FLUID ENDS FOR PUMPS AND RELATED METHODS

Abstract

An embodiment of a fluid end of a pump includes a housing including a plurality of pumping chambers. Each pumping chamber configured to receive a plunger therein. In addition, the housing includes a plurality of outlet ports, each being in fluid communication with a corresponding one of the plurality of pumping chambers. The fluid end also includes a discharge manifold assembly connected to the housing and positioned to receive fluid discharged from the plurality of pumping chambers. The discharge manifold assembly including a single-piece, monolithic body having a plurality of discharge bores and a manifold bore defined therein, the manifold bore being in fluid communication with the plurality of discharge bores, the plurality of discharge bores positioned to align with the plurality of outlet ports, and each of the plurality of discharge bores being configured to at least partially receive a corresponding discharge valve assembly therein.

Description

BACKGROUND

This disclosure generally relates to pumps and pumping systems. For instance, this disclosure relates to fluid ends for a pump and related methods.

A pump may include a power end and a fluid end. The power end may include a driver (such as a motor) that induces motion of one or more actuatable components (such as plunger(s), piston(s), and impeller(s)) so as to pressurize a fluid within the fluid end.

In many industrial applications (such as oil and gas exploration and production, mining, and chemical processing) a pump may be configured as a positive displacement pump that actuates a plunger or piston within a chamber to increase the pressure of the fluid. The cyclical pressure changes that occur within the fluid end may lead to failures, particularly from fatigue. As a result, a fluid end of a positive displacement pump may include increased wall thicknesses and may be constructed of higher strength materials so as to increase a service life and pressure rating thereof. However, such strategies increase the manufacturing costs for the fluid end and the pump more generally.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Some embodiments disclosed herein are directed to pumps (and related methods) that include one or more fluid ends each having a separate discharge manifold assembly connected thereto so as to decrease the manufacturing cost thereof. More particularly, as will be described in more detail below, because of the relatively stable operating pressures in the discharge portions of embodiments of the fluid end (particularly downstream of the discharge valve assembly(ies)), the risk of fatigue failure in these portions is decreased, and a separate discharge manifold assembly may be utilized that may be constructed from a different and lower cost material and that may have a slimmer construction with a reduced wall thickness compared to other portions of the fluid end. As a result, use of embodiments of the separate discharge manifold assembly as described herein may improve the efficiencies for manufacturing, operating, and maintaining the corresponding fluid end. Other benefits associated with the embodiments disclosed herein will also be apparent from the following description and figures. Thus, through use of the embodiments disclosed herein, the manufacturing costs of a pump may be decreased and thereby more economically viable.

For instance, some embodiments disclosed herein are directed to a fluid end of a positive displacement pump. In some embodiments, the fluid end includes a housing further including a plurality of pumping chambers, each of the plurality of pumping chambers configured to receive a plunger therein. In addition, the housing includes a plurality of outlet ports, each of the plurality of outlet ports being in fluid communication with a corresponding one of the plurality of pumping chambers. The fluid end further includes a discharge manifold assembly connected to the housing and positioned to receive fluid discharged from the plurality of pumping chambers during operation. The discharge manifold assembly comprises a single-piece, monolithic body having a plurality of discharge bores and a manifold bore defined therein. The manifold bore is in fluid communication with the plurality of discharge bores. The plurality of discharge bores are positioned to align with the plurality of outlet ports, and each of the plurality of discharge bores being configured to at least partially receive a corresponding discharge valve assembly therein.

Some embodiments disclosed herein are directed to a discharge manifold assembly for a fluid end of a pump. In some embodiments, the discharge manifold assembly includes a single piece monolithic body having a first end and a second end. In addition, the discharge manifold assembly includes a plurality of discharge bores defined in the body that are configured to receive fluid discharged from the fluid end when the body is connected to thereto. The plurality of discharge bores are spaced apart from one another between the first end and the second end. Further, the discharge manifold assembly includes a manifold bore defined in the body that extends between the first end and the second end. Still further, the discharge manifold assembly includes a plurality of connecting passages each extending from a corresponding one of the plurality of discharge bores to the manifold bore.

Some embodiments disclosed herein are directed to a method of pumping a fluid with a pump. In some embodiments, the method includes reciprocating a plurality of plungers in a plurality of pumping chambers defined in a housing to pressurize the fluid. In addition, the method includes discharging the fluid out of the plurality of pumping chambers via a plurality of outlet ports defined in the housing, through a plurality of discharge valve assemblies and into a plurality of discharge bores defined in a body of a discharge manifold assembly connected to and separate from the housing. The plurality of discharge valve assemblies are at least partially positioned in the plurality of discharge bores of the body. Further, the method includes directing the fluid out of the plurality of discharge bores and into a manifold bore through a plurality of connecting passages. The manifold bore and the plurality of connecting passages are defined within the body, and the manifold bore is spaced from the plurality of discharge bores so as to reduce fluid contact with the plurality of discharge valve assemblies.

Some embodiments disclosed herein are directed to a pump. In some embodiments, the pump includes a power end including a driver, a plurality of plungers operatively connected to the driver, and a fluid end connected to the power end. The fluid end includes a housing comprising a first material and including a plurality of pumping chambers configured to receive the plurality of plungers therein and a plurality of outlet ports in fluid communication with the plurality of pumping chambers. In addition, the fluid end includes a discharge manifold assembly connected to a top side of the housing. The discharge manifold assembly includes a body comprising a second material that is different from the first material and defining a plurality of discharge bores and a discharge manifold therein such that the discharge manifold is spaced from each of the plurality of discharge bores within the body. The plurality of discharge bores are aligned with the plurality of outlet ports so as to receive fluid discharged from the plurality of pumping chambers.

Embodiments described herein comprise a combination of features and characteristics intended to address various shortcomings associated with certain prior devices, systems, and methods. The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and technical characteristics of some of the disclosed embodiments in order that the detailed description that follows may be better understood. The various characteristics and features described above, as well as others, will be readily apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art upon reading the following detailed description, and by referring to the accompanying drawings. It should be appreciated that this disclosure may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes as the disclosed embodiments. It should also be realized that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the principles disclosed herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a detailed description of various embodiments, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a pump including a fluid end according to some embodiments disclosed herein;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the fluid end of FIG. 1 according to some embodiments disclosed herein;

FIG. 3 is a perspective, cross-sectional view of a housing of the fluid end of FIG. 2 according to some embodiments disclosed herein;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a body of a discharge manifold assembly of the fluid end of FIG. 2 according to some embodiments disclosed herein;

FIG. 5 is a top view of the body of FIG. 4 according to some embodiments disclosed herein;

FIG. 6 is a bottom view of the body of FIG. 4 according to some embodiments disclosed herein;

FIG. 7 is a front view of the body of FIG. 4 according to some embodiments disclosed herein;

FIG. 8 is a back view of the body of FIG. 4 according to some embodiments disclosed herein;

FIG. 9 is a left side view of the body of FIG. 4 according to some embodiments disclosed herein;

FIG. 10 is a right side view of the body of FIG. 4 according to some embodiments disclosed herein;

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the body of FIG. 4, taken along section B-B shown in FIG. 7, and also illustrates methods and fluid ends according to some embodiments disclosed herein;

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of the body of FIG. 4, taken along section C-C shown in FIG. 5, that illustrates methods and fluid ends according to some embodiments disclosed herein;

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of the body of FIG. 4 taken along section A-A shown in FIG. 2, that further illustrates a discharge valve assembly installed in a discharge bore of the body according to some embodiments;

FIG. 14 is an enlarged detail cross-section of the body of FIG. 4 showing a portion of the cross-sectional view of FIG. 11, that also illustrates methods and fluid ends according to some embodiments;

FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view of the body of FIG. 4 taken along section A-A shown in FIG. 2 according to some embodiments disclosed herein;

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of a body of a discharge manifold assembly that may be used in place of the body shown in FIG. 4 in the fluid end of FIG. 2 according to some embodiments disclosed herein; and

FIG. 17 is a flow chart of a method for pumping a fluid using a fluid end having a separate discharge manifold assembly according to some embodiments disclosed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A positive displacement pump may reciprocate a plunger or piston within a fluid end to pressurize fluid. The cyclical pressure changes within the fluid end may lead to fatigue failures. As a result, a fluid end may include increased wall thicknesses and may be constructed of higher strength materials so as to increase service life and/or a pressure rating thereof. However, these design changes can significantly increase the manufacturing costs and potentially the size of a fluid end so that such pumps may not be utilized in a number of applications and/or may be cost prohibitive for users and manufacturers alike.

