User:Gvsqz/ENES-100/Project 3/CDIO/Hydraulic Ram Project Documentation

What is a Water Ram?
A hydraulic ram is an automatic device that is used to raise water from a water source (such as a stream or a spring) to a tank or a reservoir at a higher level.

How It Works
A water ram is powered by the moving force of water. The momentum of a large amount of water is used by the ram to pump a small amount of water uphill. More information can be found on How Stuff Works and rampumps.net.

Previous documentation included links to guides on making a home-made hydraulic ram.

The diagram pictured on the left was taken from the Instruction Book for Ward's Windsor Hydraulic Ram (see below), which includes much information on installing a water ram and determining the capacity of a ram.

The water ram runs on the potential energy of water. Water from a reservoir can be pumped from a place of low elevation to one of higher elevation as follows:
 * 1. Water flows downhill through a pipe. (See image to the left.)
 * 2. As it escapes through the check valve, it gains enough speed to trip the valve shut.
 * 3. The pressure in the pipe builds, which opens the second valve (Gate Valve B) and drives water out through it.
 * 4. The process repeats automatically.

How It Can Be Used
A water ram can be used in situations when there is a water reservoir and water needs to be pumped to a place above it. Since the hydraulic ram pump runs on the potential energy of the water in the reservoir, no motor is needed.

Installing a Water Ram
The water ram should be bolted to a firm, level foundation. Additionally, in colder climates precautions must be taken to ensure that the water ram is not at risk of freezing. In such cases, the water ram should be installed in a covered pit and laid below the frost line.

Components
The water ram is composed of several pipes and valves. The drive pipe supplies water to the ram. A gate valve, used to to shut off the water supply when necessary, can be placed between the drive pipe and the water ram if needed. According to the Instruction Book for Ward's Windsor Hydraulic Ram, the angle of the drive pipe should be a fall of one foot for every five feet of pipe.

The water ram utilizes two valves: the check valve and the waste valve.

The delivery pipe is used to deliver the water to a storage tank.

Set Up
Previous teams worked on the.

Pictured in this image is the water ram completed by this team. It contains the drive pipe, the tank, the two valves (from the left: waste valve, check valve), and the delivery pipe attached to the tank. It also contains two gate valves to control the movement of water into and out of the water ram.

Operation of a Water Ram
After the water ram has been set up properly, it is ready to be used. The water ram operates as follows:
 * 1. Water enters the water ram through the drive pipe. (If a gate valve is in place, the gate valve should be open to allow the water to flow through.)
 * 2. Water flows through the ram, reaching the waste valve.
 * 3. The build up of water closes the waste valve.
 * 4. Water flows back down through the ram due to pressure build up. It reaches the check valve.
 * 5. The check valve opens.
 * 6. Water begins to fill up the tank.
 * 7. Water flows into the tank until the pressure inside the tank is equal to the pressure in the delivery pipe.
 * 8. Water flows out of the ram through the delivery pipe.
 * 9. Process repeats automatically.

Successful Examples
Examples of successful attempts at building a water ram by previous engineering teams can be found on YouTube.

Other examples from outside sources can also be found on YouTube:
 * Plastic Hydraulic ram pump
 * Ram Pump part 3