Pumps are extraordinary mechanical devices that are used to move liquids or gas from one area of pressure to another area of pressure.
Pumps have been in existence since the 3rd century, and are still widely used today.
Pumps are used for providing water and heat and even energy! There are two main types of pumps - dynamic pumps and positive displacement pumps.
Positive displacement pumps are always preferable, because they use sealed chambers to force the liquid or gas through.
This helps prevent leakages.
Dynamic pumps do not have sealed chambers, but use momentum to push the liquid and gas through.
The following list of pumps that we will talk about below consists of both of these types of pumps.
We will discuss some of the basic and most common pumps that are used in the industrial and residential sectors.
Most of the time a pump will be made for its specific purpose.
A screw pump is also another name for a positive displacement pump.
This pump is one of the most commonly used because is does not form clumps, and it pumps solids whilst keeping a constant speed.
Centrifugal pumps are made to handle large loads.
These pumps are most often used for oil and chemical processing.
They have a built-in impeller that forces the liquid or gas to move into a rotary motion.
This rotary motion creates the pressure.
Electromagnetic pumps are more commonly used in the industrial sector.
These pumps use electrical conductors and magnetic pipes as their driving force.
Electromagnetic pumps are created to move liquid potassium and sodium.
Pumps that most people will have in their own homes are centrifugal water pumps used to pump water out of swimming pools.
There are even submersible pumps that are used for pumping dirty water out of pools, and then clean water back in.
Jet pumps are very powerful, and use high velocity to move fluid.
Jet pumps are purely for pushing fluid.
These pumps need a jet of steam or water to carry the fluid along, and the jet pressure will make a vacuum that sucks large volumes of fluid through the pipes.
These kinds of pumps are so powerful that they are often used to move water from deep wells or boreholes.
The oldest and most common of these pumps was the handheld type used to extract water from wells, before modern water supplies were created.
Windmills and watermills are also pumps which displace water or air for various purposes, usually to create energy.
These pumps are only a small representation of what is available on the market.
However, they are the most popularly used ones.
As mentioned before, pumps are used in many different environments.
These can range from large industrial plants to home water systems.
The way a pump operates depends mostly on what category it fits into, and what kind of pump it is.
In the same breath, all pumps work under the same principle, that pressure is used to move liquids or gas.
The value of pumps should never be underestimated, as they are extremely useful and necessary.