Construction of a Small-Scale Vacuum Generation System and Using It as an Educational Device to Demonstrate Features of the Vacuum

TL;DR

This paper presents a small-scale, versatile vacuum generation system designed for educational demonstrations and practical applications, capable of reaching significant vacuum levels and comparing favorably with traditional vacuum pumps.

Contribution

It introduces a novel, flexible vacuum device that can be used for educational purposes and practical tasks, demonstrating features of vacuum physics and engineering.

Findings

Achieved a vacuum level of 26 inches of mercury

Compared performance with a 1/4 horsepower rotary-vane pump

Demonstrated vacuum features relevant to physics and engineering education

Abstract

We developed a vacuum generation system composed of a reciprocating compressor (3 tons of refrigeration) with an inverted-function that is ready to be hooked flexibly to a gas-tight container to create an evacuated enclosed atmosphere, without strict limitation of the size of that container. The evacuated container (or vacuum chamber) can serve in different purposes such as educational demonstration of the vacuum properties, extraction of perfumes from herbal resources, and preserving food. We tested the device and found it can reach a vacuum level of 26 inches of mercury in an environment with an atmospheric pressure of 28.5 inches of mercury. We compared the performance of our vacuum device to a rotary-vane vacuum pump of 1/4 horsepowers and found that the vacuum pump reaches a set test vacuum level of 25 inches of mercury before the compressor. We then demonstrated experimentally some features of the vacuum using the inverted compressor or the vane vacuum pump. These experiments serve some topics in physics for school students as well as two core subjects of mechanical engineering, namely fluid mechanics and thermodynamics.