Operation Of The Hydraulic Bench at the CEE Hydraulics Laboratory

By Gilberto E. Urroz, September 2010

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. This Water Inlet point can be used to attach close-conduit devices (e.g.,
a Venturi meter), or fitted with a device to allow flow into a small flume for open-channel flow tests (e.g.,
Weir Plate tests). Figure 1 shows front, side, and top views of diagrams of the Hydraulic Bench.

Figure 1. Diagram of a hydraulic bench.

Regular operation:
1 To start with, make sure the Pump is off.
2 - Set up the device to be tested, either a close-conduit device or water supply for open-channel flow,
attached to the Water Inlet. Make sure all the connections are secured.
3 Ensure that the Supply Valve is closed, and that the Dump Valve is open. Switch the Pump on.
4 Once the Pump is on, slowly open the Supply Valve to allow water to circulate through the Bench.
5 For a given setting of the Supply Valve make the appropriate measurements in the device being tested
(e.g., pressure readings, water depths).

Measuring the discharge:

To measure the discharge through the Hydraulic Bench you need to use a stop watch and read water volumes
in the Volume Gage located to the left of the Pump Switch. But first, you need to close the Dump Valve. The
Dump Valve is simply a rubber ball that closes the inlet into the Sump Tank deviating the water running
through the Hydraulic Bench into a Volumetric Tank. When the Dump Valve is closed the level in the Volume
Gage will start to raise. The Volume Gage level is marked in liters (L). The procedure to measure discharge is
as follows:

1
 1. Close the Dump Valve.
2. Watch the level in the Volume Gage.
3. When the level goes through a given mark (say 5 L), start the stop watch.
4. When the level passes another given mark (say 30 L), stop the stop watch.
5. Open the Dump Valve.

The discharge is simply the ration of the volume change (e.g., 30 L 5 L = 25 L) divided by the time recorded
in the stop watch.

Shutting down the Hydraulic Bench

1 When done with your test, close down the Supply Valve.
2 Turn off the valve.
3 Disconnect the device used for testing and store it away.

REMEMBER:
Close the valve before turning the pump on.
Close the valve before turning the pump off.
When the pump is operating, open and close the valve slowly.