Water flow energy absorber
The water flow energy absorber addresses inefficiency and unreliability by using a cylindrical pipe with angled channels to divide and mix the flow, enhancing energy dissipation and operational efficiency in stilling wells.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- RU · RU
- Patent Type
- Patents
- Current Assignee / Owner
- GOLUBENKO VADIM MIKHAJLOVICH
- Filing Date
- 2025-10-13
- Publication Date
- 2026-07-01
AI Technical Summary
Existing water flow energy dampers in stilling wells suffer from inefficiency, operational unreliability, and instability due to fluctuating flow rates, mechanical impacts, metal fatigue, and complex designs that lead to high material consumption and reduced operational efficiency.
A water flow energy absorber with a horizontal conduit section, a damping chamber, and a vertical inlet pipe, featuring a cylindrical vertical pipe inside the chamber covered by transverse partitions forming a cascade of channels at an angle less than 90° to the square-section axis, fixed by screws and nuts, which divides and mixes the water flow to dissipate kinetic energy before exiting into the stilling well.
The design enhances energy dissipation across the chamber's width and height, reducing flow velocity and improving operational efficiency and reliability by minimizing metal fatigue and material costs.
Smart Images
Figure 00000001_ABST
Abstract
Description
[0001] The invention relates to hydraulic engineering and can be used to quench the water flow after pressure water conduits in a stilling well.
[0002] An energy damper is known, which includes a horizontal section of a water conduit, an annular damping chamber, it is equipped with a spherical vibration screen with a convexity upward, located coaxially with the opening of a vertical inlet pipe installed at the end of the water conduit, the chamber has limiters interacting with an annular stop in the form of a disk, and the vibration screen is designed with the possibility of vertical movement and has racks in the form of guide adjustment bolts equipped with springs (patent RU No. 2524987, E02B 8 / 06 dated 10.08.2014).
[0003] A disadvantage of the known damper is the inability to control both the upper and lower levels in the chambers dividing the vibration screen into two parts, which reduces efficiency and, in part, operational reliability. This means that there is no flexible flow damping adjustment during operation, as the flow rates in the inlet water line fluctuate from maximum to minimum, meaning the pressure in the chambers also fluctuates over a wide range of incoming flow rates. Furthermore, with frequent changes in the frequency of the disturbing, intense water pressures, the oscillating springs, compressing and releasing on the moving supports, can gradually change their stiffness, potentially causing them to break during prolonged use. Mechanical impacts between the upper and lower reflectors of the vibration screen also subject the damper to high dynamic loads.Thus, the main disadvantage is the lack of efficiency and reliability, as well as instability of the vibration screen in the event of its vertical skew.
[0004] A water flow energy damper is known, including a horizontal section of a water conduit, an annular damping chamber, a spherical vibration screen with an upward convexity, a vertical inlet pipe installed at the end of the water conduit, the chamber has limiting projections attached to its inner surface, the vibration screen is made with the possibility of vertical movement and has a stand in the form of a guide adjustment screw equipped with a spring, the chamber is additionally equipped with a screen in the form of a plate installed coaxially with the vibration screen, wherein the bottom of the plate is rigidly fixed to the limiting projections on the side of the outlet pipe, the screen diameter of which is smaller than the diameter of the vibration screen, and the body of the vibration screen is made with water intake windows, its edges have a side wall bent upward along the radius (Patent RU No. 2574472, E02B 8 / 06 dated 10.02.2016).
[0005] A disadvantage of the well-known water flow energy damper is its complexity and, consequently, high material consumption, which leads to reduced operational reliability and, consequently, insufficient operational efficiency. Furthermore, the elastic spring is prone to metal fatigue during prolonged use, which can lead to failure and the need for replacement, as the vibration screen can fall onto the additional screen and block it. Another drawback is that the wave flow exiting the buried pipe, which does not completely block the discharge pipeline, is ineffective.
