Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Department of Mechanical
Engineering
Experiment No. 1
Performance Test of a Hydraulic Ram
OBJECTIVES:
Hydraulic ram is a machine for raising water by means of the energy of the moving
water of which a portion is to be raised. When the rush of water through the main pipe d
shuts the valve at a, the momentum of the current thus suddenly checked forces part of
it into the air chamber b, and up the pipe c, its return being prevented by a valve at the
entrance to the air chamber, while the dropping of the valve a by its own weight allows
another rush through the main pipe, and so on alternately.
The momentum of the column of water in the pipe S becomes sufficient to open
the valve G and will discharge some water into the discharge pipe I against a
considerable head. As soon as the pressures become equalized, the valve G closes,
the waste valve B opens, and water from the supply pipe is again wasted. This
alternate action is produced with regularity, and as a result the water in the supply
pipe acquires a certain “backward and forward” wave motion.
This apparatus is usually tested by measuring the supply and the discharge
heads, the weight of water discharged through the delivery pipe (W1) and that
passing through the waste valve (W2). Then the available energy in the water is (W1 +
W2) hs. ;
W1Hd
E=
(W1 + W2 )Hs
FORMULA:
W1Hd WH
E= = 1 d
(W1 + W2 )Hs W3Hs
W1 = Weight of water delivered in the drum
W2 = Weight of water wasted in the concrete tank
W3 = Weight of water supplied in the drive pipe
= W1 + W2
= d + d + hf d
δ 2g
Hs = Dynamic suction head
LIST OF APPARATUS
PROCEDURES
1. Maintain the level of the main supply tank by allowing water to flow from
the auxiliary tank
2. Measure the initial level of waste water in the concrete tank
3. Measure the tare weight of the discharge drum
4. Place the discharge hose directly to the discharge drum
5. For trial 1, open the quick release supply valve and gate valve and
simultaneously with the stop watch
6. Maintain a desired pressure by throttling the discharge valve
7. Duration of each trial is for one (1) minute
8. Count the number of clacking during the trial
9. After the duration of the trial, close the quick release supply valve and the
gate valve of the auxiliary tank
10. Measure the final weight of water discharged in the drum and the final
level of waste water in the concrete tank
11. For trial 2, adjust the frequency setting of the ram
12. For the rest of the trials, vary the frequency and repeat the above step by
step procedure
13. Compute all the necessary requirements needed to complete the data
SETUP OF APPARATUS
sheet
WHERE:
A. Discharge Pressure Gauge B. Globe Valve
C. Platform Scale D. Discharge Tank
E. Depth Scale F. Discharge Pipe
Dimension of the Waste Water Tank: __________ Pipe Diameter at the Suction: ______________
Pipe Diameter at the Discharge: ______________