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!"#$%&'(%)"# +#, -.$%)#/



12/3/2013
PumboldL SLaLe unlverslLy LW8 SLudenL ChapLer
ScoLL Clowser



!"#$%&'(#)%"
ln sprlng of 2013, several members of PumboldL SLaLe unlverslLy's Lnglneers WlLhouL 8orders
(LW8) club consLrucLed a hydraullc ramp pump based on Lhe deslgn of Lhe ALlas" 8am ump.
ConsLrucLlon was flnlshed ln !uly and fleld-LesLlng of Lhe pump was conducLed ln SepLember of
2013. 1hls documenL ls meanL Lo provlde a brlef background of Lhe Lechnology and sclence of
ram pumps and provlde performance and cosL daLa of Lhe consLrucLed pump Lo ald ln
approprlaLe appllcaLlon of Lhe Lechnology for fuLure pro[ecLs.

+,- ./0 1'02 34(5-
1he hydraullc ram pump uLlllzes Lhe shock wave creaLed when a valve ls suddenly closed ln a
hydraullc sysLem, sLopplng Lhe flow of waLer. 1wo check valves are used Lo capLure Lhe energy
of Lhe shock wave and pump some of Lhe waLer supplled Lo Lhe pump Lo a helghL above Lhe
lnlLlal reservolr. 1he flrsL check valve, called Lhe wasLe valve", allows Lhe waLer (blue arrows)
Lo bulld veloclLy each cycle flowlng ouL of Lhe sysLem and back lnLo Lhe sLream (4 ln flgures).
1he second check valve lsolaLes Lhe hlgh-pressure slde of Lhe pump from Lhe varled pressure
cycle of Lhe lnflow slde of Lhe pump (3 ln flgures). 1he cycle beglns wlLh Lhe wasLe valve" open
(llgure 1).

I|gure 1 : 1he waste va|ve |s open and the water bu||ds ve|oc|ty as |t f|ows (C|emson.edu)
WaLer flows ouL of Lhe wasLe valve unLll Lhe force of Lhe waLer flowlng Lhrough Lhe valve,
forces Lhe valve Lo shuL, creaLlng a splke ln pressure wlLhln Lhe sysLem (red arrows). 1he shock
wave creaLed by Lhe rapld pressure splke propagaLes away from Lhe wasLe valve boLh up Lhe
drlve plpe and Loward Lhe second check valve, momenLarlly overcomlng Lhe force on Lhe
ressure Chamber
Waste Va|ve
Check Va|ve
second check valve and allowlng a small amounL of waLer Lo flow Lo Lhe hlgh pressure slde of
Lhe pump, fllllng a porLlon of Lhe pressure chamber (llgure 2).

I|gure 2 : 1he waste va|ve |s shut creat|ng a pressure sp|ke that opens the second va|ve and |ets some water |nto the pressure
chamber (C|emson.edu)
As Lhe shockwave propagaLes ouLward, Lhe hlgh-pressure check valve shuLs and a low-pressure
zone ls developed below Lhe wasLe valve and Lhe pressure chamber dlscharges Lhrough Lhe
ouLleL (llgure 3).

I|gure 3 : A |ow pressure zone |s created near the va|ves as the shockwave propogates outward (C|emson.edu)
1he wasLe valve ls caused Lo open by Lhe drop ln pressure (green arrows), and Lhe shock wave
Lravels up Lhe drlvellne Lo Lhe reservolr lnleL where lL ls dlsslpaLed (llgure 4).

I|gure 4 : 1he pressure beneath the waste va|ve eventua||y drops enough to open the va|ve aga|n (C|emson.edu)
1he pressure of Lhe hydraullc head from Lhe reservolr beglns Lo flow Lhe waLer Lhrough Lhe
wasLe valve agaln, sLarLlng Lhe nexL cycle (llgure 3).

I|gure S : 1he hydrau||c head causes the water to f|ow through the waste gate aga|n, start|ng the cyc|e over (C|emson.edu)
1'02 677-0854
1he ALlas" 8am ump manual was used as a reference for Lhe flrsL ram pump bulld. 1he ALlas
8am ump was chosen because lL uses durable componenLs LhaL can be found ln nearly any
hardware sLore wlLh mlnlmal lnlLlal cosL, maklng lL posslble for appllcaLlon ln developlng
counLrles. A compleLe parLs llsL for bulldlng Lhe pump was assembled based on cosLs from local
hardware sLores (Appendlx A). All parLs were purchased ln PumboldL counLy, from ACL and
earson's Pardware sLores.




