Pumps

part 3

RECIPROCATING PUMPS
The term reciprocating is defined as back-and-forth motion. In the reciprocating pump it is this

Figure 4-9.—Vane pump.

back-and-forth motion of pistons inside of cylinders that provides the flow of

fluid. Reciprocating pumps, like rotary pumps, operate on the positive
principle—that is, each stroke delivers a definite volume of liquid to the
system.

The master cylinder of the automobile brake system, which is described

and illustrated in chapter 2, is an example of a simple reciprocating pump. Several types of
power-operated hydraulic pumps, such as the radial piston and axial piston, are also
classified as reciprocating pumps. These pumps are sometimes classified as rotary pumps,
because a rotary motion is imparted to the pumps by the source of power. However, the
actual pumping is performed by sets of pistons reciprocating inside sets of cylinders.

HAND PUMPS
There are two types of manually operated reciprocating pumps—the single-action and the
double-action. The single-action pump provides flow during every other stroke, while the
double-action provides flow during each stroke. Single-action pumps are frequently used in
hydraulic jacks.

A double-action hand pump is illustrated in figure 4-10. This type of pump is used in some
aircraft hydraulic systems as a source of hydraulic power for emergencies, for testing certain
subsystems during preventive maintenance inspections, and for determining the causes of
malfunctions in these subsystems.

This pump (fig. 4-10) consists of a cylinder, a piston containing a built-in check valve (A), a
piston rod, an operating handle, and a check valve (B) at the inlet port. When the piston is
moved

Figure 4-10.—Hydraulic hand pump.

to the left, the force of the liquid in the outlet chamber and spring
tension cause valve A to close. This movement causes the piston
to force the liquid in the outlet chamber through the outlet port
and into the system. This same piston movement causes a low-
pressure area in the inlet chamber. The difference in pressure
between the inlet chamber and the liquid (at atmospheric
pressure) in the reservoir acting on check valve B causes its spring to compress; thus,
opening the check valve. This allows liquid to enter the inlet chamber.

When the piston completes this stroke to the left, the inlet chamber is full of liquid. This
eliminates the pressure difference between the inlet chamber and the reservoir, thereby
allowing spring tension to close check valve B. When the piston is moved to the right, the
force of the confined liquid in the inlet chamber acts on check valve A. This action
compresses the spring and opens check valve A which allows the liquid to flow from the
intake chamber to the outlet chamber. Because of the area occupied by the piston rod, the
outlet chamber cannot contain all the liquid discharged from the inlet chamber. Since liquids
do not compress, the extra liquid is forced out of the outlet port into the system.

PISTON PUMPS
Piston pumps are made in a variety of types and configurations. A basic distinction is made
between axial and radial pumps. The axial piston pump has the cylinders parallel to each
other and the drive shaft. The radial piston design has the cylinders extending radially
outward from the drive shaft like the spokes of a wheel. A further distinction is made between
pumps that provide a fixed delivery and those able to vary the flow of the fluid. Variable
delivery pumps can be further divided into those able to pump fluid from zero to full delivery in
one direction of flow and those able to pump from zero the full delivery in either direction.

All piston pumps used in Navy shipboard systems have the cylinders bored in a cylinder block
that is mounted on bearings within a housing. This cylinder block assembly rotates with the
pump drive shaft.

Radial Piston Pumps

Figure 4-11 illustrates the operation of the radial piston pump. The pump
consists of a pintle, which remains stationary and acts as a valve; a

Figure 4-11.—Principles of operation of the radial piston pump.

cylinder block, which revolves around the pintle and contains the cylinders
in which the pistons operate; a rotor, which houses the reaction ring of
hardened steel against which the piston heads press; and a slide block,
which is used to control the length of the piston strokes. The slide block
does not revolve but houses and supports the rotor, which does revolve due
to the friction set up by the sliding action between the piston heads and the
reaction ring. The cylinder block is attached to the drive shaft.

Referring to view A of figure 4-11, assume that space X in one of the

cylinders of the cylinder block contains liquid and that the respective piston
of this cylinder is at position 1. When the cylinder block and piston are
rotated in a clockwise direction, the piston is forced into its cylinder as it
approaches position 2. This action reduces the volumetric size of the
cylinder and forces a quantity of liquid out of the cylinder and into the outlet
port above the pintle. This pumping action is due to the rotor being off-
center in relation to the center of the cylinder block.

