Abstract: A centrifugal pump assembly includes a pump housing that encloses a rotor unit that includes an impeller. The pump housing includes an inlet that defines a first passageway that is aligned with the rotor rotational axis, an outlet that defines a second passageway that is aligned with a second axis, and a volute that is provided on an inner surface of the pump housing. An exit opening of the volute faces the outlet and at least a portion of the fluid exiting the volute moves along a volute discharge axis. The volute discharge axis is tangential to a portion of fluid flow exiting the volute at the volute exit opening and is offset relative to the rotational axis. When viewed in a direction perpendicular to the first axis, the second axis is acutely angled relative to the volute discharge axis.

Abstract: A centrifugal pump includes an impeller that is rotatable about a rotational axis. The impeller includes impeller vanes disposed between a base plate and a shroud. The shroud outer surface includes recessed pump out vanes. For each pump out vane, the ratio R1 of the vane outer diameter to the shroud outer diameter is in a range of 0.8 to 0.98, the number of vanes N is in a range of 5 to 9, the ratio R2 of the width of the pump out vane to the shroud outer diameter is in a range of 0.02 to 0.04 and the pump out vane has a square leading edge profile with a square or chamfered trailing edge profile.

Abstract: A centrifugal pump assembly includes a pump housing that encloses a rotor unit that includes an impeller. The pump housing includes an inlet that defines a first passageway that is aligned with the rotor rotational axis, an outlet that defines a second passageway that is aligned with a second axis, and a volute that is provided on an inner surface of the pump housing. An exit opening of the volute faces the outlet and at least a portion of the fluid exiting the volute moves along a volute discharge axis. The volute discharge axis is tangential to a portion of fluid flow exiting the volute at the volute exit opening and is offset relative to the rotational axis. When viewed in a direction perpendicular to the first axis, the second axis is acutely angled relative to the volute discharge axis.

Abstract: A method of constructing a large, complex composite panel involves connecting smaller compression molded thermoplastic subpanels, edge to edge using a thermoplastic co-consolidation method. The edges of adjacent subpanels are given complementary surface configurations. The surface configurations are overlapped and heat and pressure are applied to the overlapping surface constructions to co-consolidate the surface constructions in forming a large, composite panel of two or more subpanels.