THE HYDRAULIC RAM PUMP

Introduction
• The hydraulic ram pump or hydram is a complete
automatic device that uses the energy in the
flowing water such as spring, stream or river to
pump part of the water to a height above that of
the source.
• It is a cyclic water pump powered by hydropower.
• With a continuous flow of water a hydram operates
continuously with no external energy source.
 Application areas
• Hydrams are used for supplying water to large
country houses, farms, and village
communities with no power supply.
• Pump underground water to a higher
elevation.
• They can be used in water supply and sewage
systems.
 Historical background
• Today pumps are the 2nd most commonly used
industrial equipments after the electric
motors.
• John Whitehurst is credited with the idea of
the Hydraulic Ram in 1772.
• The first self-acting ram pump was invented by
the Frenchman Joseph Michel Montogolfier in
1796 for raising water in his paper mill.
Montogolfier’s Ram Pump
Main components of a Hydram
1. Drive Pipe
Heavy gauge galvanized steel or cast iron is
best.
Burying prevents tampering by animals or
people. Normally the length of the drive pipe
should be around three to seven times the
supply head.
Ideally the drive pipe should have a length of
at least 100 times its own diameter.
The drive pipe must generally be straight; any
bends will not only cause losses of efficiency, but
will result in strong fluctuating sideways forces on
the pipe which can cause it to break loose.
2. Excess Water Valve
The cycling of the hydram is timed by the characteristic of
the waste valve.
The efficiency, which dictates how much water will be
delivered from a given drive flow, is critically influenced by
the valve setting.
This is because if the waste valve stays open too long, a
smaller proportion of the throughput water is pumped, so
the efficiency is reduced, but if it closes too readily, then
the pressure will not build up for long enough in the
hydram body, so again less water will be delivered.
3. Delivery Pipe
The delivery pipe can be made from any material
capable of carrying the pressure of water leading to the
delivery tank.
In all except very high head applications, plastic pipe can
be considered; with high heads, the lower end of the
delivery line might be better as steel pipe.
The diameter of the delivery line needs to allow for
avoiding excessive pipe friction in relation to the flow
rates envisaged and the distance the water is to be
conveyed.
It is recommended that a hand-valve or check-valve (non-
return valve) should be fitted in the delivery line near the
outlet from the hydram, so that the delivery line does not
have to be drained if the hydram is stopped for adjustment
or any other reason.
This will also minimize any back flow past the delivery valve
in the air chamber and improve efficiency.
4. Impulse Valve
Is the valve that has a hammering effect to produce the
pressure at the waste valve.
Less weight means there will be a quicker stroke and
less water pumped.
More weight means slower strokes and more water
pumped.
ve
alve that controls the amount of water flow into the valves.
es must stay closed until the pressure develops in the chamber.
e Vessel(pressure chamber)
urge in pressure from the water compresses the air inside the Press
 Auxiliary components

• Reservoir Tank - A storage tank is usually included at

the top of the delivery pipe to allow water to be drawn
in variable amounts as needed.
 The operation principle
• The energy required to make a Ram lift water
to a higher elevation covers from water falling
downhill due to gravity.
• Unlike a water wheel or turbine, the ram uses
the inertia of moving part rather than water
pressure and operates in a cycle based on the
following sequences:
Sequence I
• Water from the source flow
through the drive pipe (A) into
the ram pump body, fills it and
begins to exit through the
waste or “impulse” valve (B).
The check valve (C) remains in
its normal closed positions by
both the attached spring and
water pressure in the tank (D)
and the delivery pipe (E) (no
water in the tank prior to start
up). At this starting point
there is no pressure in tank
(D) and no water is being
delivered through exit pipe (E) Hydraulic Ram Sequence I
to the holding tank
destination.
Sequence II
• Water entering the
pump through the
drive pipe (A) has
its velocity and
pressure being
directed out of
waste valve (B).

Hydraulic Ram Sequence II

Sequence III
• Water has stopped flowing
through the drive pipe (A)
as a “shock wave” created
by the “water hammer”
travels back up the drive
pipe to the settling tank.
The waste valve (B) is
closed. Air volume in the
pressure tank (D) continues
expanding to equalize
pressure, pushing a small
amount of water out of the
delivery pipe (E).
Hydraulic Ram Sequence III
Sequence IV
• The shock wave reaches the
holding tank causing a “gasp”
for water in the drive pipe
(A). The waste valve (B)
opens and the water in the
drive pipe (A) flows into the
pump and out of the waste
valve (B). The check valve (C)
remains closed until the air
volume in the pressure tank
(D) has stabilized and water
has stopped flowing out of
the delivery pipe (E). At this
point sequence 1 begins all Hydraulic Ram Sequence IV
over again.
Advantages and disadvantages of a Hydram

Advantages
• No electricity or an external power source
• Continual operation
• Easy to maintain
• Long life
• Reliable
Disadvantages
• Only suitable for certain sites
• Large amount of excess water runoff (though
normally this would be piped or ducted back to
the source)
• Typically low exit flow rates per pump
• May need to address sedimentation issues
THE DESIGN PROCESS
 Concept generation on new features

