VACUUM SCIENCE BLOG

When pumping atmospheric air (or gas) in a vacuum system, however “pure” it may appear to be, it will invariably contain some vapour.

During the compression process in the pump , this vapour will condense. Failure to remove it will form a contaminant which will prevent the pump from achieving its optimum vacuum pressure. Also, the condensate can enter the pump’s mechanism, for example the oil in oil-sealed rotary pumps, where, as a contaminant, it can have a detrimental effect.

In simple terms, a gas ballast valve incorporated into the system will allow a flow of air into the final part of the compression cycle and allow the vapour to be expelled without condensation or affecting the pump's overall performance.

There are several types of pumps that can deliver high and ultra-high vacuum pressures; diffusion pumps, cryo pumps; ion getter pumps (IGP); titanium sublimation pumps (TSP); non-evaporable getter (NEG) pumps; and turbomolecular pumps (TMP).

The methods whereby these pumps are capable of producing high and ultra-high vacuum pressures (between 10^-3 and 10^-11 mbar) are either by momentum transfer of gas molecules or by capturing them (either physically or chemically).

In the world of vacuum systems, scroll pumps hold a valuable place as one of the few pumps that are traditionally employed in low (i.e. 1000 mbar to 1 mbar) and medium (i.e. 1 mbar to 10^-3 mbar) systems, and yet are now also frequently being employed as fore (or backing) pumps in high and ultra-high (i.e. 10^-3 to 10^-12 mbar) vacuum systems.

Vacuum simulation (or modelling) is an essential part of vacuum system design. It is now a well-established practice and is primarily concerned with the prediction and calculation of how vacuum pumps and systems will perform in specific scenarios.

These simulations enable engineers to identify anomalies in the design stage and acquire the right components, rather than building a vacuum system that later needs to be redesigned.

Sharing knowledge and expertise on all things vacuum science and technology is our foundation. We are delighted to share this opportunity to learn from international researchers and innovators in the Renewable Energy and Vacuum Insulation community at the International Conference on Renewable Energy and Vacuum Insulation for Nearly Zero Energy Buildings.

Vacuum science has been integral to major scientific advancements. One of the most prominent of these is gravitational wave detectors. Gravitational waves are ripples in space-time that are caused by violent processes such as exploding stars, collisions between neutron stars or the merging of black holes – a concept predicted by Einstein’s theory of General Relativity in 1915.

One of the most discussed concepts amongst the astrophysics community is black holes. A black hole is a volume of space where the presence of gravity is so extreme that fast moving particles or light cannot escape.

For a vacuum pump system, a vital consideration in its design is the conductance. Conductance in vacuum systems is the characteristic of a vacuum component or system to readily allow the flow of gas and can be thought of as the inverse of resistance to flow. Its units are that of the volumetric capacity of gas flow in a passive component (or aggregate component of a vacuum system), such as an opening or a pipe, divided by time.

Ion getter pumps (also called sputter ion pumps or simply ion pumps) produce ultra-high vacuum (UHV) without the aid of moving parts or valves. This makes them highly effective, quiet and low maintenance.

What do you need to consider when choosing vacuum pumps?

Anyone without a deep understanding or knowledge of pumps might think that vacuum generation is simply a question of “plugging in a pump”, starting it up and waiting for the vacuum to drop to the required level.