Pulsation Dampening
Using a Pulsation
Dampener with a
Reciprocating Pump
Darla Jean Thompson, CAT Pumps
The use of pulsation dampeners and a captive acceleration
tube in a reciprocating positive displacement pump system can
significantly smooth the flow of the pumped liquid and extend
both pump and system life. Here’s how it works.
P
ulsation dampeners are fitted to reciprocating positive
displacement pumps to smooth the flow of the pumped
liquid and thus extend both pump and system life.
Pump Design
Inherent in the design of reciprocating pumps are the pulsa-
tions caused as discrete volumes of liquid taken from the inlet
and pushed into the outlet of the pump.
A reciprocating pump can have pistons, plungers or dia-
phragms, but for convenience this example will use piston
Figure 1. The five wave forms with the five pressure variations.
26 july 2006 www.pump-zone.com Pumps & Systems
to refer to them all. Pumps can have any number of pistons.
Simplex has 1, duplex (2), triplex (3), quadruplex (4), and
quintuplex (5).
Simplex and duplex generate very lumpy flows, while the
triplex and quintuplex designs are considerably smoother, as
shown in Figure 1.
Pulsation Dampener Design
Many pulsation dampener designs are available, but the design
that is used most often is the bladder type, which is simple
and cost effective. Figure 2 shows a
cross-section of a typical pulsation
dampener.
The most common design of a
bladder type pulsation dampener has a
single liquid connection at one end of
the metal housing and a gas-charging
valve at the other end with the blad-
der between. The gas volume acts as a
spring, compressing and expanding to
meet liquid system pressure changes.
To work effectively, the gas must
be dry to follow the gas law: minus
(–) pressure times volume remains
constant.
When the pressure is doubled, the
volume is halved. Any moisture can
change the state and vapor pressure
and alter this relationship. The more
Figure 2. Cross-sectional view of a dampener that shows the Figure 3. A typical pre-charged dampener assembly.
charging valve, bladder in the middle of the bottle, the anti-extru-
sion button and the port. Gas/liquid is also shown.

the gas is compressed, the more potential energy it contains to ecules, causing the dampener to accumulate liquid. (Hence,
give back when needed. Dry nitrogen is the gas of choice. It pulsation dampeners are sometimes referred to as an accumula-
is readily available and, being oxygen free, it prolongs bladdertor. Note that an accumulator should only be used for a similar
life. device that is used to accommodate a varying demand, not a
The pulsation dampener housing must be made of a varying supply.)
material that meets the corrosion requirements of the pumped However, when there is a pressure drop the lighter gas mol-
ecules take more time to push liquid out of the pulsation
dampener and into the pump system. Providing that the
In a bladder type pulsation dampener, pulsation frequency is low, both spikes and troughs will
be similarly compensated.
dry nitrogen is the gas of choice. At higher frequencies, the pressure spikes are
It is readily available and, being absorbed more readily and there may be less smoothing
as the trough filling takes longer. The above condition
oxygen free, it prolongs bladder life. limits the effectiveness of this type of pulsation damp-
ener on pump inlets, where the pump speed is high.
In these situations, a C.A.T. [captive acceleration
liquid and the installed environment. The bladder must be an tube] is a better solution. This accessory is discussed later. In
elastomer that is compatible with the liquid and permits the general, the larger the dampener, the more effective it will be in
necessary expansion and retraction over time. smoothing out the system pulsations. An economically-sized
pulsation dampener should give a residual pulse of ± 3 percent.
Servicing the Dampener For greater smoothing, use a larger pulsation dampener.
The dampener must be pre-charged before being installed,
and the pre-charge must be checked periodically for optimum
performance.
The charging must be made with atmospheric pressure at
the liquid port. The pre-charge should be set between 50 per-
cent and 70 percent of the system pressure. When running at
set pressure the average volume of gas will be 50 percent to 30
percent, respectively, of the pulsation dampener volume.
The manufacturer will advise the appropriate pre-charge
to match the pump type, accumulator size, bladder and liquid
characteristics.

Dampener Operation
When there is a pressure increase, the heavy pumped liquid Figure 4. A typical captive acceleration tube (C.A.T.).
molecules can rapidly compress the light gas pre-charge mol-

Pumps & Systems www.pump-zone.com july 2006 27

 Pulsation Dampening

System Design
To protect the pump and reduce
maintenance to seals and vales,
install the dampener close to the
pump outlet, preferably on the
discharge manifold. Systems fitted
with devices that cause an abrupt
stop to the flow, such as solenoid
valves, spring release valves, etc.,
will cause the flow momentum to
change to a pressure spike (water
hammer). This can be up to 10X
the system pressure! This spike
travels back through the outlet
line and can harm the pump. A
dampener can soften the blow Pressure traces monitored with a captive acceleration tube (C.A.T.)
– but do this too often and the
dampener bladder will eventually the pulsations. The more elastic the discharge plumbing, the
see the effects and require replacement. less chance there will be of such resonance.
The system has an impact on the performance of the Resonance can give an effect similar to water hammer. An
dampener. additional dampener at the end of the resonant length can help
Rigid plumbing (pipework) can have lengths that are to alleviate the problem. Reinforced, flexible hose at the pump
multiples of the wave length of the pulsation. This will gener- inlet and discharge also help minimize pulsations.
ate standing waves and cause an increase to the amplitude of The limitations of a bladder-type pulsation dampener in

circle 156 on card or go to psfreeinfo.com

28 july 2006 www.pump-zone.com Pumps & Systems
 be released at the frequency needed
to fill each trough.
The use of pulsation dampeners
and C.A.T. in reciprocating posi-
tive displacement pumps systems
can significantly smooth the flow of
the pumped liquid and extend both
pump and system life.

P&S

Pressure traces monitored without a captive acceleration tube (C.A.T.)

the inlet line of the pump were previously mentioned. For sys-
tems with long or rigid pipework, or with hot liquids, it is
necessary to fill the troughs effectively.
A valve called a column stabilizer can be effective in some
installations, but it is far simpler to use a C.A.T. when the inlet
pressure is between 10-psi and 50-psi. It stores energy that can
Darla Jean Thompson is the marketing manager for CAT
Pumps, 1681 94th Lane NE, Minneapolis, MN 55449,
763-780-5440, Fax: 763-780-2958, darla.jean@cat-
pumps.com, www.catpumps.com.

whe
n Performance & Experiencea r e I m
pe p er a t i v e

EFI isis the

the
Logical Choice
For Factory Built
For Factory Built Water
Water Distribution
Distribution Equipment
Equipment
J

Tennessee American Water Co. Walden Ridge Pumping Station

Designed, manufactured and delivered by EFI to pump 2800 gpm up a
1600 foot vertical lift through 17,800 lineal feet of pipe up the mountain
at an output pressure of up to 950 psig using two, 700 hp, 4160 volt,
vertical turbine pumps with a surge rating exceeding 2100 psig.

“A Very Challenging Pumping Application”

Engineered Fluid, Inc.

PO Box 723, Centralia, IL 62801 (618) 533-1351 Fax (618) 533-1459 www.engineeredfluid.com

circle 173 on card or go to psfreeinfo.com

Pumps & Systems www.pump-zone.com july 2006 29