[0006] A water flow energy damper is known, including a horizontal section of a water conduit, a damping chamber, a vertical branch pipe, a screen installed at the end of the water conduit, a stilling well, the chamber is provided with an outlet branch pipe, elastic dampers and a rigid stop located inside the chamber with screws passing through the wall of the housing, the dampers are rigidly fixed to the inner wall of the chamber housing, and at the point where the flow leaves the well, the opening of the latter is blocked by a vertical wall and connected to the housing in the form of an additional damping chamber with a threshold, and the outlet branch pipe is installed in the well, while the chamber is divided along the entire height by multi-tiered installed spiral-shaped perforated partitions in the form of a mesh web with a downward slope, which is attached to a vertical rod having a vibration drive in the form of a support spring, fixed at the bottom and top between the plates, which are connected by the inner wall of the housing by means of beams with fastening hinges,the edges of the spiral partitions are connected to a flexible web adjacent to the inner surface of the body, secured with inclined strips with support screws, the angle of inclination of each turn of the spiral partitions can be adjusted by vertical movement along a vertical rod with a support spring (Patent RU No. 2758132, E02B 8 / 06 dated 10 / 26 / 2021).
[0007] A drawback of the known water flow energy damper is its insufficient water flow dampening efficiency within the chamber, which utilizes cascaded multi-tiered baffles connected to inclined mesh shelves. Furthermore, the compression and release spring, attached to a support at the top of the lid, which causes vibrations within the device, is prone to metal fatigue during long-term operation. This can lead to breakage, which impairs the overall performance of the cascaded multi-tiered baffles. High centrifugal loads are also generated due to the high speed of flow rotation around the vibrating vertical rod. These designs generate large bending moments at the connection points to the rod.At the same time, the device does not provide any design solution aimed at the productivity of the device due to the working set of fixed tubular elements in the form of exhaust channels towards the chamber body and covered at the top by a transverse partition in the form of a grid, and at the bottom by a blind transverse partition in the form of a solid plate.
[0008] The closest to the proposed one in terms of purpose, technical essence and achieved result is a water flow energy damper, including a horizontal section of a water conduit, a damping chamber, a screen, a branch pipe installed at the end of the water conduit, the chamber has projections-limiters attached to its inner surface, a screen with outlet openings made with the possibility of vertical movement and has guide adjustment screws, while the screen is installed coaxially with the outlet pipe, a stilling well.The chamber is provided with perforated conical inserts with a common small base oriented towards the outlet pipe, and the inlet pipe is partially located inside the chamber body and is made expanding, wherein the damper is additionally provided with elastic dampers and a rigid annular stop located inside the chamber body on the side of the small base, moving coaxially in it in the axial direction by means of adjusting screws with lock nuts through the end wall of the body, wherein one of the dampers is rigidly attached to the inner end wall of the chamber body on the side of the inlet pipe, and the second one is on the rigid annular stop, wherein, at the place of the flow outlet from the well, the opening of the latter is blocked by a vertical wall and connected to the body in the form of an additional damping chamber with a threshold, wherein the vertical wall is fixed below the outlet opening of the discharge pipeline (Patent RU No. 2705849, E02B 8 / 06 dated 11 / 12 / 2019).
[0009] A disadvantage of the known water flow energy absorber is the complex design of the perforated conical insert, which allows for axial movement limited by small elastic dampers along the height of the chamber body, also shortened in height. This results in insufficient operational efficiency and insufficient flow dispersal when impacting the outlet pipe. Moreover, the water flow pattern depends on the perforated conical insert, which is limited by an installed rigid annular stop, which can move coaxially in the axial direction of the body and is tightened by adjusting screws. However, this causes frictional interference between the side walls of the chamber body. If the perforated conical insert becomes misaligned, it may jam during movement, as the force exerted by the screws may vary unevenly.
[0010] It should be noted that the damping effect in the known damper is somewhat reduced in the direction of water movement in the chamber, i.e. there is no additional resistance of the separated flows between themselves when the water moves along the height of the damping chamber, and this does not make the chamber more economical.
[0011] The technical problem solved by the invention is to increase the efficiency and productivity of the quenching chamber by increasing the capture of the volume of hydraulic flow by placing a plurality of fixed tubular elements in the form of channels along the height of the chamber body, and the productivity itself is increased due to the space between the side walls of the chamber body and the uniformly divided flow entering the well body and the subsequent connection in the lower part of the well base.
