CONNECTION ADAPTER FOR THE DETACHABLE CONNECTION OF AN IMPELLER TO A SHAFT, ROTOR UNIT ASSEMBLY FORMED THEREBY AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING A TURBO COMPRESSOR WITH SUCH A ROTOR ASSEMBLY

Abstract

A connection adapter for the detachable connection of an impeller with a shaft made of ceramic or tungsten carbide, to a rotor assembly for a turbo compressor. The connection adapter has an impeller section for fixing the impeller to the connection adapter and a shaft section for fixing the connection adapter to the shaft, and the impeller section has a first axial alignment means for axial alignment and a first radial alignment means for radial alignment of the impeller to the connection adapter. The shaft section has a second axial alignment means for axial alignment and a second radial alignment means for radial alignment of the shaft to the connection adapter, by way of which the impeller and the shaft are in a predetermined axial and radial alignment to one another on the connection adapter.

Claims

1. A connection adapter for the detachable connection of an impeller with a shaft to a rotor assembly for a turbo compressor that can rotate about a rotation axis, the connection adapter comprising: an impeller section for fixing the impeller to the connection adapter, and a shaft section for fixing the connection adapter to the shaft, wherein the impeller section has a first axial alignment means for axial alignment and a first radial alignment means for radial alignment of the impeller on the connection adapter and the shaft section has a second axial alignment means for axial alignment and a second radial alignment means for radial alignment of the shaft on the connection adapter, by means of which the impeller and the shaft can be fixed to the connection adapter in a predetermined axial and radial alignment with respect to one another.

2. The connection adapter according to claim 1, wherein the impeller portion has a thread for establishing a screw connection with the impeller, wherein the thread is an internal thread extending with its longitudinal axis in the axial direction, so that the impeller can be screwed to the internal thread via a screw or an external thread formed by the impeller, or wherein the thread is an external thread extending with its longitudinal axis in the axial direction, so that the impeller can be screwed to the external thread by a nut or an internal thread formed by the impeller.

3. The connection adapter according to claim 1, wherein the shaft portion forms or has a joining portion configured as a joining partner of a fit, wherein the joining section is configured as a pin with its longitudinal axis protruding in the axial direction, for joining with a receptacle provided on the shaft and corresponding thereto, so that the connection adapter can be connected to the shaft via the fit formed by the pin and the receptacle, or wherein the joining section is configured as a sleeve extending with its longitudinal axis in the axial direction for joining with a projection provided on the shaft and corresponding thereto, so that the connection adapter can be connected to the shaft via the fit formed by the sleeve and the projection, and wherein the fit is a transition fit or an interference fit.

4. The connection adapter according to claim 1, wherein a first circumferential alignment means for aligning the impeller on the connection adapter in a predetermined position is provided on the impeller section and/or wherein a second circumferential alignment means is provided on the shaft portion for aligning the connection adapter on the shaft in a predetermined position, by way of which the impeller and the shaft can be fixed to the connection adapter in a predetermined orientation in the circumferential direction relative to one another.

5. The connection adapter according to claim 1, wherein the connection adapter is configured to extend at least with its impeller section in the axial direction into the impeller or to encompass the impeller radially on the outside, so that the connection adapter overlaps with the impeller in the axial direction at least in its impeller section.

6. The connection adapter according to claim 1, wherein the connection adapter is configured to extend at least with its shaft section in the axial direction into the shaft or to encompass the shaft radially on the outside, so that the connection adapter overlaps with the shaft in the axial direction at least in its shaft section.

7. The connection adapter according to claim 1, wherein the impeller section and the shaft section are designed to produce an axial overlap of the impeller fixable to the connection adapter with the shaft fixable to the connection adapter.

8. The connection adapter according to claim 1, further comprising a balancing section provided between the impeller section and the shaft section for balancing the connection adapter or a unit comprising the connection adapter and the shaft or a unit comprising the connection adapter and the impeller or the rotor assembly, wherein a mass configured for material removal and/or interfaces for fixing balancing weights are provided in the balancing section.

9. The connection adapter according to claim 1, wherein the impeller section is connected to the shaft section in a thermally conductive manner and the connection adapter is designed to connect the impeller to the shaft in a thermally conductive manner.

10. A rotor assembly with an impeller of a shaft and a connection adapter connecting the impeller to the shaft configured according to claim 1, wherein the impeller and the shaft are axially and radially aligned with each other and fixed to each other via the connecting adapter.

11. A method for producing a turbo compressor with a rotor assembly drivable by an electric motor and the rotor assembly configured according to claim 1, wherein the impeller is fixed to the shaft in a predetermined orientation via the connection adapter and the rotor assembly formed thereby is balanced, wherein the impeller of the balanced rotor assembly is dismantled from the connection adapter, wherein the connecting adapter with the shaft of the balanced rotor assembly fixed thereto remains or is inserted in a housing of the turbo compressor, and wherein the impeller is fixed in the predetermined orientation to the connection adapter inserted with the rotor assembly in the housing of the turbo compressor.

12. The connection adapter according to claim 1, wherein the shaft is made of ceramic or tungsten carbide.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] Other advantageous developments of the disclosure are characterized in the subclaims or are described in more detail below together with the description of the preferred embodiment of the disclosure with reference to the figures. They show:

[0026] FIG. 1 shows a rotor assembly comprising a first variant of a connection adapter;

[0027] FIG. 2 a rotor assembly comprising a second variant of a connection adapter.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] The figures are schematic examples. Identical reference symbols in the figures indicate identical functional and/or structural features.

[0029] FIGS. 1 and 2 each show a rotor assembly 4 which can be rotated about a rotation axis A, but which provides differently designed connecting elements 1 with a corresponding impeller 2 and a shaft 3.

[0030] Regardless of the specific design, the connecting elements 1 each have an impeller section 20 and a shaft section 30.

[0031] The impeller 2 can be aligned axially and radially on the impeller section 20 via a first axial alignment means 21 designed as an axial stop and a first radial alignment means 22 designed as an (outer) fitting surface extending in the circumferential direction U.

[0032] Analogously, the shaft 3 can be axially and radially aligned on the shaft section 30 via a second axial alignment means 31 designed as an axial stop and a second radial alignment means 32 designed as an (inner) fitting surface of a sleeve 33 extending in the circumferential direction U.

[0033] The shaft 3, which is preferably made entirely or at least substantially of ceramic or tungsten carbide, is pressed into the sleeve 33 via an interference or transition fit and is thereby fixed to the connection adapter 1.

[0034] According to the variant shown in FIG. 1, an internal thread is provided in the impeller section 20, into which a screw 5 can be screwed for fixing the impeller 2.

[0035] Deviating from this, in FIG. 2, an external thread is formed by the connection adapter 1 adjacent to the first radial alignment means 22 designed as an (external) fitting surface, to which a nut 6 can be screwed for fixing the impeller 2.

[0036] In order to be able to balance the rotor assembly 4 or to pre-balance the rotor unit 4 before a subsequent final balancing, a balancing section 10 is provided in each case, at which material can be removed for balancing.

[0037] The disclosure is not limited in its implementation to the preferred design given above. Rather, a number of variants are conceivable which make use of the solution presented even in fundamentally different designs.