What is a vertical turbine pump?
Vertical turbine pumps are mixed flow or a vertical axis centrifugal pump which include stages of rotating impellers & stationary bowls to process the guide vanes. Vertical pumps are utilized wherever the level of water pumping is under the volute centrifugal pump limits.
Working Principle of Vertical Turbine Pumps
Water enters the vertical turbine pump through a bell-shaped port known as the suction bell. Once there, the water is accelerated by the first impeller, which is powered by a long shaft extending from the surface. Once the water is accelerated, it moves into the diffuser bowl directly above the impeller.
When the water enters the diffuser bowl, it is converted from a state of high velocity into high pressure. If it is a multistage pump, the water is fed into the next impeller. The process then repeats through all of the impellers in the pump.
After the last impeller and diffuser bowl, the water passes through the wellbore and heads towards the surface. The spinning shaft that is being driven from the surface is designed to be supported by bushings at regular intervals, and the fluid acts as a lubricant as it moves past the bushing assemblies.
At the surface, the fluid flows through the discharge head, which is designed to allow the fluid to change direction. Once it is past the discharge head, the pumped fluid is distributed as needed through pipes.
Vertical turbine pumps are operated by an electric or diesel motor sitting on the surface. The motor powers the downward traveling shaft through a right angle drive. This right-angle drive sits above the discharge head.
Uses of Verticle Turbine Pumps
Vertical turbine pumps have a small footprint, and there are no priming issues (as long as minimum submergence requirements are met) due to the impellers being submerged in fluid. They are easily customized, and are highly efficient on high head, low flow applications.
Applications of Vertical Turbine Pumps
Vertical turbine pumps are popular and versatile for many different applications and are not limited to underground operations.Transporting water from deep wells to the surface is the primary application of these pumps.Irrigation applications often use vertical turbine pumps to supply water to agriculture.These pumps transport water to treatment plants, irrigation sprinklers and to taps in homes.
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