Progressive Cavity Pump - Typical Design of Cavity Pumps

Typical Design of Cavity Pumps

Specific designs involve the rotor of the pump being made of a steel, coated with a smooth hard surface, normally chromium, with the body (the stator) made of a molded elastomer inside a metal tube body. The elastomer core of the stator forms the required complex cavities. The rotor is held against the inside surface of the stator by angled link arms, bearings (immersed in the fluid) allowing it to roll around the inner surface (un-driven). Elastomer is used for the stator to simplify the creation of the complex internal shape, created by means of casting, which also improves the quality and longevity of the seals by progressively swelling due to absorption of water and/or other common constituents of pumped fluids. Elastomer/pumped fluid compatibility will thus need to be taken into account.

Two common designs of stator are the "equal-walled" and the "unequal-walled". The latter, having greater elastomer wall thickness at the peaks allows larger-sized solids to pass through because of its increased ability to distort under pressure. The former have a constant elastomer wall thickness and therefore exceed in most other aspects such as pressure per stage, precision, heat transfer, wear and weight. They are more expensive due to the complex shape of the outer tube.