A volute is a part of a centrifugal pump that reduces the speed of water by increasing its pressure, balancing the pressure on the pump shaft and reducing wear. The volute chamber widens as water moves away from the impeller, decreasing velocity while maintaining increased pressure. This process transfers kinetic energy into stable pressure. Centrifugal pumps are common in systems with constant liquid motion, and damage can occur if water pressure is not constant.
A volute is the name of the portion of a centrifugal pump that sits just beyond the impeller. This part of the pump decreases the speed of the water flowing through the system by increasing its pressure. This balances the pressure on the pump shaft, reducing wear. The swirls are easy to recognize, as they increase in size as they move away from the impeller, giving them an upside-down, funnel-like appearance.
Centrifugal pumps use a vane impeller to increase the pressure and speed of the water. Water enters the system and is captured by the rotating impeller blades. These blades push the water into a connected chamber at a much faster rate than when it entered. This connected chamber, the volute, widens as the water moves away from the impeller. This decreases the velocity of the water while maintaining the increased pressure generated by the impeller.
The volute chamber works using a very simple fluid principle: the liquid slows down as it enlarges. If a mountain stream is only a few feet or meters wide, the water flows very quickly, but when the same stream widens to three or four times its original size, the water slows down. In this case the pressure on the water also decreases, because the water is free to move as it pleases.
This is not the case in a volute. These chambers collect fast-moving water and allow it to slow down in a very short period. Because water is unable to move as it wants like flow, this process effectively transfers the kinetic energy of the moving water into a stable pressure in the system. Fast-moving water pushing against slower-moving water generates this pressure buildup. As long as the water supply is constant, the pressure does not change.
These types of pumps are common in systems where a lot of liquid is in constant motion, such as a water pump on a city pipe. As long as the impeller is running, the flow must remain constant to maintain a stable pressure. As a result, systems that only occasionally move liquid will use different styles of pumps.
When water pressure is not constant, there are three common results. The first effect is damage to the impeller system due to uneven water pressure on the blades and shaft. Subsequently, the liquid on the volute side of the pump will have a sharply decreased pressure. Finally, air will often enter the system, potentially damaging the siphon effect and causing the liquid flow to stop.
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