Lecture 2

Hydraulic pumps

Hydraulic pump
The sole purpose of a pump in a hydraulic system is to provide flow. A pump, which is the
heart of a hydraulic system, converts mechanical energy, which is primarily rotational power
from an electric motor or engine, into hydraulic energy. While mechanical rotational power
is the product of torque and speed, hydraulic power is pressure times flow.

Principle of operation
The pumping action is the same for every pump. Due to mechanical action, the pump
creates a partial vacuum at the inlet. This causes the atmospheric pressure to force the fluid
into the inlet of the pump. The pump then pushes the fluid into the hydraulic system (Figure
1). The pump contains two check valves. Check valve 1 is connected to the pump inlet and
allows fluid to enter the pump only through it. Check valve 2 is connected to the pump
discharge and allows fluid to exit only through it. When the piston is pulled to the left, a
partial vacuum is created in the pump cavity 3. This vacuum holds the check valve 2 against
its seat and allows atmospheric pressure to push the fluid inside the cylinder through the
check valve 1. When the piston is pushed to the right, the fluid movement closes check valve
1 and opens outlet valve 2. The quantity of fluid displaced by the piston is forcibly ejected
from the cylinder. The volume of the fluid displaced by the piston during the discharge
stroke is called the displacement volume of the pump.

Figure 1: pumping action of simple piston pump

Pump classification
Pumps can be broadly listed under two categories:

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1. Non-positive displacement pumps and
2. Positive displacement pumps.

A. Non-Positive Displacement Pumps

These pumps are also known as hydro-dynamic pumps. In these pumps the fluid is
pressurized by the rotation of the propeller and the fluid pressure is proportional to the
rotor speed. These pumps can not withstanding high pressures and generally used for
low-pressure and high-volume flow applications. The important advantages of non-
positive displacement pumps are lower initial cost, less operating maintenance because
of less moving parts, simplicity of operation, higher reliability and suitability with wide
range of fluid etc. These pumps are primarily used for transporting fluids and find little
use in the hydraulic or fluid power industries. Centrifugal pump is the common example
of non-positive displacement pumps.

B. Positive displacement pump

These pumps deliver a constant volume of fluid in a cycle. The discharge quantity per
revolution is fixed in these pumps and they produce fluid flow proportional to their
displacement and rotor speed. These pumps are used in most of the industrial fluid
power applications. The output fluid flow is constant and is independent of the system
pressure (load). The important advantage associated with these pumps is that the high-
pressure and low-pressure areas (means input and output region) are separated and
hence the fluid cannot leak back due to higher pressure at the outlets. These features
make the positive displacement pump most suited and universally accepted for
hydraulic systems. The important advantages of positive displacement pumps over non-
positive displacement pumps include capability to generate high pressures, high
volumetric efficiency, high power to weight ratio, change in efficiency throughout the
pressure range is small and wider operating range pressure and speed.

Pump

Positive displacement Non-positive displacement

Centrifugal Axial Radial

Rotary Reciprocating

Gear Vane Screw

Gear Pumps
Gear pump is a robust and simple positive displacement pump. It has two meshed gears
revolving about their respective axes. These gears are the only moving parts in the
pump. They are compact, relatively inexpensive and have few moving parts. The rigid

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design of the gears and houses allow for very high pressures and the ability to pump
highly viscous fluids. They are suitable for a wide range of fluids and offer self-priming
performance. Sometimes gear pumps are designed to function as either a motor or a
pump. These pump includes helical and herringbone gear sets (instead of spur gears),
lobe shaped rotors similar to Roots blowers (commonly used as superchargers), and
mechanical designs that allow the stacking of pumps. Based upon the design, the gear
pumps are classified as:
• External gear pumps
• Lobe pumps
• Internal gear pumps
• Gerotor pumps

Generally gear pumps are used to pump:

• Petrochemicals: Pure or filled bitumen, pitch, diesel oil, crude oil, lube oil etc.
• Chemicals: Sodium silicate, acids, plastics, mixed chemicals, isocyanates etc.
• Paint and ink
• Resins and adhesives
• Pulp and paper: acid, soap, lye, black liquor, kaolin, lime, latex, sludge etc.
• Food: Chocolate, cacao butter, fillers, sugar, vegetable fats and oils, molasses, animal
food etc.

1. External gear pump

A schematic of an external gear pump is shown in Figure 2.
An external gear pump consists of two gears usually equal in size, which mesh externally and
are housed in a pump case. Each gear is mounted on a shaft, which is supported by needle
bearings in the case covers. One of these shafts is coupled to a prime mover and is called the
drive shaft. The gear mounted on this shaft is called the drive gear. It drives the second gear
as it rotates. Two side plates are provided one on each side of the gear. The side plates are
held between the gear case and case covers. The rotating gear carries the fluid from the
tank to the outlet pipe. The suction side is towards the portion whereas the gear teeth
come out of the mesh. When the gears rotate, volume of the chamber expands leading
to pressure drop below atmospheric value. Therefore the vacuum is created and the
fluid is pushed into the void due to atmospheric pressure. The fluid is trapped between
housing and rotating teeth of the gears. The discharge side of pump is towards the
portion where the gear teeth run into the mesh and the volume decreases between
meshing teeth. The pump has a positive internal seal against leakage; therefore, the
fluid is forced into the outlet port. The gear pumps are often equipped with the side
wear plate to avoid the leakage. The clearance between gear teeth and housing and
between side plate and gear face is very important and plays an important role in
preventing leakage. In general, the gap distance is less than 10 micrometers. The
amount of fluid discharge is determined by the number of gear teeth, the volume of
fluid between each pair of teeth and the speed of rotation. The important drawback of
external gear pump is the unbalanced side load on its bearings. It is caused due to high

