Pumps are extraordinary
mechanical devices that are used to move liquids or gas from one area of
pressure to a different area of pressure. Pumps have been in existence since
the 3rd century, and still widely used today. Pumps are used for providing
water and heat as well as energy! There's two main types of pumps - dynamic
pumps and positive displacement pumps.
Positive displacement pumps will
always be preferable, simply because they use sealed chambers to force the
liquid or gas through. This helps prevent leakages. Dynamic pumps do not have
sealed chambers, but use momentum to push the liquid and gas through. The
following list of pumps that we'll discuss below consists of both of these
types of pumps.
We will talk about some of the
basic and most typical pumps which are utilized in the economic and residential
sectors. Most of the time a pump is going to be made for its specific purpose.
A screw pump can also be another
name for a positive displacement pump. This pump is one of the most commonly
used because is does not form clumps, also it pumps solids whilst keeping a
constant speed.
Centrifugal pumps are made to
handle large loads. These pumps are generally used for oil and chemical
processing. They have a built-in impeller that forces the liquid or gas to move
into a rotary motion. This rotary motion creates the pressure.
Electromagnetic pumps tend to be
more commonly used in the industrial sector. These pumps use electrical
conductors and magnetic pipes for their driving force. Electromagnetic pumps
are created to move liquid potassium and sodium.
Pumps that most people will have
in their own homes are centrifugal water pumps used to pump water out of pools.
There are even submersible pumps which are employed for pumping dirty water out
of pools, and then clean water back in.
Jet pumps are very powerful, and
use high velocity to move fluid. Jet pumps are purely for pushing fluid. These
pumps require a jet of steam or water to carry the fluid along, and the jet
pressure will make a vacuum that sucks large volumes of fluid with the pipes.
These kinds of pumps are extremely powerful that they are often used to move
water from deep wells or boreholes. The oldest and most common of these pumps
was the handheld type used to extract water from wells, before modern water
supplies are intended.
Windmills and watermills will
also be pumps which displace water or air for various purposes, usually to
create energy.
These pumps are a small
representation of what is available on the market. However, those are the most
popularly used ones. As mentioned before, pumps are utilized in several
environments. These may range from large industrial plants to home water
systems. What sort of pump operates depends mostly on what category they fit
into, and what kind of pump it is. In the same breath, all pumps work
underneath the same principle, that pressure can be used to move liquids or
gas. The value of pumps will not be underestimated, because they are extremely
useful and necessary.
