Review the history of pump development and explore new directions in the hardware pump and valve industry

A pump is a machine that converts the mechanical energy of the prime mover into liquid energy. It has undergone several stages of evolution from the original waterwheel→screw rod pump→steam piston pump→motor impeller pump to become a modern pump.

In ancient times, there were a variety of water-lifting appliances: such as the Egyptian chain pump (17th century BC), China's Jugai (17th century BC), pottery (11th century BC) and waterwheel (1st century AD). The more famous is the screw rod invented by Archimedes in the third century BC, which can smoothly and continuously lift water to a height of several meters, and its principle is still used by modern screw pumps.

About 200 BC, the fire extinguishing pump invented by the ancient Greek craftsman Ketzibius is the most primitive piston pump. It already has the main components of a typical piston pump, but the piston pump was only after the appearance of the steam engine. Get rapid development.

From 1840 to 1850, Worthington in the United States invented a piston pump in which the pump cylinder and the steam cylinder were opposed, and the steam directly acted on the piston pump, marking the formation of the modern piston pump. The 19th century was the climax of the development of piston pumps, and they were used in hydraulic presses and other machinery at that time. However, with the rapid increase in water demand, starting from the 1920s, low-speed, highly restricted piston pumps have gradually been replaced by high-speed centrifugal pumps and rotary pumps. However, reciprocating pumps still occupy a major position in the field of high pressure and small flow, especially diaphragm pumps and plunger pumps, which have unique advantages and are increasingly used.

The emergence of rotary pumps is related to the increasingly diversified requirements for liquid transportation in the industry. There was a record of four-blade sliding vane pumps as early as 1588, and various other rotary pumps appeared one after another. However, until the 19th century, rotary pumps still had disadvantages such as large leakage, large wear and low efficiency. At the beginning of the 20th century, people solved the problems of rotor lubrication and sealing, and adopted high-speed motors to drive, and the rotary pumps suitable for higher pressure, medium and small flow rates and various viscous liquids were developed rapidly. The types of rotary pumps and the types of liquids that are suitable for delivery are beyond the reach of other types of pumps.

The centrifugal pump appeared as early as the 5th century. It was a wooden pump used to drain water in the Santo Domingo copper mine. It is now displayed in the Paris Museum. At the end of the 15th century, the famous Italian scholar Leonardo Da Vinci put forward the concept of centrifugal pump. French physicist Tannis Babben produced a centrifugal pump test model in 1689. In 1705, Babben improved on the basis of the test pump. The first multi-blade pump with a spiral pressurized water chamber was released. But closer to modern centrifugal pumps are the so-called Massachusetts pumps with radial straight blades, semi-open double suction impellers and volutes that appeared in the United States in 1818. From 1851 to 1875, multi-stage centrifugal pumps with guide vanes were invented one after another, making it possible to develop high-lift centrifugal pumps.

Although as early as 1754, the Swiss mathematician Euler put forward the basic equations of impeller hydraulic machinery and laid the theoretical foundation for the design of centrifugal pumps, but the actual application of centrifugal pumps has not been developed. , All pump geometries are positive displacement pumps and reciprocating pumps. Later, when the steam turbine came out, the power generation technology progressed and the electric motor came out, the high-speed prime mover appeared, which made the centrifugal pump obtain the ideal power source, and its superiority can be fully utilized. As a result, centrifugal pumps (and axial flow pumps and mixed flow pumps that appeared later than it) quickly developed. Based on the theoretical research and practice of many scholars such as Renault in the United Kingdom and Pfleidrell in Germany, the efficiency of centrifugal pumps has been greatly improved, and its performance range and application fields have also been expanding. It has become the most widely used in modern The pump with the largest output.