Hydrant Draining via Jet Pump Venturi Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fire hydrant drainage systems are prone to clogging and incomplete drainage due to soil compaction and improper frost line placement, leading to water freezing and contamination risks, especially with high groundwater levels, which can result in the discharge of contaminated water.
Innovation Solution
A fire hydrant design incorporating a jet pump mechanism that uses pressurized water to create negative pressure, effectively draining the riser pipe through a Venturi principle, ensuring reliable and quick drainage without external components or complex setups, and preventing backflow of contaminated water.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If drainage pipes are used to drain water from the riser pipe, then drainage function is provided, but the drainage pipes become clogged and drainage becomes insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the drainage function from the main water flow path by using a separate drainage pipe that branches off from the riser pipe. This separate drainage path prevents clogging of the main water supply while providing reliable drainage functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention introduces a drainage valve as an intermediary component that controls the drainage flow. This valve allows precise control of the drainage process and prevents uncontrolled water discharge that could cause clogging or contamination issues.
2Ease of manufacture
If drainage pipes are laid above the frost line for easy installation, then installation is simplified, but the drainage pipes freeze over
Solution Approach 1:
The invention positions the drainage pipe outlet below the frost line in advance during installation, ensuring that the drainage path remains unfrozen. This preliminary placement prevents freezing issues before they occur, while the drainage valve allows control of the drainage process.
3Device complexity
If the riser pipe is drained by water pressure alone, then the system is simple, but drainage is incomplete and slow
Solution Approach 1:
The invention opens the drainage valve immediately after closing the shut-off element to drain the riser pipe before water pressure builds up. This preliminary drainage action removes water while the system is still depressurized, enabling complete and rapid drainage without requiring complex pressurized drainage systems.
4Reliability
If the shut-off element is closed to prevent water flow, then water extraction is stopped, but water remains in the riser pipe and can freeze or become contaminated
Solution Approach 1:
The invention maintains continuous protection by automatically draining the riser pipe whenever the shut-off element is closed. This continuous drainage action ensures that no stagnant water remains in the riser pipe, preventing both freezing and contamination while the water supply is stopped.
Solution Approach 2:
The drainage valve acts as an intermediary mechanism that is automatically activated when the shut-off element closes. This intermediary device provides the additional function of draining the riser pipe without interfering with the primary water supply control function of the shut-off element.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution provides reliable, quick, and efficient drainage of the riser pipe, even with high groundwater levels, ensuring clean water discharge and reducing the risk of freezing and contamination, while being easy to operate and retrofit onto existing hydrants.
Implementation Method 1
The first and second passage can be brought into operative connection with one another, wherein this operative connection generates a negative pressure by means of water flowing through the second passage, so that water located in the interior of the riser pipe is discharged via the first passage
Data Source
Figure 1a~1c
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
The invention relates to a hydrant (100), which comprises a riser pipe (102), which has an interior (104) and an outside, and a shut-off element (108), which can be brought from at least one open position into at least one closed position and vice versa. The shut-off element (108) is designed in such a way that, in the closed position, the interior (104) of the riser pipe (102) can be sealed off from a hydrant inlet (106). The hydrant (100) comprises at least one first passage (114', 114"), by means of which the interior (104) of the riser pipe (102) can be fluidically connected to the outside of the hydrant (100), and one second passage (116', 116"), by means of which the pressurized hydrant inlet (106) can be fluidically connected to the outside of the hydrant (100), wherein the first passage (114, 114', 114"; 214; 314) and the second passage (116, 116', 116"; 216; 316) can be brought into operative connection with each other. Said operative connection produces a vacuum by means of water flowing through the second passage (116', 116") such that water in the interior (104) of the riser pipe (102) is led away via the first passage (114', 114") and the riser pipe (102) is thereby drained.