high viscosity fluid having a better efficiency, i. E. The power supplied to the pump to drive the pump, with an increased ratio of the power delivered by the pump when pumping the fluid A new pump is proposed.

The present invention, which achieves the above objects, characterizes the features of the independent claims.

Thus, according to the present invention, a pump for delivering a viscous fluid is proposed, the pump comprising: a casing having at least a first inlet and an outlet for a fluid; And an impeller for delivering fluid from the inlet to an outlet, the impeller being disposed on a rotational axis for rotation about an axial direction, the impeller further comprising a forward shroud facing the first inlet side of the pump Wherein the casing is provided with a fixed impeller opening having a diameter and receiving a front shroud of the impeller, the front shroud and the fixed impeller opening forming a gap having an axial length, And the diameter of the impeller opening is 0.092 at the maximum.

The present invention is particularly based on the discovery that the pump efficiency can be increased when pumping high viscosity fluids by designing the gap between the front shroud and the fixed impeller opening of the impeller considerably shorter than in the prior art.

This gap, sometimes referred to as a labyrinth, is needed to seal the high pressure side of the impeller, especially the side space, against the inlet of the pump. The impeller is disposed in a fixed impeller opening which is part of the pump, the opening of which is not movable relative to the casing and is adapted to receive the impeller. In the mounted state, the impeller is positioned such that there is a gap or labile between the outer peripheral surface of the front shroud of the impeller and the inner peripheral surface of the fixed impeller opening. This gap has an axial length which provides a sealing between the side space at the high pressure side of the impeller and the inlet of the pump (low pressure side of the pump).

During operation of the pump, a back flow is generated from the high pressure side of the impeller (in the case of a pump, the area near the pump outlet), which flows through the gap between the side space and the front shroud and the fixed impeller opening, And returns to the low-pressure side.

The apertures or labyrinths are designed with radial clearance seals or labyrinths, that is to say they provide a gap in the radial direction. Therefore, the main flow through the gap is axial, i.e. parallel to the axis. This must be distinguished from axial gap seals or labias extending perpendicularly or obliquely to the axis, so that the main flow through the axial gap seal is radial or oblique to the radial direction. In the axial gap seal, the axial clearance is changed during axial relative movement between the stationary portion and the rotating portion, and in the radial clearance seal, the radial clearance is changed during radial relative movement of the stationary portion and the rotating portion.

An important finding is that the drag in the side space is reduced by the short axial length of the gap proposed by the present invention (i.e., the labyrinth), thereby reducing the power loss in the gap. On the other hand, if the gap is shortened, the sealing action is lowered and the backflow in the pump can be expected to increase. However, as the backflow increases, the pump efficiency decreases and conflicts with the improved efficiency. Therefore, we have unexpectedly found that overall pump efficiency increases despite the risk of increased back flow by shortening the gap in the axial direction.

According to the invention, the length of the gap is not to exceed 0.092 times the diameter of the impeller opening.

The optimum length of the gap depends on several factors, such as the viscosity of the fluid. Thus, depending on the particular application, the ratio of the length of the gap to the diameter of the impeller opening may preferably be at most 0.073, preferably at most 0.055.

It is also advantageous that the ratio of the length of the gap to the diameter of the impeller opening is at most 0.037, preferably at most 0.019.

For practical reasons, there is a preferred lower limit for the length of the gap. According to a preferred design, the ratio of the length of the gap to the diameter of the impeller opening is at least 0.0001.

In order to obtain the desired sealing effect in the gap, there is a radial clearance between the front shroud and the impeller opening, which preferably is at most 0.0045 times the diameter of the impeller opening. The radial gap extends in the radial direction of the gap (i.e., the direction perpendicular to the axial direction) and can be thought of as the width of the gap. This radial clearance is the minimum distance between the outer circumferential surface of the front shroud of the impeller and the inner circumferential surface of the fixed impeller opening along the gap.

The two surfaces defining the gap may be designed as a flat surface.

According to another embodiment, the gap includes a plurality of lands continuously arranged in the axial direction, and two adjacent lands are separated from each other by grooves. In this embodiment, the two surfaces defining the gap are not planar. A part of the outer circumferential surface of the front shroud of the impeller defining the gap or a part of the inner circumferential surface of the fixed impeller opening defining the gap may be provided with a plurality of lands and grooves between these lands. In this embodiment, the axial length of the gap is defined as the sum of the axial lengths of all the individual lands. The grooves do not contribute to the overall axial length of the gap.

