A fluid machine and method of operating the same includes a pump portion having a pump impeller chamber, a pump inlet and a pump outlet, a turbine portion having a turbine impeller chamber, a turbine inlet and a turbine outlet and a shaft extending between the pump impeller chamber and the turbine impeller chamber. The fluid machine also includes a first bearing and a second bearing spaced apart to form a balance disk chamber. A balance disk is coupled to the shaft and is disposed within the balance disk chamber and a turbine impeller coupled to the impeller end of the shaft disposed within the impeller chamber. A first thrust bearing is formed between the balance disk and the first bearing. The thrust bearing receives fluid from at least one of the pump outlet or the turbine inlet.

Systems and methods for reducing the pressure of a first pressurized fluid, thereby reducing the temperature of the pressurized fluid, and utilization of the reduced-pressure and temperature fluid to cool a second fluid. Such an approach can enable a reduction in the size and weight of a hydraulic system, utilize waste energy in a system, and/or minimize electrical power requirements of a system, among other benefits.

A system includes a monitoring system to monitor an operational parameter of a bearing assembly within a hydraulic turbocharger. The bearing monitoring system includes at least one sensor to monitor a relative position or operational parameter of one or more rotating components of the bearing assembly.

The present invention relates to a spiral pump, including a support body; at least one or more substantially rigid rotary parts that are rotatable relative to said support body, wherein said one or more rotary parts comprise at least one integrated spiral fluid channel that has an inlet for receiving fluid arranged at or near the outer radial wall of said one or more rotary parts and an outlet for discharging fluid at an increased pressure at or near its rotary axis; wherein a fluid passage, configured for passing fluid at the increased pressure from inside the one or more rigid rotary parts to outside the one or more rigid rotary parts, is arranged at or near the rotary axis; and drive means for rotatably driving the one or more rotary parts. The invention further relates to a manufacturing method for such a spiral pump.

Systems and methods for reducing the pressure of a first pressurized fluid, thereby reducing the temperature of the pressurized fluid, and utilization of the reduced-pressure and temperature fluid to cool a second fluid. Such an approach can enable a reduction in the size and weight of a hydraulic system, utilize waste energy in a system, and/or minimize electrical power requirements of a system, among other benefits.

The invention relates to a turbopump (10) comprising a stationary housing (12) comprising a pump (16) with a pump rotor (14) comprising pump vanes (28) and a turbine (20) housing a turbine rotor (18) provided with turbine vanes (44).

According to the invention, the turbopump comprises a turbine rotor (18) coaxially arranged around the rotor of the pump (16) in a plane perpendicular to said rotors.

A turbopump system includes a pump portion including a housing having a pressure release passageway disposed therein. The pump portion is disposed between a high pressure side and a low pressure side of a working fluid circuit. A drive turbine is coupled to the pump portion and configured to drive the pump portion to enable the pump portion to circulate a working fluid through the working fluid circuit. A pressure release valve is fluidly coupled to the pressure release passageway and configured to be positioned in an opened position to enable pressure to be released through the pressure release passageway and in a closed position to disable pressure from being released through the pressure release passageway.

A turbopump machine includes a housing, a shaft rotatably supported in the housing on a set of bearings, an axial pump coupled with the shaft, a circumferential discharge volute fluidly coupled with the axial pump, and a turbine coupled with the shaft. The turbine includes a blade row disposed in an axial turbine flowpath that has an axial turbine flowpath discharge that is fluidly coupled with the circumferential discharge volute. A cooling passage is disposed between the housing and the shaft about the set of bearings. The cooling passage has a cooling passage discharge that is fluidly coupled with the circumferential discharge volute. The cooling passage discharge is adjacent the axial turbine flowpath discharge. A seal isolates the cooling passage discharge from the axial turbine flowpath discharge.

A sealing device includes a plurality of non-contact seals provided along a sealed shaft; a contact seal provided on at least one of two sides of the plurality of non-contact seals; an injection part that supplies purge gas into a first space of spaces arranged in an axial direction of the sealed shaft, the spaces being between the plurality of non-contact seals and the contact seal; and a collector that collects the purge gas from a second space of the spaces between the plurality of non-contact seals and the contact seal, the second space being positioned to be next to the first space in the axial direction.

Provided is an improved architecture for rotary kinetic fluid motors and pumps, in which working fluid gains or loses pressure by flowing through an alternating sequence of radial-flow impellers and radial-flow fluid vortices, the impellers and fluid vortices all rotating around a single axis and in a common direction at staggered speeds, each vortex being the product of rotating fluid that is flowing radially through a bladeless annular volume.