Accordingly, the embodiments disclosed herein include fluids ends for positive displacement pumps that include a separately attached discharge manifold assembly that may be constructed from a lower strength (and therefore less expensive) material and may have smaller or slimmer construction compared to the other portions of the fluid end. Specifically, the discharge manifold assembly may replace portions of a conventional fluid end that are associated with a more stable operating pressure (even if the operating pressure is high), so that a slimmer design and more cost-efficient materials and/or manufacturing methods may be utilized therefor. Thus, through use of the embodiments of the discharge manifold assemblies described herein, the costs associated with the pump (and particularly the fluid end) may be reduced so that the associated positive displacement pump may be more economical and may be utilized in a wider array of applications.

FIG. 1 shows an example pump 10 according to some of the embodiments disclosed herein. As will be understood by those skilled in the art, the pump 10 may include a power end 12 and a fluid end 20. The power end 12 may include a driver 14 that is configured to actuate one or more movable components such as plungers (not shown in FIG. 1, but see plunger 90 shown in FIG. 15 and described in more detail below), to pressurize a fluid within the fluid end 20. In particular, the fluid end 20 may include a plurality of pumping chambers (not shown in FIG. 1, but see the example pumping chamber 60 shown in FIG. 3 and described in more detail below) defined therein that receive fluid from a source 16, which may include a suction manifold, tank, flow line, etc. During operations, the driver 14 may actuate (such as reciprocate) the one or more movable components in the pumping chambers of the fluid end 20 so as to draw fluid into the fluid end 20 from the source 16 and to discharge pressurized fluid from one or more outlets 24 of the fluid end 20. Thus, the pump 10 may be a positive displacement pump whereby the fluid is “displaced” and discharged from the fluid end 20 via contact with the one or more movable components.

The pump 10 may pump any suitable fluid and may be used in a number of different applications. For instance, the pump 10 may be utilized in a hydraulic fracturing operation whereby high-pressure fluid (with proppant entrained therein) is pumped into a subterranean wellbore at high pressure so as to fracture the formation and thereby increase a permeability thereof. In addition, in some embodiments, the pump 10 may be used to pump drilling fluids, such as so-called drilling mud, into a subterranean wellbore when drilling or otherwise forming a subterranean wellbore. Further, the pump 10 may be used to pump fluids in other applications. For example, the pump 10 may be used to pump water or other liquids within a chemical plant, refinery, or other industrial complex.

The driver 14 may comprise a motor, such as, for instance, a diesel engine, turbine engine, electric motor, hydraulic motor, etc. In addition, the power end 12 may include a suitable transmission assembly, such as a crankshaft and/or other suitable components for converting the output rotation or other motion of the driver 14 into the corresponding movements or motions of the one or more movable components.

FIG. 2 shows the fluid end 20 separated from the power end 12 so as to illustrate greater details of the fluid end 20 according to some embodiments. The fluid end 20 includes a housing 50 and a separate discharge manifold assembly 100 connected to the housing 50. The housing 50 may define the plurality of pumping chambers (not shown in FIG. 2, but see the example pumping chamber 60 shown in FIG. 3) therein. In addition, the discharge manifold assembly 100 may include a body 102 that is connected to the housing 50 and may be connected to (or include) the one or more outlets 24 of the pump 10 (FIG. 1). As shown in FIG. 2, the body 102 may be connected and secured to the housing 50 via a plurality of fasteners 98 (such as threaded fasteners, including threaded bolts) that are inserted through apertures or holes 99 formed in the body 102 and threadably engaged within the housing 50. In some embodiments, other devices and/or methods may be used to connect the body 102 of discharge manifold assembly 100 to the housing 50, such as, for instance lock bolts, rivets, welding, brazing, clamps, or other fasteners or connection methods. During operations, the discharge manifold assembly 100 may collect the pressurized fluid from the plurality of pumping chambers defined in the housing 50 and may discharge the collected, pressurized fluid from the one or more outlets 24.

Because fluid is drawn into and pressurized within the plurality of pumping chambers of the housing 50, the pressures within the housing 50 may repeatedly cycle between relatively high and low values during operations (such as between a suction pressure and discharge pressure of the pump 10). Thus, fatigue failure of the housing 50 is a particular concern. As a result, the housing 50 may be constructed of a high-strength material, such as stainless steel, and may include increased wall thicknesses so as to increase the fatigue strength of the housing 50.

Conversely, during operations with the fluid end 20, the discharge manifold assembly 100 may receive pressurized fluid from the housing 50 at a relatively stable (albeit elevated) pressure. Thus, the risk of fatigue failure within the discharge manifold assembly 100 is significantly reduced when compared with the housing 50. As a result, the housing 50 may be constructed from a first material, whereas the body 102 may be constructed from a second material that is different from the first material. More particularly, the body 102 may be constructed from a lower-strength (and therefore also lower cost) material, and may have a substantially slimmer and compact construction relative to the housing 50. For instance, while the housing 50 may be constructed from a higher-strength stainless steel as previously described, the discharge manifold assembly 100 (particularly the body 102) may be constructed from a carbon steel. Additional materials are contemplated for both the housing 50 and body 102 of discharge manifold assembly 100. For instance, in some embodiments, the body 102 may be constructed from iron (such as ductile iron, austempered ductile iron, etc.), or stainless steel.

Also because of the reduced risk of fatigue failure, the metallic material used to construct the body 102 of the discharge manifold assembly 100 may have a less refined grain structure (as compared to the material used to construct the housing 50). As a result, more efficient (and therefore less expensive) construction methods may be used to form the body 102 of discharge manifold assembly 100, that may otherwise not be appropriate for the formation of the housing 50. For instance, in some embodiments, a casting process (such as near-net casting) may be utilized to form (or substantially form) the body 102 of discharge manifold assembly 100, which may thereby reduce manufacturing costs. Accordingly, by forming the discharge manifold assembly 100 as a separate component of the fluid end 20 that is connected to the housing 50, the overall cost associated with the fluid end 20 (and pump 10 more broadly) may be reduced. Further details of the housing 50 and discharge manifold assembly 100 are described below according to some embodiments.

FIG. 3 shows a perspective, cross-sectional view of the housing 50 of the fluid end 20 (FIGS. 1 and 2) according to some embodiments. As previously described, the housing 50 may define a plurality of pumping chambers 60 therein. In particular, as may be appreciated from FIGS. 1 and 2, the housing 50 may define or include five (5) pumping chambers 60 therein; however, any number of pumping chamber 60 may be defined or included within housing 50 in various embodiments. The pumping chambers 60 may be spaced from one another along a longitudinal axis 55 of the housing 50 (FIGS. 2 and 3). One of the pumping chambers 60 is shown in the cross-section of FIG. 3; however, it should be appreciated that each of the pumping chambers 60 may be configured the same.

The housing 50 may include a first or inner end 50a (or “proximal end”) and a second or outer end 50b (or “distal end”) opposite the inner end 50a. The inner end 50a may be engaged or connected to the power end 12 of pump 10 (FIG. 1) or a housing thereof, and the outer end 50b may be projected outward and away from the power end 12 relative to the inner end 50a. In addition, the housing 50 may include a top or upper side 52 and a bottom or lower side 54 extending between the ends 50a, 50b. The identifiers “top,” “upper,” “bottom,” and “lower” refer to the general orientation of the sides 52, 54 when the fluid end 20 is installed on the power end 12 (FIG. 1) according to some embodiments. In addition, the inner end 50a and outer end 50b may be radially opposite one another about the longitudinal axis 55, and the top side 52 and bottom side 54 may also be radially opposite one another about the longitudinal axis 55.

Each pumping chamber 60 is defined by a plurality of bores 62, 64, 66, 68 defined within the housing 50. In particular, each pumping chamber 60 is defined by, and includes, a plunger bore 62 extending from the inner end 50a, an access bore 64 extending from the outer end 50b, an inlet bore 68 extending from the bottom side 54, and an outlet bore 66 extending from the top side 52. The bores 62, 64, 66, 68 may all intersect within the housing 50 so as to define the corresponding pumping chamber 60.

