Centrifugal pump with self cooling and flushing features

摘要

A fluid pump including provisions for cooling and/or flushing in the vicinity of a static seal. In one embodiment, the invention includes an open channel fluid passageway defined on a generally flat surface of a pump housing. A centrifugal rotor with a generally flat backplate rotates proximate a surface of the housing. The fluid passageways are adapted and configured to have a pathway that includes a directional component parallel to the direction of rotation, such that fluid drag from the rotating backplate induces flow within the passageway. The passages of the exit can be positioned such that flow exiting the passageway is at least partly tangential to the seal and/or the seal housing.