Chiu-Fan Hsieh

Geometric Design for a Gerotor

Pump With High Area Efficiency

e-mail: naturaltom@gmail.com

Yii-Wen Hwang
e-mail: imeywh@ccu.edu.tw
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
National Chung-Cheng University,
168 San-Hsing, Ming-Hsiung,
Chia-Yi 621, Taiwan, R.O.C

This paper proposes a gerotor profile design based on the theory of gearing. Presented
first is the curve of the outer rotor, whose conjugate profile is the inner rotor. Next, the
analysis assesses the feasibility of three different design curves: an epitrochoid curve, a
hypotrochoidal curve, and a curve made by continuously connecting the epicycloid and
hypocycloid. The undercutting equation derived from the mathematical modelwhich is
presented in parametric formfacilitates identification of the design parameter limits,
while the sealing property and nonundercutting on the profile are estimated using curvature analyses. Finally, the offset concept is applied to the gerotor design. First, two
conjugate curves are obtained, whose offset curves are then found. Pump performance
including area efficiency and sealingis also compared for these designs, which include
both offset and nonoffset rotor profiles. DOI: 10.1115/1.2779887

Introduction

Gerotor pumps are widely used in the automotive industry for

fuel lift, engine oil, and transmission systems. However, volumetric efficiency and cavitation damage are causes for concern in
gerotor pumps with high output flow. Therefore, to optimize pump
performance and reduce cavitation damage, it is essential to understand the fluid dynamics inside the pump.
The gerotor design offers a lower cost alternative to other fluid
power and fluid transfer mechanisms over a broad range of applications. Designers of engines, compressors, machine tools, tractors, and other equipments requiring hydraulic systems can use an
integrally designed gerotor pump for a more compact, lower
weight unit. In most cases, it will also run more quietly.
Much relevant research exists on gerotor cycloidal pumps.
For example, Tsay and Yu 1 proposed an analytical method for
gerotors with outer rotor arc teeth and inner rotor trochoid teeth
and compared its design variables with those of the traditional
design. Beard et al. 2 derived relationships that show the influence of the trochoid ratio, the pin size ratio, and the radius of the
generating pin on the curvature of the epitrochoidal gerotor.
Shung and Pennock 3 presented a unified and compact equation
describing the geometry and geometric properties of the different
trochoid types and the geometric properties of a conjugate envelope. Litvin and Feng 4, who developed computer programs for
generating the planar cycloidal gearings and rotors of screw Roots
blowers, presented an improved design that eliminated profile and
surface singularities. Chiu 5 presented a rotor profile design and
manufacturing method consisting of a hypocycloid and an epicycloid. Kang and Hsieh 6 compared the area efficiency for the
addendum tooth profile using an extended cycloid, cycloid and
single circular arc, respectively. Litvin et al. 7 investigated the
envelopes relation to surface family by considering envelopes
formed by several branches for cycloidal pumps and conventional
worm gear drives.
More recently, Paffoni 8 presented a vector analysis that precisely describes the geometry of a hydrostatic gear gerotor pump
from which he deduced parametric equations. Subsequently, Paffoni et al. 9 proposed a teeth clearance influence on the tooth
number contact in a hydrostatic gerotor pump using arc circular
profiles. Specifically, they found that a severe reduction in the
number of point contacts and amount of diminution in wide surface contact of the pinion could be predicted based on tooth clearContributed by the Power Transmission and Gearing Committee of ASME for
publication in the JOURNAL OF MECHANICAL DESIGN. Manuscript received April 24,
2006; final manuscript received December 10, 2006. Review conducted by Philippe
Velex.

