Accumulator Test Stand

Unfortunately, due to the proprietary nature of Vast's work I am unable to show photographs of my test stand. I promise it looked cool though!

The system was designed to test accumulators through the acceptance campaign. An accumulator is a pressurized fluid vessel that can accommodate thermal expansion in closed loop fluid systems by allowing that fluid to expand across a bladder or bellows into a fixed gas volume within the accumulator. My system worked by using an HVAC expansion tank and a 3/2 solenoid to quickly pressurize and depressurize a line that filled and drained the accumulator.

Throughout the design, build, and comissioning process, I developed various skills including CAD (tube routing and skeleton modeling), piping & instrumentation diagram design (P&ID), relief valve sizing, orifice sizing, pressure loss calculations, quantity distance (QD) calculations, PLC programming (TwinCAT), and electrical component assembly for the DAQ box. In total, the stand contains two fluids (pneumatic and hydraulic fluids), 15+ valves, 4+ sensors, and is designed with manufacturability and safety first.