Centrifugal pump stage with increased compressive load capacity

摘要

A centrifugal pump stage with increased compressive load capacity is provided. In an implementation, a centrifugal pump stage includes a diffuser (110) with outside wall capable of supporting increased axial forces. A mating surface (114) of the outer wall (116) can support axial forces generated by a stack of subsequent pump stages (110, 112) across the entire thickness (114) of the outer wall. The diffuser can be a two-piece assembly including a load bearing module and a flow diffusing module. The load bearing module (302) may be a cylinder of strong tubular alloy while the flow diffusing module (304) can be separately cast in a manner that improves hydraulic efficiency. Various means for radially positioning the pump stages relieve the load bearing module from the task of aligning additional pump stages. A single rigid tube may also be used as the load bearing module for multiple pump stages. The tube may be made with a thin wall to increase pump volume.