Centrifugal turbo machine having stretchable and variable diffuser vane

Abstract

The present disclosure is relates to a centrifugal turbo machine equipped with stretchable and variable diffuser vanes capable of securing further improvement of compression efficiency by reducing an angle of the vane and increasing a length of the vane using forced rotating driving of a diffuser during operation of a compressor so as to reduce frictional loss of the fluid when a flow rate of fluid is reduced.

Claims

1. A centrifugal turbo machine having stretchable and variable diffuser vanes, comprising; an impeller including a hub and a plurality of blades and rotatably installed at a center of an interior of a casing; a diffuser provided on an outer side of the impeller and configured to convert kinetic energy of fluid increased by rotation of the impeller into static pressure; a rotating ring section provided on and configured to face an outer side of the diffuser in a ring shape and configured to be rotatable about the impeller; a plurality of vanes disposed between an inlet side and an outlet side of the diffuser with respect to a flow of fluid, spaced apart from each other in a circumferential direction to define flow paths therebetween, and each configured to adjust an angle thereof to change an area of the flow path according to a moving direction of the vane; and a power transmitting section configured to generate power and transmit the power to the rotating ring section so that the rotating ring section is rotated about the impeller, wherein the vane comprises two hinge shafts formed at both ends thereof and a connecting portion connecting the hinge shafts, and at least a part of the connecting portion is made of a ductile material so that a length of the connecting portion elastically varies.

2. The centrifugal turbo machine of claim 1, wherein the connecting portion has a closed loop structure that is elastically wound around the hinge shafts.

3. The centrifugal turbo machine of claim 1, wherein the vane further comprises a spacer inserted between and fixed to opposite sides of the connecting portion to uniformly maintain a distance between the opposite sides of the connecting portion.

4. The centrifugal turbo machine of claim 1, wherein one hinge shaft of the hinge shafts is rotatably fixed to the inlet side of the diffuser, and the other hinge shaft is rotatably fixed to the rotating ring section.

5. The centrifugal turbo machine of claim 1, wherein the power transmitting section comprises: a step motor; a first element provided on a motor shaft of the step motor; a second element installed at one side of the rotating ring section and engaged with the first element to provide the rotating ring section with rotational power through an interaction with the first element; and a controller configured to control driving of the step motor.

6. The centrifugal turbo machine of claim 5, wherein the first element includes a pinion gear and the second element includes a rack gear.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) These and/or other aspects of the disclosure will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which:

(2) FIG. 1 is a conceptual view showing a centrifugal compressor according to a conventional art;

(3) FIG. 2 is a conceptual view showing a centrifugal turbo machine having a stretchable and variable diffuser vane according to a conventional art;

(4) FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a centrifugal turbo machine having a stretchable and variable diffuser vane according to the present disclosure;

(5) FIG. 4 is a view showing a rotational ring section and vanes of the centrifugal turbo machine according to the present disclosure;

(6) FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a shape of a vane of a centrifugal turbo machine according to one embodiment of the present disclosure;

(7) FIG. 6 is a view showing a shape of a vane of a centrifugal turbo machine according to another embodiment of the present disclosure; and

(8) FIGS. 7 and 8 are views showing a state, in which the centrifugal turbo machine having stretchable variable diffuser vanes is being used, and showing a change in an angle of the stretchable variable diffuser vane.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

(9) Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. While the present invention is shown and described in connection with exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

(10) Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure is described in detail with reference to FIGS. 3 to 8.

(11) In a centrifugal turbo machine having a stretchable and variable diffuser vane according to the present disclosure, an impeller 100 consisting of a hub 111 and a plurality of blades 112 is provided at a center portion of an inside of a casing.

(12) An impeller shaft 110 is rotatably installed in the impeller 100, the hub 111 is mounted on the impeller shaft 110, and the plurality of blades 112 are mounted on an outer side of the hub 111 and spaced apart from each other at regular intervals.

(13) The impeller shaft 110 is rotated by a shaft driving device such as a motor, and when the impeller shaft 110 is rotated, the hub 111 and the blades 112 are rotated together.

(14) In this process, fluid introduced into the casing is accelerated in a radial direction by the rotating impeller 100 and is then discharged to an outlet of the centrifugal turbo machine located at an outer side the impeller 100.

(15) A diffuser 200 configured to reduce a velocity of the fluid from the impeller 100 for converting kinetic energy of the fluid into pressure energy is provided on an outer side of the impeller 100, and a plurality of vanes 300 are disposed in a circumferential direction of the diffuser 200 to guide a flow of the working fluid.

(16) The vanes 300 are disposed to be spaced apart from each other at equidistant intervals in the circumferential direction with respect to the impeller shaft 110, and fluid paths 310 are formed between the vanes 300.

(17) The vane 300 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure includes two hinge shafts 320 and 330 formed at both ends thereof and a linear connecting portion 340 connecting the hinge shafts 320 and 330.

(18) In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the connecting portion 340 has a closed loop structure that is elastically wound around the hinge shafts 320 and 330.

(19) Between the hinge shafts 320 and 330, the connecting portion 340 is tightly pulled to be maintained in a state of tension. At this time, the connecting portion 340 may include at least one portion formed of a ductile material 341 so as to allow the connecting portion to flexibly surround the hinge shafts 320 and 330 as well as to elastically adjust a length thereof. Here, rubber may be employed as the ductile material 341.

