Rotary Vane Vacuum Pumps
A rotary vane vacuum pump is a kind of vacuum pump used, as the name “vacuum pump” suggests, to create a vacuum, or an area with an absence of matter.
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The History of Rotary Vane Vacuum Pumps
It was first patented by a Canadian inventor named Charles C. Barnes in June of 1874. While perfect vacuums are virtually impossible to create, partial vacuums are not. Thus, rotary vane vacuum pumps work within an enclosed space to create partial vacuums. They feature a round enclosure, which houses a rotary with a set of vanes. On the outside of the enclosure are tubes that function as an inlet tube and an outlet, or exhaust tube. The inlet is connected to the area from which the pump removes atmosphere, while the outlet may be connected to additional pumps or to an exhaust port.
Advantages of Rotary Vane Vacuum Pumps
First, liquid ring vacuum pumps feature both a rotary and vanes that spin around an enclosure. The reason that they are known not as rotary vane pumps but rather liquid vane pumps is the fact that they are sealed by a ring of water. This ring helps them to compress air and stop it from re-entering an evacuated area. Next, both dry vacuum pumps and pumps that use oil for lubrication or sealant are designed with spinning blades.
Of all the vacuum pump varieties, rotary vane vacuum pumps are among the most common. In fact, most vacuum pumps feature rotating, vanes, paddles, blades or impellers of some sort that move shuttle gases in and out of an enclosure, and any vacuum pump that features any one of these components may be considered a rotary vacuum pump.
Design of Rotary Vane Vacuum Pumps
Technically, rotary vane vacuum pumps are a kind of positive displacement pump. This means that they continually evacuate chambers and create a vacuum without requiring infinite growth by repeatedly closing off, exhausting and re-expanding one of their compartments. In addition to being positive displacement pumps, rotary vane pumps may be designed as dry pumps or as oil-sealed pumps. In short, dry pumps work without the use of any liquid.
While wet pumps depend upon a fluid seal to work, dry pumps rely on close internal dimensional tolerances to create a vacuum. Next, oil-sealed pumps are a type of wet pump (pump that uses fluid to generate a seal) that specifically uses oil to create a seal. Also, most rotary vane vacuum pumps are constructed with a direct drive.
Because rotary vane vacuum pumps are so simple in design, they are often not appropriate for use in the creation of high vacuums. Nevertheless, they enjoy popularity for use within many different contexts that require the creation of an artificially evacuated space, or vacuum. Some of these include: during the use of electron microscopy, during the production and design of electronics like superconductors and during the use of some types of analytical instrumentation. Environments such as these often require the presence of vacuum pumps because they must be free of microscopic airborne contaminants or air molecules in general. In addition, rotary vane vacuum pumps are often used in healthcare to provide suction during surgical procedures.
Materials Used in Rotary Vane Vacuum Pumps
Rotary vane vacuum pumps can vary in quite a number of different ways. However, their material compositions are usually quite standardized.
Rotary Vane Vacuum Pumps have different parts made of different materials, such as:
- External Parts (the Casing and the Head)
- Usually made of cast iron, ductile iron, steel or stainless steel.
- Pushrods and Vanes
- Typically composed of either PEEK (polyether ether ketone) or carbon graphite.
- End Plates
- Generally made from carbon graphite.
Find out what material compositions and what vacuum pump designs may be right for your application by reaching out to an experienced and dependable vacuum pump manufacturer today.
Types of Rotary Vane Vacuum Pumps
All of these pumps, of course, also go by more specific designations that reference their configurations. Examples of these include liquid ring vacuum pumps, dry vacuum pumps and wet vacuum pumps that use oil for lubrication or sealant.
Applications of Rotary Vane Vacuum Pumps
They may also be found in consumer product manufacturing, where they provide the sealing and forming needed to create high quality products like shaving razors and eyeglasses. In the world of automotives, among the most common applications of rotary vane vacuum pumps are stints as: automatic transmission pumps, power steering pumps and supercharging pumps.
Rotary vane vacuum pumps are also frequently employed as high pressure hydraulic pumps, mid-range pressure pumps and low pressure pumps. In the middle range of pressure, rotary vane pumps are often used as carbonators for soft drink dispensers and espresso machines. In the low pressure range, they are commonly used in low pressure chemical vapor deposition systems and in low pressure gas applications like secondary air injection (part of auto exhaust emission control).