The Liquid Accumulator junction allows up to twenty-five connecting pipes. This junction type is useful for modeling a liquid chamber that has more elasticity than the pipe itself. This may be a liquid-solid tank or a condenser box, for example.

The Liquid Accumulator Properties window follows the second of the two basic Properties window formats. A table displays the connecting pipe information. The table grows in size to accommodate up to twenty-five connecting pipes.

Initial Conditions and Elastic Process

The relationship between liquid accumulator volume and pressure is assumed to be linear. The amount of volume change for a given amount of pressure change is given by the elasticity of the accumulator. Note that this value should include both the effect of the flexibility of the container and the effect from the compressibility of the fluid. This input will need to be obtained from test data or approximated based on mechanical correlations.

The Initial Volume of the tank is a required input. This volume will change during the transient according to the linear law.

Special Condition

The special condition for the Liquid Accumulator on the Optional tab allows the user to set Impulse to ignore the accumulator. See Special Conditions for more information.