Plastic hydraulic hammer reduction system

A vehicle for transporting a liquid commodity, comprising:

• a) a closed tank, said tank having an inside surface, an outside surface, a top, a bottom and an interior for containing such liquid commodity;
• b) a safety vent mounted on the top of the tank at the outside surface, having a safety relief valve for allowing pressure to escape from the tank in the event of a pressure build-up greater than a selected pressure value and including a flow line that extends between the valve and the tank interior, the flow line having a bore;
• c) a mechanical energy dissipation system for dissipating hydraulic hammer action in the safety vent, comprising:
• i) a mechanical device of a relatively small size in comparison to the size of the tank, said device being located in the bore of the flow line, said device presenting a series of diverging, impact surfaces to liquid flow from the tank to the valve that dissipates the hydraulic hammer action of the liquid as it flows through said flow line and device;
• ii) wherein the diverging, impact surfaces are made of a non-metallic plastic material, shaped such that they are strong enough to absorb mechanical energy without breaking;
• iii) wherein said mechanical device includes a one piece plastic body having a core;
• and said diverging, impact surfaces comprise a series of spaced apart projections in succession affixed to opposite sides of said core and integral therewith.

A mobile tank apparatus, comprising:

• a) a tank having an interior for carrying a liquid;
• b) a rupture disk assembly on the tank for allowing excess pressure to escape from the tank before the tank is fractured from the pressure, said assembly including a rupture disk member and a flow line extending between the rupture disk member and the tank interior, the flow line having a bore;
• and
• c) a mechanical energy dissipation system, for dissipating hydraulic hammer action in the tank and prior to a premature failure of the rupture disk member, said system comprising:
• i) a mechanical device of a relatively small size in comparison to the size of the tank, said device being located in the flow line bore, said device including a one piece integral plastic body that has a core with projections extending from the core that provide a series of diverging impact surfaces that dissipate the hydraulic hammer action of the liquid as it flows in the flow line and through said device.

A method of dissipating the hydraulic hammer action in a moving tank carrying a liquid load, the tank having a flow line with a bore that contains a safety relief valve, comprising the steps of:

• (a) providing a relatively small mechanical energy dissipation device comprising a plastic device that is contained within the flow line bore and including a central body that has a plurality of projections extending from the body toward the flow line, each projection having impact surfaces;
• and
• (b) placing said mechanical device in the flow line so that the device occupies the bore and extends between the liquid load in the tank and the safety relief valve, causing liquid of the liquid load to have to pass through said flow line bore and mechanical device before it can reach said safety relief valve, with said device occupying less than and extending into less than about one percent (1%) of the interior volume of the tank, the kinetic energy of the moving liquid being dissipated as it passes through said device impacting against said diverging surfaces, dissipating the hydraulic hammer action;
• c) wherein in step “b”, the diverging, impact surfaces are made of a non-metallic material.

A railroad tank car vehicle comprising:

• a) a closed tank, said tank having an inside surface, an outside surface, a top and a bottom, and an interior for containing a liquid commodity of thousands of gallons in capacity;
• b) a safety vent flow line mounted on the top of the tank at the outside surface having a safety relief valve for allowing pressure to escape from the tank in the event of a pressure build-up greater than the tank is rated for and before the tank could fracture, the flow line extending from the top of the tank into the interior of the tank and being used to allow the excess pressure to escape from the tank once the pressure has exceeded a rated burst pressure;
• c) a mechanical energy dissipation system for dissipating the hydraulic hammer action in the safety vent flow line, protecting the safety relief valve from premature operation, comprising:
• a longitudinally extended mechanical device of a relatively small size in comparison to the size of the tank, said device being located in the flow line, the device extending in the flow line between the safety relief valve and the liquid commodity in the tank, said device comprising a one piece plastic body that has a core and a series of diverging, energy dissipating impact surfaces extending from the core, significantly dissipating the hydraulic hammer action of the liquid from the impact of the liquid against the impact surfaces as it flows through said device before it encounters the valve the size, placement and configuration of said device, and said impact surfaces providing kinetic energy dissipation means for causing said device to allow flow of the liquid from the tank to the valve through the interior of said device in a way to significantly dissipate the kinetic energy generated by the hydraulic hammer caused by the sudden movement of thousands of gallons of liquid in the tank as part of the liquid moves through said device on its way to the valve, wherein
• the diverging, impact surfaces are made of a non-metallic material and/or the diverging, impact surfaces are shaped such that they could be made of plastic yet still be strong enough to absorb mechanical energy without breaking.

