Screw Pump

Here, a hollow tube is wrapped around a central shaft, which is turned by the hand crank. Because the shaft is at an angle, the tube has low points that catch water, and as the shaft turns, the water travels "up" the tube by means of gravity forcing it to the next local low point, until it reaches the top

The Screw Pump is one of the simplest positive displacement pumps, and has been used for thousands of years to move water, mainly for irrigation purposes.

An example of the Archimedes Screw in action, in the enclosed screwed-shaft configuration.

A screw pump can have a few different configurations, including a tube wrapped around a shaft, or a tube enclosing a shaft with a screw wrapped around it.

Probably the easiest way to manufacture a screw pump would be to opt to use the tube wrapping configuration, perhaps molding a clay or porcelain tube around a central shaft, and then firing it in a kiln. It's conceivable that this fashion of screw pump could also be assembled from a joining of segmented parts, perhaps constructed out of wood, which would make adding or subtracting length easier, as long as some method of watertight joinery could be used. The method of the enclosed screw is dependent on tight manufacturing tolerances that would be difficult to achieve without machining tools.

Dependencies

• Screw
• Water
  • Screw Pump

See also

• Simple Machines
• Tympanum