How do hydraulic pumps work?
Gear pumps are one of the most common types of pumps for hydraulic fluid power applications. Here at Hydraulics Online, we offer a wide range of high-powered hydraulic gear pumps suitable for industrial, commercial and domestic use. We provide a reliable pump model, whatever the specifications of your hydraulic system. And we furthermore ensure that it operates as efficiently as possible.
Johannes Kepler invented the gear pump around year 1600. Fluid carried between the teeth of two meshing gears produces the flow. The pump housing and side plates, also called wear or pressure plates, enclose the chambers, which are formed between adjacent gear teeth. The pump suction creates a partial vacuum. Thereafter fluid flows in to fill the space and is carried around the discharge of the gears. Next the fluid is forced out as the teeth mesh (at the discharge end).
Some gear pumps are quite noisy. However, modern designs incorporating split gears, helical gear teeth and higher precision/quality tooth profiles are much quieter. On top of this, they can mesh and un-mesh more smoothly. Subsequently this reduces pressure ripples and related detrimental problems.
Catastrophic breakdowns are easier to prevent with hydraulic gear pumps. This is because the gears gradually wear down the housing and/or main bushings. Therefore reducing the volumetric efficiency of the pump gradually until it is all but useless. This often happens long before wear causes the unit to seize or break down.
Can hydraulic gear pumps be reversed? Yes, most pumps can be reversed by taking the pump apart and flipping the center section. This is why most gear pumps are symmetrical.
Two main types
External gear pumps use two external spur gears. Internal gear pumps use an external and an internal spur gear. Moreover, the spur gear teeth face inwards for internal gear pumps. Gear pumps are positive displacement (or fixed displacement). In other words, they pump a constant amount of fluid for each revolution. Some gear pumps are interchangeable and function both as a motor and a pump.
What are hydraulic gear pumps used for?
The petrochemical industry uses gear pumps to move: diesel oil, pitch, lube oil, crude oil and other fluids. The chemical industry also uses them for materials such as: plastics, acids, sodium silicate, mixed chemicals and other media. Finally, these pumps are also used to transport: ink, paint, resins and adhesives and in the food industry.
About Gerotor hydraulic pumps
A gerotor is a positive displacement pump. The name gerotor derives from “generated rotor”. A gerotor unit consists of an inner and outer rotor.
Mathematical calculations are key to any type of hydraulic motor or pump design, but are especially interesting in the gerotor design. The inner rotor has N teeth, where N > 2. The outer rotor must have N + 1 teeth (= one more tooth than the inner rotor) in order for the design to work.