In addition, in some embodiments, the plunger bore 62 and the access bore 64 may be aligned along a common first axis 65, and the outlet bore 68 and inlet bore 68 may be aligned along a common second axis 67. The first axis 65 and second axis 67 may intersect one another at the intersection of the bores 62, 64, 66, 68, and may be orthogonal to one another. In addition, the axes 65 and 67 may also define a plane that is oriented perpendicular to the longitudinal axis 55 of the housing 50. In some embodiments, for each pumping chamber 60, the axes 65, 67 may intersect with the longitudinal axis 55 at a common point. As a result, for each pumping chamber 60 within housing 50, the axes 65, 67 may be orthogonal to the longitudinal axis 55.

The top side 52 includes a planar top surface 56. The planar top surface 56 may extend axially along the longitudinal axis 55. The outlet bores 66 of the plurality of pumping chamber 60 extend through the top side 52 via a plurality of outlet ports 69 formed in the top surface 56. Thus, each of the outlet ports 69 is in fluid communication with a corresponding one of the plurality of pumping chambers 60. In addition, each outlet port 69 may be surrounded (or circumscribed) by one or more seal grooves 58 formed in the top surface 56. Further, the planar top surface 56 may include a plurality of threaded apertures or holes 57 that are configured to threadably receive the plurality of fasteners 98 (FIG. 2) to secure the body 102 to the housing 50 as previously described.

Further, each of the access bores 64 extend through the outer end 50b so that the pumping chambers 60 may be accessed therefrom (such as for maintenance, installation, etc.). A cover assembly 72 may be secured to the outer end 50b over each of the access bores 64 so as to prevent fluids from leaking from the housing 50 via the access bores 64 during operations. Further details of embodiments of the cover assemblies 72 are provided below; however, it should be noted that only one cover assembly 72 is depicted in FIG. 3 so as to better illustrate the pumping chambers 60 and outer end 50b of housing 50.

As will also be described in more detail below, during operation within each pumping chamber 60, a plunger (not shown in FIG. 3, but see plunger 90 shown in FIG. 14) may be reciprocated within the plunger bore 62 along the first axis 65 via the power end 12 (FIG. 1) so as to draw fluid into the pumping chamber 60 via the inlet bore 68 and to discharge pressurized fluid from the pumping chamber 60 via the outlet chamber 66 and outlet port 69.

FIGS. 4-13 show the body 102 of the discharge manifold assembly 100 according to some embodiments. As previously described, the body 102 is an elongate member that is connected to the top side 52 of the housing 50 (FIG. 3) during operations. In particular, the body 102 includes a first end 102a and a second end 102b opposite the first end 102a. In addition, the body 102 includes a top or upper side 101 and a second bottom or lower side 103 extending between ends 102a, 102b. As will be described in more detail below, the bottom side 103 may be engaged with the planar top surface 56 (FIG. 3) of the housing 50. As best shown in FIG. 12, the body 102 may have a height H₁₀₂ that is measured between the top side 101 and the bottom side 103. In some embodiments, the body 102 may be formed as a single-piece, monolithic body. For example, in some embodiments, the body 102 of the discharge manifold assembly 100 may include a first side or upper side 101 and a second side or lower side 103, and the second side or lower side 103 may extend between the first end 102a of the body 102 and the second end 102b of the body 102, for example, in a direction substantially parallel to a longitudinal axis of a manifold bore 110 of the discharge manifold assembly 100. In some embodiments, the second side or lower side 103 may define a contiguous planar surface configured to contiguously contact the top side or first side 52 (see FIG. 3) of the housing 50 when the discharge manifold assembly 100 is connected to the housing 50. In some embodiments, the top side or first side 52 of the housing 50 may be substantially planar, for example, such that when the discharge manifold assembly 100 is assembled or connected to the housing 50, the second side or lower side 103 of the body 102 of the discharge manifold assembly 100 contiguously contacts the substantially planar surface of the top side or first side 52 of the housing 50, for example, in a substantially contiguous manner. In some embodiments, a plurality of discharge bores 120 of the manifold assembly 100 may extend through the contiguous planar surface of the second side or lower side of the body 102 of the manifold assembly 100 to the first side or upper side 101 of the body 102. In some embodiments, the contiguous planar surface of the second side or lower side 103 of the body may at least partially define and/or encompass openings of each of the plurality of discharge bores 120.

In addition, in some embodiments (such as the embodiment shown in FIG. 4), the body 1 includes a rectangular first portion 150 and a cylindrical second portion 152. The portions 150, 152 may be integrally formed and connected to one another. The rectangular first portion 150 (or more simply “first portion 150”) and cylindrical second portion 152 (or more simply “second portion 152”) each extend between the ends 102a, 102b and together define the top side 101 and the bottom side 103.

The first portion 150 is generally shaped as a rectangular parallelepiped, but includes a pair of radiused or rounded corners 154—with a first of the rounded corners 154 positioned at (or near) the first end 102a and a second of the rounded corners 154 positioned at (or near) the second end 102b. The second portion 152 is generally shaped as a right-circular cylinder that extends longitudinally between the ends 102a, 102b. In addition, the second portion 152 may include an external cylindrical recess 155 that is positioned between the ends 102a, 102b and that extends at least partially circumferentially about the cylindrical curvature of the second portion 152.

A plurality of discharge bores 120 extend through the first portion 150 of body 102 between the top side 101 and bottom side 103. Each discharge bore 120 may extend along a corresponding central axis 125 (or more simply “axis 125”). The plurality of discharge bores 120 may be spaced from one another between the ends 102a, 102b so that the axes 125 extend parallel to one another. In addition, because the discharge bores 120 extend to the top side 101 and bottom side 103, they may each have an axial length L₁₂₀ (FIG. 12) measured along the corresponding axis 125 that equals the height H₁₀₂. Further, the first portion 150 may include a plurality of external cut-outs or recesses 156 that extend between the top side 102 and bottom side 103 and that are interleaved or interstitially positioned between the discharge bores 120 between the ends 102a, 102b.

Without being limited to this or any other theory, the rounded corners 154 and recesses 156 of the first portion 150 and the cylindrical recess 155 of the second portion 152 may reduce the amount of material of the body 102 and thereby also may reduce the weight and cost of the body 102. The addition of corners 154, and recesses 155, 156 may be facilitated by the fact that the body 102 may utilize a thinner wall thickness during operations as described in more detail herein.

In addition, a manifold bore 110 extends through the second portion of the body 102 between the first end 102a and the second end 102b. The manifold bore 110 extends along a central axis 115 (or more simply “axis 115”) that may extend in a direction that is perpendicular to the direction of the axes 125 of the plurality of discharge bores 120. Thus, the discharge bores 120 (and thus also the axes 125 of discharge bores 120) may be spaced (or axially spaced) from one another along the direction of the axis 115.

Further, in some embodiments (e.g., such as the embodiment of FIGS. 4-12), the manifold bore 110 may be spaced from each of the discharge bores 120 so that the axis 115 of the manifold bore 110 is spaced from and does not intersect with (and therefore may form skew lines with) the axes 125 of each of the plurality of discharge bores 120. Specifically, the axis 115 of manifold bore 110 may be spaced from the axes 125 of each of the discharge bores 120 along a radial direction relative to each of the axes 125 of the plurality of discharge bores 120, and the axes 125 may also be spaced from the axis 115 of manifold bore 125 along a radial direction relative to the axis 115 of manifold bore 110. Moreover, the manifold bore 110 may be sufficiently spaced from each of the discharge bores 120 so that a plurality of connecting passages 130 (FIG. 11) extend between each of the plurality of discharge bores 120 and the manifold bore 110. Thus, the manifold bore 110 may be in fluid communication with the plurality of discharge bores 120 via the plurality of connecting passages 130.

Among other advantages (such as those described herein), spacing or offsetting the manifold bore 110 from the plurality of discharge bores 120 as described and shown herein may allow or facilitate the inclusion of additional holes 99 for receiving fasteners 98 in the first portion 150 of body 102. Specifically, the holes 99 may not intersect with internal flow paths within the body 102. As a result, offsetting the manifold bore 110 from the discharge bores 120 may reduce the concentration of fluid passages extending through first portion 150 so that additional holes 99 for fasteners 98 may be included therein. Including a greater number of fasteners 98 may improve rigidity and strength of the connection between the body 102 and housing 50.

