Gerotor

Article summary

A gerotor (pronounced ) is a type of positive-displacement rotary gear pump. The name gerotor is derived from "generated rotor." A gerotor unit consists of an inner and an outer rotor. The inner rotor has n teeth, while the outer rotor has n + 1 teeth, with n defined as a natural number greater than or equal to 2. The axis of the inner rotor is offset from the axis of the outer rotor and both rotors rotate on their respective axes. The two rotors are normally fully enclosed in a circular housing with two radial partitions which viewed axially, isolate the inlet half of the gerotor where volume expansion takes place, and the outlet half where volume contraction takes place. In common with a number of other designs of pump, the gerotor pumping function relies on this change in volume. During the assembly's rotation cycle, fluid trapped in the enclosed voids between the gerotor teeth passes from the inlet side of the pump housing to the outlet side of the pump housing, this process occurring continuously as the gerotor rotates. This process causes fluid to be transferred from the pump inlet to the pump outlet and creates fluid flow and/or pressure to be generated. Gerotor pumps are considered to be positive displacement pump type meaning that their flow rate is closely proportional to rpm and largely independent of pressure.…

Key claims

No claims recorded.

Discussion questions

1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
2. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
3. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

Bibliography

No sources recorded.