According to a preferred embodiment, the fixed inlet opening comprises a wear ring which defines a radial extent of the gap, the wear ring being arranged immovably with respect to the casing.

As a supplementary or alternative approach, the impeller may include a wear ring that defines a radial extent of the gap, and the wear ring is disposed immovably with respect to the impeller.

The present invention is particularly suitable for many kinds of centrifugal pumps. The pump may be designed, for example, as a single suction pump or a double suction pump, a single pump or a multistage pump. If the pump is designed as a single suction pump, the pump may have a rear shroud in the impeller in addition to the front shroud. In this design, the rear shroud of the impeller forms a gap with the non-moving portion relative to the casing. This gap in the rear shroud can be designed in the same manner as described above with respect to the gap in the front shroud of the impeller.

According to a preferred embodiment, the pump is designed as a double suction pump, a second inlet for the fluid is arranged opposite the first inlet of the pump and the impeller is connected to the first inlet and the second inlet It is designed as a double suction impeller that includes a vane to deliver fluid to the outlet.

In the case of this design, which is a dual suction pump, the impeller includes a second front shroud facing the second inlet side of the pump, the casing receiving a second front shroud of the impeller and a second Wherein the second front shroud and the second fixed impeller opening form a second gap having an axial length and wherein the ratio of the length of the second gap to the diameter of the second impeller opening is at most 0.092 .

Depending on the particular application, the ratio of the length of the second gap to the diameter of the second impeller opening may preferably be at most 0.073, preferably at most 0.055.

The ratio of the length of the second gap to the diameter of the second impeller opening has a maximum of 0.037, preferably a maximum of 0.019.

Also, in the case of the second gap, there is a radial clearance between the second front shroud and the second impeller opening, which is advantageously at most 0.0045 times the diameter of the second impeller opening.

It is particularly preferable that the gap and the second gap are designed to be essentially the same.

According to one important application, the pump is designed for use in the oil and gas industry.

Other advantageous configurations and embodiments of the invention will be apparent from the dependent claims.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings.

1 is a sectional view of an embodiment of a pump according to the present invention.
2 is an enlarged detail view of a portion I in Fig.
Figure 3 schematically shows a wear ring and a front shroud as part of a fixed impeller opening.
Fig. 4 shows a modification of the embodiment similar to Fig.
Figure 5 shows a second variant of the design of the gap between the front shroud and the fixed impeller opening.
Figure 6 shows a comparison of a pump according to the invention with a pump of the prior art.

1 shows a sectional view of an embodiment of a pump according to the invention (denoted generally by the reference numeral "1 "). 2 is an enlarged detail view of a portion I in Fig. Pump 1 is designed to deliver a high viscosity fluid and the term "high viscosity" means that the kinematic viscosity of the fluid is at least 10 ^-4 m ² / s (100 centistokes (cSt)).

In this embodiment, the pump 1 is designed as a double suction one-stroke centrifugal pump. This design is a preferred embodiment that is actually useful for many applications. Of course, the invention is not limited to that design. The pump according to the present invention may be designed as a single suction centrifugal pump or a multi-stage centrifugal pump or any other kind of centrifugal pump. Based on the description of the embodiments shown in Figs. 1 and 2, it is not a problem for a person skilled in the art to design the pump according to the invention with different kinds of pumps, in particular centrifugal pumps, for example single suction pumps.

The double suction pump 1 comprises a casing 2, which has a first inlet 3, a second inlet 3 'and an outlet 4 for the fluid to be pumped. The fluid may be a high viscosity fluid such as crude oil, oil or other types of hydrocarbon fluids. The pump 1 has an impeller 5 having a plurality of vanes 51 for delivering fluid from the first inlet 3 and the second inlet 3 'to the outlet 4. The impeller 5 is disposed on the rotary shaft 6 so as to be rotatable about the axial direction A. The axial direction A is defined by the axis of the shaft 6 on which the impeller 5 rotates during operation. The shaft 6 is rotated by a drive unit (not shown). A direction perpendicular to the axial direction (A) is referred to as a radial direction.