Journal of Mechanical Design

ance, following which the pressure contact and film thickness

could be deduced. In addition, the authors found that, despite
appearances, the benefit of high geometrical conformity, which
normally leads to low pressure and a thick film, was strongly
altered.
Hwang and Hsieh 10 proposed that the mathematical model
can be applied to simulate not only the gerotor pump but also the
cycloidal speed reducer. The carryover phenomenon had been improved from the traditional design. Here, the carryover phenomenon means a larger fluid or gas that may be carried from highpressure port back to low-pressure port. Thus, the pump
performance may be reduced. Besides, the equation of nonundercutting had been developed, and some numerical examples had
been presented to design and prove the proposed feasible design
region, which is without undercutting on the tooth profile or interference between the adjacent pins.
Figure 1 presents a cycloidal pump schematic in which rotors 1
and 2 perform the rotational motion about axes O1 and O2, respectively. The rotor tooth profiles with trochoidal curves form closed
chambers as the space and all rotor teeth are in mesh simultaneously. In a gerotor pump, the fluid is sucked into the inlet port
and then shifted to the outlet port. Because of the rotor clearances,
flow leakage occurs between the high-pressure and low-pressure
sides of the pump. Therefore, to limit pressure, excess fluid is
recirculated to the inlet port through a pressure relief valve. The
flow through the rotor clearances creates high fluid velocity and
localized low-pressure areas, which produce air and vapor
bubbles, thereby causing cavitation damage and noise. To address
this issue, this paper presents three methods for designing gerotor
profile and discusses their feasibility, sealing, and area efficiency.

Geometric Design of a Cycloidal Pump

The tooth numbers of rotors 1 and 2, N1 and N2, respectively,

are specified in the design as N2 = N1 1. However, the profile of
rotor 1 see Fig. 1 can be designed by using trochoidal curves
that may be epicycloid, hypocycloid, or equidistant. Here, the epicycloids and hypocycloids are first designed to form the addendum and dedendum of the outer rotor; however, a profile is also
given for the outer rotor with equidistance to the trochoid. The
profile of the inner rotor can then be generated using the profile of
the outer rotor. The following sections present the derived mathematical model in parameter form and examples that illustrate the
design results.
2.1 Mathematical Model. As shown in Fig. 2, curves 1
1
and 2
1 are epicycloid and hypocycloid, respectively, and each
has a common half tangent O1E. Therefore, to generate the inner

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r1x2

r122

re2 sin2 2 + rb2 r psin 2

2
= r1y
= re2 cos2 2 + rb2 + r pcos 2
1
1

where rb1 and rb2 are the radii of the rolling circle, 1 and 2 are
the angles of the base circle, 1 and 2 are the angles of the
2
rolling circle for curves 1
1 and 1 , respectively. r p is the pitch
radius of the outer rotor, and re1 and re2 are defined as

Fig. 1 Schematic of the cycloidal pump

rotor, coordinate systems are created, as shown in Fig. 3, where

coordinate systems S1x1 , y 1, S2x2 , y 2, and S f x f , y f are rigidly
attached to the outer rotor, inner rotor, and frame, respectively.
The gear ratio or angular velocity ratio can then be determined by
m21 =

2 2 N1
=
=
1 1 N2

r111

re1 sin1 + 1 + rb1 + r psin 1

1
r1y

= re1 cos1 + 1 + rb1 + r pcos 1

1

re2 = rb22

where 1 and 2 represent the trochoid ratio of the epitrochoid and

hypotrochoid, respectively. In this particular case, 1 = 2 = 1;
therefore, the epicycloids and hypocycloids can be formed based
on the profile of the outer rotor. However, because obtaining a
complete profile of the outer rotor only requires consideration of
the symmetric curve from point F to point G see Fig. 2, the
following equations must be taken into account:

Here, 1 and 2 represent the rotation angles of outer and inner

rotors, respectively. First, the position vectors of the addendum
2
1
1 and dedendum 1 are represented in coordinate S1 as follows:
r1x1

re1 = rb11

1 =

rp
1
rb1

2 =

rp
2
rb2

c = re1 + re2

r p = rb1 + rb2N1

rb1
rp

10

rb2
rp

11

=+
N1

12

=
Fig. 2 Design of the outer rotor profile

The following coordinate transformation then yields the equation of the inner rotor 11:
r2ii, 1 = M2f 1M f11r1ii = M211r1ii

i = 1,2
13

where

cos1 2 sin1 2 c sin 2

M211 = sin1 2
0
Fig. 3 Coordinate systems applied for the gerotor pump

1270 / Vol. 129, DECEMBER 2007

cos1 2

c cos 2

Operating Eq. 13 then yields the following conjugate equations:

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r2x1

r211, 1

r2x2

r222, 1

rb1 + r psin1 1 + 2 re1 sin1 1 + 2 + 1 c sin 2

= r2x1 = rb1 + r pcos1 1 + 2 re1 cos1 1 + 2 + 1 c cos 2

1
1
rb2 r psin2 + 1 2 re2 sin2 + 1 2 2 c sin 2

r2i
r2i
k
=0
i
1

i = 1,2

f 1 = cm21rb1 sin1 1 re1 sin1 1 + 1

+ re1r pm21 1sin 1

17

f 2 = cm21rb2 sin2 + 1 re2 sin2 + 1 2

re2r pm21 1sin 2

18

2.2 Mathematical Model of an Offset Curve. In this paper,

the offset curve method is used to generate new profiles for the
outer and inner rotors without interference between the rotors because using this method can improve pumping efficiency. Offset
curves, also called parallel curves, are defined as the locus of the
points at constant distant d along the normal from the generative
curves. One basic property is that an offset and its generator have
a common normal and thus a common direction of local tangent
vectors. Hence, the offset curve of profile 1 can be represented
by
i
R1y

1T = r1ii n1iid

n111 =

n122 =

rb1 sin 1 + re1 sin1 + 1

r2b1

2rb1re1 cos 1 +

r2e1

rb2 sin 2 re2 sin2 2

r2b2 2rb2re2 cos 2 + r2e2

after which the unit normal vector can be represented in coordinate system S2 by
n2ii, 1 = L211n1ii

f i i, 1 = 0

i = 1,2

25

where

cos1 2 sin1 2 0

L211 = sin1 2
0

cos1 2

Similarly, the offset curve of conjugate curve 2 can be represented as

Journal of Mechanical Design

n1ii = n1xi

i
n1y

where

r1i
i
= Tix
i

i
Tiy

0T

0T =

r1i/i k
r1i/i

r1i
i 2
i 2
= Tix
+ Tiy

rb1 + r psin 1 + re1 1 +

20

i = 1,2

i = 1,2

r11
rp
= rb1 + r pcos 1 re1 1 +
cos1 + 1
1
rb1
rp
sin1 + 1
rb1

21

r12
rp
= rb2 r pcos 2 re2 1
cos2 2
2
rb2
rb2 r psin 2 re2 1

rp
sin2 2
rb2

22

i = 1,2 19

Here, when i = 1, the curve is an epitrochoid, the sign implies

the inward offset, and the sign implies the outward offset. How-

15

ever, when i = 2, the curve is a hypotrochoid, the sign implies

the outward offset, and the sign implies the inward offset.
The unit normal vector can then be derived by

16

where k is the unit vector in the z direction. Substituting Eqs. 14

and 15 into Eq. 16 then yields the following:

R1ii = R1xi

14

= r2x2 = rb2 + r pcos2 + 1 2 + re2 cos2 + 1 2 2 c cos 2

1
1

However, solving the conjugate curve requires consideration of

the equation of meshing, which can be represented as follows:
f i i, 1 =

i
Tix

i
Tiy

Above,
0 -means the tangent vector. Operating Eq. 20
yields the following:
T

rb1 cos 1 + re1 cos1 + 1

r2b1

2rb1re1 cos 1 +

r2e1

rb2 cos 2 + re2 cos2 2

r2b2 2rb2re2 cos 2 + r2e2

23

24

i
R2ii, 1 = R2xi R2y
1T = r2ii, 1 n2ii, 1d

=0

f i i, 1
26

i = 1,2

in which the definitions of signs and are as above.

2.3 Equation of Undercutting. According to the theory of
gearing 11, undercutting occurs when a singular point exists on
the generated tooth profile. The mathematical definition of tooth
profile singularity is represented by the following equation:
i
i
i
= Vr1
+ V12
=0
Vr2

i = 1,2

27

where Vr1 and Vr2 represent the velocities of the contact point
2
displacement along the tooth shape 1
1 and 1 in coordinate
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2
system S1 and the generated shape 1
2 and 2 in coordinate
i
system S2, respectively. V12 is the sliding velocity. Equation 27
implies that the following two determinants are equal to zero:

