ISSN 2319-8885
Vol.03,Issue.10
May-2014,
Pages:2177-2181
www.semargroup.org,
www.ijsetr.com
Design of 15 meter Head Hydraulic Ram Pump
YU YU MAW1, ZAW MOE HTE2
1
Dept of Mechanical Engineering, Mandalay Technological University, Mandalay, Myanmar, Email: [email protected].
Dept of Mechanical Engineering, Mandalay Technological University, Mandalay, Myanmar, Email: [email protected].
2
Abstract: Hydraulic Ram Pump are water pumping devices that are powered by falling water and other energy is not needed to
operate it.so that hydram is very useful for household, irrigation and farming at hillside where no electrical power reach. This
journal describes the hydram design which is intended to pump the water of 1800 liters per day and to lift 15 meter of delivery
head. Based on the design drive pipe length is 7.2 meter, supply head is 1.2 meter, power is 3 W and efficiency is 48.85%.The
total cost of hydram is relatively cheaper than the other type of pumps and easily to install and maintain. Thus, a variety of
financial incentives available on the state, utility and federal level of investment in energy system.
Keywords: Drive Pipe Length, Efficiency, Federal Level.
I. INTRODUCTION
A hydraulic ram, or hydram, is a cyclic water pump
powered by hydropower. It functions as a hydraulic
transformer that takes in water at one "hydraulic head"
(pressure) and flow-rate, and outputs water at a higher
hydraulic-head and lower flow-rate. The device utilizes the
water hammer effect to develop pressure that allows a portion
of the input water that powers the pump to be lifted to a point
higher than where the water originally started. The hydraulic
ram is sometimes used in remote areas, where there is both a
source of low-head hydropower, and a need for pumping
water to a destination higher in elevation than the source. In
this situation, the ram is often useful, since it requires no
outside source of power other than the kinetic energy of
water. No other external energy is required and if there is a
continuous flow of falling water, the pump will work
continuously and automatically. The hydram has only two
moving parts a spring or weight loaded "waste" valve
sometimes known as the "clack" valve and a "delivery" check
valve, making it cheap to build, easy to maintain, and very
reliable. There is a drive pipe supplying water from an
elevated source, and a delivery pipe, taking a portion of the
water that comes through the drive pipe to an elevation
higher than the source.
II. TYPES OF PUMP
There are two types of modern pumps used in most
industry ;(a) velocity head and (b)positive displacement
pump. The following categorization of pumps could be
applied.
A. Velocity Head
 Centrifugal
 Axial flow (single or multistage)
 Radial flow (single and double section)







Mixed flow (single and double section)
Peripheral(single or multistage)
Special Effect
Gas Lift
Jet
Hydraulic Ram
Electromagnetic
B. Positive Displacement
 Reciprocating
 Piston Plunger
 Diaphragm (mechanically or fluid driven, simplex
or multiplex) Rotary
 Single Rotor (vane, piston, screw, flexible member,
peristaltic)
 Multiple Rotors (gear, lobe, screw, circumferential
piston)
Pumps are applied mainly for the purpose of (1) circulation
of fluid (2) supplying the processes and (3) transferring the
fluid.
III. HISTORY OF HYDRAULIC RAM PUMP
The ram pump is a mature technology. Over the last two
centuries, pump design have stabilized and many variations
to the basic configuration (of drive pipe, pump, and pump
house and delivery pipe) have been tired. Before invention of
petrol engines or the arrival of electricity on farms, the ram
pump was in many locations the only feasible way of lifting
water from streams or springs to neighboring hillsides. The
first hydraulic ram pump was discovered and applied by a
British man John Whitehurst. In 1772, he produced the first
set of hydraulic ram could not operate automatically. Its
valve had to be shut off manually to create the force of water
hammering for water lifting. The automatically hydram was
invented by a French man Joseph Montgolfies in 1976.Since
Copyright @ 2014 SEMAR GROUPS TECHNICAL SOCIETY. All rights reserved.
YU YU MAW, ZAW MOE HTE
1960s, there has been a growing Interest in the potential of
VI. WATER HAMMER EFFECT
hydrams for water pumping applications In the less develop
Water hammer is a momentary increase in pressure inside
countries. AS a result, there are now several different hydram
a pipe caused by a sudden change of direction or velocity of
designs available that can be built locally.
the liquid in the pipe. Water hammer can be particularly
dangerous because the increase in pressure can be severe
enough to rupture a pipe or cause damage to equipment.
