• Vane pumps are everywhere in our lives.pump and manometer image by YURY MARYUNIN from Fotolia.com
  
  Vane pumps are versatile and efficient. They were invented by Charles C. Barnes of Sackville, New Brunswick in 1874. We have vane pumps in the power-steering and automatic transmission in our cars. When we buy a latte or get a soda at a movie, the liquid is pumped by a vane pump. Vane pumps can deal with a wide range of fluid temperatures from -32°C / -25°F to 260°C / 500°F and can occasionally run dry without losing efficiency. They work well with fluids that have small solids mixed in with the liquid.
  
  

Parts of a Vane Pump

• The vane pump consists of an outer round chamber , a round disk inside the outer chamber, vanes attached to the round disk and springs under the vanes, which press the vanes against the walls of the outer chamber.
  
  

Picture a Vane Pump

• Picture a round chamber with a smaller round disk inside it. Put vanes on the smaller cylinder that touch the walls of the larger chamber. Move the smaller disk to one side and put springs under the vanes so they move in and out to stay in contact with the outer chamber. Put two openings on either side of the spot on the outer chamber that's closest to the smaller disk. Liquid enters the outer chamber through one of the openings and flows around the inside of the larger chamber then out the other opening.
  
  

Efficiency is the Key Word

• The pump gains efficiency because the smaller space between the vanes, the outer chamber and the inner disk expands dramatically as it turns, much more than it would if the inner disk was set in the center of the outer chamber. Liquids won't change in volume unless their temperature changes, so liquid must fill the small space from the outside as the smaller space expands. It works in reverse with the same efficiency. The liquid is forced out of the small space as it grows smaller.