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pressure at the outlet and low pressure at the inlet which results in slower speeds and
lower pressure ratings in addition to reducing the bearing life. Gear pumps are most
commonly used for the hydraulic fluid power applications and are widely used in
chemical installations to pump fluid with a certain viscosity.

Figure2: Gear pump

2. Lobe Pump
Lobe pumps work on the similar principle of working as that of external gear pumps.
However in Lobe pumps, the lobes do not make any contact like external gear pump
(see Figure 3). Lobe contact is prevented by external timing gears located in the gearbox.
Similar to the external gear pump, the lobes rotate to create expanding volume at the
inlet. Now, the fluid flows into the cavity and is trapped by the lobes. Fluid travels
around the interior of casing in the pockets between the lobes and the casing. Finally,
the meshing of the lobes forces liquid to pass through the outlet port. The bearings are
placed out of the pumped liquid. Therefore the pressure is limited by the bearing
location and shaft deflection.

Figure 3: lope pump

Lobe pumps are frequently used in food applications because they handle solids without
damaging the product. Large sized particles can be pumped much effectively than in
other positive displacement types. As the lobes do not make any direct contact

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therefore, the clearance is not as close as in other Positive displacement pumps. This
specific design of pump makes it suitable to handle low viscosity fluids with diminished
performance.

3. Internal Gear Pump

Internal gear pumps are exceptionally versatile. They are often used for low or medium
viscosity fluids such as solvents and fuel oil and wide range of temperature. This is non-
pulsing, self-priming and can run dry for short periods. It is a variation of the basic gear
pump.
It comprises of an internal gear, a regular spur gear, a crescent-shaped seal and an
external housing. The schematic of internal gear pump is shown in figure 4. Liquid enters
the suction port between the rotor (large exterior gear) and idler (small interior gear)
teeth. Liquid travels through the pump between the teeth and crescent. Crescent divides
the liquid and acts as a seal between the suction and discharge ports. When the teeth
mesh on the side opposite to the crescent seal, the fluid is forced out through the
discharge port of the pump. This clearance between gears can be adjusted to
accommodate high temperature, to handle high viscosity fluids and to accommodate the
wear. These pumps are bi-rotational so that they can be used to load and unload the
vessels. As these pumps have only two moving parts and one stuffing box, therefore
they are reliable, simple to operate and easy to maintain. However, these pumps are not
suitable for high speed and high pressure applications. Only one bearing is used in the
pump therefore overhung load on shaft bearing reduces the life of the bearing.

Applications
Some common internal gear pump applications are:
• All varieties of fuel oil and lube oil
• Resins and Polymers
• Alcohols and solvents
• Asphalt, Bitumen, and Tar
• Polyurethane foam (Isocyanate and polyol)
• Food products such as corn syrup, chocolate, and peanut butter
• Paint, inks, and pigments
• Soaps and surfactants
• Glycol

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 Crescent

Figure 4: Internal gear pump

4. Gerotor Pump
Gerotor is a positive displacement pump. The name Gerotor is derived from "Generated
Rotor". At the most basic level, a Gerotor is essentially one that is moved via fluid
power. Originally this fluid was water, today the wider use is in hydraulic devices. The
schematic of Gerotor pump is shown in figure 5. Gerotor pump is an internal gear pump
without the crescent. It consists of two rotors viz. inner and outer rotor. The inner rotor
has N teeth, and the outer rotor has N+1 teeth. The inner rotor is located off-center and
both rotors rotate. The geometry of the two rotors partitions the volume between them
into N different dynamically-changing volumes. During the rotation, volume of each
partition changes continuously. Therefore, any given volume first increases, and then
decreases. An increase in volume creates vacuum. This vacuum creates suction, and
thus, this part of the cycle sucks the fluid. As the volume decreases, compression occurs.
During this compression period, fluids can be pumped, or compressed (if they are
gaseous fluids).

The important advantages of the pumps are high speed operation, constant discharge in
all pressure conditions, bidirectional operation, less sound in running condition and less
maintenance due to only two moving parts and one stuffing box etc. However, the pump
is having some limitations such as medium pressure operating range, clearance is fixed,
solids can’t be pumped and overhung load on the shaft bearing etc.

Figure 5: Gerotor pump

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Applications
Gerotors are widely used in industries and are produced in variety of shapes and sizes by
a number of different methods. These pumps are primarily suitable for low pressure
applications such as lubrication systems or hot oil filtration systems, but can also be
found in low to moderate pressure hydraulic applications. However common
applications are as follows:
• Light fuel oils
• Lube oil
• Cooking oils
• Hydraulic fluid

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