How do gear pumps work?

A gear pump uses a rotating set of gears. The moving gears create suction at the inlet port of the pump that draws the fluid into the gears. The rotating gears then move the liquid between the teeth of the gears and the walls of the casing and direct the fluid flow to the discharge port, where the pressure continues to build as the volume of the casing gets smaller near the outlet of the pump. There are two main types of gear pumps. Both consist of a drive gear (the gear that pushes) and an idler (the gear that is pushed).

What is a Piston Pump?

A piston pump is a type of reciprocating pump, which is one of the two major types of positive displacement pump. The piston pump moves and pressurizes fluid using one or more reciprocating pistons, which are normally driven by an electric motor through a crankshaft and connecting rod.

How do Piston Pumps work?

Like most types of positive displacement pumps, piston pumps use the force of the pumping mechanism to expand and contract an internal movable volume of liquid. The power to drive the piston is supplied by an electric motor, internal-combustion engine, or other power source - although more primitive piston pumps may be driven by hand, wind, or flowing water.

The motion behind the piston is usually rotational. Piston pumps can be single acting or double acting. Double acting piston pumps have pumped fluid on both sides of the piston, and two sets of check valves, one on each side of the piston. While the piston is in-taking on one side, it is exhausting on the other. Thus, each time the piston moves in one direction from one end to the other, a full pumping cycle (intake and discharge) has been completed. For single acting piston pumps, the piston must move in both directions to complete a full pumping cycle.

What is a screw pump?

A screw pump is a positive displacement pump that uses two or more intermeshing screws to pressurize fluids in order to pump them in a system. Screw pumps are a type of rotary pump, meaning that they use rotary motion to create a vacuum that draws fluid into the pumping chamber. The meshing screws then push the liquid out the other side with increased pressure.

How do screw pumps work?

There are two major types of screw pumps: two-screw or double screw pumps, and triple screw pumps. Double screw pumps have two intermeshing screws. However, with a double screw pump, one screw cannot drive the other one. So the double screw pump is normally equipped with a set of timing gears, located outside the pumping chamber, and lubricated with clean oil, to ensure that the two screws are rotating correctly relative to each other.  With this arrangement, the two screws are not required to be in direct contact with each other. Triple screw pumps have one driving screw intermeshed with two driven screws. This pump type has the screws making contact with each other, so this pump type is limited to cleaner liquids.

What is a vane pump?

A vane pump is a type of positive displacement pump that uses the back and forth movement of rectangle shaped vanes inside slots to move fluids.