What is an Industrial Pump?

Comments 0 by in standard
May 21, 2013

Any pump designed to move fluid for any given industrial application, can be called an industrial pump.

Industrial fluid pumps can encompass many different designs, but can be generally split into two main types, namely positive displacement and centrifugal.

Centrifugal pumps

pump4

This is by far the most prolific type of pump that can be found in industrial applications. They are ideally suited for pumping thin (low viscous) liquids and can deliver very high flow rates.

Using centrifugal force, an impeller rotates on a shaft at speed, accelerating and throwing the liquid out through the impeller vanes at a high velocity, and channeling that liquid through a volute casing, and out into a discharge pipe where the rotational kinetic energy is then converted into a hydrodynamic positive pressure. This movement of fluid will in turn create a negative pressure (pressure drop or partial vacuum) at the eye of the impeller, and will quickly be replaced by fluid forced or pushed through the suction pipe by means of atmospheric pressure.

Common types of centrifugal pump include horizontal end suction, vertical and horizontal multistage, self priming, magnetic drive, venturi jet pumps and submersible drainage and sewage pumps.


Positive displacement pumps

Lobbenpomp

This style of pump is ideally suited for pumping more viscous liquids. These pumps work by trapping a fixed amount of liquid within a cavity of the pump and forcing (displacing) it through the pump and into the discharge pipe. An example of a positive displacement pump in its crudest form, would be an Archimedes screw. Liquid is trapped in the bottom cavity of the screw, and as it turns, that liquid is then transferred to the next cavity, and so on until finally the liquid emerges from the top of the screw. This principle can still be found in use today.

Unlike centrifugal pumps, positive displacement pumps in theory, can produce the same flow at varying pressures (excepting internal slippage) and so must not be allowed to run against a closed valve situation. If this were to occur, the pump would keep producing pressure until either the discharge line burst or the pump gave way. Some pumps can be fitted with an internal relief valve at point of manufacture, but where this is not possible, then an external relief valve should be fitted and piped either back to the suction pipe or back to the feed tank.

Common types of positive displacement pump include rotary lobe, gear, progressive cavity, flexible impeller, sliding vane, piston and diaphragm pumps.