Pump

Pump is a device that moves fluids (liquids or gases), or sometimes slurries, by mechanical action, typically converted from electrical energy into Hydraulic energy. Pumps can be classified into three major groups according to the method they use to move the fluid: direct lift, displacement, and gravity pumps.

Types of Pumps

Pumps operate by some mechanism (typically reciprocating or rotary), and consume energy to perform mechanical work moving the fluid. Pumps operate via many energy sources, including manual operation, electricity, engines, or wind power, and come in many sizes, from microscopic for use in medical applications to large industrial pumps.

Mechanical Pumps

Mechanical pumps serve in a wide range of applications such as pumping water from wells, aquarium filtering, pond filtering and aeration, in the car industry for water-cooling and fuel injection, in the energy industry for pumping oil and natural gas or for operating cooling towers. In the medical industry, pumps are used for biochemical processes in developing and manufacturing medicine, and as artificial replacements for body parts, in particular the artificial heart and penile prosthesis.

Positive Displacement Pumps

A Positive displacement pump makes a fluid move by trapping a fixed amount and forcing (displacing) that trapped volume into the discharge pipe.

Centrifugal Pumps

A Centrifugal pump uses the hydraulic head of flowing water to pump water.

Pumping Work

The work performed by a pump is a function of the total head and the weight of the liquid pumped in a given time period. Pump affinity laws govern the performance of pumps.

See Also

• Hydraulic head
• Pump affinity laws
• Centrifugal pump
• Positive displacement pump
• Mechanical pump

References

Pump Resources
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