What type of hydraulic pump is most efficient?

20, May. 2024

 

What You Need to Know About Hydraulic Vane Pumps | MAC

Many industries utilize hydraulic vane pumps, from the automotive and aerospace industries to the food processing industry. These pumps consist of a sealed cavity with a rotor to which vanes attach. They especially excel at processing low viscosity fluids. For example, when you fill your soda at a fast-food restaurant, a hydraulic vane pump powers the beverage carbonator.

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But hydraulic vane pumps are not only valuable for manufacturing and delivery processes. You can also find them in end-user products, such as automobiles, where they’re used for things like power steering and air conditioning.

A true testament to any technology is its long usage history. Patented in 1874, hydraulic vane pumps have been around for roughly a century and a half. Their use across industries has only grown in that time. MAC Hydraulics has been an authority on these pumps for quite a long time as well, and we can answer any questions you may have.

How Do Hydraulic Vane Pumps Create Pressure?

Hydraulic vane pumps create pressure by forcing hydraulic fluid into an ever-smaller area before releasing it back into the system. This is achieved through a combination of sliding vanes, inlet and discharge holes, and a drive shaft that’s off-center compared to the chamber.

Fluid is pushed through inlet holes and into the chamber of the pump by the atmospheric pressure acting on the fluid in the reservoir. Once in the chamber, the fluid is collected in the space between two vanes that are connected to the driveshaft and pressed against the external wall of the chamber to form a seal.

Because the drive shaft is off-center in relation to the pump chamber, as it rotates, the vanes are pressed in by the external wall and the space between them becomes smaller. This change in volume increases the pressure of the fluid, which is then forced out of the pump on the other side of the chamber when the pressure is at its greatest.

Advantages of Hydraulic Vane Pumps

Versatility

One advantage of using a vane pump is how it can handle a wide range of low to medium viscosity fluids. This means they can be used by a wide variety of industries to move fluids including, but not limited to:

  • – Alcohols
  • – Solvents
  • – Refrigeration fluids (freons and ammonia)
  • – Aqueous solutions
  • – Aerosols
  • – Fuels and lubricants
  • – Fuel transfers and de-icing

Maintenance

The internal system of a vane pump is highly lubricated with fluid and minimal metal-to-metal contact. This makes these devices relatively easy to maintain, with the vanes being the parts that are the most prone to wear and tear. Luckily, vanes are cheap and easy to replace.

Running Volume

One potential safety issue in many industries is the noise level in the workplace. Thankfully, a pump that is running with no issues is quiet. So making use of them in a manufacturing facility helps keep the noise down, or at least does not add to it.

Reliability

When properly constructed and maintained, a hydraulic vane pump is a highly reliable piece of equipment. It has the potential to last a very long time. In fact, it could last you a lifetime. That is why it is important to take care of it and know what to look for as far as signs of problems.

Limitations of Hydraulic Vane Pumps

Like everything else, these systems have their limits. No instrument, substance, or part will suit the needs of every job. A hydraulic vane pump typically does not do well with the processing of very high viscosity fluids. It also will not handle excessively high pressures or abrasive fluid contaminants.

Common Cause of Failure: Dirty Fluid

Industry insiders have calculated that dirty fluid is either directly responsible or at least a contributing factor to over 80 percent of all hydraulic vane pump system failures. It does not matter how well-constructed your hydraulic vane pumps are or how tight the seals are if you are running fluid with abrasive contaminants through them. Running these abrasive fluids through a pump at high speeds will wear down the vanes and affect other parts such as the rotor and cam.

One answer to this problem is installing and maintaining contamination control devices to make sure your fluid is kept clean. Do not assume that just because you have purchased a new fluid that it will automatically be clean. Having a filtration system in place is a must.

Another step against this problem is to have quality control checks. If improperly handled by the distributor or the manufacturer, new fluid can have significant levels of impurities. Do not introduce the fluid into your system until you’ve filtered it first and it passes a purity check.

Sometimes the contamination of the fluid may not come from the fluid distributor or manufacturer but from the machine itself. Just as we explained about fluid, the fact that your machine is new does not guarantee its cleanliness. So, when you purchase new equipment, you should clean it before beginning operations to avoid contamination to your pump and adjoining parts or systems.

The cost of filtration systems, quality control checks, and basic cleanliness in fluid and machines will more than pay for themselves over the years. Over time, the increased production resulting from not having to shut your line down due to a pump failure and needing less frequent repairs will result in higher profit.

Common Issue: Cavitation Damage

Cavitation is when small air bubbles manifest in your pump’s fluid and then implode. It seems like a relatively benign issue at first glance, but it can cause extensive damage to your hydraulic vane pump after some time.

The implosion of air bubbles in the hydraulic fluid can generate a massive amount of heat. This is a problem for two reasons. First, if the temperature gets too high, it can cause the hydraulic fluid itself to break down and be less effective. Second, the temperature and pressure differences caused by the implosions can wear down the metal components within the pump.

