Tandem seal pump
AssigneeCeco Environmental IP Inc.
InventorBrian Schnelzer
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A pump having tandem seals includes a pump shaft, a pump housing, an inboard seal, an outboard seal, and a gland assembly. The pump housing defines a primary chamber between an interior surface of the pump housing and an outer surface of the pump shaft when the pump shaft is disposed within the pump housing. The inboard seal, the outboard seal, and the gland assembly are configured to be disposed within the primary chamber of the pump housing. The gland assembly is disposed between the inboard seal and the outboard seal, and the inboard seal, the gland assembly, and the outboard seal are configured to form a plurality of chambers within the pump housing.
Claims18
A pump comprising:
- a pump shaft;
- an inboard bearing supporting the pump shaft;
- a plurality of fan blades coupled to the pump shaft;
- a pump housing, wherein the pump housing comprises one or more heat fins on an outer surface of the pump housing, wherein the pump shaft is disposed within and passes through the pump housing, and wherein the pump housing defines a primary chamber between an interior surface of the pump housing and an outer surface of the pump shaft;
- a flow modifier disposed between the plurality of fan blades and the one or more heat fins, wherein the flow modifier is configured to direct and concentrate an airflow from the plurality of fan blades onto the one or more heat fins of the pump housing when the pump shaft is rotating;
- an inboard seal and an outboard seal disposed within the primary chamber, wherein the inboard bearing is configured to limit a flow of fluid being pumped to the primary chamber, thereby limiting convective heat transfer from the fluid to the inboard seal and the outboard seal;
- and
- one or more barrier fluid heat fins disposed on at least one of a supply line or a return line coupling a barrier fluid reservoir to a barrier chamber.
A method of operating a pump having tandem seals, the method comprising:
- rotating a pump shaft, wherein the pump shaft is disposed within a pump housing;
- pumping a fluid based on rotating the pump shaft;
- sealing the pumped fluid from an external environment using an inboard seal and an outboard seal disposed within the pump housing;
- rotating a plurality of fan blades coupled to the pump shaft based on rotating the pump shaft;
- generating an airflow based on rotating the plurality of fan blades;
- directing the airflow onto the pump housing;
- maintaining a temperature of the inboard seal and the outboard seal below a threshold based on directing the airflow onto the pump housing;
- supporting the pump shaft with an inboard bearing;
- limiting a flow of the fluid to a primary chamber formed within the pump housing using the inboard bearing;
- and
- limiting a convective heat transfer from the fluid to the inboard seal and the outboard seal based on limiting the flow of fluid to the primary chamber.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.