A vehicle for transporting a liquid commodity comprising:

• a) a closed tank for containing such liquid commodity, said tank having an inside surface, an outside surface, a top and a bottom and an interior for containing thousands of gallons in capacity;
• b) a safety vent flow line having a bore, the safety vent flow line being mounted on the top of the tank at the outside surface and having a safety relief valve for allowing pressure to escape from the tank in the event of a pressure build-up greater than the tank is rated for and before the tank could fracture;
• c) a mechanical energy dissipation system for dissipating hydraulic hammer action in the safety vent flow line that includes a longitudinally extended one piece, plastic mechanical device of a relatively small size in comparison to the size of the tank, said device having a top flange near its top area for connecting the device to the safety vent and for positioning its lower end down into the flow line and next to the tank interior, the device having an upper end being positioned next to the safety relief valve, said body including a series of diverging, energy dissipating impact surfaces to the liquid flow from the tank to the valve, for significantly dissipating the hydraulic hammer action of the liquid from the impact of the liquid against the impact surfaces as it flows through flow line and said device before it encounters the valve, the size, placement and configuration of said device, said impact surfaces and its top flange providing kinetic energy dissipation means for causing said device to allow flow of the liquid from the tank to the valve through the interior of said device in a way to significantly dissipate the kinetic energy generated by the hydraulic hammer caused by the sudden movement of thousands of gallons of liquid in the tank as part of the liquid moves through said device on its way to the valve.

A vehicle for transporting a liquid commodity, comprising:

• a) a mobile tank, said tank having an inside surface, an outside surface, a top, a bottom and an interior for containing such liquid commodity;
• b) a safety vent mounted on the top of the tank at the outside surface, having a safety relief valve for allowing pressure to escape from the tank in the event of a pressure build-up greater than a selected pressure value and a flow line extending between the valve and the tank interior, the flow line having a bore;
• c) a mechanical energy dissipation system for dissipating hydraulic hammer action in the safety vent, comprising:
• i) a plastic device of relatively small size in comparison to the size of the tank, said device being removably located in the flow line bore, said device being contained within the flow line bore and including a central body that has a plurality of projections extending from the body toward the flow line, each projection having impact surfaces.

A vehicle for transporting a liquid commodity, comprising:

• a) a mobile tank, said tank having an inside surface, an outside surface, a top, a bottom and an interior for containing such liquid commodity;
• b) a safety vent mounted on the top of the tank at the outside surface, having a safety relief valve for allowing pressure to escape from the tank in the event of a pressure build-up greater than a selected pressure value and a flow line extending between the valve and the tank interior, the flow line having a bore;
• c) a mechanical energy dissipation system for dissipating hydraulic hammer action in the safety vent, comprising:
• i) a plastic device of relatively small size in comparison to the size of the tank, said device being removably located in the flow line bore, said device presenting a series of diverging, impact surfaces to liquid flow from the tank to the valve member that dissipates the hydraulic hammer action of the liquid as it flows through the line of flow and the device during use;
• ii) wherein the diverging, impact surfaces are defined by a plurality of projections;
• iii) wherein said device includes a one piece plastic body having a core, and said diverging, impact surfaces comprise a series of spaced apart projections in succession affixed to opposite sides of said core.