3) Practical Exercise No.

1 - Pump Operating Characteristics

Objective:-

To obtain the characteristic curves for a plunger pump.

Theoretical Background:-

The best way to describe the operating characteristics of a Plunger Pump is through the use of characteristic curves.
(Fig. 2). This figure shows the variation of the outlet pressure po with respect to time t when the pump is
operating against a loading valve (spring-operated back pressure valve).
In Figure 2 the pressure changes with the varying position of the plunger within the pump, decreasing when the
plunger moves back to take in fluid, and increasing as the plunger moves forward to eject the fluid.
Outlet Pressure po (kPa)

800

640

480

320

160

0
0 500 1000 1500 2000
Time t (ms)

Fig. 2. Characteristic curve for the FM23 plunger pump (with no pulsation damper).

Equipment Set-Up:-

As described in the 'install' help screens.

The inlet control valve should be fully open throughout the experiment. The pulsation damper isolating valve should
be fully closed to begin with.

Procedure:-

i) Open the manual inlet control valve fully. Fully unscrew the spring-operated loading valve using the allen
key provided. Open the manual discharge control valve then start the pump (pump motor started under minimum
load). Allow the water to circulate. Select 'Diagrm'

ii) At the bottom of the 'Diagrm' screen are the readings for maximum and minimum pressures being
achieved in the system as the pump cycles. Fully close the manual discharge control valve then gradually screw
down the loading valve using the allen key, until the maximum pressure at the outlet is approximately 700 kPa..
Open the manual discharge control valve fully then click on 'reset all' to restart the readings from zero. The
resulting readings once the system has settled indicate the pressures achieved with as little resistance to flow as
possible.

iii) Click 'take sample'. The software will pause briefly as samples are taken over 2.5 seconds.

iv) The recorded set of data may now be examined and assessed in the various selectable options of 'Graphs', '
Tables' or downloaded into a spreadsheet. (see 'Software' help screens if necessary).

v) Further sets of results can be taken by closing the manual discharge control valve slightly, hence increasing
the pressure in the system. After each closure or opening of the valve, click on 'reset all' to ensure the readings
shown are accurate. Once settled, click 'take sample'. These sets of results at different system pressures can then be
compared.

Further Practical Experiments

Two systems are incorporated on the FM23 unit to show methods used to improve the performance of plunger
pumps.

Pulsation damper

The first is the pulsation damper (pressure accumulator). Opening the isolating valve allows water into the body of
the damper. The air then trapped at the top of the damper cylinder is compressed as the plunger pumps water into
the outlet system. On the plunger's return cycle the air expands, forcing water out of the pulsation cylinder.

The result is a second 'pumping' action which operates out of phase with the plunger pump, so smoothing the flow.

Pressure in the pulsation cylinder can be increased by attaching a bicycle pump to the valve. This alters its operating
characteristics.

Spring loaded valve

The loading valve is a spring loaded device which acts against the pressure increases caused by the cyclic action of
the pump.

Plunger pumps do not work well when operating at low pressures, due to the non-return valve on the outlet not
seating rapidly to prevent leakage on the piston's suction cycle.

To prevent this, the loading valve will not open until a certain pressure has been achieved at the outlet (selected by
tensioning or releasing the spring), and snaps shut as soon as the pressure falls below this value. The result is a
smoothing out of the pressure head at the outlet as the valve creates more 'back-pressure' as the head rises, and less
resistance as the pressure falls. The flow rate remains virtually unchanged.

End of Topic