Liquid Piston Pumps are considered to be systems involving the up and down oscillations of a fluid column contained in a vessel which is enclosed at the top. At the bottom a suitable arrangement of check valves converts the oscillatory motion to a pumping action. The oscillations may be generated by cyclic heating, inertia forces, or combinations of the two. Existing designs of LPP’s are reviewed. Experimental results, and a theoretical analysis, are given for a straight tube L.P.P. The design of a Solar LPP is presented, which appears to be a practical and simple means of converting heat energy from a solar panel to potential energy of a water reservoir.
The Solar Liquid Piston Pump (SLPP) is driven by oscillations of an enclosed column of liquid Freon 113. Cyclic evaporation and condensation from heating and cooling coils at the top of the liquid column generate the oscillations. The frequency and amplitude of the oscillations are enhanced by momentum forces in the inlet, outlet, and working tubes. Three geometrically different experimental models of a SLPP have been tested. To optimize the performance of the SLPP, a theoretical model was required to account for the large number of interdependent parametres that could be varied. A semiemperical time-incremented computer model was developed. A theoretical cycle was assumed and the heat transfer and fluid friction coefficient adjusted, within reasonable limits, so that the theoretical pressure-volume diagrams agreed closely with experimental ones. Input parameters were then varied for the theoretical model and compared to experimental results available. The theoretical model successfully predicted performance trends of the SLPP.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.