Water-Jet Pump

a pump for raising and moving liquids and hydraulic fluids through a pipe. Its operation is based on the utilization of the energy of a jet of water that is fed to a nozzle under pressure. In passing through the noncirculating portion of the pump at high velocity, the jet of water develops a pressure gradient as it escapes from the nozzle. This produces an overflow of the material being transported into the mixing chamber. The jet of working fluid carries the hydraulic fluid thus formed into a diffuser. There the flow velocity of the mixture is reduced, but its pressure is increased because part of the jet’s kinetic energy is transformed into potential energy of the current, which causes the movement of the mixture through the pipes. The water-jet pump has no moving parts and is simple in both construction and use, but its efficiency does not exceed 20-25 percent.

Water-jet pumps are used to transport materials for short distances (up to several hundred meters), for hydraulic mining and construction operations, for removing sludge in concentrating plants and cinders and ashes in boiler and electric power plants, and for transporting sand and gravel.