FIG. 12 shows one of the discharge bores 120 defined in the body 102, it being understood that each of the discharge bores 120 may be configured the same. As best shown in FIG. 12, each discharge bore 120 includes a first end 120a at the bottom side 103 of body 102 and a second end 120b opposite the first end 120a along the corresponding axis 125. The length L₁₂₀ of discharge bore 120 may be measured between the ends 120a, 120b along axis 125. An internal annular shoulder 122 is defined within the discharge bore 120 between the ends 120a, 120b, and axially closer to the second end 120b than the first end 120a. The annular shoulder 122 may separate the discharge bore 120 in a first or inner portion 121 extending along axis 125 from the first end 120a to the shoulder 122, and a second or outer portion 123 extending along axis 125 from the shoulder 122 to the second end 120b. The connecting passage 130 may intersect with the discharge bore 120 in the inner portion 121 and thus axially between the internal annular shoulder 122 and the first end 120a (and thus also the bottom side 103 of the body 102).

One of the apertures 99 of the body 102 is schematically shown in FIG. 12. As previously described, each aperture 99 may receive a fastener 98 therethrough (FIG. 2) to secure the body 102 to the housing 50. As shown in FIG. 12, apertures 99 extend axially between the top side 101 and bottom side 103 relative to the axes 125 of discharge bores 120.

As shown in FIG. 13, the discharge bores 120 may each at least partially receive a discharge valve assembly 140. In order to accommodate the movable components of the discharge valve assembly 140 and the fluid flow through the discharge valve assembly 140, the inner wall of the inner portion 121 of discharge bore 120 may include a concave curvature 124 (or bell shape) that curves or bells radially outward from the central axis 125.

In general, each discharge valve assembly 140 may include a movable valve member 142 that is biased (such as via a coiled spring 149) into engagement with a strike face 147 of an annular valve seat 146. The discharge valve assembly 140 may be generally aligned with the central axis 125 of the discharge bore 120 so that the movable valve member 142 is axially biased into engagement with the valve seat 146 via the coiled spring 149 relative to axis 125. The strike face 147 may be a frustoconical (or chamfered) surface that flares (or angles) radially outward and away from central axis 125 of the discharge bore 120 when moving axially toward the top side 101 of body 102 along axis 125. The valve seat 146 may be inserted into the outlet port 66 and may engage (such as via shouldered engagement) with the planar top surface 56 about the corresponding outlet port 69. As shown in FIG. 13, a portion of the movable valve member 142 may extend into the outlet bore 66 via the valve seat 146.

A retainer cap 144 is threadably engaged within the discharge bore 120 from the second end 120b, so as to retain or capture the discharge valve assembly 140 within the discharge bore 120. In particular, the retainer cap 144 may be threadably engaged in the outer portion 123 so as to also capture a valve cover 148 of the discharge valve assembly 140 against the internal annular shoulder 122. As may be appreciated from FIGS. 2 and 13, one (or more) of the retainer caps 144 (such as the retainer cap 144 of a centrally positioned discharge bore 120) may be configured to receive or engage with a suitable gauge or other measurement device (such as a pressure gauge, temperature gauge, etc.).

As shown in FIGS. 11-14, the connecting passages 130 may represent an area of one or more direction changes for fluid within the body 102 during operations. Thus, the connecting passages 130, and particularly the transitions between the connecting passages 130 and the manifold bore 110 as well as the plurality of discharge bores 120 may include relatively large radiuses and smooth transitions to avoid inducing additional turbulence into the fluid flow during operations.

For instance, as best shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, each connecting passage 130 may extend both in a radial direction between the corresponding discharge bore 120 and the manifold bore 110, but also axially relative to the axis 125 of the corresponding discharge bore 120. Specifically, as each connecting passage 130 extends from the corresponding discharge bore 120 to the manifold bore 110, the connecting passage 130 may generally shift axially away from the bottom side 103 and toward the top side 101 relative to the axis 125 of the corresponding discharge bore 120. As a result, as shown in FIG. 13, each connecting passage 130 may be said to angle toward the top side 101 and away from the bottom side 103 when extending from the corresponding discharge bore 120 to the manifold bore 110. In some embodiments, each connecting passage 130 may have a first portion 137 that extends from the corresponding discharge bore 120, and a second portion 139 that extends from the first portion 137 to the manifold bore 110. The first portion 137 may have (and extend along) a central axis 135 that is oriented at a non-zero angle θ between the central axis 125 of the discharge bore 120. In some embodiments, the angle θ may range between 0 and 180°, such as between 0 and 90°, between 0° and 60°, between 3° and 60°, or substantially equal to about 30°.

In some embodiments, the angle of the axis 135 of the first portion 137 of connecting passage 130 (such as the angle θ) may be substantially equal to the taper angle of the strike face 147 of the valve seat 146 relative to the central axis 125 (such as within +/−10°, +/−5°, +/−2°, +/−1° or less, etc.). Moreover, the inner wall 132 of the connecting passage 130 (or at least a portion thereof) within the first portion 137 may extend parallel or along the axis 135 such that the inner wall 132 in the first portion 137 may at least partially extend at substantially the same angle as the strike face 147. Thus, during operations, fluid flowing out of the discharge valve assembly 140 between the movable valve member 142 and strike face 147 of the valve seat 146 may flow into the first portion 137 of connecting passage 130 generally without changing direction.

As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the inner wall 132 of the connecting passage 130 may include a plurality of relatively large radiuses 134 so as to allow the connecting passage 130 to relatively smoothly connect the corresponding discharge bore 120 to the manifold bore 110. For instance, the inner wall 132 may include radiuses 134 at the intersection or junction of the first portion 137 and the second portion 139, and at the intersections with the discharge bore 120 and manifold bore 110. In some embodiments, the radiuses 134 may have a radius of curvature that is in a range from about 0.5 inches (in) to about 1.0 in; however, other values are contemplated.

Without being limited to this or any other theory, the angle of the central axis 135 (and inner wall 132) and the sizing of the radiuses 134 of connecting passage 130 may streamline the fluid flow exiting the discharge valve assembly 140, such as, for instance, by reducing turbulence, inhibiting cavitation, and limiting pressure losses and/or adverse pressure gradients therein. In turn, streamlining the fluid flow out of the discharge valve assembly 140 may reduce wear and therefore increase the service life of the discharge valve assembly 140 (particularly the valve seat 146 and valve member 142). Moreover, the concave curvature 124 in the inner portion 121 of discharge bore 120 may also smooth and redirect fluid flow toward the connecting passage 130 while avoiding abrupt direction changes to further streamline the fluid flow in discharge bore 120 during operations. In addition, reducing the abruptness in the change in direction for the fluid as is flows through the connecting passage 130 and into the discharge bore 110 may also reduce the amount of wear (such as erosive wear) within the body 102 over time that may be caused by particles entrained within the fluid. Further, the relatively large radiuses (such as radiuses 134) may reduce stresses experienced by the body 102 under operating pressures, and therefore may help to avoid (or reduce) stress concentrations in the body 102 during operations.

As best shown in FIG. 14, as fluid enters the manifold bore 110 from the connecting passages 130 it may generally turn from a first lateral direction within the connecting passages 130 that is generally radial relative to the axis 115 of the manifold bore 110 to a second lateral direction within the manifold bore 110 that is generally axial relative to axis 115. The second lateral direction may be oriented at about 90° to the first lateral direction. Again, such an abrupt change in direction can result in pressure losses in the fluid and potentially wear (e.g., erosion) within the body 102 (e.g., such as along the connecting passages 130, manifold bore 110, and the transitions therebetween). As a result, the opposing sides of the inner wall 132 of each connecting passage at the transition between the connecting passage 130 and manifold bore 110 also include relatively large radiuses 136 to reduce the severity and abruptness in the change in direction for the fluid and thereby preserve fluid pressure and reduce wear. Thus, as shown by the fluid flow arrows 133, 135 in FIG. 14, fluid entering the manifold bore 110 from the connecting passages 130 may curve or turn (such as from the first lateral direction to the second lateral direction as previously described) more gradually to join the main flow 135 through the manifold bore 110.

