Pulsation engine

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The pulsation engine is a water pump invented in 1772 that uses the pressure wave that occurs in the supply line when a water tap is closed for pumping.

history

The first pulsation engine was built by John Whitehurst in Oulton Park , Cheshire , England in 1772 . The faucet, which had to be opened and closed again and again for the function of the pulsation engine, was in the cellar kitchen of the manorial house. Even in normal kitchen operations, the tap was turned on enough to fill the tank at a higher level.

construction

Pulsation engine from 1772

A is the water source or a pond. The maximum water level of A coincides with the bottom of the tank K (see line BC ). D is a water pipe with a diameter of almost 4 cm and a length of 180 m. E is a branch of D ; both lines have the same diameter. A water tap F is connected to the line E. The faucet has 5.8 to 6.0 m below the water surface of the pond A lie. G denotes a valve box that only allows water to flow from left to right. H is an air pocket , the waterline of which is marked with W. The inlet and outlet pipes in the air chamber are bent downwards so that no air can be forced out of the air chamber when the water flows in.

The representation is a scheme and not a technical drawing for direct reproduction. Among other things, the problem of how the air gets into the air chamber (e.g. via a sniffer valve ) is not discussed.

function

If the tap F is opened, the water column in the line D starts moving. When the valve F is closed, this movement is abruptly stopped. The movement by the inertia of the water column in connection with the incompressibility of water results in a pressure wave which extends from the branch line E in the feed line D and to the valve G spreads. By the pressure wave, the valve opens G , water flows through the valve and compresses the air in the air chamber H . When the pressure of the pressure wave is again less than the pressure in the air chamber, valve G closes again. It is this compressed air in the air tank that pumps the water that has flowed into the tank K via line I.

outlook

In 1796, Joseph Michel Montgolfier automated the pulsation engine by replacing the water tap F with an oscillating valve, i.e. a valve that closes again automatically when the flow is flowing. This autonomously working pump is called a hydraulic ram .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ John Whitehurst: Account of a Machine for Raising Water, executed at Oulton, in Cheshire, in 1772 . In: Royal Society (Ed.): Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society . 65, London, 1775, pp. 277-279 & Tab.VII Fig.A.
  2. ^ Charles Hutton: The Works of John Whitehurst, with Memoirs of His Life and Writings . W. Brent, 1792, p. 352.
  3. ^ A b John Whitehurst: The Philossphical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, from their commencement in 1665 to the Year 1800; Volume 13; Abridged . C. & R. Baldwin, Blackfriars, London 1809, pp. 645-646 & plate 12 fig. 10.
  4. ↑ English Patent Number 2207, dated December 13, 1797, to Matthew Boulton , who filed for Montgolfier on his behalf.

literature