Damping Pressure Pulsations in a Wave Powered Desalination System

Abstract

Wavedriven reverse osmosis desalination systems can be a costeffective option for providing a safe and reliable source of drinking water for large coastal communities. Such systems usually require the stabilization of pulsating pressures for desalination purposes. The key challenge is to convert a fluctuating pressure flow into a constant pressure flow. To address this task, stubfilters, accumulators, and radially elasticpipes are considered for smoothing the pressure fluctuations in the flow. An analytical model for fluidic capacitance of accumulators and elastic pipes are derived and verified. Commercially available accumulators in combination with essentially rigid (and low cost) piping are found to be a costeffective solution for this application, and a model for selecting accumulators with the required fluidiccapacitance for the intended system is thus presented.