The first inlet (3) and the second inlet (3 ') are disposed opposite to each other with respect to the axial direction (A). 1, the fluid flows from both the left and right sides in the axial direction A to the impeller 5, and the fluid coming from the first inlet 3 flows from the second inlet 3 ' To the impeller (5). The impeller 5 conveys both the fluid coming from the first inlet 3 and the fluid coming from the second inlet 3 'to the outlet 4 of the pump in the radial direction.

The impeller 5 includes a front shroud 7 which covers the vane 51 and which faces the first inlet 3 of the pump 1. In this embodiment, since the impeller 5 is designed as a double suction impeller 5, the impeller includes a second front shroud 7 'facing the second inlet 3' And covers the vane 51 at one side of the impeller 5 facing the second inlet 3 '.

The casing 2 is provided with a fixed impeller opening 8 for receiving a front shroud 7 of the impeller 5. This fixed impeller opening 8 is fixed with respect to the casing 2 of the pump 1 and has a circular cross-section of a diameter D which, in the fixed impeller opening 8, And shows the minimum diameter of the portion accommodating the wood (7).

In a similar manner, the casing 2 comprises a second stationary impeller opening 8 'for receiving a second front shroud 7' of the impeller 5.

The impeller 5 is disposed coaxially with the fixed impeller opening 8 so that the outer circumferential surface of the front shroud 7 is opposed to the inner circumferential surface of the fixed impeller opening 8. [ The front shroud 7 and the fixed impeller opening 8 thus form a gap 9 (see also Fig. 3) between the front shroud 7 and the fixed impeller opening 8. This gap 9 is also referred to as a labyrinth. The gaps are essentially annular and provide a sealing action as described below. The gap 9 has a length L which is an extension of the gap 9 in the axial direction A. [ The gap 9 is parallel to the axis 6 or parallel to the axis A. Thus, backflow occurs in the opposite direction to the fluid flowing through each inlet 3 through a gap 9 parallel to the axis 6. The opening of the gap 9 (i.e., the opening through which the fluid enters the gap 9), as seen in the main flow direction of the fluid entering through each inlet 3, That is, the opening through which the fluid leaves the gap 9).

In a similar manner, a second gap 9 'is formed between the second front shroud 7' and the second fixed impeller opening 8 '. This second gap 9 'has a length L' in the axial direction A and the second fixed impeller opening 8 'has a diameter D'. The gap 9 'is parallel to the axis 6 or parallel to the axis A. Preferably, the length L 'is equal to the length L and the diameter D' is equal to the diameter D, but it is not necessary. Since the design and arrangement of the second gap 9 'is the same as the gap 9, the following description is only for the gap 9. It will be appreciated that this description applies similarly to the second gap 9 '.

The gap 9 or the labyrinth 9 seals the side space 10 located on the high pressure side of the impeller 5 against the low pressure side of the impeller 5 located at the inlet 3. The side space 10 is located on the high pressure side of the impeller 5 near the outlet 4 of the pump 1 and is connected to the front shroud 7 of the impeller 5 and the casing 2 of the pump 1 The range is determined by. During operation of the pump 1, a backflow is generated from the area of the outlet 4 through the side space 10. This backwash flows essentially in the axial direction A, i.e. parallel to the axis 6, through the gap or labyrinth 9 to reach the low pressure side of the impeller 5 next to the first inlet 3 do. It is clear that the back flow reduces the efficiency of the pump 1.

Thus, one function of the gap 9 is to provide a sealing action limiting the backflow. Therefore, the gap 9 is also referred to as a labrance.

The basic idea of the present invention is to shorten the length L (see Figs. 2 and 3) of the axial direction A of the gap 9 in comparison with a solution known from the prior art. It can be expected that shortening the length L will increase the back flow and hence the pump efficiency, but it can be seen that the overall efficiency of the pump 1 can be increased by shortening the length L of the gap 9 lost.

2 and 3, the design of the gap 9 will now be described in more detail. In the embodiment according to FIG. 1, the fixed inlet opening 8 comprises a wear ring 11 defining a radial extent of the gap 9. The abrasive ring 11 is opposed to the outer peripheral surface of the front shroud 7 inserted into the fixed inlet opening 8. The wear ring 11 is fixedly mounted on the casing 2 so that the wear ring 11 does not move with respect to the casing 2. [

Fig. 3 schematically shows the wear ring 11 and the front shroud 7 as part of the fixed impeller opening 8 so that the dimensions of the gap 9 can be seen more clearly.

