Granted Patent B2

US 12,729,692 · App. 18/883,210 · Granted Sep 8, 2026

Inventor: Brian Schnelzer (Dallas, TX)

Assignee: CECO ENVIRONMENTAL IP INC.

F04D29/128F04D29/043F04D29/126F04D29/426F04D29/584F16J15/324F16J15/3404F16J15/3484F05D2260/22141

Abstract

Claims (47)

1 . A pump comprising:

a pump shaft;

an inboard bearing supporting the pump shaft;

a plurality of fan blades coupled to the pump shaft;

a pump housing, wherein the pump housing comprises one or more heat fins on an outer surface of the pump housing, wherein the pump shaft is disposed within and passes through the pump housing, and wherein the pump housing defines a primary chamber between an interior surface of the pump housing and an outer surface of the pump shaft;

a flow modifier disposed between the plurality of fan blades and the one or more heat fins, wherein the flow modifier is configured to direct and concentrate an airflow from the plurality of fan blades onto the one or more heat fins of the pump housing when the pump shaft is rotating;

an inboard seal and an outboard seal disposed within the primary chamber, wherein the inboard bearing is configured to limit a flow of fluid being pumped to the primary chamber, thereby limiting convective heat transfer from the fluid to the inboard seal and the outboard seal; and

one or more barrier fluid heat fins disposed on at least one of a supply line or a return line coupling a barrier fluid reservoir to a barrier chamber.

2 . The pump of claim 1 , wherein the flow modifier comprises a cowling disposed over the pump shaft and the plurality of fan blades, and a skirt angled away from the plurality of fan blades and towards the heat fins.

3 . The pump of claim 1 , further comprising:

a gland assembly,

wherein the inboard seal, the outboard seal, and the gland assembly are configured to be disposed within the primary chamber of the pump housing, and wherein the gland assembly is disposed between the inboard seal and the outboard seal.

4 . The pump of claim 3 , wherein the inboard seal, the gland assembly, and the outboard seal are configured to form a plurality of chambers within the pump housing.

5 . The pump of claim 3 , wherein a plurality of chambers comprises the barrier chamber defined by the gland assembly, the outer surface of the pump shaft, an outboard surface of the inboard seal, and an inboard surface of the outboard seal.

6 . The pump of claim 5 , further comprising:

a barrier fluid disposed within the barrier chamber; and

the barrier fluid reservoir in fluid communication with the barrier chamber, wherein the barrier fluid reservoir is configured to pass the barrier fluid to the barrier chamber and receive the barrier fluid from the barrier chamber when the pump shaft is rotating.

7 . The pump of claim 1 , wherein the pump shaft comprises a portion having a decreased diameter relative to a maximum diameter of the pump shaft.

8 . A method of operating a pump having tandem seals, the method comprising:

rotating a pump shaft, wherein the pump shaft is disposed within a pump housing;

pumping a fluid based on rotating the pump shaft;

sealing the pumped fluid from an external environment using an inboard seal and an outboard seal disposed within the pump housing;

rotating a plurality of fan blades coupled to the pump shaft based on rotating the pump shaft;

generating an airflow based on rotating the plurality of fan blades;

directing the airflow onto the pump housing;

maintaining a temperature of the inboard seal and the outboard seal below a threshold based on directing the airflow onto the pump housing;

supporting the pump shaft with an inboard bearing;

limiting a flow of the fluid to a primary chamber formed within the pump housing using the inboard bearing; and

limiting a convective heat transfer from the fluid to the inboard seal and the outboard seal based on limiting the flow of fluid to the primary chamber.

9 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the pump housing comprises one or more heat fins, and wherein directing the airflow onto the pump housing comprises directing the airflow over the one or more heat fins.

10 . The method of claim 8 , wherein a barrier chamber is formed between the pump housing, an outer surface of the pump shaft, the inboard seal and the outboard seal,

wherein the method further comprises:

passing a barrier fluid from the barrier chamber to a barrier fluid reservoir;

cooling the barrier fluid outside of the pump housing; and

returning the cooled barrier fluid to the barrier chamber.

11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the outboard seal comprises a stationary portion and a rotational portion, and wherein passing the barrier fluid from the barrier chamber comprises:

rotating the rotational portion of the outboard seal in response to rotating the pump shaft; and

pumping the barrier fluid out of the barrier chamber in response to rotating the rotational portion of the outboard seal.

12 . The method of claim 10 , wherein cooling the barrier fluid comprises air cooling the barrier fluid in a return line to the barrier fluid reservoir.

13 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the pump shaft comprises a portion having a decreased diameter relative to a maximum diameter of the pump shaft, and

wherein the method further comprises:

controlling the temperature of the inboard seal and the outboard seal based, at least in part, on the decreased diameter of the pump shaft.

14 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the pump comprises a flow modifier disposed between the plurality of fan blades and the pump housing.

15 . The method of claim 14 , wherein directing the airflow onto the pump housing comprises directing and concentrating the airflow from the plurality of fan blades onto the pump housing when the pump shaft is rotating.

16 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the pump housing comprises one or more heat fins, and wherein directing the airflow onto the pump housing comprises directing and concentrating the airflow from the plurality of fan blades onto the one or more heat fins of the pump housing when the pump shaft is rotating.

17 . The method of claim 16 , wherein the flow modifier comprises a cowling disposed over the pump shaft and the plurality of fan blades.

18 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the flow modifier further comprises a skirt angled away from the plurality of fan blades and towards the heat fins.

Assignments (1)

Continuity (4)

References Cited (41)