Rotary vane pump
A rotary vane pump is a positive-displacement
pump that consists of vanes mounted to a rotor that
rotates inside a cavity. In some cases these vanes can
have variable length and/or be tensioned to maintain
contact with the walls as the pump rotates. It was
invented by Charles C. Barnes of Sackville, New
Brunswick, who patented it on June 16, 1874.[1][2][3]
There have been various improvements, including a
variable vane pump for gases (1909).[4] They are
considered less suitable than other vacuum pumps for
high-viscosity and high-pressure fluids, and are
complex to operate. They can endure short periods of
dry operation, and are considered good for low-
viscosity fluids.
An eccentric rotary-vane pump. Note that modern
Contents pumps have an area contact between rotor and
stator (and not a line contact).
Type
1. pump housing
Uses 2. rotor
Variable-displacement vane pump 3. vanes
4. spring
Materials
See also
References
External links
Type
The simplest vane pump has a circular rotor rotating inside a larger circular cavity. The centers of
these two circles are offset, causing eccentricity. Vanes are allowed to slide into and out of the rotor
and seal on all edges, creating vane chambers that do the pumping work. In the suction side of the
pump, the vane chambers are increase in volume. These increasing-volume vane chambers are filled
with fluid forced in by the inlet pressure. Inlet pressure is actually the pressure from the system being
pumped, often just the atmosphere. On the discharge side of the pump, the vane chambers are
decreasing in volume, forcing fluid out of the pump. The action of the vane drives out the same
volume of fluid with each rotation. Multistage rotary-vane vacuum pumps can attain pressures as low
as 10−6 mbar (0.0001 Pa).
Uses
Vane pumps are commonly used as high-pressure hydraulic pumps and in automobiles, including
supercharging, power-steering, air conditioning, and automatic-transmission pumps. Pumps for mid-
range pressures include applications such as carbonators for fountain soft-drink dispensers and
espresso coffee machines. Furthermore, vane pumps can be used in low-pressure gas applications
such as secondary air injection for auto exhaust emission control, or in low-pressure chemical vapor
deposition systems.
Rotary-vane pumps are also a common type of vacuum pump, with two-stage pumps able to reach
pressures well below 10−6 bar. These vacuum pumps are found in numerous applications, such as
providing braking assistance in large trucks and diesel-powered passenger cars (whose engines do not
generate intake vacuum) through a braking booster, in most light aircraft to drive gyroscopic flight
instruments, in evacuating refrigerant lines during installation of air conditioners, in laboratory freeze
dryers, and vacuum experiments in physics. In the vane pump, the pumped gas and the oil are mixed
within the pump, and so they must be separated externally. Therefore, the inlet and the outlet have a
large chamber, maybe with swirl, where the oil drops fall out of the gas. Sometimes the inlet has a
venetian blind cooled by the room air (the pump is usually 40 K hotter) to condense cracked pumping
oil and water, and let it drop back into the inlet. When these pumps are used in high-vacuum systems
(where the inflow of gas into the pump becomes very low), a significant concern is contamination of
the entire system by molecular oil backstreaming.
Variable-displacement vane pump
One of the major advantages of the vane pump is that the design readily lends itself to become a
variable-displacement pump, rather than a fixed-displacement pump such as a spur-gear (X-X) or a
gerotor (I-X) pump. The centerline distance from the rotor to the eccentric ring is used to determine
the pump's displacement. By allowing the eccentric ring to pivot or translate relative to the rotor, the
displacement can be varied. It is even possible for a vane pump to pump in reverse if the eccentric
ring moves far enough. However, performance cannot be optimized to pump in both directions. This
can make for a very interesting hydraulic-control oil pump.
A variable-displacement vane pump is used as an energy-savings device and has been used in many
applications, including automotive transmissions, for over 30 years.
Materials
Externals (head, casing) – cast iron, ductile iron, steel, brass, plastic, and stainless steel
Vane, pushrods – carbon graphite, PEEK
End plates – carbon graphite
Shaft seal – component mechanical seals, industry-standard cartridge mechanical seals, and
magnetically driven pumps
Packing – available from some vendors, but not usually recommended for thin liquid service
See also
Guided-rotor compressor
Powerplus supercharger
References
1. Mario Theriault, Great Maritime Inventions 1833-1950, Goose Lane Editions, 2001, p. 53.
2. Bill Snowdon, "Charles C. Barnes: Farmer, Fisherman, Ship-builder, Inventor (http://heritage.tantr
amar.com/wfnewsletter_54.html)", in The White Fence, Issue #54, February 2012, Tantramar
Heritage Trust"
3. CA 3559A (https://worldwide.espacenet.com/textdoc?DB=EPODOC&IDX=CA3559A), Charles C.
Barnes, "Rotary Pump", published 1874-06-15
4. US 878528 (https://worldwide.espacenet.com/textdoc?DB=EPODOC&IDX=US878528),
Hoffmann, C., "Rotary pump for gases", published 1906, issued 1908
External links
Vane pump description and animation (http://www.pumpschool.com/principles/vane.htm)
U.S. Patent of a Vane Pump (http://www.google.com/patents?id=q8MQAAAAEBAJ&printsec=abst
ract&zoom=4&dq=staley+vane+pump#PPA7,M1)
H. Eugene Bassett's articulated displacer compressor (http://www.videosafety.com/compressor/de
tails2.htm)
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