Hydraulic Pumps and Motors:

Considering Efficiency

Tweet

Brendan Casey
Tags: hydraulics

In a condition-based maintenance environment, the decision to change out a hydraulic

pump or motor is usually based on remaining bearing life or deteriorating efficiency,
whichever occurs first.
Despite recent advances in predictive maintenance technologies, the maintenance
professionals ability to determine the remaining bearing life of a pump or motor, with a
high degree of accuracy, remains elusive.
Deteriorating efficiency on the other hand is easy to detect, because it typically shows
itself through increased cycle times. In other words, the machine slows down. When this
occurs, quantification of the efficiency loss isnt always necessary. If the machine slows
to the point where its cycle time is unacceptably slow, the pump or motor is replaced.
End of story.
In certain situations, however, it can be helpful, even necessary, to quantify the pump or
motors actual efficiency and compare it to the components native efficiency. For this, an
understanding of hydraulic pump and motor efficiency ratings is essential.
There are three categories of efficiency used to describe hydraulic pumps (and motors):
volumetric efficiency, mechanical/hydraulic efficiency and overall efficiency.
Volumetric efficiency is determined by dividing the actual flow delivered by a pump at a
given pressure by its theoretical flow. Theoretical flow is calculated by multiplying the
pumps displacement per revolution by its driven speed. So if the pump has a
displacement of 100 cc/rev and is being driven at 1000 RPM, its theoretical flow is 100
liters/minute.
Actual flow has to be measured using a flow meter. If when tested, the above pump
had an actual flow of 90 liters/minute at 207 bar (3000 PSI), we can say the pump has a
volumetric efficiency of 90% at 207 bar (90 / 100 x 100 = 90%).
Its volumetric efficiency used most in the field to determine the condition of a hydraulic
pump - based on its increase in internal leakage through wear or damage. But without
reference to theoretical flow, the actual flow measured by the flow meter would be
meaningless.

A pumps mechanical/hydraulic efficiency is determined by dividing the theoretical

torquerequired to drive it by the actual torque required to drive it. A
mechanical/hydraulic efficiency of 100 percent would mean if the pump was delivering
flow at zero pressure, no force or torque would be required to drive it. Intuitively, we
know this is not possible, due to mechanical and fluid friction.

Table 1. The typical overall efficiencies of hydraulic pumps, as shown above,

are simply the product of volumetric and mechanical/hydraulic
efficiency. Source: Bosch Rexroth
Like theoretical flow, theoretical drive torque can be calculated. For the above pump, in
SI units: 100 cc/rev x 207 bar / 20 x p = 329 Newton meters. But like actual flow, actual
drive torque must be measured and this requires the use of a dynamometer. Not
something we can - or need - to do in the field. For the purposes of this example though,
assume the actualdrive torque was 360 Nm. Mechanical efficiency would be 91% (329 /
360 x 100 = 91%).
Overall efficiency is simply the product of volumetric and mechanical/hydraulic efficiency.
Continuing with the above example, the overall efficiency of the pump is 0.9 x 0.91 x
100 = 82%. Typical overall efficiencies for different types of hydraulic pumps are shown
in the Table 1.
System designers use the pump manufacturers volumetric efficiency value to calculate
theactual flow a pump of a given displacement, operating at a particular pressure, will
deliver.
As already mentioned, volumetric efficiency is used in the field to assess the condition of
a pump, based on the increase in internal leakage due to wear or damage.
When calculating volumetric efficiency based on actual flow testing, its important to be
aware that the various leakage paths within the pump are usually constant. This means
if pump flow is tested at less than full displacement (or maximum RPM) this will skew the
calculated efficiency - unless leakage is treated as a constant and a necessary
adjustment made.

