Abstract: A pumping pant which is more compact in size and has reduced total costs required for construction work of the pumping plant and associated civil engineering works and has a shorter term of the entire construction work includes a pump building which is constructed in its entirely as an island-type building in the form of an island in a suction pond serving as a pump well, whereby the need to refill earth and sand around the pump building is eliminated, and the cost of associated civil engineering works is reduced. Water is sucked from all sidewalls of the pump building, and pumps are arranged within the pump building in at least two rows, resulting in a reduced length of the building. Horizontal portions of a suction pipe and a delivery pipe are extended from the pump in the same direction to reduce a width of the building and to make it compact. A total cost required for the construction of the pump building and associated civil engineering works can be thus reduced.

Abstract: A vertical shaft pump to be disposed in a pump pit comprises a pump casing having a suction opening, and an impeller disposed in the pump casing below a position corresponding to the lowest water level in the pump pit below which the pump starts to suck air through the suction opening during operation. A series of intake ports are provided in the pump casing below the impeller with equal intervals in the circumferential direction of the pump casing. These intake ports act to introduce atmospheric air into the pump casing through intake pipes when the pressure at the intake ports is lowered below the atmospheric pressure.

Abstract: An impeller secured to a shaft in a vertical type sodium turbine pump is interposed between a suction tube and an impeller casing. A mouth ring in an impeller is positioned in the close proximity of a lower ring secured to the suction tube, while an impeller ring protruding from a crown ring is positioned in the close proximity of an upper ring secured to an impeller casing, with a given clearance maintained therebetween.Pockets are provided in the surface of the mouth ring positioned close to the lower ring as well as in the surface of the impeller ring positioned close to the upper ring, so that there may be produced a static bearing action by molten sodium between the mouth ring and the lower ring, as well as between the impeller ring and the upper ring.