In some embodiments, as with the radiuses 134, the radiuses 136 may have radiuses of curvature that range from about 0.5 in to about 1.0 in; however, over values are contemplated. As previously described, the relatively large radiuses 136 may reduce stress experienced by the body 102 and thereby also avoid (or reduce) stress concentrations in the body 102 during operations.

In addition, as may be appreciated from FIGS. 11-14, by spacing the manifold bore 110 from the plurality of discharge bores 120 via the plurality of connecting passages 130, the discharge bores 120 may be largely segregated from the fluid flowing along the main flow path (see arrow 135 in FIG. 14) within the manifold bore 110. As a result, each of the discharge valve assemblies 140 may contact a roughly equivalent amount of fluid flow during operations so that wear of the discharge valve assemblies 140 may be relatively even or equal over time.

More specifically, during operations fluid may pulse into each of the discharge bores 120 via the corresponding discharge valve assembly 140 in a staggered order. This staggered discharge order of the discharge bores 120 may or may not be sequential along the longitudinal length of the body 102 (which may be axial relative to the axis 115 of manifold bore 110) depending on the configuration of the power end 12 (FIG. 1). Thus, during operations, fluid is pulsed into the manifold bore 110 via the connecting passages 130 and then flows along the manifold bore 110 to the corresponding outlet 24 as previously described. However, the fluid flowing along the manifold flow bore 110 may be prevented (or largely prevented) from progressing back through the connecting passages 130 and into the discharge bores 120 due to the additional pulses of fluid progressing out of the discharge bores 120 and into the manifold bore 110 during operations. Thus, each discharge valve assembly 140 may contact fluid that is flowing through the corresponding discharge bore 120 toward the manifold bore 110, but may be prevented (or largely prevented) from contacting fluid that is discharged from other discharge bores 120 of the body 102. By contrast, if the manifold bore 110 is intersected (or partially intersected) the discharge bores 120, at least some of the discharge valve assemblies 140 may contact fluid output from adjacent and upstream discharge bores 120 so that one or more of the discharge valve assemblies 140 (such as one of more downstream discharge valve assemblies 140) may contact a greater amount of fluid during operations and therefore may experience a faster rate of wear over time. As a result, spacing the manifold bore 110 from the plurality of discharge bores 120 as shown in the body 102 of FIGS. 4-14 may reduce fluid contact with at least some of the discharge valve assemblies 140 during operations and may therefore also reduce the overall wear (or rate of wear) on the discharge valve assemblies 140 over time.

Reference is now made to FIG. 15, which shows a cross-section of the housing 50 taken along section A-A in FIG. 2. During operations, the body 102 of the discharge manifold assembly 100 is engaged with the top side 52 of housing 50 so that the bottom side 103 of body 102 is engaged with the planar top surface 56, and the plurality of discharge bores 120 are generally aligned with the plurality of outlet ports 69 formed in the planar top surface 56. In particular, the axis 125 of each discharge bore 120 may be aligned with the axis 67 of the corresponding pumping chamber 60 within housing 50. As a result, when the body 102 of the discharge manifold assembly 100 is engaged with the top side 52 of housing 50, the plurality of discharge bores 120 are placed in fluid communication with the outlet bores 66 of the plurality of pumping chambers 60 (via the outlet ports 69). The seal grooves 58 in the planar top surface 56 may receive a suitable sealing member (e.g., O-ring, gasket, etc.) therein that may further engage with the bottom side 103 of the body 102 to thereby prevent (or at least restrict) fluid flow into or out of the discharge bores 120 and pumping chambers 60, between the bottom side 103 of body 102 and the top side 52 of housing 50 during operations.

As previously described, a discharge valve assembly 140 may be installed at least partially within each discharge bore 120 so as to control the flow of fluid out of the corresponding pumping chamber 60 and into the corresponding discharge bore 120 during operations. In addition, each discharge valve assembly 140 (particularly the movable valve member 142 and valve seat 146) may at least partially extend into the outlet bore 66 of the corresponding pumping chamber 60.

As may be appreciated in FIG. 15, use of the separate discharge manifold assembly 100 may allow for a sufficient reduction of the size and weight of housing 50 so that the length of the outlet bores 66 of pumping chambers 60 may be increased without significantly increasing the cost (or potentially the weight) of housing 50. Specifically, each discharge bore 66 includes an elongate cylindrical portion 40 that extends from the corresponding outlet port 69 to a radius 42 (or other transition) into the corresponding plunger bore 62 and access bore 64. The length of the cylindrical portion 40 along axis 67 may be increased so that a length L₄₀ extending axially (relative to axis 67) from the aligned bores 62, 64 to the discharge valve assembly 140 (particularly the movable valve member 142 and valve seat 146) inserted or positioned in the outlet bore 66 may be a significant fraction of (or even greater than) the inner diameter of the cylindrical portion 40. For instance, in some embodiments, the length L₄₀ may be at least about 25%, at least about 50%, at least about 75% or more of the inner diameter of the cylindrical portion 40. In some embodiments, the length L₄₀ may range from about 5% to about 100% of the inner diameter of the cylindrical portion 40, or from about 50% to about 85% of the inner diameter of the cylindrical portion 40. In some embodiments, the length L₄₀ may be greater than the inner diameter of the cylindrical portion.

Without being limited to this or any other theory, increasing the length L₄₀ within the housing 50 may reduce a turbulence of fluid that enters the discharge valve assembly 140 during operation. In addition, again without being limited to this or any other theory, increasing the length L₄₀ may strategically provide additional material for the housing 50 in a region or portion that is associated with cyclical pressures, so that the stresses experienced by the housing 50 may be reduced during operations.

As is also shown in FIG. 15, each pumping chamber 60 also includes a suction valve assembly 80 installed within the inlet bore 68 so as to control the flow of fluid into the pumping chamber 60 during operations. One suction valve assembly 80 is shown within one of the pumping chambers 60 of the cross-section of FIG. 15; however, it should be appreciated that the other suction valve assemblies 80 are similarly configured and situated in the pumping chambers 60 of housing 50. Similar to the discharge valve assembly 140, the suction valve assembly 80 may include a movable valve member 82 that is biased (such as via a coiled spring) into engagement with an annular valve seat 84 that is secured (such as via a shouldered engagement) within the inlet bore 68.

Further, for each pumping chamber 60, the cover assembly 72 may include a pin or plug member 76 that is inserted (at least partially) into the access bore 64 until an annular exterior shoulder 77 defined thereon engages or abuts the outer end 50b of housing 50. In addition, the cover assembly 72 may include an outer body 73 that is secured (such as via threaded bolts) to the outer end 50b of housing 50. The body 73 includes a threaded interior bore 75 that is generally aligned with the axis 65. Further, the cover assembly 72 includes a retainer or cap 74 that is threadably engaged within the threaded bore 75 until the cap 74 engages or abuts the plug member 76 and captures or compresses the annular exterior shoulder 77 against the outer end 50b.

A plunger 90 may be inserted into the plunger bore 62 of each pumping chamber 60. Again, while only one pumping chamber 60 is shown in the cross-section of FIG. 15, it should be appreciated that each of the pumping chambers 60 may receive a corresponding plunger 90 therein in a similar fashion. The plunger 90 may include a first or front end 90a that is inserted within the corresponding pumping chamber 60, and a second or rear end 90b that is extended or projected outside of the corresponding pumping chamber 60. The rear end 90b may be operatively connected to the driver 14 of the power end 12 (FIG. 1) via a suitable transmission (such as a crankshaft and connecting rod(s)).

During operations, the driver 14 may reciprocate the plunger 90 within the plunger bore 62 along the axis 65 between a suction stroke and discharge stroke. In particular, during a suction stroke, the plunger 90 is stroked out of the pumping chamber 60 so that the pressure within the pumping chamber 60 is sufficiently reduced so as to dislodge the moveable valve member 82 of the suction valve assembly 80 from the corresponding valve seat 84 and thereby allow fluid to flow through the suction valve assembly 80 (such as from the source 16 shown in FIG. 1) and into the pumping chamber 60. Thereafter, during a discharge stroke, the plunger 90 is stroked into the pumping chamber 60 so that the pressure within the pumping chamber 60 (and the pressure of the fluid therein) is sufficiently increased so as to dislodge the movable valve member 142 of the discharge valve assembly 140 from the corresponding valve seat 146 to allow the pressurized fluid to flow out of the outlet bore 66 and into the discharge bore 120 via the outlet port 69 (and discharge valve assembly 140). Once the pressurized fluid enters the discharge bore 120, it flows through the corresponding connecting passage 130 and the manifold bore 110 to the one or more outlets 24 (FIG. 1) as previously described.