R1xi
i
f ii

i
V12,1x

f i1

d1
dt

i
R1y
i

i
V12,1y

f ii

f i1

d1
dt

i = 1,2 28

=0

12 =

2i =

i
i
i
i
i
i
V12,1
= V12,1x
+ V12,1y
= 1,1
2,1
R1i E 2,1

29
30

i
2,1
= m21k

31

E = c sin 1i + c cos 1j

32

33

i = 1,2

The following equations can then help solve Eq. 28:

i
R1y
R1i R1xi



=
i+
j = r 1i n 1id
i
i
i

34

i = 1,2

f ii =

f i
i

f i1 =

f i
1

i = 1,2

r 1i =

r1i
i

n 1i =

n1i
i

i = 1,2

35

where

2.4 Equation of Curvature. Because the gerotor profile may

be an offset curve that is equidistant to the trochoidal curve, it is
possible to analyze the profiles curvature by first considering that
of the trochoidal curve. According to gearing theory 11, the
equation of curvature is as follows:

1ii

r1i n1i
i i

36

i = 1,2

r1i

where

2r11
21

rb1 + r pcos 1 + re1 1 +

r12 =

= rb1 + r psin 1 + re1 1 +

rp
rb1

rp
rb1

sin1 + 1

cos1 + 1

2r12
rp
= rb2 r psin 2 + re2 1
rb2
22
rb2 r pcos 2 re2 1

rp
rb2

37

sin2 + 2

cos2 + 2

38
Substituting Eqs. 2124, 37, and 38 into Eq. 36 then
yields the following:

11 =

r3b1 + r2e1rb1 + r p rb1re12rb1 + r pcos 1

rb1 + r pr2b1 2rb1re1 cos 1 + r2e11.5

1272 / Vol. 129, DECEMBER 2007

39

i
vr2x

i
nr2y
i
vr2y

f i = 0

i = 1,2

41

r1i
i
i
+ 1,1
2,1
r1i
1
42

i = 1,2
i = 1,2

43

i
i
i
i
i
= Tix
+ r1y
+ m21r1y
c cos 1i + Tiy
+ r1xi
vr2

+ m21 r1xi + c sin 1j

44

i = 1,2

i
i
i
i
i
= nix
n1y
+ m21n1y
i + niy
+ n1xi m21n1xij
n r2

i = 1,2
45

Substituting Eqs. 44 and 45 into Eq. 41 then yields the curvature of the generated profile.

Geometric Design and Discussion

This paper presents three methods for designing a gerotor profile, the first using an epitrochoid and its equidistant curve offset
curve, the second using a hypotrochoid and its equidistant curve
offset curve, and the third using both the epicycloid and hypocycloid and their respective equidistant curves offset curves. The
following sections provide a clear discussion of the design process
and each methods feasibility.
3.1 Gerotor Design Using the Epitrochoidal Curve. The
first design uses the tooth profile of the outer rotor as the epitrochoidal curve, whose formula is given as Eq. 2, and the inner
rotor as the conjugate tooth profile, given in Eq. 14. The profiles
of the inner and outer rotors can be obtained by simultaneously
considering the equation of meshing.
This method is illustrated using some examples with the following parameters:
N1 = 5

40

where

i
i
i
= R1y
+ m21R1y
c cos 1i + R1xi
V12,1

+ m21 R1xi + c sin 1j

i
nr2x

i
i
i
i
i
n r2
= nr2x
i + nr2y
j = n 1i + 1,1
2,1
n1i

Substituting Eqs. 19 and 3032 into Eq. 29 yields Vi

12,1 as

1 1

i
vr2

i
E 2,1

i
1,1
= k

1 1

i
n r2

i
i
i
i
i
vr2
= vr2x
i + vr2y
j = vr1
+ v12
=

where

r11 =

rb2 r pr2b2 2rb2re2 cos 2 + r2e21.5

The corresponding profile concave or convex can be determined through a curvature analysis, from which the contact stress
may also be estimated to show the contact situation between the
outer and inner rotors. The curvature of the generated profile can
then be represented as follows:

