About this book
In recent years there has been a revival of interest in the hydraulic ram pump, a renewable energy water-lifting device. "Hydraulic Ram Pumps" aims to introduce the reader to all aspects of ram pumps. It should be useful to technicians and engineers involved in rural water supply, whether they are assessing the suitability of ram pumps, installing a system or contemplating local manufacture. It gives practical guidelines for the installation and operation of water supply systems based on such pumps, as well as describing the operation of the pump and the factors affecting its performance. The reader is taken through the steps involved in designing and installing a complete system, steps that should be applicable to any model of ram pump available. Details of one pump, designed for local manufacture in developing countries, are given along with some notes on ram pump design for those wishing to develop their own models. A number of illustrations are used alongside text in order to make the information useful to a wide range of non-specialist readers. Readers are welcome to photocopy the diagrams and add labels in other languages in order for training purposes.
Contents
Part 1 Introduction to the ram pump: components of a ram pump system; the ram pump; general characteristics of ram pump systems - efficiency and power, pump size, water quality, life and reliability, tuning to suit site conditions, economic factors, social factors. Part 2 Ram pumps in water supply systems: renewed interest; local manufacture; other technologies for water supply - water-powered pumping, gravity feed, rainwater harvesting, wind- and solar-powered pumping, manual and animal-powered pumping; the place of ram pumps. Part 3 Preliminary system design: suitable areas - what to look for, allowing for floods; site surveying; pump selection; intake design - spring intakes, stream intakes - dams and weirs, run-of-river intakes; settling tank; drive system - feed pipe, drive tank, drive pipe, pump, pump base, pump house, delivery manifold, delivery pipe, distribution system. Part 4 Design assessment procedure: notes on stage A; flow chart of system design process; notes on stage B; notes on stage C; notes on stage D; notes on stage E. Part 5 System construction: spring intakes - foundations, construction; stream intakes using dams - rock and cement dam, gabion dam, components of a dam; run-of-river intake; feed pipe; flood overflow; settling tank - size, pipe connections to the settling tank; drive tank construction - foundations of the drive tank, the overflow of the drive tank, pipe connections to the drive tank, screens and covers, types of tank; drive pipes; pump base and pump house; pump installation - fixing details, connection to delivery manifold; delivery pipe and manifold; distribution system - storage tanks, standpipes; pipe joints - plastic to plastic, steel to steel, plastic to steel, flexible hose. Part 6 System commissioning and operation: before starting a ram pump; starting a ram pump - if all else fails; stopping a ram pump; measuring pump performance; routine inspection and maintenance - checking the pump(s) monthly, checking the pump(s) quarterly, checking the system monthly, annual system maintenance; pump repair; problem solving and fault finding. Part 7 Local pump manufacture: buy or make?; the manufacture of the DTU steel ram pumps - workshop facilities, quality control; assembly of the DTU pumps - assembly, step-by-step; designing a customized ram pump - the air vessel, delivery valve design, types of delivery valve, impulse valve design. part 8 Case studies - Nepal and Zaire: Nepal - organization and community participation, sample DCS (Nepal) survey form; Zaire. Appendices: some currently available ram pumps; DTU steel pump performance charts; sources of further information; surveying and pipe sizing - measuring height/head, measuring linear distances, measuring flows, determining internal pipe diameter/head loss; the DTU plastic irrigation pump; design drawings for DTU steel pumps.
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