Predicting the Output of a Hydraulic Ram Pump

Abstract

The use of the hydraulic ram pump has been an attractive alternative in many areas in developing countries and rural areas that do not have or are located far from a reliable source of electricity. However, predicting the actual output delivery of the hydraulic ram pump poses many challenges due to the basic principle on which the hydraulic ram pump operates, the system design that consists of three pipes of different lengths, different diameters in each section and different Darcy-Weisbach friction factors. Based on experimental data, an empirical correlation was developed to predict the delivery output of a hydraulic ram pump for any combination of input and output head height. The accuracy of the predicted theoretical output flow rate was measured against the experimental data. The empirical correlation predicted the output flow rate within ±12% for any combination of input and output head height.