(20) The connecting portion 340 does not have to be entirely formed of the ductile material 341 in order to adjust a length of the vane 300. In the connecting portion 340, as shown in FIG. 5, all or a part of portions surrounding the hinge shafts 320 may be formed of the stretchable ductile material 341, and the remaining portion may be formed of a rigid material 342. In other words, even when only a portion surrounding at least one of the hinge shafts 320 and 330 is formed of the ductile material 341, there is no problem in adjusting the length of the connecting portion 340.

(21) As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a spacer 350 may be inserted between and fixed to opposite sides of the connecting portion so as to uniformly maintain a distance between the opposite sides of the connecting portion 340.

(22) By fixing the spacer 350 between the opposite sides of the connecting portion 340 as described above, it is possible to form a streamlined vane 300 by which lifting force can be maximized and drag force can be minimized.

(23) A thickness and a shape of the spacer 350 may vary to allow the lifting force and the drag force to be appropriately adjusted.

(24) In addition, the spacer 350 is placed at a location adjacent to an inlet side of the diffuser 200 so that the vane 300 may have a streamlined shape.

(25) In order to allow the shape of the vane 300 to be adjusted, the spacer 350 may be formed in a spherical shape, a hexahedral shape, or the like. In addition to the above-described embodiment, the spacer may be implemented in various other forms.

(26) As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, an angle of the vane 300 is determined according to a flow rate of the fluid discharged from the impeller 100.

(27) When the flow rate of the fluid flowing in the centrifugal turbo machine is relatively low, the angle of the vane 300 is reduced (see FIG. 7), and when the flow rate of the fluid is relatively high, the angle of the vane 300 is increased (see FIG. 8). It goes without saying that the length of the vane 300 is relatively increased when the angle of the vane 300 is decreased.

(28) Meanwhile, a rotating ring section 210 is installed on and faces an outer side of the diffuser 200 in a ring shape and is rotatable about the impeller 100. The hinge shafts 330 of the vanes 300 are rotatably fixed to the rotating ring section 210.

(29) One hinge shaft 320 of the hinge shafts 320 and 330 provided at both ends of the vane 300 is rotatably fixed at the inlet side of the diffuser 200, and the other hinge shaft 330 is rotatably fixed to the rotating ring section 210 installed at an outlet side of the diffuser 200.

(30) The rotating ring section 210 is configured to be rotatable about the impeller 100. When the rotating ring section 210 rotates about the impeller 100, the hinge shaft 330 which is rotatably fixed to the rotating ring section 210 is rotated with respect to the hinge shaft 320, which is fixed to the inlet side of the diffuser 220, in a direction in which the rotating ring section 210 rotates so that a distance between the hinge shafts 320 and the 330, that is, the length of the connecting portion 340, may be changed. In other words, when the flow rate of the fluid flowing in the centrifugal turbo machine is low and when the angle of the vane 300 is decreased to reduce the area of the fluid path 310, the length of the connecting portion 340 of the vane 300 is increased with respect to the hinge shaft 320 fixed to the inlet side of the diffuser 200.

(31) This is correlated with the material of the vane 300, and as the rotating ring section 210 is rotated, the hinge shaft 330 pulls the connecting portion 340, so that the connecting portion 340 is elastically stretched and a length thereof is increased.

(32) Meanwhile, a power transmitting section 400, which is configured to generate power and transmit the power to the rotating ring section 210 so that the rotating ring section 210 is rotated to change the angle of the vane 300, includes a step motor 410, a first element 420 provided on a motor shaft 411 of the step motor 410, a second element 430 installed at one side of the rotating ring section 210 and engaged with the first element 420 to provide the rotating ring section 210 with rotational power through an interaction with the first element, and a controller 440 configured to control driving of the step motor 410. Here, the first element 420 is a pinion gear, and the second element 430 is a rack gear.

(33) The rack gear is installed at one side of the rotating ring section 210, and a length thereof corresponding to the maximum rotational angle of the vane 300 is determined.

(34) The motor shaft 411 of the step motor 410 is provided at an outer side of the rotating ring section 210 so that the pinion gear meshes with the rack gear in a perpendicular direction, and an end portion of the motor shaft is press-fitted into a center of the pinion gear in an axial direction so that the motor shaft is rotated integrally with the pinion gear.

(35) Since a load applied to the step motor 410 is not large when the rotating ring section 210 is rotated, a small motor having a small capacity may be employed as the step motor 410, and the motor shaft 411 of the step motor 410 may be rotated as much as the predetermined angle of the vane 300 in a state of supplying power.

(36) The power transmitting section 400 of the rotating ring section 210 may consist of a warm and a worm gear instead of the rack gear and the pinion gear.

(37) Furthermore, in addition to the above-described embodiment, the power transmitting section 400 of the rotating ring section 210 is not necessarily limited thereto and may be implemented in various other forms.

(38) According to the centrifugal turbo machine equipped with the stretchable and variable diffuser vane according to the present disclosure having the above-described structure, by reducing an angle of the vane and increasing a length of the vane through a forced rotating driving of the diffuser during operation of a compressor in which a flow rate is reduced, it is possible to secure improved compression efficiency by fundamentally preventing frictional loss of fluid from occurring in a vaneless region.

(39) In addition, the centrifugal turbo machine of the present disclosure includes a power transmitting section capable of forcibly rotating a diffuser to smoothly adjust a rotational angle of a vane.

(40) It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications can be made to the above-described exemplary embodiments of the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers all such modifications provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.