Equation 28 is the equation of undercutting, while the sliding

velocity is represented as

i = 1,2

r3b2 r2e2rb2 r p + rb2re22rb2 r pcos 2

N2 = 4

rb1 = 6

rb2 = 0

2 = 0

Equations 412 give c = re1, r p = 30, = = 0.2, and = 0, and

Eqs. 4 and 5 give re1 = 61 and re2 = 0. The design results of
these examples are shown in Fig. 4, while 1 equals 0.5, 0.7, and
1
2
0.9. If the definition of curvature difference is 12
1 = 1 1 , the
analytical result of the curvature difference is as shown in Fig. 4.
When the trochoid ratio 1 is larger, the curvature of the epitrochoidal curve and its generated curve are closer to the larger angle
range. In other words, as shown in Fig. 4, the larger the trochoid
ratio 1 is, the more the curvature difference between inner and
outer rotors will be approximate to the horizontal line within the
larger angle range, which indicates that the profiles of inner and
outer rotors are closer to this larger angle range, thereby producing a better sealing with less carryover phenomenon.
Nevertheless, according to the so-called offset method, the actual profile of the gerotor is the offset curve of the trochoidal
curve. Thus, the profiles of the inner and outer rotors can be
obtained by finding the two conjugate curves and making them an
inward offset. However, because offset distance d will affect the
potential for undercutting, an undercutting problem must be
avoided. As a result, two different aspects must be considered: the
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Fig. 4 Curvature difference between outer and inner profiles

minimum radius of curvature in an outer rotor and the minimum

distance of the offset with nonundercutting on the inner rotor profile, which should be derived based on the undercutting analysis.
Comparing these two values and taking the smaller of the two
produces the extreme value of d. Thus, we can ensure that no
undercutting on the inner and outer rotors will exist.
First, the radius of curvature of the epitrochoidal curve is defined as follows:

11 =

11

46

where 1
1 is as given in Eq. 39. If the curve has an extreme
value, then the following condition should be satisfied:
PQ
11 PQ
=
=0
1
P2

47

where
P = r3b1 + r2e1rb1 + r p rb1re12rb1 + r pcos 1
Q = rb1 + r pr2b1 2rb1re1 cos 1 + r2e11.5
P = r pre12rb1 + r psin 1

Fig. 6 Undercutting analysis for three examples

is given in Fig. 6. As shown in Fig. 6, Ud means a value of d that

makes the undercutting on the tooth profile of the inner rotor. If
d min is the minimum value of the curvatures radius and Ud min is
the minimum undercutting value, the result is as shown in Table 1.
Thus, it becomes possible to determine the design range of the
offset distance d. Indeed, using this method, the value d can be
obtained randomly within any feasible design range. To illustrate,
Fig. 7a shows the results of the nonoffset case and Fig. 7b
shows the results when d is given as 17, 14, and 8 Cases 1, 2, and
3, respectively.
The design outcomes mentioned above are those that result
when the eccentric throw c = re1, a compact construction. In such
cases, when two rotors are operating, the chamber between the
two rotors can keep a sealed space for inhaling, compressing, and
exhaling the fluid. For instance, as shown in Fig. 8a, in case 2 of
Table 1, when the design is c re1 and the corresponding parameter is c = 4 4.2, the tooth profile of the rotor would have undercutting and interference between the outer and inner rotors. Therefore, it could not be used as a gerotor pump. Again in Case 2,
when c re1 and the corresponding parameter is c = 5 4.2, as
shown in Fig. 8b, the tooth profile of the rotor would have no

= 3r r r + r sin r2 2r r cos + r2 2
Q
p e1 b1
p
1 b1
b1 e1
1
e1
Substituting the solved value from Eq. 47 into Eq. 46 then
gives the extreme value of the curvatures radius, whose analytical
result is shown in Fig. 5. The corresponding undercutting analysis

Table 1 Design range of d

Fig. 5 Radius of curvature for outer profile

Fig. 7 Generation of gerotor profile

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Fig. 8 Design constraint of tooth profile

undercutting phenomenon but would have an apparent clearance

between the outer and inner rotors, which might lead to a leakage
problem. Therefore, it is not good to make a gerotor pump either.
3.2 Gerotor Design Using the Hypotrochoidal Curve. In
this section, various examples using the hypotrochoidal curve on
the outer rotors are tested to assess whether the resulting designs
make suitable gerotor pumps. All examples are based on the following parameters:
N1 = 5

