The pressure regulating chamber is a key safety component in the pressure stabilizing system. Its cylindrical volume is usually between 500 and 3,000 cubic meters (the specific size is calculated based on the pressure fluctuation range of the pipeline design). When the water pump suddenly stops due to power interruption, the pressure regulating chamber can store the instantaneous flow rate of the system for 7 to 15 seconds (calculated according to the ASME B31.1 standard), reducing the peak water hammer pressure by more than 65%. The 2018 Michigan water supply system accident revealed that a water pipe without a pressure regulating station experienced an overpressure impact of 1.8MPa when the pump set failed, causing the pipe to burst and resulting in a direct loss of 600,000 US dollars. It can be proved through transient flow simulation that a reasonably designed pressure regulating chamber can extend the service life of the pipeline by at least 10 years.
For fuel delivery systems (such as underground storage tanks at gas stations), the demand for pressure regulating rooms depends on the power of the oil pump and the pipeline configuration. When the working pressure of the electric Fuel Pump is ≥0.5MPa and the length of the single-pass pipeline exceeds 100 meters, configuring a buffer tank with an effective volume of 120 liters can reduce the pressure oscillation frequency from 6Hz to below the safety threshold of 2Hz. Case data from Det Norske Veritas shows that in 2017, a certain seaport gas station was damaged due to the overload of the gear pump when the voltage fluctuated because the pressure regulating device was omitted. The single repair cost reached $8,500. By installing pressure sensors for real-time monitoring, the system failure rate can be reduced by 73%.
In the field of chemical process pumps, the economic benefits of the pressure regulating chamber are more significant. Dupont’s 2021 production report indicates that after the polyester production line adopted positive displacement pumps in combination with an intelligent pressure regulating system, the energy consumption per ton of product decreased by 18.7kWh, and the equipment maintenance interval was extended from 120 days to 240 days. The comparative experiments show that under the working condition of a flow rate of 50m³/h, the diaphragm pump set without pressure regulation consumes 15% more spare parts costs each year due to pressure fluctuations. Reports from third-party testing institutions confirm that the hydraulic pulsation suppression system that complies with the API 675 standard can increase the overall device efficiency by 2.3 percentage points.
The core decision parameters for whether to configure include: the viscosity of the fluid medium (centipoise units), the distance from the pump station to the terminal (meter-level accuracy), and the frequency of start-stop operations (daily circulation times). The British Water Agency standard WRc-231 recommends that when the pump set starts and stops more than 30 times a day or the head is ≥80 meters, a pressure buffer device must be installed. Taking the sewage lifting system of German KSB Company as an example, after installing the pressure regulating cylinder with a volumetric coefficient of 5% of the system flow rate, the wear rate of the centrifugal pump bearing was reduced from 0.2mm per month to 0.05mm, and the service life was extended by 5 years.
The cost-benefit analysis shows that the initial investment for installing a pressure regulating chamber in an industrial pump system with a rated power of 22kW is approximately $12,000 (including installation costs), but it can reduce the cost by approximately 383,200. A 2019 study by the Canadian Energy Association pointed out that after the reasonable layout of pressure regulating equipment in the oil delivery system, the failure rate of fuel pumps caused by pressure shock decreased by 54%, and the unexpected downtime was shortened by 83%. This investment can usually achieve a positive return rate (ROI≥15%) through equipment protection within an 18-month operation cycle.