AN EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION INTO THE DESIGN AND PERFORMANCE OF HYDROSTATICALLY LOADED FLOATING WEAR PLATES IN GEAR PUMPS

The design principles and the performance of hydrostatically loaded we ar (end) plates in three high-pressure external gear pumps were examin ed experimentally while the pumps were running under typical operating conditions. The film thicknesses (clearances) between the gears and e nd closures (plates) in three different designs of floating plate gear pump were measured. It was found that at high delivery pressures all the plates were heavily tilted relative to the gears. The plates appea red to be tilted so that they occupied the total available end clearan ces in the units. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science S.A.