Positive Displacement Pumps

This type of pump ejects a fixed quantity of fluid per

revolution of the pump shaft. As a result the pump discharge is
fairly constant and not dependent on system pressure. This
makes them particularly suitable for fluid power systems.
Positive displacement pumps must be protected against
overpressure if the resistance to flow becomes very large. This
can happen if a valve
al e is completely
completel closed and there is no
physical place for the fluid to go. A pressure relief valve is
used to protect the pump against overpressure.
There are various types of positive displacement pumps used
in the industry. Among them Gear pumps, Vane pumps and
Piston pumps are most widely used.
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Gear pumps
N
Numerous
d i
designs
off gear pumps suchh as external
t
l gear
pump, internal gear pump, screw pump, lobe pump, etc.
are commercially available.

The above figure shows the operation of an external gear

pump, which develops flow by carrying fluid between the
teeth of two meshing gears. One of the gears is connected to a
drive shaft. The second gear is driven as it meshes with the
driver gear.
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Oil chambers are formed between the gear teeth, the pump
housing and the side wear plates. The suction side is where
teeth come out
o t of mesh.
mesh There the volume
ol me expands,
e pands bringing
out a reduction in pressure to below atmospheric pressure.
Fluid is pushed into this void by atmospheric pressure.
The discharge side is where teeth go into mesh, causing a
decrease in the volume (and rise in pressure) between mating
teeth. It results in discharge positively against higher system
pressure.
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The volumetric displacement of a gear pump can be found by

calculating the volume of a hollow cylinder of outside
diameter Do, inside diameter Di and length L. There are
act all two
actually
t o such
s ch cylinder
c linder volumes
ol mes (because
(beca se there are two
t o
gears) where oil could fill the inside of the pump if there were
no teeth. However, one half of these two volumes are taken by
the gear teeth of both gears. Thus the volumetric displacement
can be written as
Thus the theoretical flow rate is
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Example: A gear pump has 75 mm outside diameter, 50 mm

i id diameter,
inside
di
t
andd 25 mm length.
l th If the
th volumetric
l
ti
efficiency is 90% at rated pressure, what is the corresponding
actual flow rate? The pump speed is 1000 rpm.
Solution:
The volumetric displacement can be written as
= 0.0000614 m3/rev = 0.0614 litre.
The theoretical flow rate is
= 61.4 lpm
Actual flow rate, QA = QT = 0.9x61.4 = 55.3 lpm.
16

Vane pumps

The above figure shows the operation of a vane pump. The

eccentric rotor which contains radial slots, is attached to the
drive shaft and rotates inside a cam ring. Each slot contains a
vane designed to mate with the surface of the cam ring as the
rotor turns. Centrifugal force keeps the vanes out against the
surface of the cam ring.
17

During one
one-half
half revolution of rotor rotation, the volume
increases between the rotor and the cam ring. The resulting
volume expansion causes a reduction of pressure. This is the
s ction process,
suction
process which
hich causes
ca ses fluids
fl ids to flow
flo through
thro gh the inlet
port and fill the void.
As the rotor rotates through the second-half revolution, the
surface of the cam ring pushes the vanes back into their slots,
and the trapped volume is reduced. This positively discharges
the trapped fluid through the discharge port.
18

There is an eccentricity between the centre of the rotor and the

center of the cam ring. If the eccentricity is zero there will be
no net flow. If the cam ring diameter is DC and the rotor
diameter is DR, then the maximum eccentricity is,
is

The maximum eccentricity produces the maximum volumetric

displacement:

19

Substituting the expression for the maximum eccentricity

gives,
i

Thus the theoretical volumetric displacement at an eccentricity

e is:
Some vane pumps have provisions for mechanically varying
the eccentricity. Such a design is called a variable
displacement pump.
pump
Example: A vane pump has a 50 mm diameter rotor, a 75 mm
diameter cam ring, and 50 mm wide vanes. If the eccentricity
is 8 mm, determine the volumetric displacement.
Ans:
(0.050+0.075)(0.008)(0.050) =0.0000785 m3
= 0.0785 litre
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Piston pumps
A piston
i t pump works
k on the
th principle
i i l that
th t a reciprocating
i
ti
piston can draw in fluid when it retracts and discharges it
when it extends.
There are two basic types: axial piston pump and radial
piston pump. In axial design pistons are parallel to the axis of
the cylinder block. In radial design pistons are arranged
radially in a cylinder block. Axial piston pumps again can be
either of the bent axis
a is configuration
config ration or of the swash
s ash plate
design.
Axial piston pump (Bent axis design)
An axial piston pump contains a cylinder block rotating with
the drive shaft. However, the axis of the cylinder block is set
at an offset angle relative to the axis of the drive shaft.
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The cylinder block

contains a number of
ppistons arranged
g alongg
a circle. Piston rods are
connected to the drive
shaft flange by ballball
and-socket joints.
The
h pistons
i
are forced
f
d
in and out of their
bores as the distance
between the drive shaft
flange and cylinder
block changes.
changes
22

The volumetric displacement of the pump varies with the offset

angle.
g No flow is pproduced when the cylinder
y
block axis is
aligned to the drive shaft axis.

Or
23

The total displacement volume equals the number of pistons

multiplied
p
byy the displacement
p
volume pper ppiston:
Substituting, we have

The theoretical flow rate can then be obtained b multiplying the

displacement volume with the pump speed in rpm.

In-line piston pump (Swash plate design)

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Radial piston pump

The operation and construction of a radial piston pump is

illustrated in Figure 5-29. This design consists of a pintle to
di
direct
fl id in
fluid
i andd out off the
h cylinders,
li d
a cylinder
li d barrel
b
l with
ih
pistons, and a rotor containing a reaction ring.
25

The pistons remain in constant contact with the reaction ring

d to centrifugal
due
if l force
f
andd back
b k pressure on the
h pistons.
i
F
For
pumping action, the reaction ring is moved eccentrically with
respect
p to the ppintle or shaft axis. As the cylinder
y
barrel rotates,,
the pistons on one side travel outward. This draws in fluid as
each cylinder passes the suction ports of the pintle. When a
piston passes the point of maximum eccentricity,
eccentricity it is forced
inward by the reaction ring. This forces the fluid to enter the
discharge port of the pintle.
26