It should be appreciated that during the suction stroke, the reduced pressure within the pumping chamber 60 may force or drive the movable valve member 142 of the discharge valve assembly 140 into the corresponding valve seat 146, and during the discharge stroke, the increased pressure within the pumping chamber 60 may force or drive the movable valve member 82 of the suction valve assembly 80 into the corresponding valve seat 84. Thus, as the plunger 90 reciprocates between the suction stroke and discharge stroke, fluid may advance into the pumping chamber 60 via the suction valve assembly 80 and may discharge from the pumping chamber 60 via the discharge valve assembly 140.

During these operations with fluid end 20, the pressure within the pumping chamber 60, upstream of the discharge valve assembly 140, may cyclically change between a low (or suction) pressure and a high (or discharge) pressure. As a result, the housing 50 (which defines the pumping chamber 60 as previously described) may experience a cyclical load during operations that may eventually result in fatigue failure. Accordingly, the wall thicknesses of the housing 50 may be increased to improve a fatigue life thereof (which may be measured by the number of “cycles” that the housing 50 may endure before failure). In addition, the cyclical pressure load in the pressure chamber 60 may further experience so-called stress corrosion cracking whereby erosive wear (again driven by turbulence and high fluid velocities) in the pumping chamber 60 may form corrosion pits that act as crack nucleation sites from which cracks may propagate through the housing 50. As a result, the material forming the housing 50 may be selected and manufactured to provide corrosion resistance and an enhanced fatigue life. For instance, the housing 50 may be formed from a high-strength stainless steel and may undergo one or more carefully controlled heat treatment processes to refine the grain structure of the material forming housing 50 and thereby further improve corrosion resistance and fatigue life. The increased wall thicknesses and refined materials forming the housing 50 may significantly increase the manufacturing costs of the housing 50 compared with other components of the fluid end.

For instance, in some embodiments, the housing 50 may be manufactured by casting a large ingot that is then hammered and forged into a billet block that is roughly shaped as a rectangular parallelepiped. The billet block may then undergo one or more heat treatments, and is subsequently machined to include (among other things) the final outer dimensions and pumping chambers 60 of the housing 50. The hammering and forging operations may generally refine and align the grain structure of the housing 50. In addition, the heat treatments may further refine and align the grains and therefore increases the strength of the housing 50. Ultimately, these manufacturing steps may provide relatively uniform and tightly packed grains of metallic material that may impart (among other things) an improved fatigue life and pressure rating to the housing 50. However, as previously described, these additional manufacturing steps add significant time and cost to the manufacturing of body 50.

By sharp contrast, while the pressure within the body 102 of the discharge manifold assembly 100 may be elevated (for instance, at the discharge pressure), the pressure is also relatively constant during operations. As a result, the body 102 is not subjected to the same corrosion concerns as the housing 50. Accordingly, the wall thicknesses of the body 102 (such as the wall thicknesses surrounding the discharge bores 120 and manifold bore 110) may be reduced relative to the wall thicknesses employed within the housing 50 (such as the wall thicknesses surrounding the bores 62, 64, 66, 68 forming the pumping chambers 60). This reduction in wall thickness can be appreciated from the cross-section shown in FIG. 15. In some embodiments, the minimum wall thickness of the body 102 may be about 30%-50% less than the minimum wall thickness of the housing 50. For instance, in some specific examples, the minimum wall thickness of the housing 50 may be about 1.0 in, whereas the minimum wall thickness of the body 102 may be only about 0.5 in.

In addition, due to the reduced fatigue stresses and risk of stress corrosion, the body 102 may be formed of lower strength and therefore lower cost materials that lack the refined grain structure typically associated with the housing 50 as previously described. Specifically, the body 102 may be constructed from a lower cost carbon steel rather than the more expensive stainless steel forming the housing 50. In addition, due to the lack of constraint concerning the grain structure of the body 102, the body 102 may be manufactured using a more efficient (and therefore less expensive) casting process (as opposed to machining the body 102 out of a block of material). For instance, as previously mentioned above, in some embodiments, the body 102 may be manufactured using a near-net casting process, which may provide the body 102 with a less organized (and therefore more random) grain structure that may be considered unsuitable for the housing 50. However, using such a casting process, the body 102 (including the manifold bore 110, discharge bores 120, and connecting passages 130) may be generally formed in a single manufacturing step and with no or relatively little post-casting machining.

Accordingly, because the body 102 may be enjoy a slimmer construction (with a reduced wall thickness) and may be manufactured using a lower cost material and manufacturing method, the total cost for manufacturing the body 102 may be significantly reduced compared to the costs for constructing the housing 50 (on a relative basis). Therefore, the fluid end 20, which employs the separate discharge manifold assembly 100, may have a reduced cost compared with conventional fluid ends which may integrate a plurality of discharge bores (corresponding to the discharge bores 120) and a manifold bore (corresponding to the manifold bore 110) into the main housing (which may correspond with housing 50).

While embodiments of the discharge manifold assembly 100 have included a manifold bore 110 that is offset (such as laterally offset) from the plurality of discharge bores 120, it should be appreciated that in some embodiments, the manifold bore 110 may be at least partially aligned or intersected with the plurality of discharge bores 120 within the body 102 of the discharge manifold assembly 100. For instance, FIG. 16, shows an example embodiment of the body 202 that may be used in place of the body 102 of discharge manifold assembly 100 according to some embodiments. The body 202 may be substantially similar to the body 102 in a number of ways and therefore may include a number of the same or corresponding components. As a result, components of the body 202 that are shared with the body 102 are identified in the drawings (and the description herein) with the same reference numerals, and the following description will focus on the features of body 202 that are different from the body 102.

For instance, the body 202 includes a manifold bore 210 in place of the laterally spaced manifold bore 110. The manifold bore 210 may extend along a central axis 215 between the ends 102a, 102b so that the manifold bore 210 extends through (and thus at least partially intersects) each of the plurality of discharge bores 120. Thus, the plurality of connecting passages 130 (FIGS. 11 and 12) may be omitted within the body 202. In some embodiments, the central axis 215 of the manifold bore 210 may still be spaced from the axes 125 of the plurality of discharge bores 120 (such as in a radial direction relative to the axes 125 as previously described). Alternatively, in some embodiments, the central axis 215 of the manifold bore 210 may intersect with each of the axes 125 of the plurality of discharge bores 120 so that the axis 215 and the plurality of axes 125 may lie within and define a single plane extending through the body 102.

While the height H₂₀₂ of the body 202 may be increased relative to the height H₁₀₂ of body 102 due to the at least partial intersection of the manifold bore 210 with the plurality of discharge bores 120, the body 202 is still formed as a separate body or member from the housing 50 (FIG. 2). As a result, body 202 may enjoy the same (or similar) reductions in wall thickness, as well as the less expensive material and manufacturing techniques, as previously described above for the body 102. Accordingly, the body 202 may still provide a reduction in the costs for manufacturing the fluid end 20 as previously described.

FIG. 17 shows a method of pumping a fluid through a fluid end of a pump according to some embodiments disclosed herein. In some embodiments, the method 250 may be performed using embodiments of the fluid end 20 including the housing 50 and discharge manifold assembly 100 described herein. Thus, in describing the features of method 250, reference continuing will be made to the housing 50 and discharge manifold assembly 100 shown in FIGS. 1-16. However, it should be appreciated that method 250 may be performed using fluids ends that are different from those specifically described herein.

Initially, method 250 includes reciprocating a plurality of plungers in a plurality of pumping chambers defined in a housing of a fluid end of a pump at block 252. For instance, as may be appreciated from FIGS. 1, 3, and 15, a plurality of plungers 90 may be reciprocating in a plurality of pumping chambers 60 defined in housing 50. The plungers 90 may be reciprocating using a driver 14 of a power end 12 of the pump 10 via a suitable transmission, which may include (for instance) a crankshaft and plurality of connecting rods that are connected between the plungers 90 and the driver 14.