[0012] The technical result is achieved in that the energy absorber of a water flow includes a horizontal section of a water conduit, a well with a damping chamber, a vertical inlet pipe installed at the end of the water conduit, a stilling well located below the damping chamber of the well, the damping chamber of the well is provided with an outlet pipe, at the exit from the stilling well the opening of the latter is blocked by a vertical wall and connected to the body of an additional damping chamber with a threshold, the outlet pipe is located in the stilling well, according to the invention, the damping chamber of the well contains tubular elements fixed at an angle on a vertical pipe having an axis of square cross-section inside, wherein the vertical pipe is fixed at the bottom by a transverse partition wall in the form of a plate, and at the top by a transverse partition wall in the form of a grid, wherein the tubular elements are made in the form of internal channels,directed towards the chamber body at an angle of less than 90° to the axis of the square section, wherein the upper transverse partition in the form of a lattice is secured with two bolted connections passing through openings in the well cover, having a fixation from above with the help of nuts, and the lower transverse partition in the form of a plate is secured by means of transverse rods-brackets with the side walls of the well extinguishing chamber, and the upper and lower ends of the axis are fixed by screwing on nuts.
[0013] The design of interconnected elements helps dissipate the energy of the water flow by dividing (splitting) the flow across the entire width and height of the well. The interior of the chamber body is divided, and a plurality of fixed tubular elements in the form of channels are located inside. A square-section axis is located inside, a vertical pipe, which is fixed at the bottom by a transverse plate-shaped partition, and at the top - fixed by a transverse lattice-shaped partition. Moreover, the tubular elements, made in the form of channels, are fixed in the chamber body at an angle of less than 90° to its square-section axis with fixed screws and nuts. Overall, this ensures the collision of jets and reduces flow velocity, since the kinematic energy is expended on dividing the flow in the form of jets and their mixing before the water enters the lower part of the well with an outlet pipe, then into the stilling pit with its flow-damping elements.Moreover, the proposed device is simple in design and will improve the efficiency of the energy absorber.
[0014] Fig. 1 shows a water flow energy absorber, longitudinal section.
[0015] The water flow energy absorber includes a water conduit 1 with an inlet pipe 2, a cover 3 on top, a well 4, an outlet pipe 5, a vertical pipe 6, which is covered at the top by a transverse partition 7 in the form of a grid, and at the bottom it is closed by a blind transverse partition 8 in the form of a plate. Both partitions 7 and 8 are connected to each other by an axis 9 in the form of a bolt having a square cross-section, the lower end of which has a washer with a nut 10. In this case, the upper transverse partition 7 in the form of a grid is fastened with two bolted connections 11 and 12 passing through the holes in the cover 3 of the well 4. The side walls of the vertical pipe 6 have tubular elements 13 and 14 attached at an angle downwards in the form of channels for discharging water towards the body of the chamber of the well 4. In this case, along the cylindrical part of the vertical pipe 6, the forming channels are located at an angle α less than 90° to the axis 9.The lower partition wall 8 in the form of a plate is, accordingly, rigidly fixed to the side walls of the well chamber 4 by means of transverse rods-brackets 15.
[0016] Tubular elements 13 and 14 together form a multi-tiered cascade in height for discharging water towards the side walls of the well chamber body 4, and fills the gaps between the inner side walls of the chamber body, where the total practically quenched flow flows downwards through the outlet pipe 5 towards the stilling well 16.
[0017] The bottom 17 of the well 16 has an extension towards the discharge pipeline 18. An additional closed quenching chamber 19, which is located behind the vertical cantilever wall 20, the bottom of the closed chamber 20 of which is located in the same plane with the bottom 17 of the well 16, the closed quenching chamber 19, which at the end has a partition 21, is connected in plan through an outlet opening 22 with the discharge pipeline 18, wherein the vertical cantilever wall 20 is fixed below the outlet opening of the discharge pipeline 18. The partition 21 is intended to change the pressure outflowing flow from the opening of the well 16, where the general flow comes out with reduced bottom and surface velocities.
[0018] The conducted patent research revealed no identical technical solutions, allowing us to conclude that the claimed technical solution is novel and technically sound. Therefore, the closest technical analogue to the claimed invention is the water flow energy absorber (RU Patent No. 2705849, described above).
