Development of Prototype Pump Using a Vibrating Pipe With a Valve

Abstract

Tests were conducted on a prototype pump which has an extremely simple structure and excellent controllability. Its structural and hydrodynamic features are different from those of previous conventional reciprocating pumps. The pump structure constitutes a leak-proof short vibrating pipe equipped with a nonreturn valve on the edge of its outlet. The authors developed a prototype pump which uses a 25 mm diameter vibration pipe and an electromagnetic excitation device. The pump performance, intentionally changed by adjusting the coil voltage or the coil current frequency, featured a maximum pressure of approximately 1.0 bars, a maximum flow rate of approximately 40 liters per minute, and a maximum efficiency of approximately 30 percent. Results of both a one-year test run, using water as the working medium, and a three-month durability test, using concentrated nitric acid as the working fluid, assuming application as a chemical pump, indicated favorable results.