Axial flow pumps are centrifugal pumps that push fluids through pipes using rotating impellers. They are used in low head systems that require high flow rates. The pitch of the impeller blades can be adjusted to change pressure and flow. Axial flow pumps can be used in areas where flow tends to slow down and can be used as centrifugal slurry pumps. They are also used in ballast systems for sailboats to maintain balance.
Axial flow pumps are a type of centrifugal pumps. They push liquids, gases and liquids carrying solids, through pipes. These pressure generators keep the fluid flowing through the pipes by the use of rotating impellers, such as fans or propeller blades. Axial flow pumps are used in systems with low head, or pressure drop, which require higher flow rates than those obtainable with passive distribution methods. There are various types of axial flow pumps, depending on the type of pumping system required for distributing the fluid medium.
The impellers of axial flow pumps can be fixed in-line with a sealed motor, or the motor can be located on the outside of a pipe elbow. The pitch of the impeller blades of an axial flow pump can be adjusted at different angles towards or away from the direction of flow. The greater the angle of the impeller blades, the greater the pressure drop added and the greater the flow produced. The ability to change the angle of the impeller blades allows axial flow pumps to operate in low flow/high pressure or high flow/low pressure conditions.
The advantage of axial flow pumps over passive fluid distribution is that their use in areas such as rises or corners. In such places the flow tends to slow down and the suspended material falls. Axial flow pumps can accelerate flow to increase fluid carrying capacity. Driven by electric motors or internal combustion engines, these pumps can be used as centrifugal slurry pumps where the rotating impeller acts as both a separator and a macerator. In these systems, the wastewater can be redirected or ground into smaller particles, allowing the remaining debris to remain suspended where it is lifted and carried in a direction parallel to the pump shaft.
Another popular application for in-line axial flow pumps is a ballast system where the driven medium is a sailboat’s ballast. Moored without crew or cargo, a boat’s mast or sails can be buffeted by the wind. When the vessel tips to one side, fluid in one ballast tank is pumped through a hose into another tank on the other side of the vessel to maintain balance. This must be done in response to rapid changes in the craft’s attitude. For this an inline axial pump is added to the line and can change its motion, clockwise or counterclockwise, and speed, depending on where and how fast the ballast fluid needs to move.
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