In figure 4-11 view B, the piston has reached position 2 and has forced the
liquid out of the open end of the cylinder through the outlet above the pintle
and into the system. While the piston moves from position 2 to position 3,
the open end of the cylinder passes over the solid part of the pintle;
therefore, there is no intake or discharge of liquid during this time. As the
piston and cylinder move from position 3 to position 4, centrifugal force causes the piston to
move outward against the reaction ring of the rotor. During this time the open end of the
cylinder is open to the intake side of the pintle and, therefore, fills with liquid. As the piston
moves from position 4 to position 1, the open end of the cylinder is against the solid side of
the pintle and no intake or discharge of liquid takes place. After the piston has passed the
pintle and starts toward position 2, another discharge of liquid takes place. Alternate intake
and discharge continues as the rotor revolves about its axis-intake on one side of the pintle
and discharge on the other, as the piston slides in and out.

Notice in views A and B of figure 4-11 that the center point of the rotor is different from the
center point of the cylinder block. The difference of these centers produces the pumping
action. If the rotor is moved so that its center point is the same as that of the cylinder block,
as shown in figure 4-11, view C, there is no pumping action, since the piston does not move
back and forth in the cylinder as it rotates with the cylinder block.

The flow in this pump can be reversed by moving the slide block, and therefore the rotor, to
the right so the relation of the centers of the rotor and the cylinder block is reversed from the
position shown in views A and B of figure 4-11. View D shows this arrangement. Liquid enters
the cylinder as the piston travels from position 1 to position 2 and is discharged from the
cylinder as the piston travels from position 3 to 4. In the illustrations the rotor is shown in the
center, the extreme right, or the extreme left in relation to the cylinder block. The amount of
adjustment in distance between the two centers determines the length of the piston stroke,
which controls the amount of liquid flow in and out of the cylinder. Thus, this adjustment
determines the displacement of the pump; that is, the volume of liquid the pump delivers per
revolution. This adjustment may be controlled in different ways. Manual control by a
handwheel is the simplest. The pump illustrated in figure 4-11 is controlled in this way. For
automatic control of delivery to accommodate varying volume requirements during the
operating cycle, a hydraulically controlled cylinder may be used to position the slide block. A
gear-motor controlled by a push button or a limit switch is sometimes used for this purpose.

Figure 4-11 is shown with four pistons for the sake of simplicity. Radial pumps are actually
designed with an odd number of pistons (fig. 4-12). This is to ensure that no more than one
cylinder is completely blocked by the pintle at any one time. If there were an even number of
pistons spaced evenly around the cylinder block (for example, eight), there would be
occasions when two of the cylinders would be blocked by the pintle, while at other times none
would be blocked. This would cause three cylinders to discharge at one time and four at one
time, causing pulsations in flow. With an odd number of pistons spaced evenly around the
cylinder block, only one cylinder is completely blocked by the pintle at any one time. This
reduces pulsations of flow.

Figure 4-12.—Nine-pistonAxial Piston Pumps

In axial piston pumps of the in-line type, where the

cylinders and the drive shaft are parallel (fig. 4-13), the
reciprocating motion is created by a cam plate, also
known as a wobble plate, tilting plate, or swash plate.
This plate lies in a plane that cuts across the center
line of the drive shaft and cylinder barrel and does not
rotate. In a fixed-displacement pump, the cam plate
will be rigidly mounted in a position so that it intersects
the center line of the cylinder barrel at an angle
approximately 25 degrees from perpendicular.
Variable-delivery axial piston pumps are designed so
that the angle that the cam plate makes with a
perpendicular to the center line of the cylinder barrel
may be varied from zero to 20 or 25 degrees to one or
both sides. One end of each piston rod is held in
contact with the cam plate as the cylinder block and piston assembly rotates with the drive
shaft. This causes the pistons to reciprocate within the cyIinders. The length of the piston
stroke is proportional to the angle that the cam plate is set from perpendicular to the center
line of the cylinder barrel.

A variation of axial piston pump is the bent-axis type shown in figure 4-14. This type does not
have a tilting cam plate as the in-line pump does. Instead, the cylinder block axis is varied
from the drive shaft axis. The ends of the