IV. BACKGROUND OF HYDRAULIC RAM PUMP
Fig (1) shows the schematics of assembly of hydraulic ram
Water hammer most commonly occurs when a valve is
pump. Main components of hydraulic ram pumps are
closed quickly and suddenly stops the flow of liquid in a
reliable, cheap and available in remote and urban areas. So,
pipeline. When this happens, shockwave travel back and
this type of pump is especially used in remote, hilly and the
forth through the piping system equal to the speed of sound
area where transportation is very poor. These components are
in that liquid. These waves travel backward again until
drive pipe, delivery pipe, air vessel, waste valve, intake tank,
pressure is equalized. Other causes of water hammer are
delivery tank So, this pump can be easily used in everywhere
even if there is no electricity and other resources such
1. Rapid pump startup can induce the rapid collapse of a
as.dieseal and other Although the size of the hydraulic ram
void space that exists downstream.
pumps are different, the main components of the pumps are
2. Rapid pump shutdown can create a quick change in
the same. The length of the drive pipe especially depends on
flow, which cause a pressure upsurge on the suction
the supply head and its diameter. On the basic of analytical
side and a pressure down surge on the discharge side.
studies, for the pump to operate continuously and
Of the two, the down surge is usually the main major
automatically, the length of the drive pipe must be kept
problem. The pressure on the discharge side reaches
between four to twelve times of the drive head. In order to
vapor pressure, resulting in vapor column separation.
reduce the head loss due to friction the length of the drive
3. Check valve slum (due to sudden deceleration, a check
pipe divided by the drive pipe diameter should be the range
calve may slam shut rapidly)
of 500 to 1000.And the diameter of the delivery pipe is half
4. Water-column separation can also result in serious
of the drive pipe. As shown in fig 1 the hydraulic ram pump
water hammer pressure values the separated column
mainly consists of two moving parts called the impulse valve
rejoins at high velocity.
(the waste valve) and the delivery valve (check valve).
5. Movement of air pockets in a pipe, air is compressible
and if carried along in a pipeline, can act like a spring,
being compressed at low spots in a line and expanding
at high spots in the line. Compression and expansion
produce pressure variations which, if great enough,
could produce serious water hammer pressure.
Figure1. Assembly of Hydraulic Ram Pump.
V. SPECIFICATION DATA OF HYDRAULIC RAM
PUMP
TABLE 1: Design Parameter Of Hydraulic Ram Pump
VII. WORKING PRINCIPLE
When the waste valve is opened, water flows from the
source, through the water inlet (drive) pipe, and out the waste
valve. After a short time, the velocity of the flow is high
enough to force the waste valve closed. The water, due to its
inertia, wants to continue moving past the valve. The
pressure inside the ram will rapidly increase enough to force
the check valve open. This forces some water into the air
chamber, compressing the chamber’s air bubble. The
pressurized bubble forces that water through the delivery
pipe to the point of use. The compressed air in the air
chamber helps smooth out the flow on the delivery side of the
ram, so the flow tends to be more continuous, rather than a
small spurt during each cycle of the ram. Soon after the
check valve has opened, the pressure surge (generated by the
waste valve closing) is spent. Flow will try to start
backwards, but the check valve will close, preventing this
from happening. At about this time, the pressure in the drive
pipe will be low enough so that the waste valve can open,
allowing water to start flowing from the source to the ram,
beginning a new cycle. The cycle that the ram goes through
can occur 30 to 120 times per minute, depending upon
conditions such as head, flow, and the size of the ram.
International Journal of Scientific Engineering and Technology Research
Volume.03, IssueNo.10, May-2014, Pages: 2177-2181
Design of 15 meter Head Hydraulic Ram Pump
TABLE 4: Sizing The Delivery Pipe
VIII. GOVERNING EQUATIONS OF HYDRAULIC
RAM
Delivery Pipe Size
Flow(Liters/minute)
Head loss coefficient for the pipe line,
30
6-36
40
37-60
A 2 fL
(1)
h ls  ( 1 ) 
 Km  K
50
61-90
A2
D
80
91-234
Since a hydram makes use of sudden stoppage of flow in a
100
235-360
pipe to create a high pressure surge, the volumetric discharge
from the drive pipe is given by
X. PRESSURE AND VELOCITY ANALYSIS
Q p  Vol s
A reliable simulated hydram model is needed to facilitate
(2)
Qs 
the development of an optimized hydram design and
Vol p
thereafter to be able to generate an efficient design of hydram
Then, pumping flow rate can be get from the ratio of
with good operating characteristics. This calls for a model
pumping volume to the time of one cycle. So, it can be
that simulates the hydram with a high degree of accuracy and
written by
which is able to identify the effect of waste valve design on
 Vol p 
the hydram performance. And the answer to this is
(3)
Qp  

computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis. To serve the
 t 
above purpose, Solid Work Software is used to simulate this
The efficiency of the hydraulic ram is given by the
waste valve of hydraulic ram pump. Pressure variation in the
following expression.
waste valve which in opened is mentioned in figure(2)and
Q h
p
(4)
(3).By giving the pressure as input, we can check the
efficiency , η 
Q H
variation of velocity in this waste valve.That can be seen in
s
s
figure(4) and (5).