According to the present invention, the length l of the gap 9 is designed so that the ratio of the length L to the diameter D of the impeller opening 8 is at most 0.092, that is, L / D? 0.092. As already mentioned, the diameter D represents the minimum diameter of the fixed impeller opening 8, that is, the diameter at the position where the wear ring 11 is closest to the outer peripheral surface of the front shroud 7. The length L of the gap 9 is an axial extension A of the region where the fixed impeller opening 8 and the front shroud 7 are closest to each other.

In the configuration shown in FIG. 3, the wear ring 11 is designed to have a radial projection 111. Therefore, the length L of the gap 9 is equal to the extension of the projection 111 in the axial direction (A).

The second parameter defining the geometry of the gap 9 is a radial clearance R between the front shroud 7 and the fixed impeller opening 8 or the wear ring 11 along the axial direction of the gap 9 )to be. This radial clearance R represents the minimum radial clearance along the clearance 9.

In fact, it has been found advantageous when the condition that the radial clearance R does not exceed 0.0045 times the diameter D of the fixed inlet opening 8, that is, preferably the condition of R / D? 0.0045 is satisfied.

The optimum length L of the gap 9 depends on each application. There are several factors that influence the proper selection of the length L of the gap 9, for example, the kinematic viscosity of the particular fluid to be pumped, the pressure increase caused by the pump, the flow rate through the pump, There are operating parameters.

For a given set of operating parameters of the pump 1, the length L of the gap 9 should preferably be reduced as the viscosity of the fluid to be pumped increases.

In practice and depending on the application, the L / D ratio preferably does not exceed 0.073, more preferably does not exceed 0.055, even more preferably does not exceed 0.037, and particularly preferably does not exceed 0.019.

According to a preferred embodiment of the pump 1, the minimum L / D ratio is 0.0001, i.e. the length L of the gap 9 is preferably at least equal to the diameter of the fixed impeller opening 8 or of the wear ring 11 0.0001 times.

Fig. 4 shows a modification of the embodiment of the pump 1 similar to Fig. According to this variant, the impeller 5, in particular the front shroud 7 of the impeller 5, comprises a wear ring 11 'which defines the radial extent of the gap 9. The wear ring 11 'is fixedly connected to the impeller 5 and rotates together with the impeller 5. In this variant, the stationary impeller opening 8 may also comprise a wear ring 11, but may also be free of wear rings.

Fig. 5 shows a second variant of the design of the gap 9 between the front shroud 7 and the fixed impeller opening 8. Fig. According to the second modification, the front shroud 7 as the fixed impeller opening 8 or the wear ring 11 or the alternative (not shown) is arranged such that the gap 9 is continuously arranged in the axial direction A The two lands 12 adjacent to each other are separated from each other by the grooves 13. In this design, the total length L of the gap 9 is the sum of the individual axial lengths L1, L2, L3, L4, L5 of all the lands 12. The extension of the groove does not contribute to the total length L of the gap 9 (i.e., L = L1 + L2 + L3 + L4 + L5). It should be understood that the number of lands and grooves and their geometric structure shown in FIG. 5 are exemplary only.

The pump 1 according to the invention has a better pump efficiency compared to the pumps of the prior art. Pump efficiency refers to the ratio between the power delivered by the pump and the power input for the pump (ie, the power used to drive the pump). The power transmitted by the pump is generally the hydraulic power generated by the pump 1.

Figure 6 compares the pump according to the invention with a pump of the prior art. The graph shows the pump efficiency (P) as a function of the viscosity (V) of the fluid delivered by the pump. For better understanding, the graph is normalized so that the pump efficiency (P) of the prior art pump is equal to the horizontal point axis (V), i.e. the pump efficiency (P) of the pump according to the prior art, It is always on the V axis. Thus, the graph directly indicates an increase in the pump efficiency of the pump 1 according to the present invention compared with the pump of the prior art. The pump efficiency of the pump according to the present invention is shown by the curve K. As is evident, as soon as the viscosity of the fluid is greater than the specific value V1, the pump 1 according to the invention has an increased pump efficiency compared to the prior art pumps. As the viscosity of the fluid increases, the efficiency gain increases. The specific value V1 of the viscosity in which the pump 1 according to the invention becomes more efficient than the pumps of the prior art is usually less than 10 ^-4 m ² / s. Thus, for high viscosity fluids, the pump 1 according to the invention has a higher pump efficiency than the pumps of the prior art.

