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17 pages, 9299 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Analysis of Ball Check Valves with Conical and Spherical Seat Designs from Common-Rail Pumps

by Narcis-Daniel Petrea, Razvan-Constantin Iordache and Carmen Bujoreanu

Machines 2022, 10(10), 959; https://doi.org/10.3390/machines10100959 - 20 Oct 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 5777

Common-rail fuel injection systems are still a good option for equipping new car models. The technology is well known, systems of this type are reliable and can be used on a wide variety of diesel and petrol engines. However, there is still room for improvement. The ball check valve, which is part of the common-rail pump, is designed to open and allow the compressed fluid to be sent to the high-pressure accumulator and close to not allow fuel to return to the compression chamber. The valves’ design directly influences the volumetric efficiency of the outlet flow and the robustness against high pressures that lead to low performance and short service life of the fuel injection systems. This paper aims to compare two ball check valves with conical and spherical seat designs. The analysis is based on theoretical calculations and CFD simulations, which will give more confidence in the results. Considering the comparative analysis results, the ball check valve with a spherical seat shows better flow dynamics than the ball check valve with a conical seat. In addition to the improved flow dynamics, the ball check valve with spherical seat seems to have a uniformly distributed fluid pressure inside the valve. In contrast, the conical seat ball check valve has high local fluid pressures, leading to fatigue. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design and Manufacture of Advanced Machines)

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14 pages, 12940 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Evaluation of Magnus Force on Check Ball Behavior in a Hydraulic L Shaped Pipe

by Shinji Kajiwara

Fluids 2021, 6(5), 191; https://doi.org/10.3390/fluids6050191 - 19 May 2021

Viewed by 2566

Abstract

This paper presents the effect of the rotational speed of a check ball in a hydraulic L-tube on the translational motion caused by the Magnus effect. A spring-driven ball check valve is one of the most important components of a hydraulic system and controls the position of the ball to prevent backflow. To simplify the structure, the springs must be eliminated. To this end, it is necessary to clarify the flow pattern of the check ball in an L-shaped pipe and the rotational and translational behaviors of the ball. In this study, the position of the inlet pipe and the availability of the check were determined using Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) tools. By moving the position of the inlet pipe from the top to the bottom of the housing, the direction of the rotation of the ball was reversed, and the behavior changed significantly. It was found that the Magnus force, which causes the ball to levitate by rotating it in the opposite direction to the flow, acts to shorten the floating time. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Modelling the Behaviour of Water Systems to Increase Sustainability)

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14 pages, 2909 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Magnetically Tunable Check Valve Applied to a Lab-on-Chip Nitrite Sensor

by Sean C. Morgan, Andre D. Hendricks, Mae L. Seto and Vincent J. Sieben

Sensors 2019, 19(21), 4619; https://doi.org/10.3390/s19214619 - 24 Oct 2019

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 4630

Abstract

Presented here is the fabrication and characterization of a tunable microfluidic check valve for use in marine nutrient sensing. The ball-style valve makes use of a rare-earth permanent magnet, which exerts a pulling force to ensure it remains passively sealed until the prescribed cracking pressure is met. By adjusting the position of the magnet, the cracking pressure is shown to be customizable to meet design requirements. Further applicability is shown by integrating the valve into a poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) lab-on-chip device with an integrated optical absorbance cell for nitrite detection in seawater. Micro-milling is used to manufacture both the valve and the micro-channel structures. The valve is characterized up to a flow rate of 14 mL min⁻¹ and exhibits low leakage rates at high back pressures (<2 µL min⁻¹ at ~350 kPa). It is low cost, requires no power, and is easily implemented on microfluidic platforms. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Chemical Sensors)

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33 pages, 6276 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Case Study of a Small Diameter Gravity Sewerage System in Zolkiewka Commune, Poland

by Tadeusz Nawrot, Radosław Matz, Ryszard Błażejewski and Marcin Spychała

Water 2018, 10(10), 1358; https://doi.org/10.3390/w10101358 - 29 Sep 2018

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 5738

Abstract

This article presents a small diameter gravity sewerage system in a rural area. In this system, domestic wastewater was preliminarily treated in septic tanks equipped with outlet filters, so the effluent features were similar to those of clear water. Additionally, some outlets were equipped with floating-ball check valves to avoid backflow. One of the pressure mains was used as a gravity collector conveying septic tank effluent in the direction of the pumping station during pump idle time. The operation of the system was simulated using SWMM computer code. The simulation results were validated for data obtained from part of a sewerage system in Kolonia Zolkiew and Rozki village consisting of two pumping stations and 86 serviced households using polyethylene pipes of outer diameter 50–63 mm. The results of the measurement of the outflows from one pumping station are presented. The simulation results showed good agreement with the empirical data, especially after several simulation days. The greatest discrepancy during the start-up period was the consequence of the initial conditions describing the empty pipework. Thanks to storage in the pump sumps, septic tank and pipes, as well as their smart operation, a relatively uniform inflow to the pumping stations was achieved. Simulations in SWMM showed that there is still potential to optimize the sewerage system through more adequate pump selection and pipe diameters. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Hydraulics in Wastewater Transport)

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13 pages, 810 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Electromagnetically-Actuated Reciprocating Pump for High-Flow-Rate Microfluidic Applications

by Ming-Tsun Ke, Jian-Hao Zhong and Chia-Yen Lee

Sensors 2012, 12(10), 13075-13087; https://doi.org/10.3390/s121013075 - 26 Sep 2012

Cited by 20 | Viewed by 8189

Abstract

This study presents an electromagnetically-actuated reciprocating pump for high-flow-rate microfluidic applications. The pump comprises four major components, namely a lower glass plate containing a copper microcoil, a middle PMMA plate incorporating a PDMS diaphragm with a surface-mounted magnet, upper PMMA channel plates, and a ball-type check valve located at the channel inlet. When an AC current is passed through the microcoil, an alternating electromagnetic force is established between the coil and the magnet. The resulting bi-directional deflection of the PDMS diaphragm causes the check-valve to open and close; thereby creating a pumping effect. The experimental results show that a coil input current of 0.4 A generates an electromagnetic force of 47 mN and a diaphragm deflection of 108 μm. Given an actuating voltage of 3 V and a driving frequency of 15 Hz, the flow rate is found to be 13.2 mL/min under zero head pressure conditions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microfluidic Devices)

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