As shown in FIG. 17, the method 250 also includes drawing fluid into the plurality of pumping chambers at block 254. As previously described and illustrated by FIG. 15, fluid may be drawn into each pumping chamber 60 when the corresponding plunger 90 performs a suction stroke and therefore withdraws outward from the pumping chamber 60 to thereby reduce a pressure (or draw a vacuum) therein so that the movable valve member 82 of the suction valve assembly 80 dislodges from the valve seat 84 to allow fluid to enter the pumping chamber 60. Thus, drawing the fluid into the plurality of pumping chambers at block 254 may be as a result of and during the reciprocating the plurality of plungers at block 252.

FIG. 17 also shows that method 250 includes discharging the fluid out of the plurality of pumping chambers through a plurality of discharge valve assemblies and into a plurality of discharge bores defined in a body of a discharge manifold assembly that is connected to a top side of the housing at block 256. For instance, as shown in at least FIG. 15, the fluid within each pumping chamber 60 may discharge substantially vertically out of the housing 50 via the outlet bores 66 and outlet ports 69, through the discharge valve assembly 140 and into the discharge bores 120 of the separate body 102 of the discharge manifold assembly 100 connected to the top side 52 of housing 50.

In addition, as is also shown in at least FIG. 15, the discharge valve assembly 140 (including the movable valve member 142, valve seat 146, and valve cover 148) may be partially inserted within the depicted discharge bore 120 of the body 102 such that some portion(s) of the discharge valve assembly 140 may be inserted into the outlet bore 66 of the corresponding pumping chamber 60. However, in some of these embodiments (such as in the embodiment of FIG. 15) most of the discharge valve assembly 140 is positioned within the corresponding discharge bore 120 defined in the body 102. Moreover, in other embodiments, each discharge valve assembly 140 is entirely contained within the corresponding discharge bore 120. During operations, for each pumping chamber 60, the plunger 90 may undergo a discharge stroke so as to sufficiently increase the pressure in the pumping chamber 60 to dislodge movable valve member 142 from the valve seat 146 and allow the fluid to exit and the pumping chamber 60 into the discharge bores 120 via the discharge valve assembly 140. The fluid may pulse from the plurality of discharge bores 120 and into the manifold bore 110 in a staggered order (which may be sequential or non-sequential based on the configuration of the corresponding power end, such as power end 12 shown in FIG. 1).

As shown in FIG. 17, method 250 also includes flowing the fluid out of the plurality of discharge bores and into a manifold bore that is defined in the body of the discharge manifold assembly at block 258. For instance, as shown in FIGS. 11-14, in some embodiments, the manifold bore 110 may be laterally spaced and separate from the plurality of discharge bores 120 within the body 102 of the discharge manifold assembly 100. As a result, the fluid may flow out of the discharge bores 120 and into the manifold bore 110 via a plurality of connecting passages 130.

As is also previously described, the connecting passages 130 may extend both radially and axially relative to the axes 125 of the corresponding discharge bores 120 so that the fluid angle upward and thereby more gradually transition from a substantially vertical flow within the discharge bores 120 to a substantially lateral or horizontal flow within the manifold bore 110. Moreover, as previously described, relatively large radiuses 134 may be included along the connecting passages 130 so as to further reduce the abruptness of the directional change for the fluid and stress concentrations within the body 102. In addition, as the fluid exits the plurality of connecting passages 130 into the manifold bore 110, the fluid may turn approximately 90° from a first lateral direction to a second lateral direction (along the manifold bore 110), and the transitions/intersections of the plurality connecting passages 130 may include relatively large radiuses 136 so as to allow the fluid to more gradually change direction. As a result, wear (such as erosive wear) of the inner surfaces of the manifold bore 110, connecting passages 130, and discharge bores 120 caused by the fluid (and particularly and particles entrained therein) may be reduced during operations. Accordingly, block 258 may include, in some embodiments, transitioning the fluid from a vertical flow to a lateral flow and then turning the fluid approximately 90° (such as from a first lateral direction to a second lateral direction) from a plurality of connecting passages defined in the body into the manifold bore.

The embodiments disclosed herein include fluids ends for positive displacement pumps that include a separately attached discharge manifold assembly that may be constructed from a lower strength (and therefore less expensive) material and may have smaller or slimmer construction compared to the other portions of the fluid end. Specifically, the discharge manifold assembly may replace portions of a conventional fluid end that are associated with a more stable operating pressure (even if the operating pressure is high), so that a slimmer design and more cost-efficient material may be utilized therefor. Thus, through use of the embodiments of the discharge manifold assemblies described herein, the costs associated with the pump (and particularly the fluid end) may be reduced so that the positive displacement pump may be more economical and may be utilized in a wider array of applications.

While some embodiments disclosed here include body 102 of a discharge manifold assembly 100 having a manifold bore 110 that is spaced from the plurality of discharge bores 120 in a direction that is radial relative to the central axes 125 of the plurality of discharge bores 120, it should be appreciated that the relative positioning and spacing of the manifold bore 110 may be varied in other embodiments. For instance, ins some embodiments, the manifold bore 110 may be spaced from each of the discharge bores 120 in an axial direction relative to the axes 125, so that the manifold bore 110 is positioned above the plurality of discharge bores 120.

The preceding discussion is directed to various exemplary embodiments. However, one of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the examples disclosed herein have broad application, and that the discussion of any embodiment is meant only to be exemplary of that embodiment, and not intended to suggest that the scope of the disclosure, including the claims, is limited to that embodiment.

The drawing figures are not necessarily to scale. Certain features and components herein may be shown exaggerated in scale or in somewhat schematic form and some details of conventional elements may not be shown in interest of clarity and conciseness.

In the discussion herein and in the claims, the terms “including” and “comprising” are used in an open-ended fashion, and thus should be interpreted to mean “including, but not limited to” Also, the term “couple” or “couples” is intended to mean either an indirect or direct connection. Thus, if a first device couples to a second device, that connection may be through a direct connection of the two devices, or through an indirect connection that is established via other devices, components, nodes, and connections. In addition, as used herein, the terms “axial” and “axially” generally mean along or parallel to a given axis (e.g., central axis of a body or a port), while the terms “radial” and “radially” generally mean perpendicular to the given axis. For instance, an axial distance refers to a distance measured along or parallel to the axis, and a radial distance means a distance measured perpendicular to the axis. Further, when used herein (including in the claims), the words “about,” “generally,” “substantially,” “approximately,” and the like, when used in reference to a stated value mean within a range of plus or minus 10% of the stated value.

This U.S. non-provisional patent application claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/514,694, filed Jul. 20, 2023, titled “FLUID ENDS FOR PUMPS AND RELATED METHODS,” the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

While exemplary embodiments have been shown and described, modifications thereof can be made by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope or teachings herein. The embodiments described herein are exemplary only and are not limiting. Many variations and modifications of the systems, apparatus, and processes described herein are possible and are within the scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, the scope of protection is not limited to the embodiments described herein, but is only limited by the claims that follow, the scope of which shall include all equivalents of the subject matter of the claims. Unless expressly stated otherwise, the steps in a method claim may be performed in any order. The recitation of identifiers such as (a), (b), (c) or (1), (2), (3) before steps in a method claim are not intended to and do not specify a particular order to the steps, but rather are used to simplify subsequent reference to such steps.

Claims

1. A fluid end of a positive displacement pump, the fluid end comprising: a housing including: a plurality of pumping chambers, each of the plurality of pumping chambers configured to receive a plunger therein, anda plurality of outlet ports, each of the plurality of outlet ports being in fluid communication with a corresponding one of the plurality of pumping chambers; anda discharge manifold assembly connected to the housing and positioned to receive fluid discharged from the plurality of pumping chambers during operation, the discharge manifold assembly comprising a single-piece, monolithic body having a plurality of discharge bores and a manifold bore defined therein, the manifold bore being in fluid communication with the plurality of discharge bores, the plurality of discharge bores positioned to align with the plurality of outlet ports, and each of the plurality of discharge bores being configured to at least partially receive a corresponding discharge valve assembly therein.

