PERTANIKA JOURNAL OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

A testing rig for a hydraulic ram pump (HRP) is crucial as it allows for the precise assessment of pump performance, identification of potential issues, and optimization of design for maximum efficiency and reliability. This study aims to develop a testing rig for HRP and evaluate the technical performance of an HRP prototype using a three-factor factorial experiment in a completely randomized design (CRD) with drive pipe angle, waste valve angle and output pipe sizes as the factors having 27 treatments with three replications each. A testing rig was designed and constructed. It consists of a testing rig frame, water supply tank, water header tank, drive pipe, hydraulic ram pump assembly, and hydraulic ram pump support assembly. The rig was used in the evaluation of an HRP prototype. Results showed that at a combination of 10° drive pipe angle, 34° waste valve angle, and 1.0″[A1] diameter output pipe, the highest mean HRP volumetric efficiency of 92.46 % was obtained with mean output discharge of 6.446 L/min, mean pressure of 55.16 kPa and mean water delivery head/height of 6.31 m. The highest mean output discharge of 15.440 L/min was obtained at treatment combinations of 10° drive pipe angle, 46° waste valve angle and 1.0″ diameter output pipe with mean HRP volumetric efficiency of 55.17%, mean pressure of 62.05 kPa and mean water delivery head of 6.34 m. The highest mean pressure of 68.95 kPa was obtained at the treatment combination of 10° drive pipe angle, 46° waste valve angle, and 0.5″ and 0.75″ diameter output pipes. The developed testing rig for a hydraulic ram pump would help ensure optimal performance, reliability, and efficiency by enabling precise assessment and issue identification.

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