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External Gear Pumps are used in various industries to pump non-Newtonian viscoelastic fluids like plastics, paints, inks, etc. For both design and analysis purposes, it is often a matter of interest to understand the features of the displacing action realized by meshing of the gears and the description of the behavior of the leakages for this kind of pumps. However, very limited work can be found in literature about methodologies suitable to model such phenomena. This article describes the technique of modelling external gear pumps that operate with non-Newtonian fluids. In particular, it explains how the displacing action of the unit can be modelled using a lumped parameter approach which involves dividing fluid domain into several control volumes and internal flow connections. This work is built upon the HYGESim simulation tool, conceived by the authors’ research team in the last decade, which is for the first time extended for the simulation of non-Newtonian fluids. The article also describes several comparisons between simulation results and experimental data obtained from numerous experiments performed for validation of the presented methodology. Finally, operation of external gear pump with fluids having different viscosity characteristics is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A novel model for curve-constricted leakage flows in hydraulic gear pumps is presented. • The flow model is applicable over a wide range of flow regimes including localized cavitation. • The model is developed in dimensionless form based on sets of CFD simulations. • Model validation is achieved through experiments conducted on a custom test apparatus. The internal leakage flows in external gear and gerotor pumps are often represented by flow through curved constrictions. The nature of this flow can vary from laminar to turbulent and the flow can experience localized cavitation too. In the current literature, there is a scarcity of techniques for accurately modelling such curve-constricted flows which limits the accuracy of the current simulation tools for gear pumps. This paper presents a novel flow model for curve-constricted geometries that is applicable over a wide range of flow regimes including localized cavitation. Using a dimensionless form, the proposed model characterizes the constriction flow velocity as the function of the constriction shape, the pressure difference, and a properly defined cavitation indicator. The functional relationships between these dimensionless parameters are developed based on CFD simulations. The flow model is validated by the means of several experiments conducted on a custom test apparatus. The model presented in this paper can be incorporated in the lumped parameter simulation tools widely used for modelling gear pumps, improving their accuracy in predicting the internal leakages. Consequently, this model will also aid the development of novel energy efficient gear pump designs, where such leakages are kept to a minimum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The proposed simulation model evaluates different flow, force features of a Gerotor. • The model considers different fluid–structure interactions of the rotors. • Flow rate, pressure pulsation and mechanical efficiency are experimentally validated. • Torque losses are quantified, considering possible asymmetry of the axial gap. Gerotors are compact, inexpensive and robust pumps generally used in hydraulic systems. Owing to their characteristic operation at low pressure (up to 30 bar), these units can be modelled using relatively simple tools considering only their fluid dynamics aspects. However, some commercially available Gerotors operate at higher pressures so that material deformation effects cannot be neglected under such conditions. This paper presents an omni-comprehensive simulation approach for Gerotor units that considers the fluid–structure interaction effects at the lateral lubricating gaps and related to the contacts between the rotors. The numerical tool consists of different submodels which allow the evaluation of the fluid dynamic features of the flow through the pump considering micro-motion effects of the rotors. This paper particularly details the novel aspects of the simulation approach, which is the introduction of submodels that account for fluid–structure interaction effects: the lateral lubricating gap models and the rotor contact models, both based on the solution of the Reynolds equation considering the deformation of the solid parts. For the model validation, a commercially available pump able to operate above 100 bar was tested at the authors' research center. The comparison between the simulation results and the experimental data clearly show the good accuracy of the model, in terms of volumetric flow and port pressure pulsation. In particular, the model allows predicting both the volumetric and the torque efficiency of the unit. Furthermore, the simulation results permit to interpret the reasons for instances of wear present in the unit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]