Axial-flow pump
An axial-flow pump, or AFP, is a common type of pump that essentially consists of a propeller (an axial impeller) in a pipe. The propeller can be driven directly by a sealed motor in the pipe or by electric motor or petrol/diesel engines mounted to the pipe from the outside or by a right-angle drive shaft that pierces the pipe.
The main advantage of an AFP is that it has a relatively high discharge at a relative low head.[1] For example, it can pump up to 3 times more water and other fluids at lifts of less than 4 meters as compared to the more common radial-flow or centrifugal type pumps. It also can be easily be adjusted to run at peak efficiency at low-flow/high-pressure and high-flow/low-pressure by changing the pitch on the propeller (some models only).
These pumps have the smallest of the dimensions among many of the conventional pumps and are more suited for low heads and higher discharges.
One of the most common applications of AFPs would be in handling sewage from commercial, municipal and industrial sources. In agriculture and fisheries very large horsepower AFPs are used to lift water for irrigation and drainage. In east Asia millions of smaller horsepower (6-15 HP) mobile units powered mostly by single cylinder diesel and petrol engines are used by smaller farmers for crop irrigation, drainage and fisheries.
AFPs are also used in transfer pumps used for sailing ballast. In power plants they are used for pumping water from a reservoir, river, lake or sea for the refrigeration line. In chemical industry, they are used for the circulation of large masses of liquid, such as in evaporators and crystallizers. In sewage treatment an AFP is often used for internal mixed liquor recirculation (i.e. transferring nitrified mixed liquor from aeration zone to denitrification zone).
References
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