Inter-lobe clearance estimation for twin-screw rotor pairs with point-meshing features

In practical production, it is impossible even to measure the inter-lobe (meshing) clearance of a screw rotor pair. However, understanding of the clearance distribution is essential since it is a major leakage path which greatly affects the twin-screw pump performance. Previous publications did not disclose explicit detail on how to calculate the meshing clearance for screw rotor pairs with point-meshing features. Therefore, this study proposes a meshing clearance calculation method for screw rotor pairs with point-meshing features. The complex meshing clearance can be simply determined by calculating the shortest distance between two normal-rack profiles generated using point-enveloping principle. Clearance distributions are much more intelligible to be exhibited on a 3-D contact line and the rotor profile. Due to its immeasurability in practice, the adaptability and the solution accuracy of the proposed numerical method are verified by applications on different rotor profiles and comparisons with measured results from a 3-D CAD model. The meshing clearance in a variable-pitch screw rotor pair and the clearance adjustability are also illustrated through the proposed examples.