I|gure 6 : Ma|n Components (In|et 1ee, out|et 1ee, e|bow)






I|gure 7: ressure chamber components






I|gure 8 - Mock assemb|y before sea||ng
Severa| add|t|ona| adapters that
were not spec|f|ed |n the manua|
were necessary to ||nk the A8S
p|ast|c from the c|ose n|pp|e to the
VC pressure conta|ner components.
!"#$%&'(%)#* %,- ./0"1
1he mosL dlfflculL parL of consLrucLlng Lhe pump was properly allgnlng Lhe 1" elbow wlLhln Lhe
2" elbow before casLlng wlLh resln. 1he 1" elbow musL be cenLered Lo ensure Lhe check valve
wlll flL wlLhln Lhe ouLleL Lee.












Cn the |n|et s|de of the e|bow, the
|nter|or e|bow can be stab|||zed
w|th|n the 2" e|bow us|ng a 1" (ID)
rubber gasket threaded onto a
VC c|ose n|pp|e (I|gure 9). It was
necessary to tr|m the rubber
gasket s||ght|y w|th a razor b|ade
on the outs|de to f|t w|th|n the 2"
e|bow.
I|gure 9
I|gure 10
1he c|ose n|pp|e can then be
threaded |nto the |n|et s|de of the
1" e|bow (I|gure 10). 1he rubber
gasket serves a due| purpose of
both he|p|ng to stab|||ze the 1"
e|bow and to sea| the bottom end
of the e|bow when the f|berg|ass
res|n |s poured |n.











































A v|ew of the out|et s|de w|th
the 1" e|bow proper|y a||gned
w|th|n the 2" e|bow. A
m|sa||gned |nter|or e|bow cou|d
cause the check va|ve to not seat
proper|y, caus|ng a pressure
|eak, or cause |t to not f|t
ent|re|y. L|ther of these cases
wou|d ||ke|y requ|re a new
e|bow to be constructed.
I|gure 11
I|gure 12
A 1" VC s|eeve was used to
more thorough|y a||gn the
|n|et s|de by creat|ng a brace
un|form|y between the VC
c|ose n|pp|e and the |ns|de of
the 2" e|bow











































A U-bo|t was used to
secure the e|bow to a stee|
base |n an upr|ght pos|t|on
to a||ow the res|gn to cure
proper|y.
I|gure 13
I|gure 14
A m|xture of f|ber g|ass
res|n and a th|cker f|ber
g|ass ge| were used to f|||
the gap between the 1"
e|bow and the 2" e|bow.
Sma|| batches were found
to work best (about ha|f
the s|ze of a prescr|pt|on
[ar).












































1he res|n fu||y cured |n
rough|y 24 hours.
Vase||ne was used to
cover the threads,
mak|ng |t eas|er to
c|ean them |f there
were m|stakes.
1he |ast step |s to
pour p|ast|d|p over
the res|n, creat|ng a
x" gasket for the
check va|ve to sea|
onto. 1he p|ast|d|p
a|so he|ps to sea| any
cracks between the
e|bow and the res|n.
I|gure 1S
I|gure 16
!"#$%&$' %)* +#,-
1he ALlas" manual deslgn prescrlbes Lhe use of a concreLe base. 8ecause Lhls bulld was malnly
an educaLlonal and lnsLrucLlonal exerclse, Lhe pump was lnsLead bolLed Lo a sLeel base uslng u-
bolLs so LhaL all of Lhe pump parLs could be seen (llgure 17). AddlLlonally, ram pumps are
Lyplcally placed ln Lhe run of a sLream and Lhe sLeel base could be easlly modlfled wlLh sLakes Lo
secure Lhe pump lnLo Lhe soll.



I|gure 17 : Comp|eted pump mounted on stee| p|ate

!"#$%&' $)" *+,-
ln SepLember of 2013 1om Cary lnvlLed LW8 sLudenLs Lo hls house Lo LesL Lhe pump. 1om had
seL up ropes and llnes Lo ralse Lhe ouLleL hose Lo dlfferenL helghLs and buckeLs and funnels Lo
capLure Lhe waLer for volumeLrlc measuremenL. 1hanks Lo Lhe generous help of 1om Cary,
Cabe Salazar, !anoah Csborne, 8lchela Maeda, 8rlan Wallace, Llanna rlns, !usLln SmlLh, Chuck
Swanson, 1yler MarLln and Lmlllo aleo we were able Lo LesL Lhe pump aL Lhree ouLpuL helghLs
of 20, 23 and 30 fL. wlLh reference Lo Lhe pump (1able 1).