For the sake of explanation, although the pump 1 is referred to a specific embodiment designed as a double suction one-stroke centrifugal pump, the present invention is by no means limited to such an embodiment. The pump according to the present invention may be designed with other types of centrifugal pumps, such as single suction pumps or multi-stage pumps. In particular, the present invention is applicable to a closed-type impeller, that is, a centrifugal pump having an impeller having a front shroud and a rear shroud, and a centrifugal pump having a semi-open impeller, that is, a rear shroud but without a front shroud. In such a design with the impeller having only a rear shroud or a front shroud, the design of the gap 9 according to the present invention may be used for the rear shroud in the same manner as described herein with respect to the front shroud.

Claims (15)

1. A pump for delivering a viscous fluid, comprising: a casing (2) having at least a first inlet (3) and an outlet (4) for the fluid; And an impeller (5) for delivering fluid from the inlet (3) to the outlet (4), the impeller (5) being arranged on the rotating shaft (6) The impeller also includes a front shroud 7 facing the first inlet 3 of the pump and the casing 2 is received with a front shroud 7 of the impeller 5 There is provided a fixed impeller opening 8 having a diameter D and the front shroud 7 and the fixed impeller opening 8 form a gap 9 having an axial length A, , The ratio of the length (L) of the gap (9) to the diameter (D) of the impeller opening (8) being at most 0.092. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the ratio of the length L of the gap 9 to the diameter D of the impeller opening 8 is at most 0.073 and preferably at most 0.055. 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2,
Wherein the ratio of the length L of the gap 9 to the diameter D of the impeller opening 8 is at most 0.037 and preferably at most 0.019. 4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
Wherein the ratio of the length L of the gap 9 to the diameter D of the impeller opening 8 is at least 0.0001. 5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
Characterized in that there is a radial clearance R between the front shroud 7 and the impeller opening 8 and the radial clearance is at most 0.0045 times the diameter D of the impeller opening 8, Pump. 6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The gap 9 includes a plurality of lands 12 continuously arranged in the axial direction A and two adjacent lands 12 are separated from each other by grooves 13, Pumps for transferring fluids. 7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
Characterized in that the fixed inlet opening (8) comprises a wear ring (11) defining a radial extent of the gap (9) and the wear ring (11) / RTI > 8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
Characterized in that the impeller (5) comprises a wear ring (11 ') which defines a radial extent of the gap (9) and the wear ring (11') is immovably arranged with respect to the impeller / RTI > 9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
The pump is designed as a double suction pump and a second inlet 3 'for the fluid is arranged opposite the first inlet 3 of the pump and the impeller 5 is connected to the first inlet 3 , And a vane (51) for delivering fluid from the second inlet (3 ') to the outlet (4). A pump for delivering viscous fluid. 10. The method of claim 9,
The impeller 5 includes a second front shroud 7 'facing the second inlet 3' of the pump and the casing 2 is provided with the second front shroud 7 ' ) And a second stationary impeller opening (8 ') having a diameter (D'), the second front shroud (7 ') and the second stationary impeller opening (8' ) Of the second gap (9 ') and the diameter (D') of the second impeller opening (8 ') is greater than the maximum (L') of the second gap 0.092 < / RTI > 11. The method according to claim 9 or 10,
Wherein the ratio of the length L 'of the second gap 9' to the diameter of the second impeller opening 8 'is at most 0.073, preferably at most 0.055. 12. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 11,
The ratio of the length L 'of the second gap 9' to the diameter D 'of the second impeller opening 8' is at most 0.037, preferably at most 0.019, . 13. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 12,
Wherein a radial clearance is present between the second front shroud 7 'and the second impeller opening 8' and the radial clearance is at most 0.0045 times the diameter D 'of the second impeller opening 8' Pumps for delivering high viscosity fluids. 13. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 12,
The gap (9) and the second gap (9 ') are designed essentially the same. 15. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 14,
Wherein the pump is designed for use in the oil and gas industry.

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