Design Analysis of an Epicyclic Rotary Pump Mechanism

Abstract

A planetary gear train is analyzed and an application of the mechanism as a rotary pump is examined. General kinematic and static force analyses are performed, and expressions for housing and rotor profiles are derived. Numerical optimization yields good approximations of the nearly square housing and the triangular rotor using easy-to-produce geometric shapes. Different rotating chamber arrangements are considered and chamber volume variations are computed. A physical model which has been constructed to demonstrate the motion properties is discussed.