[0019] A comparative analysis with the prototype shows that the claimed water flow energy absorber meets the “novelty” criterion, since it differs from the prototype.
[0020] The proposed extinguisher utilizes the property of using a cylindrical vertical pipe fixed in the body of the extinguishing chamber, covered at the bottom and top by transverse partitions of various designs with elements of a cascade of exhaust pipes in the form of channels fixed at an angle of less than 90° to the axis of the square section with the fastening of the partitions themselves, and to the well cover, and in general with other devices.
[0021] The water flow energy absorber works as follows.
[0022] Water enters from conduit 1, passes through inlet pipe 2 and, being divided by means of fixed cylindrical vertical pipe 6, which is blocked at the top by transverse partition 7 in the form of a grid, then fills pipe 6, since at the bottom it is sealed by transverse partition 8 in the form of a plate. The water flow fills vertical pipe 6 along the height so that the water flow can enter from the side through a cascade of tubular elements 13 and 14 in the form of channels at an angle α less than 90° inclined to axis 9, connected to partitions 7 and 8 of different designs, while the water flow is directed into the free space (with a gap) towards the side walls of the well chamber body 4.In this case, another part of the flow from above enters this free space of the chamber towards the outlet openings of the tubular elements 13 and 14 inclined at an angle, then the quenching chamber is filled, the flow is mixed and enters towards the outlet pipe 5, where the flow is combined into a common flow and almost completely quenches its kinetic energy upon entry and taking into account the filling of the stilling basin 16 with an additional quenching chamber 19, which is located behind the vertical cantilever wall 20 towards the discharge pipeline 18.
[0023] The filling of water in the lower part of the well 16 is simultaneously a layer of the thickness of water filling its level, which quenches the falling flow from above after its repeated separation and mixing upon entering from the tubular elements 13 and 14 into the vaulted space towards the side walls of the well chamber body 4 and the arrangement of the tubular elements downwards at an angle α of less than 90° to the axis 9, as well as an additional quenching chamber 19 from the side of the partition 21 and the arrangement of the cantilever wall 20, where the flow is directed towards the discharge pipeline 18. Having finally quenched the kinetic energy of the water flow, it provides the opportunity to significantly protect the discharge channel from erosion in the immediate vicinity of the discharge pipe connected to the quenching chamber.
[0024] The design of the upper transverse partition 7 in the form of a grid with openings is decided experimentally, and their diameter is determined optimally for the free passage of a cylindrical vertical pipe inside, in order to ensure its filling with a flow of water along the height towards the outlet from the tubular elements, and then an exit into the free space towards, from above, the falling other part of the flow from the inlet pipe 2 of the water conduit 1.
[0025] The proposed device can be used to dampen water flow energy in various hydraulic structures. Its unique feature is its simplicity, and its use reduces the cost of water energy dampers, thereby increasing the reliability of the water flow damper.
[0026] Due to the expansion of the range of damping of kinetic energy at the outlet of the flow, together with the operation of an additional chamber at the outlet of the well, it is significantly reduced compared to the prototype, the efficiency of the structure as a whole increases, and further the flow into the stilling well with all its elements.
Claims
A water flow energy absorber comprising a horizontal section of a water conduit, a well with a damping chamber, a vertical inlet pipe installed at the end of the water conduit, a stilling well located below the damping chamber of the well, the damping chamber of the well is provided with an outlet pipe, at the outlet from the stilling well the opening of the latter is blocked by a vertical wall and connected to the body of an additional damping chamber with a threshold, the outlet pipe is located in the stilling well, characterized in that the damping chamber of the well contains tubular elements fixed at an angle on a vertical pipe having an axis of a square cross-section inside, wherein the vertical pipe is fixed at the bottom by a transverse partition wall in the form of a plate, and at the top by a transverse partition wall in the form of a grate, wherein the tubular elements are made in the form of internal channels directed towards the body of the chamber at an angle of less than 90° to the axis of the square cross-section,wherein the upper transverse partition in the form of a lattice is secured with two bolted connections passing through the holes in the well cover, having a fixation from above with the help of nuts, and the lower transverse partition in the form of a plate is secured by means of transverse rods-brackets with the side walls of the well damping chamber, and the upper and lower ends of the axis are secured by screwing on nuts.