A Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) doctoral student, in collaboration with Xylem Water Solutions, has invented a new kind of centrifugal pump dubbed the ‘variable volute’ pump. The innovative new pump works on the concept of adaptive geometry that changes the volume of the pump in real time to match variable system flow rates.

This concept was previously considered unachievable because traditionally, the volute was a fixed volume — the pump volute could not expand or contract to meet the changing system flow rate. This is why variable speed drives along with multiple pump arrangements are widely used across a range of industries to adjust the pump flow or pressure to match system demands. The inventor believes this is a waste of energy and capital, emphasizing that industry needs pumps that can adapt to fluctuating flow needs to maximize efficiency and reduce environmental and financial costs.

Source: Lemelson MIT

The inventor is confident that variable volute pumps have the potential to significantly improve efficiency and operating range across applications by adjusting the spiral fluid passages to match the flow rate. According to Xylem, this variable volute pump is a new category of pump that physically adjusts to more efficiently move water based on immediate need, resulting in energy and cost savings.

For many applications, pumps are oversized to meet rare high flows scenarios. This variable volute pump would potentially enable a plant to install fewer pumps to handle the same capacity.

MIT filed a patent for the variable volute pump and Xylem is preparing to license and commercialize the technology once pilot testing is complete. Testing was recently scaled up to industrial flows of 5 liters/second to 7.6 liters/second (80 gallons/minute to 120 gallons/minute) for testing efficiency and reliability. The pump has potential applications in clean water, submersible pumps, wastewater, oil and gas, and irrigation.