For example, consider a variable displacement pump with a maximum flow rate of 100
liters/minute. If it was flow tested at full displacement and the measured flow rate was
90 liters/minute, the calculated volumetric efficiency would be 90 percent (90/100 x
100). But if the same pump was flow tested at the same pressure and oil temperature
but at half displacement (50 L/min), the leakage losses would still be 10 liters/minute,
and so the calculated volumetric efficiency would be 80 percent (40/50 x 100).
The second calculation is not actually wrong, but it requires qualification: this pump is 80
percent efficient at half displacement. Because the leakage losses of 10 liters/minute
are nearly constant, the same pump tested under the same conditions will be 90 percent
efficient at 100 percent displacement (100 L/min) - and 0 percent efficient at 10 percent
displacement (10 L/min).
To help understand why pump leakage at a given pressure and temperature is virtually
constant, think of the various leakage paths as fixed orifices. The rate of flow through an
orifice is dependant on the diameter (and shape) of the orifice, the pressure drop across
it and fluid viscosity. This means that if these variables remain constant, the rate of
internal leakage remains constant, independent of the pump's displacement or shaft
speed.
Overall efficiency is used to calculate the drive power required by a pump at a given flow
and pressure. For example, using the overall efficiencies from the table above, let us
calculate the required drive power for an external gear pump and a bent axis piston
pump at a flow of 90 liters/minute at 207 bar:
External gear pump: 90 x 207 / 600 x 0.85 = 36.5 kW
Bent axis piston pump: 90 x 207 / 600 x 0.92 = 33.75 kW
As youd expect, the more efficient pump requires less drive power for the same output
flow and pressure. With a little more math, we can quickly calculate the heat load of
each pump:
Drive power for a (non-existent) 100% efficient pump would be: 90 x 207 / 600 x 1 =
31.05 kW
So at this flow and pressure, the heat load or power lost to heat of each pump is:
External gear pump: 36.5 31.05 = 5.5 kW
Bent axis piston pump: 33.75 31.05 = 2.7 kW
No surprise that a system with gear pumps and motors requires a bigger heat exchanger
than an equivalent (all other things equal) system comprising piston pumps and motors.

http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/pumps-power-d_505.html

Pumps - Power Calculator

Calculate pump hydraulic and shaft power
Sponsored Links

Hydraulic Pump Power

The ideal hydraulic power to drive a pump depends on

the mass flow rate the

liquid density

the differential height

- either it is the static lift from one height to an other or the total head loss component of the
system - and can be calculated like
Ph(kW) = q g h / (3.6 106)

(1)

where
Ph(kW) = hydraulic power (kW)
q = flow capacity (m3/h)
= density of fluid (kg/m3)
g = gravity (9.81 m/s2)
h = differential head (m)
The hydraulic Horse Power can be calculated as:
Ph(hp) = Ph(kW) / 0.746

(2)

where
Ph(hp) = hydraulic horsepower (hp)
Example - Power pumping Water
1 m3/h of water is pumped a head of 10 m. The theoretical pump power can be calculated as
Ph(kW) = (1 m3/h) (1000 kg/m3) (9.81 m/s2) (10 m) / (3.6 106)
= 0.027 kW
Shaft Pump Power
The shaft power - the power required transferred from the motor to the shaft of the pump depends on the efficiency of the pump and can be calculated as
Ps(kW) = Ph(kW) /

(2)

where
Ps(kW) = shaft power (kW)
= pump efficiency
Online Pump Calculator - SI-units
The calculator below can used to calculate the hydraulic and shaft power of a pump:
q - flow capacity (m3/h)
135

- density of fluid (kg/m3)

1000

g - gravity (m/s2)
9.81

h - differential head (m)

33

- pump efficiency
0.6

Reset!

Online Pump Calculator - Imperial units

The calculator below can used to calculate the hydraulic and shaft power of a pump using
Imperial units:
q - flow capacity (gpm)
600

- specific weight of fluid (lb/ft3)

62.4

g - gravity (ft/s2)
32.174

h - differential head (ft)

110

- pump efficiency
0.6

Reset!

Check the relation between Density, Specific Weight and Specific Gravity

Related Mobile Apps from The Engineering ToolBox