Positive displacement pump system and method

A system, comprising:

• a pumping chamber forming a closed loop;
• a pump inlet in fluid communication with the pumping chamber;
• a pump outlet in fluid communication with the pumping chamber;
• a first piston movable within the pumping chamber, wherein the first piston comprises a first piston Halbach array;
• a second piston movable within the pumping chamber and structurally independent of the first piston, wherein the second piston comprises a second piston Halbach array;
• the first piston and second piston each comprising a leading face, a trailing face, and one or more perimeter faces each between the leading face and the trailing face, each of the one or more perimeter faces being closely adjacent one or more similarly configured chamber inner surfaces as each piston moves within the pumping chamber, each of the one or more perimeter faces further comprising a hydrodynamic bearing surface, each hydrodynamic bearing surface spaced between the leading face and the trailing face, each hydrodynamic bearing surface adjacent the leading face spaced from a respective chamber surface by a spacing greater than a spacing between the hydrodynamic bearing surface adjacent the trailing face and the chamber surface;
• an electric motor having a rotor with a magnetic link;
• and
• an electromagnet electrically energizable from a dormant state to one or more energized states;
• wherein the system is configured such that during system operation:
• the electromagnet is initially energized to magnetically couple to the first piston to hold the first piston stationary within the chamber;
• the rotor of the electric motor is initially magnetically coupled to the second piston and the electric motor is operated to move the second piston within the chamber relative to the first piston using the rotor and to thereby increase a volume of a portion of the chamber between a leading face of the first piston and a trailing face of the second piston while the portion of the chamber between the leading face of the first piston and the trailing face of the second piston is in fluid communication with the pump inlet while simultaneously decreasing a volume of a portion of the chamber between the trailing face of the first piston and the leading face of the second piston while the portion of the chamber between the trailing face of the first piston and the leading face of the second piston is in fluid communication with the pump outlet;
• wherein the system is configured such that during system operation:
• the electromagnet is subsequently one of de-energized to magnetically release the first piston and energized to repel the first piston away from the electromagnet, and the electromagnet is then re-energized to magnetically couple to the second piston to hold the second piston stationary within the chamber;
• and
• the rotor of the electric motor is subsequently magnetically released from the second piston and then magnetically coupled to the first piston to move the first piston within the chamber relative to the second piston and to thereby increase a volume of a portion of the chamber between the leading face of the second piston and the trailing face of the first piston while simultaneously decreasing a volume of a portion of the chamber between the trailing face of the second piston and the leading face of the first piston;
• wherein de-energizing the electromagnet means restoring the electromagnet to a dormant state by substantially depriving the electromagnet of current flow;
• and
• wherein energizing the electromagnet to repel the first piston means energizing the electromagnet using a current flow that reverses the polarity of the electromagnet as compared to the current flow used to energize the electromagnet to magnetically couple to the first piston.