Access to a reliable source of water is something that many of us take for granted. However, people all over the world, especially areas where electricity is unavailable or difficult to produce, struggle with availability to this vital resource. The water accessibility problem can economically and efficiently addressed by employing a hydraulic ram pump. Hydraulic ramp pumps offer electricity-free, low-cost and reliable way to supply water to these areas by utilizing a well-known phenomenon called water hammer, which occurs due to sudden blockage of flowing fluid. Ram pump uses the kinetic energy of water to create a pressure head necessary for the delivery of water to the higher elevation than that of the water source. Additionally, areas with a robust infrastructure for electricity still benefit from this eco-friendly technology by decreasing the dependency on electricity and fossil fuels for water supply. The goal of the present study is to modify the design of an existing hydraulic ram pump system to improve its overall performance. A preliminary study on an existing hydraulic ram pump system showed an optimal drive pipe inclination angle of 67.5° with a drive pipe length of 4.8 ft. The results showed that the pump was capable to deliver about 1049 liter of water per day. In the present research, we planned to explore innovative ways to increase the pump’s performance efficiency and delivery rate to maximize its potential as a viable resource for water transport worldwide. In this project, we plan to test the effects of adding a second drive pipe of the same length and inclination to a common pressure chamber of the existing ram pump unit. Notably, the other components such as pressure vessel, waste valve, and delivery pipe sizes will remain the same throughout all experiments. Our hypothesis is that the addition of second drive pipe should increase the amount of water delivered by the pump and overall yield a better result in terms of pump’s volumetric efficiency and energy efficiency. The performance tests of a modified ram pump with double inlets are currently in progress. We anticipate the higher rate of flow delivered by the modified pump will have a substantial effect on the overall performance of the ram pump. Further, the study will provide better understanding of ram pump technology. Furthermore, the final results will unveil future direction for design improvement of other components of the ram pump system such as pressure chamber, waster valve and source tank.


Performance of a Modified Ram Pump With Double Inlets: An Innovative Technique to Improve Performance of the Hydraulic Ram Pump

Division / Sponsors: 
Aerospace, Bioengineering, Applied Mechanics, Design Engineering Division, Advanced Energy Systems, Manufacturing Engineering Division, Noise Control and Acoustics, Nondestructive Evaluation, Diagnosis, and Prognosis (NDPD), Nuclear Engineering Division, Process Industries Division, Fluids Engineering, Heat Transfer, Materials, Microelectromechanical Systems, Safety Engineering and Risk Analysis, Computers & Information in Engineering


Paper Proceedings: https://asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/IMECE/IMECE2020/volume/84478

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