N2 = 4

rb1 = 0

rb2 = 6

1 = 0

Based on these measures, Eqs. 412 give c = re2, r p = 30,

= = 0.2, and = 0, and Eqs. 4 and 5 give re1 = 0 and re2
= 62. Figure 9 shows the results for these examples, in which 2
is 0.5, 0.7, and 0.9 and, once the inward and outward offsets are in
place, any value of d =5. These results do not indicate that the
tooth profile under the offset would be a gerotor pump.
3.3 Gerotor Design Using the Epicycloid and Hypocycloid.
According to Refs. 5,6, when an epicycloid and a hypocycloid
are made into a tooth profile, their connection point is continuous,
not only achieving position continuity but also satisfying the radius of curvature continuity. Thus, even though the radius of curvature on that point is zero, it can connect smoothly. That is, if in
this unique situation, only an epicycloid or a hypocycloid is used
as the tooth profile, the connection point is singular a cusp. In
that case, it would not be suitable as the design index. However,
because the mathematical model in this paper is in parametric
form, it holds for any design value. For example, the parameters
of the epicycloid and hypocycloid may be given as
1 = 1

2 = 1

N1 = 5

N2 = 4

r p = 40

The parameters calculated are shown in Table 2. From Eq. 17,

1 = 1, and from Eq. 18, 1 = 2. The results also prove that
when c rb1 + rb2, the tooth profile has no continuity and therefore suffers from an undercutting phenomenon. For example, if
the value of c in case 1 of Table 2 is changed to 7 rb1 + rb2 or
1274 / Vol. 129, DECEMBER 2007

Fig. 9 Gerotor designed with hypotrochoidal curve and their

offset profiles

9 rb1 + rb2, the curvature radius of the inner profiles is not

continuous see Figs. 10a and 10b. Rather, only when c
= rb1 + rb2 is the design feasible.
3.4 Comparison of the Area Efficiency. The following
analysis compares the area efficiency for the examples presented
above in Secs. 3.1 and 3.3. For simplicity, the span angle is deTransactions of the ASME

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Table 2 Parameters calculated

outer
fined as span
see Fig. 11. Applying trigonometry to the inflecouter
, and
tion point obtained in Sec. 3.1 yields a span angle of span
using a similar operation on the span angle in Sec. 3.3 gives
outer
span
= 2. The area efficiency can then be calculated for the two
outer
using the following efficiency
designs having the same span
formula:

Aouter Ainner
100%
Aouter

48

where Aouter stands for the cross-section area of the outer rotor and
Ainner stands for the cross-section area of the inner rotor.
The rotors area can be calculated by using the Greens theory.
In the view of the close curve on a plane, when going on the
boundary of the area, the formula for the area keeping on the left
side is
A=

1
2

y x xyd

49

For example, the area from point E to G can be calculated by Eq.

49 in Fig. 2. In the same way, the area on the right side is

outer
Fig. 11 Definition of span angle as span

A=

Fig. 10 Tooth profile analysis by the radius of curvature

Journal of Mechanical Design

1
2

xy y xd

50

Similarly, the area from point E to F can be calculated by Eq.

50 in Fig. 2. The angle ranges of 1, 2 and 1, 2 depend on the
tooth profile design. The rotors area can be obtained from either
Eq. 49 or Eq. 50, whose value is then substituted into Eq. 48.
Thus, the area efficiency can be solved.
The results for area efficiency in a nonundercutting situation are
shown in Fig. 12. Clearly, when the tooth profile of the gerotor is
composed of both an epicycloid and a hypocycloid, given the
same span angle, the area efficiency is better than in any other
design. Moreover, when the gerotor tooth profile is an epitrochoidal curve with the same span angle, the area efficiency may
increase as trochoid ratio increases. However, increasing the span
angle will lead to the rotor having an undercutting phenomenon,
which may limit design flexibility.
Based on the results above, in the case of a gerotor tooth profile
composed of an epicycloid and a hypocycloid, the tooth profile
will have an undercutting phenomenon after being an inward or an
outward offset. Nevertheless, the following section, besides discussing the merits and weaknesses of this type of design, shows
that a gerotor pump having an undercutting situation may still be
feasible.
As shown above, the offset profile for an epicycloid and a hypocycloid combinationfor example, many screw compressor
designs 12,13fails to achieve a single continuity at the connection point. Rather, in such designs, only the tooth profile
reaches a continuity position at the connection point that can also
extend to pump performance 14. However, such continuity can
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Fig. 14 Area efficiency of offset rotors

