Abstract

The invention relates to a device and to a method for damping pressure fluctuations in a delivery line (14) of a piston thick-matter pump (10), comprising at least one container (16), which communicates with the delivery line and is at least partially filled with a compressible fluid, for receiving and discharging conveyed material (12) during the pumping operation of the thick-matter pump (10) with alternating compression and expansion of the fluid. According to the invention, in order to realize economical and reliable damping, a control apparatus (22) for the degree of fluid filling in the container (16) in dependence on operating parameters during the pumping operation is proposed, the control apparatus comprising at least one pressure sensor (20) for determining the delivery pressure, which pressure sensor is preferably arranged in the container (16) or in the delivery line (14), and comprising an electronic computing unit, which is intended and suitable for determining and storing a pressure ratio V between delivery pressure values during a working cycle of the thick-matter pump (10) and during a switch-over phase between the working cycles of the piston of the thick-matter pump or a mean value M of the delivery pressure over a time interval during the switch-over phase as a measure of the effectiveness of the damping.

IPC Classes  ?

• F04B 11/00 - Equalisation of pulses, e.g. by use of air vesselsCounteracting cavitation
• F04B 15/02 - Pumps adapted to handle specific fluids, e.g. by selection of specific materials for pumps or pump parts the fluids being viscous or non-homogeneous
• F04B 49/06 - Control using electricity
• F17D 1/20 - Arrangements or systems of devices for influencing or altering dynamic characteristics of the systems, e.g. for damping pulsations caused by opening or closing of valves
• F16L 55/052 - Pneumatic reservoirs