A hydraulic pump allows water to be extracted from a well.
A hydraulic pump is a machine responsible for transforming the mechanical energy that allows it to operate into the energy of an incompressible fluid that it itself displaces.
By increasing the energy of this fluid, its height, speed or pressure also increases. That is why hydraulic pumps are used to move the fluid from a place with a lower altitude or pressure to another with a higher altitude or pressure .
With a hydraulic pump, you can extract water from a well or ensure that running water reaches the highest floors of a building, to name some of the possibilities offered by these machines .
The etymology
Before proceeding to know the meaning of the concept, it is necessary to discover the etymological origin of the two words that give it shape:
- Bomba comes from the French word bombe and the Italian wordbomb , which derive from the Latin bombus (translatable as "strong and intense sound" ).
- Hydraulics , on the other hand, derives from the Greek hydraulikos, which meant "musical organ" . This word is the result of the sum of the noun hydor , which is synonymous with "water" , and the noun aulos , which is equivalent to "flute" .
The term bomb can be used in various ways. On this occasion we will stick with its meaning as the device that allows a liquid to be propelled in a certain direction. Hydraulic , on the other hand, is that which is moved by the action of a fluid or the energy that is generated from the movement of water.
There are different types of hydraulic pumps.
Types of hydraulic pump
It is possible to refer to different types of hydraulic pumps according to their drive or operation. There are manual pumps , such as the rocker pump , in which a person must perform the force . Also hydraulically driven pumps (like a waterwheel ), pneumatic pumps (energy is provided by compressed air) and electric pumps (an electric motor is responsible for driving them).
In addition , volumetric pumps (which are based on hydrostatics) and rotodynamic pumps (focused on hydrodynamics) can be mentioned.
Other classifications
If we focus on volumetric hydraulic pumps, we can indicate that they are divided into two types:
- Rotary or rotostatic volumetric pumps, which are those in which a fluid mass is found within one or more compartments that move from inlet to outlet. Among them, screw pumps stand out, for example.
- Reciprocating piston pumps , with several fixed compartments that have a variable volume. In them, the plunger and the valves that open and close alternatively play a fundamental role.