What is a Triplex Pump and How Does it Work?

High pressure applications include machine tool coolant blasting, car washing, sand blasting, and tank cleaning. These applications require a certain type of positive displacement pump, which can provide the required pressure levels. For such applications, the best choice is a triplex pump.

What is a Triplex Pump?
These pumps consist of reciprocating designs. Unlike a normal displacement pump that uses a single piston, this pump comprises three pistons to pump the fluid. Thus, it provides triple the power, hence its name. Triplex pumps are designed for application where the maximum working pressure 1000 PSI.

Triplex Pump Construction
The construction of the pump is similar to a three cylinder engine with three pistons or plunger. Each cylinder consists of a single plunger. The cylinders move up and down in strokes. The pistons suck in the fluid on the downwards stroke, create the pressure, and discharge the fluid on the upstroke.

The pistons are driven by a prime mover; which is an electric motor most of the time. However diesel and hydraulic engines can also be used as the prime movers. A camshaft is used to create the reciprocating motions of the pistons. The prime move powers the camshaft, which causes the pistons to move in a specific order. Each piston is designed to discharge the fluid at every 120 degrees rotation.

Pump volume and pressure is directly proportional to the RPM of the prime mover. Hence, an increase in the prime mover’s RPM will cause an increase in the pump’s output volume and pressure.

Advantages of Triplex Pumps
The design and construction of triplex pumps make them a much better option than simplex or single piston pumps:
•    The continual discharge provided by the three pistons provides a smoother flow than the intermittent discharge of a simplex pump.
•    The average flow is higher than a single piston pump.

Besides the applications mentioned in the introduction, the usage of triplex pumps can also be extended to water jet cutting, mud pumping, and oil and gas drilling.

Choosing Electric or Hydraulic Motors for Commercial and Industrial Vehicles

If you are a manufacturer of automobiles, agriculture equipment, or even construction machinery, one of the biggest decisions you need to make is the type of motor to install. Generally, there are two choices when it comes to such vehicles – electric motors and hydraulic motors. 

With the growth and popularity of electric motors, you would think that they are the best choice for applications with precise motions. However, with technological advances, hydraulic motors also have advantages that can give them the upper hand.

 

Understanding the Two Motor Systems

As their names suggest, hydraulic motors depend on fluid power, while electric motors use electromechanical power for operations. Electric motors are ideal for applications that require high rotational speeds, as well as low-to-medium torque. Fluid power motors are generally suited for applications that require high power, but intermittent usage.

Comparing the Two Motor Types

The following reasons showcase why hydraulic motors are still giving competition to electric motors.

• Load: Electric motors need to be sized and designed according to the application’s maximum load. Hydraulic motors are designed according to an average application load. Electric motors can get stalled due to excessive loads, which can burn the windings, and damage the motor. On the other hand, hydraulic motors will shut down when excessive load is detected.

• Water: Many motors are used on ships and offshore oil platforms. This is where hydraulic motors trump electric motors. The design of fluid power motors can be designed to have no issues operating either on or underwater. They are also resistant to dust, dirt, and seawater spray.

• Size: For demanding applications that involve high torque, electric motors will not be suitable. The reason is they can be extremely expensive as they have to be created in large and bulky sizes. Whereas hydraulic motors can be designed to be small in size, but still provide immense power.

These are three main reasons why hydraulic motors are more suitable for demanding applications than electric motors. When buying a motor, it is a good idea to speak to the motor manufacturer. He can take your requirements into consideration and suggest the best model for your application.

How Does a Piston Pump Work

Piston pump is a type of positive displacement pump that is used to force material under pressure. Usually the pressure applied is ‘air pressure’ that forces the stored material out of piston. The basic mechanism of any piston pump involves reciprocation of the high-pressure seal with the piston.

Before delving in to the working mechanism of a piston pump, let us look at the factors that decide the type of piston pumps:

• Presence of wobble plate of crankshaft for pump driving mechanism
• Method of the lubrication of crankcase
• Axial or radial symmetry of the pistons around the drive shaft
• Number of cylinders
• Nature of the crankshaft: hollow or solid

Working Mechanism of a Piston Pump:

The basic working mechanism of a piston pump included uplifting (stroking up) of the piston in order to fill the pump with material (liquid/ compressed gas) to be dispensed. Moving up of piston helps in the creation of vacuum that sucks the liquid/ gas efficiently into the piston chamber.

In a piston pump, the liquid or compressed gas is taken in and stored in the form of a column. This column is then moved with the help of continuous air pressure down a material feed tube. Such movement of stored liquid or compressed gas creates a heavy flow under immense air pressure.

The pressure created can be measured in terms of the amount of liquid/ compressed gas flowing through the nozzle of the pump per minute. This pressure is created by the restriction that is applied on the column of water by the nozzle of pump.

Parameters that Affect Working of a Piston Pump:

Any piston pump depends solely on the mechanical interaction between the stored liquid/ gas, piston, seal, and the nozzle of the pump for its functioning. The operational efficiency and working time of the pump is determined by the piston’s stroke cycle time. At the same time the volume of liquid/ gas that can be dispensed from the pump is dependent on the speed of piston stoke and its diameter.

With the aforementioned mechanism, a piston pump works efficiently and it can be used in several different applications. For highly operational and smoothly working piston pumps, you can put your trust in A.R. North America, Inc. Visit our site arnorthamerica.com to know more about our products.