MI 304 FLUID MACHINES

LECTURE 31
B. K. Gandhi
GEAR PUMPS
Gear Motor
composition: Transmission
: Motor
Destcription of Gear pump
EXTERNAL GEAR PUMP
 EXTERNAL GEAR PUMP

• One of the gear is connected to drive shaft which in turn

is coupled with prime mover
• Second gear gets driven because of meshing (spur
gears)
• Suction side –teeth unmeshed Discharge side –teeth
mesh
• Vacuum generation due to evacuation of teeth
• Line contact of the gear teeth over one another prevents
flow through the mesh & the close fitting of the housing
prevents flow back around the periphery
Cont….
• Flow from the outlet is further regulated by the amount
of liquid that slips back to the inlet port.
• The amount of slip depends on the side clearance of
the gears to the casing, the peripheral clearance of the
gear and bore in the casing, gear-to-gear clearance,
developed pressure, and viscosity of the liquid.
• The lower the viscosity, the greater the slippage.
• As the viscosity increases, the pump speed is lowered
to allow the liquid to fill the space between the rotating
teeth.
 APPLICATIONS:
• Supply fuel oil for burners, gasoline transfer, kerosene,
fuel oil, and diesel oil.

• Used for hydraulic devices such as elevators and damper

controls.

• They also pump coolants, paints, bleaches, solvents,

syrups, glues, greases, petroleum, and lube oils and are
used in general industrial applications.

• These can handle small suspended solids in abrasive

applications but will gradually wear and lose performance.
 MANUFACTURING RANGE
(COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE)

• Continuous pressure of 200 bar

• Min. pressure range of 10 to 100 bar

• Min. speed of rotation from 400 to 500 rpm

• Max. speed of 3000 to 6000 rpm

• Min. flow rate of 3 to 100 l/min

Flow vs Speed Curve
Flow vs Pressure Curve at
Constant (N)
 THEORETICAL FLOW RATE

Let

• Do is outside diameter of gear teeth and Di is the inside

diameter of the gear teeth.

• L is width of gear teeth.

• N is the speed of rotation of driven pinion, in rpm.

• Then theoretical volume delivered per minute is given by,

• QT= 𝜋/4 (Do2-Di2) L N m3/min

 VOLUMETRIC EFFICIENCY

• There must be a small clearance (about 0.025 mm)

between the teeth tip and pump housing.

• As a result, some of the oil at the discharge port can

leak directly back toward the suction port.

• Actual flow rate QA is less than the theoretical flow

rate QT.

• ηv = (QA/ QT) x 100

• Volumetric efficiency of gear pumps is in the region
about 90%

Variation of Volumetric Efficiency with Discharge Pressure

Problem: The external and internal diameters of a gear
pump are 12cm and 8cm respectively. The width is 4cm.
The pump is driven at 1800rpm. At the rated pressure the
actual discharge was measured as 514.6 𝞦 10−3 m3/min.
Determine the volumetric efficiency of the pump..
Solution: Given, external dia, Do = 12cm
internal dia, Di = 8cm
width, L = 4cm
pump speed, N = 1800 rpm
Actual discharge Qa = 514.6 𝞦 10−3 m3/min
Volume displaced per revolution,
Vd =𝜋/4 (0.122 - 0.082) 𝞦 0.04 m3/revolution
= 314.16𝞦 10−6 m3/revolution
Theoretical discharge ,
QT = Vd 𝞦 N
= 314.16𝞦 10−6 𝞦 1800
= 565.48 𝞦 10−3 m3/min
So, Volumetric efficiency
= QA/QT
= 514.6 𝞦 10−3 /565.48 𝞦 10−3
= 0.91 or 91%
THREE GEAR PUMP
HELICAL GEAR PUMP
HERINGBONE GEAR PUMP

• Thrust elimination
• One row of gear is right
handed while the other is
left handed
• Develops much higher
Pressures
INTERNAL GEAR PUMP
INTERNAL GEAR PUMP
INTERNAL GEAR PUMP
 CONSTRUCTION & WORKING
• Consists of an internal gear, a regular spur gear, a
crescent shaped seal & an external housing.
• Power is applied to either gear.
• Crescent seal acts as a seal between the suction &
discharge ports.
• Motion of the gear draws fluid from the reservoir & forces it
around both sides of crescent seal.
• Operates at lower capacities & pressures (up to 70 bar).
• A popular constructions type of pump or motor designed
with internal gear teeth or motor is the generator unit.
• They are often a more efficient alternative than a
centrifugal pump, especially as viscosity increases.
• The mechanical contacts between the gears form a part
of the moving fluid seal between the inlet and outlet ports.
The liquid is forced out the discharge port by the meshing
of the gears.
APPLICATIONS:

• Petrochemical, marine, terminal unloading, chemical,

and general industrial applications for transfer,
lubrication, processing, and low-pressure hydraulics
handling a wide range of fuel oils, lube oils, and viscous
chemicals (both corrosive and noncorrosive).
SCREW PUMP
 SCREW PUMPS

• Screw pumps have pumping elements that consist of

one, two, or three rotating screws

• As the screws rotate, fluid is trapped and carried along to

the discharge of the pump

• The design of screw pumps allows them to operate at a

very low noise level
 CONSTRUCTION & WORKING

• Two common designs are the two-screw, low-pitch,

double-flow pump and the three-screw, high-pitch,
double-flow pump.
• The two-screw, low-pitch, screw pump consists of two
screws that mesh with close clearances, mounted on
two parallel shafts. One screw has a right-handed
thread, and the other screw has a left-handed thread.
One shaft is the driving shaft and drives the other shaft
through a set of herringbone timing gears. The gears
serve to maintain clearances between the screws as
they turn and to promote quiet operation. The screws
rotate in closely fitting duplex cylinders that have
overlapping bores.
• A typical screw pump
 Cont….

• All clearances are small, but there is no actual contact

between the two screws or between the screws and the
cylinder walls.

• Liquid is trapped at the outer end of each pair of screws.

As the first space between the screw threads rotates
away from the opposite screw, a one-turn, spiral-shaped
quantity of liquid is enclosed when the end of the screw
again meshes with the opposite screw.
• As the screw continues to rotate, the entrapped
spiral turns of liquid slide along the cylinder toward
the center discharge space while the next slug is
being entrapped.
• The removal of liquid from the suction end by the
screws produces a reduction in pressure, which
draws liquid through the suction line.
APPLICATIONS:
• Loading / unloading of fuel oil and other products from:
Railway wagon rakes, Truck tankers, Barges, Ships and
Tankers.
• Lubrication, circulation and cooling.
• Process pumping of high viscous products, bitumen,
molasses, soap and similar products.
• Long distance pipeline pumping of viscous products.

Major Industries:
• Petroleum refineries, Terminals, Depots, Oil blending
stations, Thermal power plants, Steel plants, Fertilizer
industries, Petrochemical plants, Carbon black, Sugar,
Paper and Pulp, Marine.
 ADVANTAGES

1.Most reliable

2.Oil supply is pulsation free, continuous

3.No oil churning, pump turbulence etc.

4.Very quiet in operation

 DISADVANTAGES

• Manufacturing of a screw pump poses difficulty in

case of close tolerance requirement

• Viscosity dependent pressure rating

• Decrease in pump efficiency with increase in fluid

viscosity

• Overall volumetric & mechanical efficiency is low