Improvement of vacuum pump design for milking animals

Abstract

The experience of manufacturers of milking equipment shows that the main sources of vacuum formation in milking installations are vacuum pumps of the rotary vane type. Compared to others, they have a high efficiency (0.8-0.9), low energy consumption (0.06-0.08 kWh·m-3), simplicity of construction and maintenance, and the possibility of direct connection with an electric motor. Despite the high performance, rotary vane type pumps have the possibility of improving their operational parameters. The task of our research is to theoretically substantiate the position of the inlet and outlet windows, as well as to study the design of the vacuum pump housing, which will allow increasing the air filling of the space between the vanes and ensuring the removal of air through the outlet window with minimal resistance. Research has shown that when the rotor rotates, forces act on the blades, which, depending on the angle of rotation of the rotor, have different magnitudes. Based on this, the application of the laws of mechanics made it possible to justify the position of the inlet and outlet windows. In the process of creating a vacuum, air enters through the inlet pipe to the intake window and does not fill the space between the two blades as much as possible, and when transporting the volume of air located between the two blades to the area of the exhaust window, a quick exit of air is not ensured, which leads to a slow decrease of the rotor turning resistance. This is due to the fact that the width of the inlet and outlet windows is 1/5 of the width of the vacuum pump body. The task is achieved by the fact that the intake window ends with a groove, the dimensions of which in the transverse direction are 4/5 of the width of the vacuum pump body and in the longitudinal direction at least 1/2 of the width of the intake window, and the outlet window, which has a transverse groove, the dimensions of which are similar to the dimensions of the inlet groove.