Design of experimental measurements to obtain performance characteristics of a multiple ball check valve

Hassink, M.A. (2016) Design of experimental measurements to obtain performance characteristics of a multiple ball check valve. Master's Thesis / Essay, Industrial Engineering and Management.

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Abstract

As a result of the increasing demand for energy and the finite availability of fossil fuels, political bodies such as the United Nations, strive to reduce the utilization of fossil fuels, and enhance the possibilities of alternative energy. A relatively unused way of alternative energy is the transformation of wave power to electricity. In order to raise the knowledge and awareness of wave power, the Advanced Production Engineering group at the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen is working on the Ocean Grazer project. The Ocean Grazer is an innovative energy platform, aiming to harvest ocean waves and other energy from the oceans. This thesis focuses on the design and development of a check valve, that is crucial for the pumping system inside the Ocean Grazer. From previous research, it is concluded that a common swing check valve does not guarantee the desired efficiency that is required for the Ocean Grazer. A check valve design that seems promising for further research is a ball check valve, which includes multiple balls with a different density, that should be able to operate under variable flow conditions. In order to develop the design of the multiple ball check valve, this thesis will focus on the design and creation of a measurement system, to obtain reliable performance data of this check valve. The experimental measurement system, is created according to international standards for testing control valves in process fluids, which are stated by ANSI/ISA–75.02–1996, ISA-75.01.01-2007 and IEC 60534-2-3 1997. The measurement system is equipped with a data acquisition system that includes a flow sensor and two pressure sensors, and can obtain static performance characteristics of different types of valves. Validation experiments are performed to validate the measurement system and show that the data acquisition system is able to obtain data within the accuracy of the sensors. Based on literature and deductive reasoning, a primary design of the multiple ball check valve is proposed. This design includes seven equally sized balls with different weight, ranging from 44 – 76 gram and with equal intermediate steps. Experiments with an increasing fluid flow rate show that the multiple ball check valve can operate at variable flow rates, as the different weights of the balls ensures that heavier balls only open at higher flow rates. As a result of COMSOL simulations and other experiments with the measurement system, the pressure loss of the multiple ball check valve is reduced by one third from the initial design. Extending the obtained pressure losses to the pumping system of the Ocean Grazer, it is shown that the mechanical efficiencies in the pumping system are more than 99%. Further research should focus on completing the iterative design process to optimize the design of the multiple ball check valve. The next step in the development of the check, should start with dynamical check valve characteristics like slamming, maintenance, and back flow in order to obtain the volumetric efficiency of the proposed check valve. Once both efficiencies are determined, the total efficiency of the check valve can be obtained. Afterwards it can be concluded, whether the multiple ball check valve is a suitable answer to the challenges, that are associated with the multi-piston, multi-pump system.

Item Type:	Thesis (Master's Thesis / Essay)
Degree programme:	Industrial Engineering and Management
Thesis type:	Master's Thesis / Essay
Language:	English
Date Deposited:	15 Feb 2018 08:12
Last Modified:	15 Feb 2018 08:12
URI:	https://fse.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/13908

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