Both the wearing of internal metal components and the loss of the hydraulic fluid’s ability to properly lubricate parts of the pump can lead to metal chips and other contaminants entering the fluid. Once this happens, a snowball effect begins and the damage will exponentially get worse over time.

Cavitation Causes

The most common cause of cavitation damage is air intruding into the system. Common sources of air intrusion are the following conditions:

  • – Low oil level
  • – Undersized reservoir
  • – Inadequate sealing
  • – Suction line fault
  • – Reservoir inlet too high

Another cause of cavitation damage is when excess force and pressure are placed on the fluid. If these forces are high enough to cause separations in the fluid, small air voids will begin to form. Much like the bubbles, these voids will implode and, as a result, generate excess heat.

To prevent this from happening, make sure your inlet velocity is at the optimal level. Check to see that there are no restrictions on your fluid flowing through the system. Do not run your system over the recommended rpm level. And check your filters to be sure they are not clogged.

Signs Hydraulic Vane Pumps Are Failing

Although hydraulic vane pumps are highly reliable and durable, malfunctions and breakdowns can happen.

Noisy Operation

As we mentioned above, one of the hallmarks of well-running hydraulic vane pumps is quietness. If you hear knocking or banging from the inside, you’re either dealing with the presence of air or extremely low pressure in your pump. Therefore, unusual noise (that isn’t a simple hum or regular “operating” noise) is almost always a sure sign that something is wrong. Loud whirring sounds are also often present when there has been extensive damage.

Leaking

If you notice external leakage around the pump, that points to a failure of one or more seals. Sometimes, this can also mean a bent rod. If the damage is not too extensive, you can have this problem fixed.

Poor Performance or Excessive Heat

Maybe you’re noticing your hydraulic vane pumps have been less efficient, combined with sudden and frequent pressure drops in the pump. There may also be excessive heat. When you notice any of these symptoms, it is time to have your systems checked out by a professional technician.

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Problems with hydraulic vane pumps tend to worsen very quickly due to the nature of their high-speed operation. A few metal shavings can quickly damage the vanes, rotors, and walls and create a ripple effect of problems. Calling attention to it right away may enable you to have it repaired rather than having to buy a replacement.

MAC Hydraulics Will Serve Your Vane Pump Needs

At MAC Hydraulics, our expert hydraulic technicians have experience maintaining and repairing hydraulic pumps of all kinds, including vane pumps. We’ll even come out to your place of business to make the whole process as simple and efficient as possible. Contact us today to request repairs or to set up a preventative maintenance plan.

Which Hydraulic Pump do You Need?

There are several different categories of hydraulic pumps, each with its own capabilities and limitations. Trying to decide what type of pump you need for a hydraulic system application can be challenging, but a basic knowledge of the most common types of hydraulic pumps is a good start.

Basics of Hydraulic Pumps

The goal of a hydraulic pump is to move hydraulic fluid through a hydraulic system, acting much like the beating heart of the system. There are two things that all hydraulic pumps have in common: (1) they provide hydraulic flow to other components (e.g., rams, hydraulic motors, cylinder) within a hydraulic system, and (2) they produce flow which in turn generates pressure when there is a resistance to flow. In addition, most hydraulic pumps are motor-driven and include a pressure relief valve as a type of overpressure protection. The three most common types of hydraulic pumps currently in use are gear, piston, and vane pumps.

Gear Pumps

In a gear pump, hydraulic fluid is trapped between the body of the pump and the areas between the teeth of the pump’s two meshing gears. The driveshaft is used to power one gear while the other remains idle until it meshes with the driving gear. These pumps are what is known as fixed displacement or positive displacement because each rotation of the shaft displaces the same amount of hydraulic fluid at the same pressure. There are two basic types of gear pumps, external and internal, which will be discussed in a moment.

Gear pumps are compact, making them ideal for applications that involve limited space. They are also simple in design, making them easier to repair and maintain. Note that gear pumps usually exhibit the highest efficiency when running at their maximum speed. In general, external gear pumps can produce higher levels of pressure (up to 3,000 psi) and greater throughput than vane pumps.

External Gear Pumps

External gear pumps are often found in close-coupled designs where the gear pump and the hydraulic motor share the same mounting and the same shaft. In an external gear pump, fluid flow occurs around the outside of a pair of meshed external spur gears. The hydraulic fluid moves between the housing of the pump and the gears to create the alternating suction and discharge needed for fluid flow.

External gear pumps can provide very high pressures (up to 3,000 psi), operate at high speeds (3,000 rpm), and run more quietly than internal gear pumps. When gear pumps are designed to handle even higher pressures and speeds, however, they will be very noisy and there may be special precautions that must be made.

External gear pumps are often used in powerlifting applications, as well as areas where electrical equipment would be either too bulky, inconvenient, or costly. External gear pumps can also be found on some agricultural and construction equipment to power their hydraulic systems.

