Online determination of gear material for gear pumps
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Guys, besides being used in lubrication systems, are gear pumps also used with other types of fluids? Our facility uses a gear pump to pump ethylene glycol. After just a few months of use, the gears became severely worn. The medium being pumped is polyester-grade ethylene glycol; the inlet pressure is atmospheric pressure, while the outlet pressure is 1.0 MPa. The temperature of the medium ranges from 60 to 100°C. It turns out that the material of the gear is 304, with a nitriding treatment on its surface. Has anyone recommended other suitable materials?:handshake
For gear pumps, common materials include cast iron, steel, stainless steel, etc. Based on the fact that the medium you provided is polyester-grade ethylene glycol, it is recommended that you consider using a gear pump made of 316 stainless steel. 316 stainless steel has good corrosion resistance and is suitable for handling media with relatively complex chemical properties. Furthermore, you can also consider increasing the hardness of the gears, for example by using 316 stainless steel and subjecting them to nitriding treatment to improve their wear resistance. Additionally, you can also consult gear pump manufacturers to select the appropriate material and treatment methods based on the specific operational requirements. .
Ethylene glycol itself does not have any particularly significant corrosive properties, and its viscosity is quite average. Gear pumps do have requirements regarding viscosity, after all, they need to establish a lubricating oil film. You can contact the original manufacturer to discuss the issue, and you can also reach out to leading manufacturers in the gear pump industry to see if they have any products that address similar problems (and that meet your process requirements).