Experimental evaluation of effective parameters on characteristic curves of hydraulic ram pumps

The effects of non-dimensional parameters on the characteristic curves of a ram pump were evaluated in this study using an experimental model. To do so, after providing dependent and independent parameters using dimensional analysis, effect of each independent parameter was examined on the dependent parameter. Experimental observations showed that relative pumping discharge (q=QT ), relative wasting discharge (Q=QT ), and pump effciency (o) depended on length to diameter ratio of drive pipe (L=D) and pressure head ratio (h=hm). Impulse valve parameter (nD=f0) depended on L=D, h=hm, and Reynolds number of ow in drive pipe. Characteristic curves were presented for the ram pump used in this study to estimate dependent parameters as functions of pressure head for various ratios of length to diameter. In addition, characteristic equations of the used ram pump were introduced using nonlinear regression. Evaluation of results showed that the characteristic curves and equations could design a ram pump system with high accuracy, and this design method could be used for any kind of ram pumps with engineering purposes.