4 Practical Types of Piston Pump

Types of Piston Pump – Pumps have become an indispensable component of all domestic and industrial applications. The piston pump is one of many distinct types of pumps available on the market. A piston is used in piston pumps to compress the fluid. This post focuses on several types of piston pumps.

There are four different types of piston pumps: lift pumps, force pumps, axial pumps, and radial piston pumps. Lift and force pumps can be operated manually or with the assistance of an engine from these pumps.

Figure 1: Types of Piston Pumps.

1. Lift Piston Pump

The piston can draw fluid into the lower section of the cylinder with the assistance of a control mechanism called a valve in this sort of pump. Fluid flows into the higher area of the cylinder through control mechanisms positioned in the piston on the below stroke. The fluid can then be expelled from the higher area of the cylinder through a spout on the upstroke.

This form of piston pump draws the fluid from the suction valve to the cylinder’s bottom part. The piston rises upward during the upward stroke, causing suction. The fluid enters the cylinder through the valve as a result of this. The piston slides downward during the downward stroke, putting pressure on the fluid. In the piston, some valves allow the fluid to pass through to the opposite side. The fluid in the top portion of the cylinder is driven out during the upward stroke, while the fluid in the bottom half of the cylinder is sucked in. As a result, it takes three piston strokes to draw and distribute the fluid. The lift piston pump operates in this manner.

Figure 2: Lift piston pump.

2. Force Piston Pump

The piston pump’s upstroke might pull fluid through an intake valve to the cylinder in this sort of pump (tube). The fluid level can be emptied into the output tube by an exit valve at the end of the downstroke. The force pump works similarly to the lift pump. The upward motion of the piston in this pump draws fluid into the cylinder through an inlet valve. The downstroke expels the fluid from the pump into the discharge pipe through an output valve after the compression operation.

The major distinction between a forced pump and a lift pump is that a lift pump requires an additional upstroke to release the fluid, whereas a force pump does not.

Figure 3: Force piston pump.

To suction the fluid, the force pumps require only one upward stroke and one downward stroke. To fill the power pump with water, all it takes is one upstroke and one downstroke. The fluid is discharged by the lift pumps on the second upstroke, while the fluid is discharged by the force pumps on the first downstroke. A sort of force piston pump is the well-known “hand pump."

3. Axial Piston Pump

This is a positive displacement (PD) pump with many pistons arranged in a circular array within a tube block. With an essential shaft connected to the pumping pistons, this block may be operated to spin its symmetry axis. These pumps can be used as a compressor for an automobile, as a standalone pump, or as a hydraulic motor.

Figure 4: Axial piston pump.

The pistons of this pump are arranged in a row parallel to the driving crankshaft. Axial pumps can be used for both constant and variable displacement applications. The cylinder and pistons alternate around the central vertical axis of these pumps. As they move on a fixed swash plate with a changeable angle, the shoe and pistons reciprocate inward and outward in the cylinder.

The piston switches between suction and discharge valves as it rotates. The liquid is injected into the piston chamber when the piston passes through the suction valve. It drains liquid from the piston chamber when it passes past the discharge valve.

The piston’s rotation speed is controlled by the crankshaft’s mechanical rotation input. The swash block angle controls the quantity of liquid sucked into the compression cylinder during piston motion.

4. Radial Piston Pump

This pump is a type of hydraulic pump in which the working pistons expand in a radial track symmetrically in the vicinity of the driving shaft, in contrast to the axial piston pump’s direction of expansion. Some pistons are housed in a cylindrical block that surrounds the rotor hub in radial piston pumps. A shaft, a piston, and a rotor make up the cylinder. The fluid is moved in and out of the cylinder by the pintle.

The pump housing is eccentrically linked to the rotor. Hydraulic oil is taken into the cylinder cavity and drained from the cylinder cavity as the piston moves in and out of the cylinder. The valve on the middle shaft houses the pump’s input and outflow. When a piston expands, it connects to the inlet, and when it shrinks, it connects to the outlet.

Figure 5: Radical piston pump.

Radial piston pumps are used in high-pressure applications (working pressures ranging from 400 to over 700 bar), such as presses, plastics processing machines, and machine tools for sustaining oil pressure. They provide a variety of benefits, including high efficiency, high-pressure capacity up to 1,000 bar (14,000 psi), low flow and pressure fluctuations, minimal noise development, extremely high load at low speed, excellent dependability, and more.

Because of its huge radial dimensions, it is more significant than an axial pump and so is not always available in situations with restricted space.

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