Internal Gear Pumps

In an internal gear pump, the meshing action of external and internal gears works with a crescent-shaped sector element to generate fluid flow. The outer gear has teeth pointing inwards and the inner gear has teeth pointing outward. As these gears rotate and come in and out of mesh, they create suction and discharge zones with the sector acting as a barrier between these zones. A gerotor is a special type of internal gear pump that eliminates the need for a sector element by using trochoidal gears to create suction and discharge zones.

Unlike external gear pumps, internal gear pumps are not meant for high-pressure applications; however, they do generate flow with very little pulsation present. They are not as widely used in hydraulics as external gear pumps; however, they are used with lube oils and fuel oils and work well for metering applications.

Piston Pumps

In a piston pump, reciprocating pistons are used to alternately generate suction and discharge. There are two different ways to categorize piston pumps: whether their piston is axially or radially mounted and whether their displacement is fixed or variable.

Piston pumps can handle higher pressures than gear or vane pumps even with comparable displacements, but they tend to be more expensive in terms of the initial cost. They are also more sensitive to contamination, but following strict hydraulic cleanliness guidelines and filtering any hydraulic fluid added to the system can address most contamination issues.

Axial Piston Pump

In an axial piston pump, sometimes called an inline axial pump, the pistons are aligned with the axis of the pump and arranged within a circular cylinder block. On one side of the cylinder block are the inlet and outlet ports, while an angled swashplate lies on the other side. As the cylinder block rotates, the pistons move in and out of the cylinder block, thus creating alternating suction and discharge of hydraulic fluid.

Axial piston pumps are ideal for high-pressure, high-volume applications and can often be found powering mission-critical hydraulic systems such as those of jet aircraft.

Bent-Axis Pumps

In a bent-axis piston pump (which many consider a subtype of the axial piston pump), the pump is made up of two sides that meet at an angle. On one side, the drive shaft turns the cylinder block that contains the pistons which match up to bores on the other side of the pump. As the cylinder block rotates, the distances between the pistons and the valving surface vary, thus achieving the necessary suction and discharge.

These pumps are designed for heavy-duty work cycles, such as hydrostatic transmissions and power machinery.

Radial Piston Pump

In a radial piston pump, the pistons lie perpendicular to the axis of the pump and are arranged radially like spokes on a wheel around an eccentrically placed cam. When the drive shaft rotates, the cam moves and pushes the spring-loaded pistons inward as it passes them. Each of these pistons has its own inlet and outlet ports that lead to a chamber. Within this chamber are valves that control the release and intake of hydraulic fluid.

Radial piston pumps are often used in machine tools and as a power supply for hydraulic systems such as cylinders.

Fixed Displacement vs Variable Displacement

In a fixed displacement pump, the amount of fluid discharged in each reciprocation is the same volume. However, in a variable displacement pump, a change to the angle of the adjustable swashplate can increase or reduce the volume of fluid discharged. This design allows you to vary system speed without having to change engine speed.

Vane Pumps

When the input shaft of a vane pump rotates, rigid vanes mounted on an eccentric rotor pick up hydraulic fluid and transport it to the outlet of the pump. The area between the vanes increases on the inlet side as hydraulic fluid is drawn inside the pump and decreases on the outlet side to expel the hydraulic fluid through the output port. Vane pumps can be either fixed or variable displacement, as discussed for piston pumps.

Vane pumps are used in utility vehicles (such as those with aerial ladders or buckets) but are not as common today, having been replaced by gear pumps. This does not mean, however, that they are not still in use. They are not designed to handle high pressures but they can generate a good vacuum and even run dry for short periods of time.

Selecting a Pump

There are other key aspects to choosing the right hydraulic pump that goes beyond deciding what type is best adapted to your application. These pump characteristics include the following:

  • The type of hydraulic fluid that will be used
  • Operating speed in rpm
  • Maximum operating pressure
  • Fixed or variable displacement
  • The flow rate (which is related to pump speed in rpm, pump efficiency, and displacement)
  • Torque ratings and power curves

However, your starting point will always be the type of motor that you need.

Conclusion

Selecting a pump can be very challenging, but a good place to start is looking at the type of pump that you need. Vane pumps have been largely replaced by compact, durable gear pumps, with external gear pumps working best for high pressure and operating speeds while internal gear pumps are able to generate flow with very little pulsation. However, vane pumps are still good for creating an effective vacuum and can run even when dry for short periods of time. Piston pumps in general are more powerful but, at the same time, more susceptible to contamination.

MAC Hydraulics

Whether the pump is needed for the rugged world of mining, the sterile world of food and beverage processing, or the mission-critical aerospace industry, MAC Hydraulics can assist you with selecting, installing, maintaining, and repairing the right pump to meet the needs of your hydraulic system. In the event of a breakdown, our highly skilled technicians can troubleshoot and repair your pump — no matter who the manufacturer happens to be. We also offer on-site services that include common repairs, preventative maintenance, lubrication, cleaning, pressure testing, and setting. Contact MAC Hydraulics today for all your hydraulic pump repair needs!

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