Performance of a high speed reciprocating pump: Experimental study

Reciprocating pump with self-acting check valves is one of the simplest pump designs in use. Such pumps are commonly used in heavy industrial applications of large sizes and low rotational speeds. The design with self-acting check valves allows high contamination levels and poor lubrication properties of the medium, which is important when pumping mediums like dirty water, plastics or rubber. The pump design, especially plunger type, is also suitable for high pressure applications like water cutting. However, in ordinary applications of hydraulics, reciprocating pumps with self-acting check valves are less appropriate. Greatest disadvantages of the pump type are pulsating flow and poor suitability for high rotational speeds. In this paper the performance of reciprocating pump is studied in certain hydraulic high speed application.