+-7# 7-# '2
An alumlnum flshlng boaL was used as Lhe reservolr, provldlng 3.67 fL. of head Lo Lhe pump.
1he reservolr surface helghL was malnLalned by fllllng Lhe boaL wlLh a garden hose. A flexlble
plasLlc 1" hose was used as a drlve plpe Lo dellver waLer Lo Lhe pump, and a " garden hose
was used as Lhe ouLleL flLLed wlLh a [eL nozzle. Several ropes had been seL up Lo ralse Lhe
ouLpuL hose and a buckeL ln addlLlon Lo a measurlng Lape Lo record ouLpuL helghLs. 1esLs were
conducLed wlLh Lhe hose ralsed Lo 20, 23 and 30 fL. above Lhe pump wlLh Lhe reservolr helghL aL
3.67 fL. above Lhe pump. WaLer volumes were collecLed from Lhe wasLe valve and Lhe ouLpuL
hose durlng each LesL Lo deLermlne Lhe amounL of waLer LhaL was dellvered Lo Lhe ouLpuL wlLh
respecL Lo Lhe LoLal amounL of waLer dellvered Lo Lhe pump. lrom Lhls daLa, a bypass raLlo was
deLermlned for each LesL helghL. 1he raLlo mulLlplled by a glven volume of waLer ln your
supplled Lo your pump deLermlnes Lhe ouLpuL volume aL a glven helghL (1able 1).

.-7'5#7 /"& 9)7('77)%"
volumes of waLer from Lhe wasLe valve and Lhe ouLpuL were recorded wlLh respecL Lo Llme and
ouLpuL flow raLes and bypass raLlos were deLermlned for each helghL (1able 1).

1ab|e 1 : I|ow and bypass rat|o resu|ts from the pump test |n September 2013
Constant nead De||vered to ump: S.67 ft
CuLpuL helghL 20 feeL 23 feeL 30 feeL
gallons/hr 10.4 6.7 4.3
gallons/day 249.8 160.0 109.1
8ypass 8aLlo () 9.3 6.3 4.2

1he bypass raLlo ls lnversely relaLed Lo Lhe ouLpuL helghL of Lhe pump. 1he raLe of Lhe pumplng
cycle was observed Lo slow when Lhe ouLpuL hose was ralsed. 1he slower pump cycle would
allow Lhe waLer from Lhe drlve plpe more Llme Lo acceleraLe flowlng ouL of Lhe wasLe valve.
1he lncreased veloclLy wlll creaLe a large pressure splke and allow Lhe waLer Lo be dellvered Lo
Lhe hlgher ouLpuL. 8alslng Lhe ouLpuL from 20 fL. Lo 23 fL. resulLed ln an ouLpuL reducLlon of 90
gallons/day. 8alslng Lhe ouLpuL from 23 fL. Lo 30 fL. resulLed ln a lesser ouLpuL reducLlon of 31
gallons/day.

1he ouLpuL for Lhe pump was less Lhan expecLed based on reporLs from oLher ALlas" ram
pump bullders. Powever all of Lhe LesLlmonles had lnlLlal head helghLs near 10 fL. 1he
mlnlmum suggesLed head helghL for Lhls pump ls 6 fL., buL LhaL head helghL was noL achlevable
on 1om's properLy. lL would be valuable Lo observe Lhe response ln ouLpuL of Lhe pump wlLh
respecL Lo lncremenLal head helghL lncreases. 1hls lnlLlal LesL can be used as a basellne ln
performance and compared Lo Lhe performance aL greaLer heads.

!"#$%&'() +,- .-/')(
1here are several relevanL ways ln whlch Lhe pump deslgn can be lmproved ln Lhe fuLure:
uecreaslng Lhe cosL
Slmpler consLrucLlon
8ellablllLy
lmprovlng performance under slmllar condlLlons

Slnce Lhe goal of learnlng more abouL Lhese pumps has been wlLh respecL Lo appllcaLlon ln
developlng counLrles or dlsadvanLaged communlLles, a decrease ln Lhe cosL could have a
slgnlflcanL lmpacL on Lhe ablllLy of a communlLy Lo uLlllze Lhls Lechnology. 1he brass check
valves were a slgnlflcanL porLlon of Lhe pump cosL ($26 each). uLlllzlng a cheaper check valve
may allow for a reducLlon ln cosL wlLhouL a reducLlon ln performance. ln addlLlon, Lhe ALlas"
deslgn uses 2" galvanlzed plplng Lo surround Lhe 1" waLer connecLlons. lf 1" plplng was used
LhroughouL lnsLead, Lhls would reduce Lhe cosL of Lhe pump and ellmlnaLe Lhe Ledlous casLlng
of Lhe 1" elbow wlLhln Lhe 2" elbow connecLlon.

