Design and fabrication of Low Cost, Self Operating Hydraulic Ram-Pump for Water Retention and Lifting in Rural Areas

In rural and especially in hilly areas of Pakistan, people are facing multiple problems related to energy. The conventional energy methods are mostly unsuccessful and harmful to the environment. The unconventional and renewable energy solutions are most effective, readily available, and environment

Project Title

Design and fabrication of Low Cost, Self Operating Hydraulic Ram-Pump for Water Retention and Lifting in Rural Areas

Project Area of Specialization

Mechanical Engineering

Project Summary

In rural and especially in hilly areas of Pakistan, people are facing multiple problems related to energy. The conventional energy methods are mostly unsuccessful and harmful to the environment. The unconventional and renewable energy solutions are most effective, readily available, and environment friendly. The hydraulic ram pump is an alternative pumping device that is a relatively simple technology that uses renewable energy and is durable.  The hydraulic ram pump uses the water hammer effect to develop pressure, which allows a portion of the input water to an elevation higher than the original level at the source.  Apart from the kinetic energy of the water, no other source of power is needed.  The pump can be used in places where there is a steady and reliable supply of water with a fall sufficient to operate it. The hydraulic ram pump has a low maintenance requirement due to the limited amount of moving parts.

The hydraulic ram pump can be a viable and appropriate renewable energy water pumping technology in Pakistan. This project will provide water for domestic and agricultural needs while keeping minimal design and construction costs. The successful implementation of the project will improve household activities and irrigation by providing a sustainable solution.

The project will be designed and implemented in Swat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. For this purpose, an irrigation area of 35000 ft2 and 12 nearby houses is under consideration. The aim is to utilize locally available resources to develop lightweight, low-cost, durable, and operating characteristics comparable to commercially available types. Water quality, quantity and timely availability is the main requirement for agriculture and domestic use. Construction of water storage tanks at proper altitudes will improve water sustainability and reliability. The hydraulic ram pump would greatly benefit the local community by fulfilling their water demand free of running cost.

Commercially made hydraulic ram pumps are expensive and mainly manufactured by developed countries. This project will focus on developing and designing a smaller, lighter, and low-cost model that can be fabricated in Pakistan.

Project Objectives

The overall objective is to provide a sustainable and reliable source of water pumping and storage for agricultural and domestic needs in Swat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Specific objectives are listed below:

a) To identify the potential for hydraulic ram pump installations in Swat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

b) To design and fabricate lowcost, high performance, and durable hydraulic ram pump

c) To construct and install optimized design suitable for agriculture and domestic use.

Project Implementation Method

This project is divided into three main phases design, manufacturing, and installation phase. The design phase of the project requires multiple factors to be considered. In designing phase factors such as area suitability (head and flow rate), Flow rate and head requirement, Floods consideration, intake design, drive system, pumphouse location, delivery pipes routing, and distribution system. After completion of theoretical analysis, computer-aided design tools will be used to create, modify, analyze and optimize the hydraulic ram pump design. The computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model is expected to provide a better understanding of the hydram operation to enable the design and optimize its output.

The manufacturing phase of the project will involve material and process selection for the fabricating hydraulic ram pump. During this phase, the main focus will be to reduce manufacturing costs to achieve maximum possible performance and durability. 

The third and final phase of the project will involve the installation and test of the hydraulic ram pump. The pump should be installed in a properly designed system. To prevent vibrations from causing breakages, it should be firmly bolted to a steel frame (called a pump cradle) that is half-buried in a concrete base. The cradle is usually made up from an iron angle. All pipes in the system should be supported firmly and buried where possible. The drive and delivery tanks should be constructed on good foundations by experienced tradesmen.

Benefits of the Project

Hydraulic ram pump installation will yield a wide range of socio-economic and environmental benefits. This project will provide a sustainable and reliable source of water for agriculture and domestic use. The hydraulic ram pump will provide a low-cost solution to water management problems in rural and hilly areas of Pakistan. This project will make a huge difference as no external or conventional power is needed to operate the hydraulic ram pump. As compared to other available water pumping solutions, this project will provide a short payback period and no running cost. the maintenance requirement of the pump is very low due to its simplicity and reliability and has a low environmental effect as it pumps only a small proportion of the available flow. The project will play a key role in providing a safe and reliable source of water for domestic and agricultural use. As a result, the socio-economic restraints related to agriculture can be eliminated. This project will provide green energy solutions to water management issues.

Technical Details of Final Deliverable

The scope of this project is to design and install a proper system that will provide water for 35000 ft2 cultivation land and 12 homes for daily use. The system will include

1. Hydraulic ram pump design
2. Storage tank
3. Support system

The project will provide a complete installation guideline and specifications of every component of the system.

The pumping system consists of the following main components.

• Drive/Input and delivery/output pipes: The Pump is based on two kinds of pipes as mentioned. The basic function of the drive pipe is to deliver water from the source to the pump-body. while the delivery pipe delivers water from the pump-body to the destination. These components also affect the pump’s efficiency. If the drive pipe is at the high elevation with appropriate length and the length of the delivery pipe is minimum may generate maximum pressure.
• Check valve: This is to be considered as the core component of the pump which allows the fluid to flow only in one direction and prevent in the reverse direction.
• Waste valve: The waste valve is also considered a non-return valve that allows fluid to go out from the pump’s body with low pressure. It opens when the fluid pressure is minimum or when the check valve is closed.
• Air chamber: This device utilizes the compressibility of the air when the high-pressure fluid exit from the check valve and enters the chamber. The air will become compressed and the fluid pressure becomes further increases.
• Ball valve: The Ball valve is used to control the flow of fluid by rotating the ball at 90 degrees. It also causes “WATER HAMMERING” which states the sudden drop of flow with high pressure or forced breaking of the flow which causes the rise of the resultant pressure.
• Relation b/w check valve and waste valve: The opening and closing of both valves are inversely proportional to each other.
• Pressure gauge: To measure the outlet pressure we will use this device.
• Union: Unions allow the pump to quickly be disconnected from the plumbing without having to do any cutting and re-plumbing in case of maintenance.
• Bed for pump’s body: We need to understand this component for the safety or security of the pump. It’s considered the foundation of the pump
• Source of water: The pump uses the momentum of a relatively large amount of moving water to pump a relatively small amount of water uphill. In our case, we have two streams of flowing water with a particular flow rate. We will create one stream by installing a T-JOINT to maintain the pressure.

Final Deliverable of the Project

HW/SW integrated system

Core Industry

Agriculture

Other Industries

Food , Energy , Transportation

Core Technology

Clean Tech

Other Technologies

Sustainable Development Goals

No Poverty, Zero Hunger, Good Health and Well-Being for People, Clean Water and Sanitation, Affordable and Clean Energy, Decent Work and Economic Growth, Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, Responsible Consumption and Production, Life Below Water, Life on Land

Required Resources

If you need this project, please contact me on contact@adikhanofficial.com