Development of a rotary clap mechanism for positive-displacement rotary pumps: Experimental verification and optimization

Abstract

We have developed a new positive-displacement type rotary clap pump. Its structure, working principles and pumping performances have been introduced and analyzed in the previous studies. In this study, the experiment using prototype rotary clap pump was conducted to verify the analyzed pump performances. The simulated flow rate, differential pressure, driving torque, and efficiencies for the prototype rotary clap pump were compared with the measurement results. We confirmed the applicability of the analysis model, because the most of simulated values agreed well with the measured values. The parametric study for the prototype rotary clap pump was conducted using the analysis model. The used parameters were the clearance between the rotor jaws and chambers, the number of jaws, the jaw width, and the jaw height, which are known as the important variables in the pump performance. Base on the parametric study, we found optimized condition that can increase overall efficiency up to 96.3%. The rotary clap pump generates relatively low pressure pulsation and can increase its displacement with low vibration and power loss compared to the reciprocating pump. This pump could be a better option for high-viscosity fluids at a high flow rate than any other positive-displacement pumps.