User:Timothyrfries/enes100/Project 3

''This is designed for a person working on a project for 4 weeks as part of a 3 credit class. Please copy this form to your user page. Then delete everything in italics when filling out this form.''

Write problem/project Goal
To create a pump that will successfully elevate water against gravity above the height of its source without using electricity, then refine its design.

My First Task
I plan to source a 1" PVC ball check valve, which I think will fix the functionality issues with the existing pump. I also plan on looking into what would be needed to build a 1/2" drive pipe pump.

Summary of actual work over first weekend
I was hoping to have the valve in hand, and the changes made to the ram by the end of this week. Unfortunately, I was sick most of the week, and could only locate a suitable valve replacement on-line. This necessitated ordering, which delayed progress.

Week1 Narrative
11/12/12: Met with the new team for the first time. We discussed the current state of the hydraulic ram that we built in the last project cycle. We discussed possible solutions to the current functionality issues. We also discussed what direction the project could be taken in once those solutions had been implemented, assuming that they are effective. Possibilities include a range of testing, and possibly the construction of a smaller ram whose water source could be fed by the existing ram.

11/16/12: Started looking at options for a 1" ball check valve online. There are quite a few suppliers, but I only found one, through Amazon, that can meet out monetary criteria.

11/18/12: Ordered the following part from Amazon, link here

My Second Task
This week we will begin construction of the smaller ram. I also have a different idea for what the delivery system could be used to feed. There is a device called a "Lord Kelvin Water Drop Electrostatic Generator". It uses falling water to generate a charge with high enough voltage to spark a gap. This would be an interesting way to use the delivered water, and could be tested even without the ram working. It requires copper pipe, which is available to us in the shop, and other than that is fairly simple. Either way, the primary focus for this week will be getting the existing ram working.

Summary of actual work over second weekend
I was counting on the valve for the existing ram to arrive, but it still has not. Estimated delivery date was Thursday, but I am guessing that the holiday may have delayed its arrival. We did make significant progress on the design and construction of the 1/2" valve system, primarily in the design and preliminary construction of the ram.

Week2 Narrative
11/19/12: Met with the group to discuss how to proceed with the ram. We are waiting on the replacement valve for the existing ram, so that is stalled for the moment. We are going to proceed with building the smaller ram. We already have some of the parts needed for its construction, but we have to spend some time figuring out what else is needed, and discuss options for its design and function.

11/21/12: Met with Tolu and Halima to drop off the parts that I had for the 1/2" ram. I drew up a basic design for the ram, and we developed a shopping list.  Unfortunately, we may be moving right along with a design that has the same flaw that was in the larger ram.  We are using two brass swing check valves in this smaller design, and we already had that not work in the larger design.  The 1/2" ball check valve that we would need to replicate the modified design that we are working on on the larger ram for the smaller ram is unfortunately out of our budget. We are going to proceed with the two swing check valve design for the moment, hoping that it will work, and if needed we will fabricate a 1/2" ball check valve to replace it. We then went to the hardware store to acquire the components that we needed to proceed with construction of the 1/2" valve.

My Third task
The new valve for the existing ram should arrive in the next day or two, so we will be able to test out the new design. Installing it should not be problematic, so I am hoping to be testing on Wednesday. Construction of the 1/2" ram should be complete by the end of Monday, so we will be able to test that as well. If the two swing check valve system does not work, we will begin fabricating the ball check valve for the 1/2" ram.

Summary of actual work over third weekend
I have to admit that I am kind of frustrated that the 1" ram is still not working. I thought that replacing the valve would be a sure fix.  I think that we need to continue testing with the ram as is, preferably with an elevated water source.  That seemed to have an impact on the older system, even though it did not work as it was supposed to.

Week3 Narrative
11/27/12: The new valve for the existing ram arrived today. We will be switching out the PVC swing check valve that is in the system for this ball check valve tomorrow during class. Once the PVC cement dries, we can begin testing.

11/28/12: Stopped by the hardware store on the way to class. Picked up 5 1"-1" couplings to use for attaching the new valve. Created an image of the proposed modifications to the hydraulic ram. Made the modifications to the ram in class by cutting out the swing check ram, gluing couplings to the ram, then cutting and gluing short (4") pieces of 1" PVC to the two pieces of the ram. The only modification that was not made was moving the waste valve to the other side of the delivery system. Unfortunately, this would require a 1" cap that we did not have at the time. This is fine, as I wanted to test the ram with the ball valve in place to see if this change alone would be effective.

11/29/12: Met up with Tolu in the shop to test the existing ram now that the new valve has been installed, and to work on the smaller ram. The testing did not produce any better of a result than with the old valve. The waste valve still has to be operated manually. This is a frustrating result, as our system is now identical to the systems that we have seen working in the Youtube videos. We made some progress on the small ram, but I have to admit that I am concerned about its design, as the larger ram is still not working with ideal components.



My Fourth task
For me, this week will entirely devoted to testing. I want to figure out why our system is not working yet, even with the new valve. There has to be some aspect of this device that is not present, or some set of circumstances in the testing that is not right.

Summary of actual work over fourth weekend
I was really hoping that we would come up with some kind of solution for the ram, but it just was not in the cards. It is capable of elevating water, and it seemed like the pressure with which it was doing this indicated that it could take it quite high. The amount of pressure in the pressure tank was also promising. Unfortunately, we were just not able to find a fix for it.

Week4 Narrative
12/3/12: We continued testing on the 1" ram today. We figured out that we could use a staircase outside of the engineering shop to elevate our water source.  We noticed a significant increase in the water pressure coming into the ram, just as I had noticed when I elevated the water source at my home.  We did tests with the waste valve in both position, resting with the flap opened and closed.  This was not fruitful, the waste valve still had to be operated manually.  We attached a 6' hose to the delivery pipe and held it to a total height of 8' to see if having air pressure behind the delivery might make a difference.  Our thought was that this might help to force the ball in the non-return valve to close, which would subsequently close the waste valve.  This also proved ineffective.  We did manage to show that when manually operated the pump was capable of moving the water to a near equal height to its source. Unfortunately, this is still not happening autonomously. We will continue testing by varying the heights and angles of the source and delivery.

12/5/12: Met with the group briefly to discuss what further steps needed to be taken by each team member to move the two rams forward.

Complete Team Page
HST&T Hydraulic Ram