Pressure Transients in External Gear Pumps and Motors Meshing Volumes

In this paper a lumped parameters numerical model isreviewed to study the meshing process of external gearpumps and motors, with the aim of highlighting theinfluence of some geometrical design parameters andoperating conditions on inter-teeth volumes pressures.The inter-teeth space is modeled adopting a two-volumeapproach, properly tailored both for the pump and for themotor units behavior description. In both cases, thecommunications between the interconnected inter-teethvolumes and the high and low pressure ports aresketched as variable equivalent turbulent restrictors; flowareas have been determined as functions of the gearsand of the meshing grooves main design parameters.The inter-teeth pressures, and the leakage flows, arecalculated solving the incompressible and isothermalcontinuity equation, contemporarily applied to bothvolumes and properly combined with the classicalturbulent orifice equation. Successively, for a referenceoperating condition, properly chosen for underlining theinter-teeth meshing cycle and corresponding to a verylow pressure load, the meshing processes of an externalgear pump and of an external gear motor are compared.Among others, the attention is focused on the behaviorof those hydraulic variables more conditioning themeshing cycle, and the differences rising up in interteethpressure peaks and in cavitation interval amplitudeand angular positioning are evidenced. Then, themeshing process analysis is expanded to cover theexternal gear units common operating field, both interms of rotational speed (from 500 to 3000 rpm) and interms of the high pressure port value (from 10 to 250bar). In all cases, the general trend shows that cavitationhas a deeper influence on external gear pumpsoperation, while external gear motors are subjected tomore significant pressure peaks, particularly markedduring the low pressure part of the meshing cycle.Attention is also focused on the influence of gears interaxialdistance and axial width on the meshing processcharacteristics, in order to assess how the volumedimensions could differently affect pressure peaks andcavitation phenomena in pumps and motors.Finally, the role of the balancing plates grooves inconditioning pressure peaks and cavitation is highlightedand, with particular care devoted to external gearmotors, some useful guidelines for their design areoutlined.