Redesigning experimental equipment for determining peak pressure in a simulated tank car transfer line

When liquids are transported from storage tanks to tank cars, improper order of valve openings can cause pressure surges in the transfer line. To model this phenomenon and predict the peak pressures in such a transfer line, a laboratory setup consisting of a pressurized water storage tank connected to different segments of pipe by ball valves was constructed. By varying parameters including water height within the tank, transfer line length, and applied driving pressure, the most critical variable was determined to be driving pressure. The hydrostatic pressure from the difference in water height was negligible and this fact was evident without the need for experimental verification. This setup therefore allowed for even fewer parameters to be tested. Due to the poor condition of the experiment because of age and corrosion along with the few insights the setup provided, the experiment needed to be updated. The newer version is designed to allow students to have more choice in what parameters they wish to test, with pipe segments of different length as well as different diameter with various impedances. To address spatial and practical considerations, the new design was assembled in PVC piping. This mockup proved useful in discovering inadequacies in the design that had not been considered.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Mechanical Engineering.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2007

Author dc:creator

• Diaz, Richard A

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Doug Hart.

• Mechanical Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/40406

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/40406