Priming of gear pump in alternative attitudes

摘要

A gear pump has a pair of meshed gears for rotating within a gear pump chamber, and a motor driving at least one of the gears. A discharge line passes fluid downstream from the gear pump chamber, and a suction line delivers fluid into the gear pump chamber. A bypass valve communicates with the discharge line. A shutoff valve communicates with the discharge line. The bypass valve opens at a lower pressure than the shutoff valve. A bypass line communicating the discharge line to the suction line when the bypass valve is open. The gear pump is configured to compress air. In addition, a gear pump arrangement that can be mounted in either of two attitudes is described, as is a method of operating a gear pump.