• Ram Housing
A security cover or housing may be prefered to prevent
exterior damage or theft.
The hydram body requires to be firmly bolted to a
concrete foundation, as the beats of its action apply a
significant shock load.
The hydram should be located so that the waste valve is
always located above flood water level, as the device will
cease to function if the waste valve becomes submerged.
• Adding a sensor to automatically control
the opening and closing of the gate valve.
• recycling the waste water to use it for
other uses such as irrigation.
 Material decision
• In designing an efficient hydraulic ram pump,
the most basic decision involves the choice of
materials. Beside their availability and cost
which are always of primary consideration,
materials are also chosen on the basis of their
properties. Materials that prolong the life of
pumps are largely suitable. Galvanized metal
plates and pipes can used for the construction.
 Materials to be used
• 2 T-valves
• 3 elbows
• 2 check valve
• 2 gate valve
• 2 check valve
• plastic bottle
• reducer
 Design factors
• The ram pump consists essentially of two moving
parts, the impulse and delivery valves. The
construction, basically consist of pipe fittings of
suitable designed size.
• The main parameters to be considered in designing
a hydraulic ram include:
• The difference in height between the water source
and pump site (called vertical fall).
• The difference in the height between the pump site
and the paint of storage or use (life).
…continued
• The quantity (Q) of flow available from the
source.
• The length of the pipe from the source to
pump site (called the drains pipe).
• The quantity of water required.
• The length of pipe from the storage site (called
the delivery pipe)
• For our case we would like to use a ram pump
for rural areas. Assuming a use of 110 liters in a
day per house for daily use and if there are 30
houses within that village, we get 3312liters
delivery per day.
• This gives us 2.3 L/min delivery which we can
use this flow rate as in the drive pipe.
Parametric calculations
 The drive pipe
• `

Q
L
d

r = d/2
The waste valve

Hammering effect:
beating of the
diaphragm = n
 Determination of Design Parameters for the
Hydram
• Since a hydram makes use of sudden stoppage of
flow in a pipe to create a high pressure surge, the
volumetric discharge from the drive pipe is given
by:

Where, Q = volumetric flow rate through the pipe,

r = pipe radius, L = pipe length and
n = speed of revolution.
• As indicated earlier, the length has to be at
least 100 times its diameter so the previous
formula gives us
…continued
• Also the velocity of fluid flow in the driven pipe
is given by

• where, Vd = velocity of fluid flow and Ad = area

of pipe.
…continued
• In order to ascertain the nature of the flow
(that is whether laminar or turbulent), it was
necessary to determine the Reynolds number
given by

• where, V = velocity of fluid flow, d = pipe

diameter and υ = kinematic viscosity
…continued
• The friction factor f can be derived mathematically
for laminar flow, but no simple mathematical
relation for the variation of f with Reynolds number
is available of turbulent flow. Furthermore,
Nikuradse et al. found that the relative roughness
of the pipe (the ratio of the size of the surface
imperfection to the inside diameter of the pipe)
affects the value of f too.
…continued
• For smooth pipes Blasius suggested that for
turbulent flow

• where, f = frictional factor of the pipe and Re is

Reynolds number.
…continued
• The Darcy–Wersbach formula is the basis of
evaluating the loss in head for fluid flow in
pipes and conduits and is given by

• where, g = acceleration due to gravity, L =

length of the pipe, V= fluid velocity and d =
pipe diameter.
…continued
• The velocity of fluid flow in the T–junction is
given by

• where Q = is the volumetric fluid discharge and

AT = pipe x-sectional area at T-junction
…continued
• Loss due to sudden enlargement at the T-
junction is expressed as

• Other losses of head, as in pipe fittings are

generally expressed as
…continued
• Since the head (H) contributed to water
acceleration in the driven pipe, this
acceleration is given by
…continued
• The value of K and f can be found from
standard reference handbooks/textbooks.
Eventually this flow will accelerates enough to
begin to close the waste valve this occurs when
the drag and pressure in the water equal the
weight of the waste value. The drag force given
by equation
…continued
• The force that accelerates the fluid is given by

• The pressure at point is obtained by divided

the force F in previous equation by the area A.
…continued
• The power required can k calculated using this
expression

• The efficiency of the hydram is given by

Objectives or specifications to be achived

• To design and manufacture a pump that uses

reverse engineering instead of non-renewable
energy sources.
 The calculated design parameters for the hydraulic ramp
pump are done based on the following specifications of supply
and delivery heads from a published manual on the hydraulic ram
for pumping water by WATT. Table 1 gives the values of the
calculated parameters.
Design Specifications:

Supply Head = 1.5m

Delivery Head = 2.87m
Drive pipe diameter -25 mm
Drive pipe length-90 mm
Speed of diaphragm 96 beats/min
Flow discharge in drive pipe -2.3 l/min
Total head losses in the system-11.71 ×10-4m
Force on waste valve-7.2 N
Pressure at waste valve-3668 kN/m2
Power developed by the hydram- 1.273 kW
Hydraulic pump efficiency-57.3 %