Background

What is a Hydraulic Bench?

A Hydraulic Bench is a self-contained water supply device that allows recirculating water from a Sump Tank into different hydraulic devices. A centrifugal Pump moves water from the Sump Tank through a hose into a Water Inlet at the top of the bench. It is used to feed water at various flow rates to other apparatuses so they can function and features a flow display for hydraulic and fluid mechanics experiments.

Fluid Mechanics & Hydraulics

Fluid Mechanics is a subfield of mechanics that examines fluids, the forces acting on them, and how they react to those forces. It provides the foundation for hydraulics.

Hydraulics is a science that focuses on the use of fluids, usually liquids, in motion for practical purposes. The study of hydraulics focuses on issues including the movement of liquids through pipes, rivers, and channels as well as its containment by tanks and dams. Gases can also benefit from some of its principles, typically in situations when density fluctuations are minimal.

Brief Evolution of Fluid Mechanics & Hydraulics

Hydrostatics was discovered around 250 BC when Archimedes rushed naked through the streets of Syracuse while exclaiming, "Eureka!" which is "I have found" in Greek while Leonhard Euler and Daniel Bernoulli created the groundwork for hydrodynamic theory in the 18th century. The curiosity about various occurrences made scientists and mathematicians start to pay more attention to the flow of water as they did the flow of air and hydrodynamics evolved into fluid dynamics which later became part of fluid mechanics.

The first basic hydraulic systems were developed by the Egyptians over 4,000 years ago. Other civilizations, including the Greeks and Romans, used the same basic principles to develop their water-powered systems. Around 200 BC saw the invention of the Archimedes screw pump. While there were several minor advances in hydraulics, it was not until the 17th century that hydraulics took off. Scientists and mathematicians started to question the laws of physics and how they applied them to hydraulics, fluid motion, and pressure. Blaise Pascal was one such contributor who developed his important theory about hydraulics. To this day, it still serves as the basis of the hydraulic principle. “Pressure applied to a fluid at any one point in a closed system will be transmitted equally throughout the system.”

Applications of these fields

Looking at more recent events;

COVID-19 where Fluid mechanics played an important role in determining how much distance is considered safe from contracting the virus. This was achieved by carrying out studies on the behavior of the saliva droplet to find out that temperature, humidity and droplet size are the factors that affect this. Their final result was that we only require a 2-meter distance to be safe from contracting the virus.

There is a study going on called Hydraulic Hybrid Research where Research is being done to find out if our cars could still be operational if petroleum can be switched with water and this will produce Hydraulic Hybrid Vehicles, HHVs.

These applications show how the fields, fluid mechanics and hydraulics, are very influential in our daily lives and are made up of diverse concepts. Understanding the fields where the concept of operation of hydraulic bench comes from will help understand the project and its relevance more.

Parts of a Hydraulic Bench

The labelled figures above show different parts of a typical hydraulic bench:

On/Off Switch for Motor
Discharge Control Valve
Sight Tube and Scale
Volumetric Tank
Open Channel
Centrifugal Pump
Sump Tank
Open Channel
Flow Control Valve

General Working of a Hydraulic Bench

The figure shows the general working of a hydraulic bench. The water is stored in a sump tank. When the motor is turned on, this water is pumped up to the open channel through a suction pipe.

This open channel is the water source for the volumetric tank and therefore, the water flows from the channel to the tank present at a relatively lower elevation. Finally, this water is made to outflow the tank back into the reservoir or sump tank.

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