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Vacuum Pumps: Applications and How They Work

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April 12, 2017 By Mike Hurlbatt

Vacuum pumps have been around since 1650, when the first one was invented by Otto Von Guericke. We thought it might be helpful to tell you a bit about how vacuum pumps work, some different types and their applications.

How Vacuum Pumps Work

Vacuum pumps remove gas from a sealed chamber. This creates a vacuum, in which the pressure is zero. Since gas, usually in the form of air, naturally flows from a place of higher pressure into a place of lower pressure, air is “sucked” into the chamber that has the vacuum.

The most common type of vacuum pump is a positive displacement pump. A positive displacement pump makes a partial vacuum by expanding a cavity. This creates more volume for the same amount of gas or air, creating a partial vacuum and lower air pressure. Air from outside flows into the cavity to equalise the air pressure. The cavity is then sealed off and exhausted into the atmosphere.

Another kind of vacuum pump is a momentum transfer pump. Momentum transfer pumps are also called molecular pumps. They use high speed rotating blades or high speed jets of dense fluids to move molecules out of the chamber.

For low vacuum applications, positive displacement pumps are the most efficient. When high vacuum is required, it is common to pair off positive displacement pumps with momentum transfer pumps.

Vacuum Pumps: Applications and How They Work

Common Applications of Vacuum Pumps

Vacuum pumps are used for a variety of applications, including: moulding plastic, producing vacuum tubes, electric lamps or CRT’s; electron microscopy, all medical processes that use suction, milking machines and other dairy applications, air conditioning, trash compactors, diesel and hybrid engines, hydraulic brakes, sewage systems, freeze drying, flight instruments and more.

Call Pump Solutions Australasia Today

We hope you have enjoyed this article. We not only import the best vacuum pumps from around the world, we import virtually every kind of pump in common use today. To learn more about vacuum pumps or to enquire about any of our imported pumps from around the world, call Pump Solutions Australasia today: 1300 7893 418.

Filed Under: Blog Posts, Vacuum Pumps Tagged With: vacuum pumps, vacuum pumps in Perth

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