A pump coupler connects the output shaft of a motor to the input shaft of a pump. Flexible couplers allow for misalignment and play, reducing wear. Flange, bellows, and gear types are common. Rigid couplers are simple, while flexible ones have an element of flexibility to accommodate misalignment and play.
A pump coupler is a device used to join the output shaft of a drive motor to the input shaft of a pump mechanism. While some pump couplings are rigid one-piece elements, most are flexible in nature. This element of flexibility allows for some misalignment and axial play between the pump and the motor. This simplifies pump installation and reduces wear during operation. There are many types of pump couplers, with the most common being the flange, bellows and gear types.
Most pumps are driven by separate electric motors or petrol and diesel engines. Both power plants and pumped-storage units typically feature rotating shaft power output and input arrangements. For the pump to work, the shaft of the drive unit must be connected to the input shaft of the pump. In some applications, this is a relatively simple task and can be achieved with a simple set of rigid flange joints. In most cases however, and this is particularly true for heavy industrial pumps, an element of flexibility is required in the pump coupler.
This flexibility is required to accommodate the small amounts of lateral misalignment and axial play, which almost invariably exist in this type of application. Lateral misalignment is usually caused by slight differences in mounting levels between the pump and motor, while axial play, or end motion as it is also known, is caused by pump mechanism wear or fluid flow spikes . Both of these factors require some amount of relaxation in the fit between the pump and motor drives.
Rigid coupling sets for pumps are typically little more than two flanged sleeves, one of which fits onto the motor shaft and one of which fits onto the pump shaft. Both are usually held securely in place on shafts with slot wrenches. The two flanges have matching holes which are used to bolt the two together, thus transferring the motor drive to the pump. Flexible pump couplers are similar in overall design and have matching drives that lock onto both shafts. The main difference between the two types, however, is a flex element included with each unit.
This is often a toothed rubber insert that fits into corresponding openings in the individual pump coupling units. In some cases, a flexible rubber bellows forms the flexible element, while other types of couplers include a set of large mesh gears between the two coupling units. All have the common purpose of allowing some degree of lateral and axial deflection between the pump and motor shafts. This prevents excessive wear or damage to both the pump assembly and the motor assembly during pumping operations.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
