Vane Pumps

Gear pumps have a disadvantage of small leakage due to gap between gear teeth and the pump
housing. This limitation is overcome in vane pumps. The leakage is reduced by using spring or
hydraulically loaded vanes placed in the slots of driven rotor. Capacity and pressure ratings of a
vane pump are generally lower than the gear pumps, but reduced leakage gives an improved
volumetric efficiency of around 95%.

Vane pumps are available in a number of vane configurations including sliding vane, flexible
vane, swinging vane, rolling vane, and external vane etc. Each type of vane pump has its own
advantages. For example, external vane pumps can handle large solids. Flexible vane pumps can
handle only the small solids but create good vacuum. Sliding vane pumps can run dry for short
periods of time and can handle small amounts of vapor. The vane pumps are known for their dry
priming, ease of maintenance, and good suction characteristics. The operating range of these
pumps varies from -32 °C to 260 °C.

Vane pumps generate a pumping action by tracking of vanes along the casing wall. The vane
pumps generally consist of a rotor, vanes, ring and a port plate with inlet and outlet ports. The rotor
in a vane pump is connected to the prime mover through a shaft. The vanes are located on the
slotted rotor. The rotor is eccentrically placed inside a cam ring as shown in the figure. The rotor
is sealed into the cam by two side plates. When the prime mover rotates the rotor, the vanes are
thrown outward due to centrifugal force. The vanes track along the ring.
It provides a tight hydraulic seal to the fluid which is more at the higher rotation speed due to
higher centrifugal force. This produces a suction cavity in the ring as the rotor rotates. It creates
vacuum at the inlet and therefore, the fluid is pushed into the pump through the inlet. The fluid is
carried around to the outlet by the vanes whose retraction causes the fluid to be expelled. The
capacity of the pump depends upon the eccentricity, expansion of vanes, width of vanes and
speed of the rotor. It can be noted that the fluid flow will not occur when the eccentricity is zero.
These pumps can handle thin liquids (low viscosity) at relatively higher pressure. These pumps
can be run dry for a small duration without any failure. These pumps develop good vacuum due to
negligible leakage. However, these pumps are not suitable for high speed applications and for
the high viscosity fluids or fluids carrying some abrasive particles. The maintenance cost is
also higher due to many moving parts. These pumps have various applications for the pumping of
following fluids:

 Aerosol and Propellants

 Aviation Service - Fuel Transfer, Deicing
 Auto Industry - Fuels, Lubes, Refrigeration Coolants
 Bulk Transfer of LPG and NH3
 LPG Cylinder Filling
 Alcohols
 Refrigeration - Freons, Ammonia
 Solvents
 Aqueous solution

Unbalanced Vane pump

In practice, the vane pumps have more than one vane as shown in figure. The rotor is offset within
the housing, and the vanes are constrained by a cam ring as they cross inlet and outlet ports.
Although the vane tips are held against the housing, still a small amount of leakage exists between
rotor faces and body sides. Also, the vanes compensate to a large degree for wear at the vane tips
or in the housing itself. The pressure difference between outlet and inlet ports creates a large
amount of load on the vanes and a significant amount of side load on the rotor shaft which can
lead to bearing failure. This type of pump is called as unbalanced vane pump.

Balanced vane pump

This pump has an elliptical cam ring with two inlet and two outlet ports. Pressure loading still
occurs in the vanes but the two identical pump halves create equal but opposite forces on the rotor.
It leads to the zero net force on the shaft and bearings. Thus, lives of pump and bearing increase
significantly. Also the sounds and vibrations decrease in the running mode of the pump.
Piston pumps
Piston pumps are meant for the high-pressure applications. These pumps have high-efficiency and
simple design and needs lower maintenance. These pumps convert the rotary motion of the
input shaft to the reciprocating motion of the piston. These pumps work similar to the four
stroke engines. They work on the principle that a reciprocating piston draws fluid inside the
cylinder when the piston retracts in a cylinder bore and discharge the fluid when it extends.
Generally, these pumps have fixed inclined plate or variable degree of angle plate known as
swash plate. When the piston barrel assembly rotates, the swash plate in contact with the piston
slippers slides along its surface. The stroke length (axial displacement) depends on the inclination
angle of the swash plate. When the swash plate is vertical, the reciprocating motion does not occur
and hence pumping of the fluid does not take place. As the swash plate angle increases, the piston
reciprocates inside the cylinder barrel. The stroke length increases with increase in the swash plate
angle and therefore volume of pumping fluid increases. During one half of the rotation cycle, the
pistons move out of the cylinder barrel and the volume of the barrel increases. During another half
of the rotation, the pistons move into the cylinder barrel and the barrel volume decreases. This
phenomenon is responsible for drawing the fluid in and pumping it out. These pumps are positive
displacement pump and can be used for both liquids and gases. Piston pumps are basically of two
types:

i. Axial piston pumps

ii. Radial piston pumps

Axial Piston Pump

Axial piston pumps are positive displacement pumps which converts rotary motion
of the input shaft into an axial reciprocating motion of the pistons. These pumps
have a number of pistons (usually an odd number) in a circular array within a housing
which is commonly referred to as a cylinder block, rotor or barrel. These pumps
are used in jet aircraft, small earthmoving plants such as skid loader machines and
drive the screws of torpedoes. In general, these systems have a maximum operating
temperature of about 120 °C. Therefore, the leakage between cylinder housing and
body block is used for cooling and lubrication of the rotating parts. This cylinder
block rotates by an integral shaft aligned with the pistons. These pumps have sub-
types as:

