An Overall Guide to Flow Technology and its Three Major Types of Pumps

Author: Kv Gopalakrishnan

Technology and innovation have truly made human lives simpler and easier. Flow technology, which is primarily designed for transfer of water and/or other liquids, has become an absolute necessity for many commercial and industrial applications.

Flow technology machines and products are designed with a proven flow capacity so that they can deliver an exceptionally reliable result. On account of their flexibility in a number of applications, flow technology products have turned out to be the ultimate solution for a wide variety of fluid stream applications.

Pumps, which are the most widely used machines by flow technologists, consume energy to perform mechanical work by moving the liquid. Pumps work through numerous power sources, including manual operation, power, motors, or wind power and come in numerous sizes (from small pumps for small-scale applications to massively advanced pumps for commercial and industrial purposes).

Pumps are used to move liquids and gases through the use of mechanical action. Today, three major types of pumps are employed for fluid movement, each with their set of advantages, mechanisms, and distinctive configurations.

They are:

  1. Mechanically driven pumps
  2. Electromagnetic dosing pumps
  3. Vertical centrifugal pumps

Within these three groups, a number of different pumps fall (each with a particular function) including vacuity, water, trash, hydraulic, and sump pumps.

Detailed information about different pumps:

1. Mechanically driven pumps:

The mechanical or motor driven pump has been in the market for the longest time and is mostly preferred for its simplicity. This pump provides a consistent output with the help of simple controls, typically a single output adjustment knob. For maintenance, the pump requires cleaning of the valves at regular intervals and changing of the diaphragm once a year.

2. Electromagnetic dosing pumps

The electromagnetic dosing pump moves liquid metal or any type of electrically conductive fluid using electromagnetism. At the right angle of this pump, a magnetic field directs the flow of liquid. This magnetic field creates an electromagnetic force that helps fluid to flow.

In general, electromagnetic dosing pumps and other pumps of this series use multi-voltage power resources, which are used in varied chemical feeding circumstances. A broad range of pumps can be categorised under electromagnetic dosing pumps, starting from ultra-compact high-resolution basic pumps to multifunctional digitally operated pumps for efficient water treatment like automated dosing controllers, pre-engineered dosing pump systems, hydro-pneumatic systems, etc.

3. Vertical centrifugal pump:

A vertical centrifugal pump is a preferred choice for both industrial and mechanical applications. Vertical centrifugal pumps are used to move liquids by the transfer of rotational energy to the hydrodynamic energy of the fluid stream.

The centrifugal force allows the pumps to be situated at a lower level so it can help in conveying overflowed suction or minimise the suction lift. The pump could be located under the deck plate in the bilge, while the electric pumps are over the floor plate.