Determination of the dynamic characteristics of a gear pump by the load variation method using special bench systems

Introduction. Some of the major factors in the occurrence of vibration of units, causing fatigue failure of the housings of elements, pipelines, and failure of pump elements, are pulsations of the working medium in the hydraulic systems of machine tools, fuel feed systems of aircraft engines and liquid-propellant engine supply. This study aimed at the implementation of a method for determining the dynamic characteristics of a volumetric pump using special bench systems, and the comparison of the calculation results to the experimental data. The stages of calculating the dynamic characteristics of a volumetric pump were described, taking into account the pre-developed special bench systems on the example of an external gear pump with a capacity of 14 cm3 /rev. The implementation of V. P. Shorin's load variation method using special bench systems developed by the authors with predetermined dynamic characteristics was shown. The main stages of the methodology for determining the dynamic characteristics of a gear pump were described.Materials and Methods. Methods of spectral analysis of pulsating pressure were applied in the work. Pulsations of fluid flow at the pump outlet were determined using the impedance method, the method of load variation, and special bench systems.Results. The paper implemented a technique for determining the dynamic characteristics of a gear pump in the drive shaft speed range of 500-2500 rpm for four harmonic components of the vibration spectrum in a wide range of dynamic loads (from inertial to capacitive nature). The bench systems yielding the calculation of the dynamic characteristics of the pump with a minimum error based on the condition of matching the dynamic load and the source of vibrations were analyzed. The developed approach to the evaluation of the dynamic characteristics of the pump was verified through comparing the calculated and experimental data of pressure pulsations in the bench systems with choke, cavity and an extended pipeline at the pump outlet.Discussion and Conclusions. The method for determining the dynamic characteristics of a volumetric pump was implemented using special bench systems developed by the authors. The research results show that the gear pump under study can be considered as an independent source of flow fluctuations, for which the deviation of its own dynamic characteristics from the average values does not exceed 10% for the first harmonic component.