Radial Piston Pump
In
a radial piston pump, the pistons are arranged like wheel spokes
in a short cylindrical block. A drive shaft, which is inside a circular
housing, rotates a cylinder block. The block turns on a stationary pintle that
contains the inlet and outlet ports. As a cylinder block turns, centrifugal
force slings the pistons, which follow a circular housing. A housing’s
centerline is offset from a cylinder block’s centerline. The amount of
eccentricity between the two determines a piston stroke and, therefore, a
pump’s displacement. Controls can be applied to change a housing’s location and
thereby vary a pump’s delivery from zero to maximum. Figure shows a
ninepiston, radial piston pump. When a pump has an uneven number of pistons, no
more than one piston is completely blocked by a pintle at one time, which
reduces flow pulsations. With an even number of pistons spaced around a
cylinder block, two pistons could be blocked by a pintle at the same time. If
this happens, three pistons would discharge at one time and four at another
time, and pulsations would occur in the flow. A pintle, a cylinder block, the
pistons, a rotor, and a drive shaft constitute the main working parts of a
pump.
1)
Pintle. A pintle is a round bar that
serves as a stationary shaft around which a cylinder block turns. A pintle
shaft has four holes bored from one end lengthwise through part
of its length. Two holes serve as an intake and two as a discharge. Two slots
are cut in a side of the shaft so that each slot connects two of the lengthwise
holes. The slots are in-line with the pistons when a cylinder block is
assembled on a pintle. One of these slots provides a path for a liquid to pass
from the pistons to the discharge holes bored in a pintle. Another slot
connects the two inlet holes to the pistons when they are drawing in liquid.
The discharge holes are connected through appropriate fittings to a discharge
line so that a liquid can be directed into a system. The other pair of holes is
connected to an inlet line.
2)
Cylinder Block. A cylinder block is a block of metal with a hole bored through its center to
fit the pintle’s and cylinder’s holes that are bored equal distances apart
around its outside edge. The cylinder’s holes connect with the hole that
receives a pintle. Designs differ; some cylinders appear to be almost solid,
while others have spokelike cylinders radiating out from the center. A
cylinder’s and pintle’s holes are accurately machined so that liquid loss
around a piston is minimal.
3)
Pistons. Pistons are manufactured in different
designs. Diagram shows a piston with small
wheels that roll around the inside curve of a rotor. Diagram shows a piston
in which a conical edge of the top bears directly against a reaction ring of
the rotor. In this design, a piston goes back and forth in a cylinder while it
rotates about its axis so that the top surface will wear uniformly. Diagram shows a piston attached to curved plates. The curved plates bear against and
slide around the inside surface of a rotor. The pistons’ sides are accurately
machined to fit the cylinders so that there is a minimum loss of liquid between
the walls of a piston and cylinder. No provision is made for using piston rings
to help seal against piston leakage.
4)
Rotors. Rotor designs may differ from pump
to pump. A rotor consists of a circular ring, machine finished on the inside,
against which the pistons bear. A rotor rotates within a slide block, which can
be shifted from side to side to control the piston’s length of stroke. A slide
block has two pairs of machined surfaces on the exterior so that it can slide
in tracks in the pump case.
5) Drive Shaft. A drive
shaft is connected to a cylinder block and is driven by an outside force such
as an electric motor.
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