High Pressure Pumps

High-pressure pumps are used in almost every industry. Typical high-pressure requirements are found in boiler-feed pumps in paper mills to spray guns in car washes. High-pressure pumps are built in both centrifugal and positive displacement pump styles.

For centrifugal pumps, pressures over 100 psi or 250 ft are considered high-pressure. The high pressures are generated by multiple stages within the pump casing with each stage impeller adding more pressure to the fluid than the previous. Single stage high-pressure centrifugal pumps commonly run at 3600 rpm and beyond. High pressure centrifugal pumps are best suited for flows over 50 gpm and fluids with viscosity like water.

Most common high-pressure pumps are positive displacement style as they are more compact, use less energy and cost less to build, particularly for flow rates under 50 gpm.

Positive displacement pumps are inherently designed to generate high pressures. With each shaft rotation or cycle, a certain amount of fluid displacement occurs regardless of the discharge pressure encountered. For this reason, positive displacement high pressure pumps require a pressure relief valve in case an accidental blockage downstream occurs.

High-pressure positive displacement pumps are built in several pump types such as mechanical diaphragm, piston plunger or rotary lobe being most common. Pressures up to 1500 psi can be generated by mechanical diaphragm and up to 7000 psi using a piston plunger pump.