2. The fluid end of claim 1, wherein: the body of the discharge manifold assembly includes a first side and a second side, the second side extending between a first end of the body and a second end of the body in a direction substantially parallel to the manifold bore, the second side defining a contiguous planar surface contiguously contacting a substantially planar first side of the housing, andthe plurality of discharge bores extend through the contiguous planar surface to the first side of the body.

3. The fluid end of claim 1, wherein: the body of the discharge manifold assembly comprises a rectangular first portion and a cylindrical second portion integral with the rectangular first portion, andthe body has a first end and a second end, and the rectangular first portion is shaped as rectangular parallelepiped and includes a plurality of external recesses interleaved between the plurality of discharge bores between the first end of the body and the second end of the body.

4. The fluid end of claim 1, wherein: the manifold bore is radially spaced from the plurality of discharge bores relative to a central axis of the manifold bore, andeach of the plurality of discharge bores extends along a corresponding central axis that is oriented in a direction that is perpendicular to a direction of the central axis of the manifold bore.

5. The fluid end of claim 1, wherein the body further includes a plurality of connecting passages each extending from a corresponding one of the plurality of discharge bores to the manifold bore.

6. The fluid end of claim 5, wherein the body of the discharge manifold assembly includes a top side and a bottom side, wherein the bottom side of the body is configured to engage with a top side of the housing when the discharge manifold assembly is connected to the housing, and wherein each of the plurality of connecting passages angle toward the top side of the body and away from the bottom side of the body while extending from the corresponding one of the plurality of discharge bores to the manifold bore.

7. The fluid end of claim 6, wherein each of the plurality of discharge bores includes an annular shoulder therein configured to engage with a valve cover of the corresponding discharge valve assembly, and wherein for each of the plurality of discharge bores, the corresponding connecting passage intersects with the discharge bore between the annular shoulder and the bottom side of the body.

8. The fluid end of claim 1, wherein the housing includes a planar top surface on a first side, wherein the plurality of outlet ports extend through the planar top surface, and wherein the planar top surface includes a plurality of seal grooves that each surround a corresponding one of the plurality of outlet ports.

9. The fluid end of claim 1, wherein the manifold bore at least partially intersects each of the plurality of discharge bores.

10. The fluid end of claim 1, wherein: the body of the discharge manifold assembly comprises a rectangular first portion and a cylindrical second portion integral with the rectangular first portion, the plurality of discharge bores extending through the first portion, and the manifold bore extending through the cylindrical second portion;the body has a first end and a second end, the manifold bore extending between the first end and the second end, and the rectangular first portion being shaped as rectangular parallelepiped; andthe second portion includes a cylindrical recess at least partially extending circumferentially about a cylindrical curvature of the cylindrical second portion.

11. A discharge manifold assembly for a fluid end of a pump, the discharge manifold assembly comprising: a single piece monolithic body having a first end and a second end;a plurality of discharge bores defined in the body that are configured to receive fluid discharged from the fluid end when the body is connected to thereto, the plurality of discharge bores being spaced apart from one another between the first end and the second end;a manifold bore defined in the body that extends between the first end and the second end; anda plurality of connecting passages each extending from a corresponding one of the plurality of discharge bores to the manifold bore.

12. The discharge manifold assembly of claim 11, wherein each of the plurality of discharge bores extends along a corresponding central axis that is oriented in a direction that is perpendicular to a direction of a central axis of the manifold bore.

13. The discharge manifold of claim 12, wherein the body a top side and a bottom side, wherein the bottom side of the body is configured to engage with a top side of a housing of the fluid, and wherein each of the plurality of connecting passages angle toward the top side of the body and away from the bottom side of the body while extending from the corresponding one of the plurality of discharge bores to the manifold bore.

14. The discharge manifold of claim 13, wherein each of the plurality of discharge bores includes an annular shoulder therein that is configured to engage with a valve cover of a corresponding discharge valve assembly, and wherein for each of the plurality of discharge bores, the corresponding connecting passage intersects with the discharge bore between the annular shoulder and the bottom side of the body.

15. The discharge manifold assembly of claim 11, wherein the body comprises a rectangular first portion and a cylindrical second portion integral with the rectangular first portion, wherein the plurality of discharge bores extend through the first portion, and wherein the manifold bore extends through the cylindrical second portion.

16. The discharge manifold assembly of claim 15, wherein the rectangular first portion is shaped as rectangular parallelepiped and includes a plurality of external recesses interleaved between the plurality of discharge bores between the first end and the second end.

17. The discharge manifold assembly of claim 16, wherein the second portion includes a cylindrical recess that at least partially extends circumferentially about a cylindrical curvature of the cylindrical second portion.

18. A method of pumping a fluid with a pump, the method comprising: reciprocating a plurality of plungers in a plurality of pumping chambers defined in a housing to pressurize the fluid;discharging the fluid out of the plurality of pumping chambers via a plurality of outlet ports defined in the housing, through a plurality of discharge valve assemblies and into a plurality of discharge bores defined in a body of a discharge manifold assembly connected to and separate from the housing, the plurality of discharge valve assemblies being at least partially positioned in the plurality of discharge bores of the body; anddirecting the fluid out of the plurality of discharge bores and into a manifold bore through a plurality of connecting passages, the manifold bore and the plurality of connecting passages also being defined within the body, and the manifold bore being spaced from the plurality of discharge bores, thereby to reduce fluid contact with the plurality of discharge valve assemblies.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein discharging the fluid out of the plurality of pumping chambers and into the plurality of discharge bores comprises discharging the fluid substantially vertically out of the housing and into the plurality of discharge bores of the body.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein the body comprises a single-piece, monolithic body, wherein the pump includes a power end and a fluid end, and wherein the housing comprises a housing of the fluid end.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein directing the fluid out of the plurality of discharge bores and into the manifold bore through the plurality of connecting passages comprises directing the fluid along paths that angle toward a top side of the body and away from a bottom side of the body via the plurality of connecting passages.

22. The method of claim 19, wherein directing the fluid out of the plurality of discharge bores and into the manifold bore through the plurality of connecting passages further comprises directing the fluid from a first lateral direction in the plurality of connecting passages to a second lateral direction in the manifold bore.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the second lateral direction is oriented at about 90° to the first lateral direction.

24. A pump comprising: a power end including a driver;a plurality of plungers operatively connected to the driver; anda fluid end connected to the power end, the fluid end including: a housing comprising a first material and including a plurality of pumping chambers configured to receive the plurality of plungers therein and a plurality of outlet ports in fluid communication with the plurality of pumping chambers, anda discharge manifold assembly connected to a top side of the housing, the discharge manifold assembly including a body comprising a second material that is different from the first material and defining a plurality of discharge bores and a discharge manifold therein such that the discharge manifold is spaced from each of the plurality of discharge bores within the body, and the plurality of discharge bores being aligned with the plurality of outlet ports so as to receive fluid discharged from the plurality of pumping chambers.

25. The pump of claim 24, wherein the plurality of discharge bores is axially spaced relative to a central axis of the manifold bore, and wherein the manifold bore is radially spaced from the plurality of discharge bores relative to the central axis of the manifold bore.

26. The pump of claim 24, wherein the body further includes a plurality of connecting passages each extending from a corresponding one of the plurality of discharge bores to the manifold bore.

27. The pump of claim 26, wherein the body of the discharge manifold assembly includes a top side and a bottom side, wherein the bottom side is engaged with the top side of the housing, and wherein each of the plurality of connecting passages angle toward the top side of the body and away from the bottom side of the body while extending from the corresponding one of the plurality of discharge bores to the manifold bore.

28. The pump of claim 27, wherein each of the plurality of discharge bores has a discharge valve assembly at least partially positioned therein, wherein each of the plurality of discharge bores includes an annular shoulder therein that is configured to engage with a valve cover of the corresponding discharge valve assembly, and wherein, for each of the plurality of discharge bores, the corresponding connecting passage intersects with the discharge bore between the annular shoulder and the bottom side of the body.

29. The pump of claim 24, wherein the body is a single-piece, monolithic body.

30. The pump of claim 29, wherein the housing includes a planar top surface on the top side, wherein the plurality of outlet ports extend through the planar top surface, and wherein the planar top surface includes a plurality of seal grooves that each surround a corresponding one of the plurality of outlet ports.