Pumps Hydraulic pumps convert mechanical energy from a prime mover (engine or electric motor) into hydraulic (pressure)

energy. The pressure energy is used then to operate an actuator. Pumps push on a hydraulic fluid and create flow. Pump Classifications All pumps create flow. They operate on the displacement principle. Fluid is taken in and displaced to another point. Pumps that discharge liquid in a continuous flow are nonpositive displacement type. Pumps that discharge volumes of liquid separated by periods of no discharge are positivedisplacement type. Positive-Displacement Pumps. With this pump, a definite volume of liquid is delivered for each cycle of pump operation, regardless of resistance, as long as the capacity of the power unit driving a pump is not exceeded. If an outlet is completely closed, either the unit driving a pump will stall or something will break. Therefore, a positive-displacement-type pump requires a pressure regulator or pressure-relief valve in the system. Rotary Pump. In this positive-displacement-type pump, a rotary motion carries a liquid from a pump's inlet to its outlet. A rotary pump is usually classified according to the type of element that actually transmits a liquid, that is, a gear-, vane-, or piston-type rotary pump. Gear Pumps Gear pumps are external, internal, lobe, gerotor or screw types. a. External. It consists of a driving gear and a driven gear enclosed in a closely fitted housing. The gears rotate in opposite directions and mesh at a point in the housing between the inlet and outlet ports. Both sets of teeth project outward from the center of the gears. As the teeth of the two gears separate, a partial vacuum forms and draws liquid through an inlet port which is trapped between the teeth of the two gears and the housing so that it is carried through two separate paths around to outlet port. b. Internal. One gear wheel stands inside the other. This type of gear can rotate, or be rotated by, a suitably constructed companion gear. An external gear is directly attached to the drive shaft of a pump and is placed off-center in relation to an internal gear. The two gears mesh on one side of a pump chamber, between an inlet and the discharge. On the opposite

side of the chamber, a crescent-shaped form stands in the space between the two gears to provide a close tolerance. The rotation of the internal gear by a shaft causes the external gear to rotate, since the two are in mesh. Everything in the chamber rotates except the crescent, causing a liquid to be trapped in the gear spaces as they pass the crescent. Liquid is carried from an inlet to the discharge, where it is forced out of a pump by the gears meshing. As liquid is carried away from an inlet side of a pump, the pressure is diminished, and liquid is forced in from the supply source. c. Lobe..It differs from other gear pumps because it uses lobed elements instead of gears. The element drive also differs in a lobe pump. In a gear pump, one gear drives the other. In a lobe pump, both elements are driven through suitable external gearing. d. Gerotor pump. Generated rotor (gerotor) pumps are internal rotary positive-displacement pumps in which the outer rotor has one tooth more than the inner rotor. The gear profiles have a cyclical shape. Both are meshed in conjugate to each other. e. Screw pump. Screw pumps are a special type of rotary positive displacement pump in which the flow through the pumping elements is truly axial. The liquid is carried between screw threads on one or more rotors and is displaced axially as the screws rotate and mesh. Vane Pumps Unbalanced Vane Pumps. In the unbalanced design a cam ring's shape is a true circle that is on a different centerline from a rotor's. Pump displacement depends on how far a rotor and ring are eccentric. The advantage of a true-circle ring is that control can be applied to vary the eccentricity and thus vary the displacement. A disadvantage is that an unbalanced pressure at the outlet is effective against a small area of the rotor's edge, imposing side loads on the shaft. Thus there is a limit on a pump's size unless very large hearings and heavy supports are used. Balanced Vane Pumps. In the balanced design a pump has a stationary, elliptical cam ring and two sets of internal ports. A pumping chamber is formed between any two vanes twice in each revolution. The two inlets and outlets are 180 degrees apart. Back pressures against the edges of a rotor cancel each

other. Recent design improvements that allow high operating speeds and pressures have made this pump the most universal in the mobile-equipment field. Piston Pumps Piston pumps are either radial or axial. Radial. In a radial piston pump, the pistons are arranged like wheel spokes in a short cylindrical block. A drive shaft, which is inside a circular housing, rotates a cylinder block. The block turns on a stationary pintle that contains the inlet and outlet ports. As a cylinder block turns, centrifugal force slings the pistons, which follow a circular housing. Housing's centerline is offset from a cylinder block's centerline. The amount of eccentricity between the two determines a piston stroke and, therefore, a pump's displacement. Controls can be applied to change a housing's location and thereby vary a pump's delivery from zero to maximum. Axial Piston Pumps. In axial piston pumps, the pistons stroke in the same direction on a cylinder block's centerline (axially). Axial piston pumps may be an in-line or angle design. In capacity, piston pumps range from low to very high. Pressures are as high as 5,000 psi, and drive speeds are medium to high. Efficiency is high, and pumps generally have excellent durability. Petroleum oil fluids are usually required. Pulsations in delivery are small and of medium frequency. The pumps are quiet in operation but may have a growl or whine, depending on condition. Except for in-line pumps, which are compact in size, piston pumps are heavy and bulky. In-Line Pump. In an in-line piston pump , a drive shaft and cylinder block are on the same centerline. Reciprocation of the pistons is caused by a swash plate that the pistons run against as a cylinder block rotates. A drive shaft turns a cylinder block, which carries the pistons around a shaft. The piston shoes slide against a swash plate and are held against it by a shoe plate. A swash plate's angle causes the cylinders to reciprocate in their bores. At the point where a piston begins to retract, an opening in the end of a bore slides over an inlet slot in a valve plate, and oil is drawn into a bore through somewhat less than half a revolution. There is a solid area in a valve plate as a piston becomes fully retracted. As a piston begins to extend, an opening in a cylinder barrel moves over an outlet slot, and oil is forced out a pressure port.

Bent-Axis Axial Piston Pump. In an angle- or a bent-axistype piston pump, the piston rods are attached by ball joints to a drive shaft's flange. A universal link keys a cylinder block to a shaft so that they rotate together but at an offset angle. A cylinder barrel turns against a slotted valve plate to which the ports connect. Pumping action is the same as an in-line pump. The angle of offset determines a pump's displacement, just as the swash plate's angle determines an in-line pump's displacement. In fixed-delivery pumps, the angle is constant. In variable models, a yoke mounted on pintles swings a cylinder block to vary displacement. Flow direction can be reversed with appropriate controls.