Fig. 12 Comparison
nonundercutting

of

the

area

efficiency

under
outer
span
2,d

be achieved if the offset is given the value d and a common

intersection point is found for the two curves using the following
formula:
Rjx11 Rjx22 = 0
Rjy11 Rjy22 = 0

j = 1,2

inner
span
2,d

1276 / Vol. 129, DECEMBER 2007

=0
N2

53

outer
Because dinner
max dmax , the offsets extreme value is usually
inner
set at dmax . In addition, because the cusp may lower both gerotor
pump efficiency and tooth profile strength, designing the gerotor
requires a consideration of the cusp caused by the offsets extreme
value. In other words, if the value d is larger, it may reduce the
sealing property in a gerotor pump, which would increase leakage.
However, an appropriate d can increase area efficiency.
outer
To illustrate, given seven initial span angles span
nonoffset,
24 deg, 30 deg, 36 deg, 42 deg, 48 deg, 54 deg, and 60 deg, once
the inward and outward offsets have been found, a new span angle
outer
span
and area efficiency can be calculated from the initial span
angle and the offset value d. The final result is as shown in Fig.
14, where the thick black line is the nonoffset area efficiency, the
upper area is the area efficiency after calculating the inward offset,
and the area below is the area efficiency after calculating the
outward offset. It is apparent that no matter which initial span
outer
angle span
is set for the outer rotor, the inward offset will have
a higher area efficiency, while the outward offset will produce a
lower area efficiency. Moreover, in computing the gerotors area
efficiency and span angle, this process also enables the derivation
of the design parameter, which enhances design flexibility and
gives the designer an important reference.

Fig. 13 Design results of gerotor

52

Similarly, the maximum distance of the inward offset, which

can make the inner rotor tip a cusp, can be solved by denoting
dinner
max , taking into account Eq. 51 j = 2 and considering the
following equation:

51

As shown in Fig. 13a, the design results of gerotors are the

nonoffset ones. The results of setting the distance at d = 5 and
applying the three cases from Sec. 3.3 to the inward and outward
offsets are shown in Figs. 13b and 13c. So, the variations of
rotor profiles can be observed clearly from Fig. 13.
In addition, the maximum distance of the inward offset, which
can make the outer rotor tip a cusp, can be solved by denoting
douter
max , taking into account Eq. 51 j = 1 and considering the
following equation:

=0
N1

Conclusion

This paper proposes an application of the offset or offset concept for gerotor design, as well as a parametric mathematical
model. In line with the conjugate theory, firstly, two conjugate
curves are obtained and then their offset curves are applied to the
gerotor based on the design requirement. The designer can set any
profile by using an undercutting and a curvature analysis to produce an outcome that benefits the design limitations.
Specifically, the discussion outlines three different gerotor designs. The first, based on the epitrochoid curve of the outer rotor,
produces a conjugate inner rotor. Calculating the inward and outward offsets then yields two new conjugate tooth profiles, while
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an undercutting analysis gives the offsets extreme values. Also

proposed is an analysis of curvature difference to improve the
sealing property as the trochoid ratio increases.
The second uses the hypotrochoidal curve, with the inner rotor
as the conjugate curve, to produce a design for the outer rotor.
Because of the offset, the profile of these two rotors will not be
continuous and will suffer an interference phenomenon. Therefore, this design pattern cannot be used for a gerotor.
The third design, again for the outer rotor, is made by connecting the epicycloid and hypocycloid continuously. Not only does
this design produce a better sealing property than that yielded by
the curvature difference in the first design, but it also leads to a
better area efficiency in a nonundercutting situation.
In the compressor rotor design, all profile curves need not have
a single continuity on the connection point if pump performance is
the only concern. Therefore, this paper uses the offset concept to
research yet another design pattern. In this model, given the initial
outer
span angle span
, the area efficiency after inward offsetting will
be higher and the area efficiency after outward offsetting will be
lower than that for the nonoffset. Not only does this result indicate
enhanced design flexibility, but these design steps also enable the
development of several different gerotors.

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