Open bowl for a vertical turbine pump

摘要

An open bowl for a vertical turbine pump, includes a bowl body having an inner wall and an outer wall, both walls being of substantially constant optimum thickness, surrounding a vertical axis and connected by diffuser vanes which define hydraulically optimized diffuser passages through the bowl body extending from a bottom end to a top end, the diffuser vanes being radially hollow and providing open paths through the inner and outer walls to a cavity surrounded by the inner wall; a flange at the top end of the outer wall for attachment of a discharge conduit for the pumped fluid; provision on the bottom end of the outer wall for attaching to a flange of a suction bell; further provision on an inner surface at the top of the inner wall for providing sealing engagement with an upper end of a separable substantially cylindrical bearing housing; and provision at the bottom end of the inner wall for attaching to a flange of the bearing housing. The open bowl concept provides a light weight pump which provides better metal flow, solidification control, and cooling during casting by elimination of drastic section thickness variations in the bowl body.