a. Bent axis piston pumps

b. Swash plate axial piston pump

Bent-Axis Piston Pumps

In these pumps, the reciprocating action of the pistons is obtained by bending the
axis of the cylinder block. The cylinder block rotates at an angle which is inclined
to the drive shaft. The cylinder block is turned by the drive shaft through a universal
link. The cylinder block is set at an offset angle with the drive shaft. The cylinder
block contains a number of pistons along its periphery. These piston rods are
connected with the drive shaft flange by ball-and-socket joints. These pistons are
forced in and out of their bores as the distance between the drive shaft flange and the
cylinder block changes. A universal link connects the block to the drive shaft, to
provide alignment and a positive drive.
The volumetric displacement (discharge) of the pump is controlled by changing the
offset angle. It makes the system simple and inexpensive. The discharge does not
occur when the cylinder block is parallel to the drive shaft. The offset angle can vary
from 0° to 40°. The fixed displacement units are usually provided with 23° or 30°
offset angles while the variable displacement units are provided with a yoke and an
external control mechanism to change the offset angle. Some designs have
arrangement of moving the yoke over the center position to reverse the fluid flow
direction. The flow rate of the pump varies with the offset angle θ. There is no flow
when the cylinder block centerline is parallel to the drive shaft centerline (offset
angle is 0°).

Swash Plate Axial Piston Pump

A swash plate is a device that translates the rotary motion of a shaft into the
reciprocating motion. It consists of a disk attached to a shaft as shown in Figure. If
the disk is aligned perpendicular to the shaft; the disk will turn along with the rotating
shaft without any reciprocating effect. Similarly, the edge of the inclined shaft will
appear to oscillate along the shaft's length. This apparent linear motion increases
with increase in the angle between disk and the shaft (offset angle). The apparent
linear motion can be converted into an actual reciprocating motion by means of a
follower that does not turn with the swash plate.
In swash plate axial piston pump a series of pistons are aligned coaxially with a shaft
through a swash plate to pump a fluid. The axial reciprocating motion of pistons is
obtained by a swash plate that is either fixed or has variable degree of angle. As the
piston barrel assembly rotates, the piston rotates around the shaft with the piston
shoes in contact with the swash plate. The piston shoes follow the angled surface of
the swash plate and the rotational motion of the shaft is converted into the
reciprocating motion of the pistons. When the swash plate is perpendicular to the
shaft; the reciprocating motion to the piston does not occur. As the swash plate angle
increases, the piston follows the angle of the swash plate surface and hence it moves
in and out of the barrel. The piston moves out of the cylinder barrel during one half
of the cycle of rotation thereby generating an increasing volume, while during other
half of the rotating cycle, the pistons move into the cylinder barrel generating a
decreasing volume. This reciprocating motion of the piston results in the drawing in
and pumping out of the fluid. Pump capacity can be controlled by varying the swash
plate angle with the help of a separate hydraulic cylinder. The pump capacity
(discharge) increases with increase in the swash plate angle and vice-versa. The
cylinder block and the drive shaft in this pump are located on the same centerline.
The pistons are connected through shoes and a shoe plate that bears against the swash
plate. These pumps can be designed to have a variable displacement capability. It
can be done by mounting the swash plate in a movable yoke. The swash plate angle
can be changed by pivoting the yoke on pintles.

Radial Piston Pump

The piston pump has pistons aligned radially in a cylindrical block. It consists of a pintle, a
cylinder barrel with pistons and a rotor containing a reaction ring. The pintle directs the fluid in
and out of the cylinder. Pistons are placed in radial bores around the rotor. The piston shoes ride
on an eccentric ring which causes them to reciprocate as they rotate. The eccentricity determines
the stroke of the pumping piston. Each piston is connected to inlet port when it starts extending
while it is connected to the outlet port when start retracting. This connection to the inlet and outlet
port is performed by the timed porting arrangement in the pintle. For initiating a pumping action,
the reaction ring is moved eccentrically with respect to the pintle or shaft axis. As the cylinder
barrel rotates, the pistons on one side travel outward. This draws the fluid in as the cylinder passes
the suction port of the pintle. It is continued till the maximum eccentricity is reached. When the
piston passes the maximum eccentricity, pintle is forced inwards by the reaction ring. This forces
the fluid to flow out of the cylinder and enter in the discharge (outlet) port of the pintle.
The radial piston pump works on high pressure (up to 1000 bar). It is possible to use the pump
with various hydraulic fluids like mineral oil, biodegradable oil, HFA (oil in water), HFC (water-
glycol), HFD (synthetic ester) or cutting emulsion. This is because the parts are hydrostatically
balanced. It makes the pump suitable for the many applications such as machine tools (displace of
cutting emulsion, supply for hydraulic equipment like cylinders), high pressure units (overload
protection of presses), test rigs, automotive sector (automatic transmission, hydraulic suspension
control in upper-class cars), plastic (powder injection molding) and wind energy etc.

In general the applications of Hydraulic Pumps can be summarized as,

 Hydraulic pumps are used to transfer power via hydraulic liquid. These pumps have a
number of applications in automobiles, material handling systems, automatic
transmissions, controllers, compressors and household items.
 The hand operated hydraulic pump is used in a hydraulic jack where many strokes of the
pump apply hydraulic pressure to lift the ram.
 The hydraulic pumps are commonly used in the automotive vehicles especially in power
steering systems.
 The lift system of tractor is operated by the hydraulic pumps. These are used in automatic
transmissions and material handling systems in industries.
 Many precise controllers are developed by using hydraulic pumps. The commonly used
compressor is operated by reciprocating pumps.
 The hydraulic pumps are also used in routine household systems like power lift and air-
conditions. Therefore, it can be said that the hydraulic pumps have significant applications
in industries as well as ones routine life.