Have we created a pressure booster?

[baatsman32]

I came across a hydraulic system at work which I need to understand fully. We are pumping out electrolyte from a small tank (~20" diameter) with pressurized nitrogen at 20 psi. The electrolyte leaves the tank in a 1/2" pipe. The outgoing electrolyte shows a pressure of 50 psi. I think the original intention was to have the same pressure on the outgoing electrolyte as the nitrogen that we use to push the electrolyte with.

My guess is that we see an increase of pressure of the electrolyte because we are creating a pressure booster since we are pushing with a smaller pressure (20 psi) but with a larger area. Can this be the case? As you probably can tell, I do not have much experience within piping and hydraulics.

Thanks!

 

[LittleInch]

Ok, you need to describe this operation a bit more and what happens to the pressure.

So)
1) When the valve into the second tank is open to re-fill it (presumably the valve with a M on it) what is the pressure?
2) What happens when you close the valve into the second tank?, i.e. does the pressure climb instantly or take a few hours / days?
3) check details of what that 3 way valve does and how it is configured / designed
4) Is it possible to isolate this section of pipe and then de-pressurize it before re-opening the valves? What happens?
5) What are the temperatures of the tank and the pipework?

I think we're all heading towards a locked in pipe section which increases in temperature and hence climbs in pressure due to thermal expansion of your fluid. from what you've supplied so far there is no other sensible explanation.


Remember - More details = better answers
Also: If you get a response it's polite to respond to it.

 

[danw2]

Sure it's not 50 kPa which is 7.2 PSI?