The velocity μ of a pressure wave in any medium is the
same as the velocity of sound in that medium and is given by
μ
E
(5)
ρ
The velocity of pressure wave created by water hammer is
less than that given by following equation because while
circumferential stretching takes place freely, the velocity of
pressure wave μp is given by
(6)
E
1
μp 
ρ
1
ED
Ept
The output power can be calculated by using this equation.
Q p hg
P
(7)
60
IX. SIZING OF HYDRAULIC RAM PUMP
TABLE 2: Range of Drive Pipe Lengths on Various Pipe
Diameters
Length(meter)
Drive Pipe Size(mm)
Minimum
Maximum
13
2
13
20
3
20
25
4
25
30
4.5
30
40
6
40
50
7.5
50
80
12
80
100
15
100
Figure2. Pressure Variation in Waste Valve of Hydraulic
Ram Pump in Front View.
TABLE 3: Drive Pipe Diameters By Hydram
Manufacture’s Size Numbers
Hydram size
1
2
3
3.5
4
5
6
Pipe size(mm)
32
38
51
63.5
76
101
127
Figure3. Pressure Variation in Waste Valve of Hydraulic
Ram Pump in 3D View.
International Journal of Scientific Engineering and Technology Research
Volume.03, IssueNo.10, May-2014, Pages: 2177-2181
YU YU MAW, ZAW MOE HTE
XII. APPENDIX
TABLE 5: Viscosity and Density of Water at 1 ATM
Figure4. Velocity Variation of Hydraulic Ram Pump in
Front View.
TABLE 6: LOSSES COEFFICIENTS K FOR
COMMERCIAL PIPE FITTINGS
Figure 5: Velocity Variation of Hydraulic Ram Pump in
3D View.
XI. CONCLUSION
The present study is centered toward the development of
the hydraulic ram pump that would conventionally alleviate
the problem of water supply to the mass populace. Ideally
different combination of supply and delivery heads and flow
stroke length, and weight of impulse valve, length to
diameter ratio of the drive pipe, were tried to come up with
an optimum size of a hydram pump in this study. This
designed hydram can lift only small amount of water but
many hydrams can be installed in parallel to pump large
amount of water. Installations of many hydrams are better
than installation of one large hydram because large hydram
needs higher supply head than many small hydrams, and
parallel installation method of hydrams can provide ease of
maintenance and reduce transportation and installation costs.
Valve for fitting
K Factor
Globe Valve: Wide Open
½ Open
Gate Valve: Wide Open
¾ Open
½ Open
½ Open
10.0
12.5
0.19
0.9
4.5
24.0
Return Bend
2.2
Standard Tee
1.8
Standard Elbow
0.9
45˚ Elbow
0.42
90˚ Elbow
0.75
Ball Check Valve
4.0
XIII. ACKNOWLEDGMENT
First of all, the author would like to express particular
thanks to Dr.Myint Thein, Pro_Rector, Mandalay
Technological University, for his kindness, support and
suggestions for completion of this thesis. Special thanks are
due to Dr.Ei Ei Htwe, Professor and Head, Department of
Mechanical
Engineering,
Mandalay
Technological
University, for her valuable suggestions and advice during
the entire course of the thesis. The author offers her thanks to
her supervisor U Zaw Moe Htet, Lecturer, Mandalay
Technological University, for his valuable suggestions,
generous guidance and instructions for preparations of this
thesis. The author is very thankful to her co_supervisor, Myat
Myat Soe, Associate Professor, Mandalay Technological
University, for her guidance, advice, interests and supporting
necessary suggestions. Finally, the author is deeply grateful
International Journal of Scientific Engineering and Technology Research
Volume.03, IssueNo.10, May-2014, Pages: 2177-2181
Design of 15 meter Head Hydraulic Ram Pump
to her parents who initially got her interested in learning to be
educated and have supported and guided throughout her life.
XIV. REFERENCES
[1] “Design and Hydraulic Ram Pump”, Technical Note
No.RWS.4.D.5.
[2] “Fluid Mechanics”, Fourth Edition, Frank M.White,
University of Rhode Island.
[3] “WHAT IS WATER HAMMER”.BakerCrop,3020 Old
Ranch Parkway, Suite 220,Seal Beach, CA 90740,1-800BAKER 12. www.bakercorp.com.
[4] “Compendium In Hydraulic-Ram Pumps”, Selected &
Edited by John Furze 1995/96/2002 Bygade 12, 8400
Ebeltoft Denmark, University of Aarhus. Faculty of Political
Science, Law & Economics.
[5] “Applied Industrial Energy And Environmental
Management”, Z. K. Morvay, D. D. Gvozdenac. Applied
Industrial Energy and Environmental Management, Zoran K.
Morvay and Dusan D. Gvozdenac © John Wiley & Sons,
Ltd.
[6] Anonymous,HYDRAM PUMPS,March,2007.
International Journal of Scientific Engineering and Technology Research
Volume.03, IssueNo.10, May-2014, Pages: 2177-2181