Experimental apparatus to test the dynamic behavior of air TRAP valves

• Grant number: 10/51522-9
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: October 01, 2010
• End date: September 30, 2012
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Civil Engineering - Hydraulic Engineering
• Principal Investigator: José Gilberto Dalfré Filho
• Grantee: José Gilberto Dalfré Filho
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Engenharia Civil, Arquitetura e Urbanismo (FEC). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

This project will be developed by a research group at the Water Resources Department of the College of Civil Engineering, Architecture and Urbanism, UNICAMP. This research group is formed by professors from UNICAMP and EPUSP, graduate students and undergraduate students from UNICAMP. Besides, a support from national manufactures of valves and pipes is being negotiated (Saint Gobain and Valloy). It should be emphasized that an article about this project has been already accepted for publication in the "25th Symposium on Hydraulic Machinery and Systems of the International Association of Hydraulic Research-IAHR". The objective of this work is to characterize the dynamic operation of the air trap valves, studying the admission and expulsion of air trough these valves, and thus aiding both the designers of the water networks and manufacturers of this type of valve. There are many situations in which the presence of air is verified in hydraulic systems. For instance, the inadequate design, the filling or drainage being performed incorrectly, during the operation of pumping systems, during the disruption of pipelines, or even in temporary interruptions of power supply. The presence of trapped air inside the pipes of water distribution networks can lead to irregular operation or even to serious damage to these systems. As a protection, all the trapped air must be removed trough air trap valves. However, there is a large discrepancy between laboratory results and those results presented by the manufacturers. In order to solve this deficiency, an installation for testing these valves will be constructed at the Laboratory of Hydraulics and Fluid Mechanics of the FEC-UNICAMP. As a complementation, the energetic efficiency of the installation using different models of valves will be tested. It should be emphasized that the air valves on the market have improved in terms of quality of materials, but it still presents deficiencies in its operation. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

DE AQUINO, GENIVALDO ALCANTARA; DE LUCCA, YVONE DE FARIA LEMOS; DALFRE FILHO, JOSE GILBERTO. The importance of experimental tests on air valves for proper choice in a water supply project. Journal of the Brazilian Society of Mechanical Sciences and Engineering, v. 40, n. 8, AUG 2018. (10/51522-9)

DE AQUINO, GENIVALDO A.; DE F. L. DE LUCCA, YVONE; CABRAL, THIAGO D.; LAZARI, PEDRO M.; MARTIM, ANDRE L. S. S.; FUJIWARA, ERIC; CORDEIRO, CRISTIANO M. B.; FILHO, JOSE G. DALFRE. All-optical real-time monitoring of air/vacuum valves in water pipeline systems using fiber Bragg gratings. Journal of the Brazilian Society of Mechanical Sciences and Engineering, v. 44, n. 1, JAN 2022. (19/12166-7, 17/09921-2, 10/51522-9)