Impeller

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11713769-B2
Application number	US-202117235796-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 20, 2021
Priority date	Apr 20, 2020
Publication date	Aug 1, 2023
Grant date	Aug 1, 2023

Abstract

An impeller includes a housing having a fluid inlet cavity defining a rotational axis. A plurality of vane are inlets arranged along an inner surface of the fluid inlet cavity and a plurality of vane outlets are circumferentially arranged along a rim of the housing. Each of the vane outlets is fluidly connected to a corresponding vane inlet by a corresponding internal channel situated internal to the housing. Each of the channels maintains a triangular cross-section from the vane inlet to the vane outlet.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An impeller comprising:
a housing having:
a fluid inlet cavity defining a rotational axis, including a plurality of vane inlets circumferentially arranged along an inner surface of the fluid inlet cavity; and
a plurality of vane outlets circumferentially spaced along a rim of the housing, each of the vane outlets being fluidly connected to a corresponding vane inlet by a corresponding channel situated internal to the housing, wherein each of the channels maintains a triangular cross-section from each vane inlet to each vane outlet, wherein the fluid inlet cavity includes a cylindrical section including a wall parallel to the rotational axis, and a funneling section including a converging wall, wherein the converging wall extends from the cylindrical portion into the fluid cavity, converging in a direction of flow into the fluid inlet towards the rotational axis, wherein the converging wall and funneling section are configured to allow fluid in the fluid inlet to funnel to a common area, the common area including the plurality of vane inlets.

2. The impeller of claim 1 , wherein each of the internal channels follows a coiled path around the rotational axis from the vane inlet to the vane outlet.

3. The impeller of claim 2 , wherein each coiled path maintains a slope from the vane inlet to the vane outlet.

4. The impeller of claim 1 , wherein each cross-section of each of the internal channels maintains an equal flow area from the vane inlet to the vane outlet.

5. The impeller of claim 1 , wherein each of the vane outlets includes a cross-section having an isosceles triangle.

6. The impeller of claim 5 , wherein each of the isosceles triangles includes base angles between 30 and 70 degrees.

7. The impeller of claim 1 , wherein the internal channels include at least two differing cross-sections from the vane inlet to the vane outlet.

8. The impeller of claim 7 , wherein the cross-section of the internal channels changes does not include a step therein from the vane inlet to the vane outlet.

9. The impeller of claim 1 , wherein the vane inlet cross-sections are not parallel and not perpendicular to the vane outlets.

10. The impeller of claim 1 , wherein the funneling section includes the plurality of vane inlets.

11. The impeller of claim 1 , wherein the material of the housing includes metallic materials.

12. A method, comprising:
forming the impeller housing of claim 1 using laser powder bed fusion.

13. A method of making an impeller comprising the steps of:
forming a housing of the impeller including vanes having a triangular cross-section, from a respective vane inlet to a respective vane outlet, internal to the housing by laser powder bed fusion, wherein forming the housing includes forming a fluid inlet cavity defining a rotational axis and having a cylindrical section including a wall parallel to the rotational axis and a funneling section including a converging wall, wherein the converging wall extends from the cylindrical portion into the fluid cavity, converging in a direction of flow into the fluid inlet towards the rotational axis, wherein the converging wall and funneling section are configured to allow fluid in the fluid inlet to funnel to a common area, the common area including at least the respective vane inlet.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the forming step includes a build direction from a vane outlet to a vane inlet.

15. The method of claim 13 , wherein the forming step includes a build direction from an impeller base to an impeller inlet cavity.

Assignees

• Hamilton Sundstrand Corp

Inventors

• Greenfield Jacob
• Ocken Thomas J
• Sypek John
• Solomon Andrew W

Classifications

• F04D29/242 Primary

  Geometry, shape · CPC title

• F04D29/225

  Channel wheels, e.g. one blade or one flow channel · CPC title

• B33Y80/00

  Products made by additive manufacturing · CPC title

• F05D2250/11

  triangular · CPC title

• F04D29/2255 Primary

  flow-channels with a special cross-section contour, e.g. ejecting, throttling or diffusing effect · CPC title