Centrifugal pump

A hydraulic turbocharger comprising:

• an outer housing having a first section, a turbine end section, and a pump end section, said turbine end and pump end sections being removably secured to said first section, said outer housing defining a passageway, said passageway defining an inlet and an outlet for said pump and an inlet and an outlet for said turbine;
• a rotatable impeller positioned in said passageway, said impeller having a first set of vanes in fluid communication with the inlet and outlet for said pump and a second set of vanes in fluid communication with said inlet and outlet for said turbine;
• a first cavity formed between said first section and said turbine end section adjacent said first set of vanes and a second cavity formed between said first section and said pump end section adjacent said second set of vanes;
• a first insert removably positioned in said first cavity and a second insert removably positioned in said second cavity, said first and second inserts being formed of more than one piece and said first insert defining the volute adjacent said first set of vanes and said second insert defining said volute adjacent said second set of vanes, wherein each said piece defines a portion of said volute, each said piece being a mirror image of a second one of said pieces for each of said first and second inserts, said first and second inserts being designed to be machined when not positioned in said first and second cavities to form said volute, when said first and second inserts are positioned in said first and second cavities respectively said first and second inserts being radially split to allow access to the volute defined by the inserts,
• whereby the configuration of said volute can be formed in a manner to enhance the efficiency of said hydraulic turbocharger, wherein a shape and a flow area of said volute is configured to convert fluid velocity into pressure on said pump end section and fluid pressure to velocity on said turbine end section;
• a third removable insert positioned in said outlet for said pump, said third removable insert defining a bore wherein said bore is designed to interact with said volute in said pump to enhance the efficiency of said hydraulic turbocharger;
• and
• a fourth removable insert positioned in said inlet for said turbine, said insert defining a passageway wherein said passageway is designed to interact with said volute in said turbine to enhance the efficiency of said hydraulic turbocharger, whereby said first and second inserts and said third and fourth removable inserts positioned in said outlet and said inlet can be individually designed or modified to accommodate changes in the operational parameters for said hydraulic turbocharger to customize the design and maximize the efficiency of said hydraulic turbocharger without changing the other components of said hydraulic turbocharger.