A drlll press was used Lo drlll Lhrough Lhe base plaLe ln order Lo secure Lhe pump wlLh u-bolLs.
lf a speclalLy Lool llke Lhls ls noL avallable, lL may be more approprlaLe Lo casL Lhe boLLom of Lhe
pump ln concreLe llke Lhe ALlas" manual suggesLs.

1hls pump has noL been run for a slgnlflcanL amounL of Llme, less Lhan 3 hours LoLal. 1herefore,
lssues of rellablllLy cannoL be addressed aL Lhls Llme. lL was observed however LhaL by
ellmlnaLlng Lhe 2" plplng from Lhe deslgn, malnLenance of Lhe pump wlll be slmpllfled. Leaks
wlll be easler Lo flnd because Lhey wlll noL be obscured by Lhe ouLer plpe houslng. Assembly
and dlsassembly wlll be less Llme consumlng.

erformance may be lmproved by applylng smooLh coaLlngs LhroughouL Lhe pump lnLerlor. 1he
roughness of lnLerlors of Lhe meLal plpes used ln Lhls deslgn could be reduced by applylng a
palnL coaLlng or by swlLchlng Lo vC plplng. 1he vC plplng wlll be less durable, buL Lhe
decrease ln maLerlal cosL and Lhe reduced frlcLlon of Lhe vC componenLs are deslrable
aLLrlbuLes.










!""#$%&'
l1LM uLSC8l1lCn C1?. 8eq'd lnLo Assy 8lCL urchase LocaLlon
1 2" 1ee (galv) 2 8ase $12.39 ACL Mck
CuLpuL $12.39 ACL Mck
2 2" SLreeL Lll (galv) 1 8ase $10.39 ACL Mck
3 2" nlpple, 3" long 1 CuLpuL $4.79 ACL Mck
4 4" dla., 10"L pvc 1 alr res ? ?
3 4" dla cap pvc 1 alr res $2.99 Pensel"
6 2" dla.8ushlng, 1"L 2
8ase - Clack
valve ? ?
7 2" dla.8ushlng, 1"L lnpuL/CuLpuL ? ?
lnpuL or ouL-1"
pvc 2"x1" Pex bushlng 1 lnpuL $6.39 ACL Mck
lnpuL or ouL-1"
pvc 1" galv barb adpLr 1 lnpuL $3.89 ACL Mck
lnpuL or ouL-1"
pvc
2"x1 1/4 Pex
bushg 1 lnpuL or ouLpuL $6.39 ACL Mck
lnpuL or ouL-1"
pvc 1" pvc barb adpLr 1 lnpuL or ouLpuL $2.39 ACL Mck
CuL-garden hose
2'x1 1/2"galv
bushg 1 CuLpuL $6.39 ACL Mck
8
1" dla. SLreeL Lll
(g) 1 8ase $4.39 ACL Mck
9 1" dla close nlpple 1
8ase - Clack
valve $1.39 ACL Mck
10
1" dla close nlp
pvc 1 Clack valve $1.39 ACL Mck
11
1" 8rass check
valv 2 Clack valve $23.97 W. CoasL lumblng
1" vC check valve CuLpuL $9.99 lerson
1" brass swlng chk opLlonal CuLpuL $13.49 lerson
12 1'x1 1/2 1ee pvc 1 Clack valve $2.79 ACL Mck
13 1" locknuLs 2 Clack valve ? noL boughL
14 3/4" close nlpple 1 CuLpuL ? noL boughL
~14 a
3/4" brass hose
blb 1 ouLpuL $7.99 ACL Mck
13
2x3 1/2' brass
bolLs 1 Clack valve $3.39 ACL Mck
16 1/4" nuLs (brass) 2 Clack valve .33 ea ACL Mck
17 1/4" cap nuL 1 Clack valve
#18 - Sprlng 3" L 7/16" Cu 1 Clack valve $0.79 ACL Mck
19 SS fasLener 1 Clack valve $1.60 ACL Mck
20 lnner Lube 8" Llre 1 alr bladder $3.24 Parbor lrleghL
1ool
21 lnLenLlonally blank 0
22 2" close nlpple 1 alr reservolr $3.99 ACL Mck
subsLlLuLe #23 vC bushlng 4" SL x 2"1 alr reservolr
23a A8S LranslLlon
2"1 Lo 2"
SL alr reservolr $2.99 Pensel's
23b A8S bushlng lL 2" Lo 3" alr reservolr $3.99 hensel's
23c A8S adapLer 3" SL Lo 1 alr reservolr $4.99 Pensel's
23d vC adapLer
3" 1 Lo 3"
SL alr reservolr $3.99 Pensel's
23e vC couplg reducr
3" SL Lo 4"
SL alr reservolr $3.99 Pensel's