Customer
Our client, the Centre Scientifique et Technique du Bâtiment (CSTB), is responsible for guaranteeing the quality and safety of buildings and supporting innovation in the construction sector. This mission is accomplished through its activities: research and expertise, evaluation, certification and dissemination of knowledge.
Tested product
Flush tank
The cistern is a tank that stores a volume of water waiting for toilet flushing. It is fitted with a stopcock and coupled to a flushing mechanism which, when activated, discharges the water into the toilet bowl.
Objective
Design and manufacture a test bench to carry out hydraulic characterisation tests in accordance with the technical references proposed by the client.
Problematic issues
The test bed must be independent, ergonomically sound, have a modular chassis and be PC-controlled.
Solution and result
The tank to be characterised is positioned by forks installed on the machine. These are adjustable to accommodate several different tank sizes.
The tank is then connected to the machine's water circuit. The flush cylinder is then positioned so that the desired control can be pressed.
Finally, the height of the tank can be fine-tuned in order to position the flush pipe correctly.
In the interests of economy and ecology, the bench works in a closed water circuit. Thus, the water evacuated from the flush after the test flows into the sink, then back into the filling tank before being refilled in the flush tank, and so on for each test.
The characterisation test rig runs several test scenarios automatically:
- checking the volume of water released during a flush by the tank
- checking the water flow rate when the flush system is activated
- checking the impact force generated by the water leaving the tank
- Determining the safety gap between the existing water level and the overflow
- Determination of the safety difference between the overflow level and the lowest level.
The characterisation bench for flush tanks is a laboratory test bench for checking the compliance of tested flush tanks with the NF EN 14055 standard.
