Method and apparatus for improving erosion resistance of the mixing chamber of a jet pump

Claim 1

A jet pump for pumping fluids containing abrasive particulate material comprising: a housing defining a generally cylindrical mixing chamber having fluid inlet means at one axial end thereof and pressurized fluid discharge means at the other axial end; said fluid inlet means comprising an axially central orifice, an annular, substantially axially directed jet producing orifice surrounding said central orifice, and an outer annular orifice surrounding said axially directed jet producing orifice; first conduit means connecting said central orifice to a source of particulate containing fluid to be pumped; second conduit means connecting said annular, axially directed jet-type orifice to a source of high pressure clean fluid to produce a high velocity axial flow of said clean fluid; third conduit means connecting said outermost annular orifice with a low pressure source of relatively clean fluid, whereby said high velocity axial flow of clean fluid exerts a concurrent eduction action on both said particulate containing fluid and said low pressure relatively clean fluid, and pressure is imparted to the particulate containing fluid by momentum transfer of the annular high velocity jet stream issuing from the annular, axially directed jet-type orifice while the relatively clean fluid issuing from the outermost annular orifice protects the wall of said mixing chamber from abrasive contacts by the particulate material in the fluid being pumped; a generally cylindrical separator chamber defined in said housing and having an inlet in communication with the source of particulate containing fluid to be pumped; an annular passage surrounding said separator chamber and connected thereto by a plurality of tangentially disposed nozzles; and fourth conduit means connecting with said second conduit means for directing a portion of said high pressure clean fluid to said annular passage, thereby rotating the particulate containing fluid entering said separator chamber to effect the centrifugal separation thereof into two streams, one containing most of the particulate material and the other being relatively clean, said third conduit means receiving the relatively clean fluid stream and said first conduit means receiving the particulate containing stream.

Claim 9

The method of protecting the mixing chamber of a jet pump from abrasive effects of a fluid containing particulate matter comprising the steps of: supplying a pressurized flow of clean fluid concurrently to an annular orifice at the inlet end of the mixing chamber and to tangentially disposed nozzles in a separation chamber communicating with a source of particulate containing fluid, thereby centrifugally separating the particulate containing fluid into two streams, one containing most of the particulate materials and the other stream being relatively free of the particulate materials; directing the particulate containing stream into a nozzle located in the center of the annular orifice; and directing the particulate free stream into a second annular orifice concentrically surrounding the first mentioned annular orifice.

Claim 10

The method of protecting the mixing chamber of a jet pump from abrasive effects of a fluid containing particulate matter comprising the steps of: supplying a pressurized flow of clean fluid concurrently to an annular orifice at the inlet end of the mixing chamber and to tangentially disposed nozzles in a separation chamber communicating with a source of particulate containing fluid, thereby centrifugally separating the particulate containing fluid into two streams, one containing most of the particulate materials and the other stream being relatively free of the particulate materials; directing the particulate containing stream into a nozzle located in the center of the annular orifice; and directing the particulate free stream into a second annular orifice concentrically surrounding the first mentioned annular orifice.