Solar-powered lifting mechanism for handpump systems

Abstract

A power efficient lifting mechanism that will be applied as alternative to human power in water lifting applications from underground sources had been proposed. The mechanism is powered by a solar system, thus the design was essentially prepared to attain the desired effectiveness in both the battery consumption and lifting power. A high-torque 12 V wiper motor was used to power the whole set-up. Initially, the design aims to operate the handpump between a constant rate of 60 to 120 rpm as they are the acceptable efficiency speeds of the piston system without destruction to the whole well set up. By using the software Solidworks and add-in tool Solidworks Motion, the 3D virtual prototype of the parts and whole mechanism were modeled and analyzed. Several design iterations were performed to accomplish the set goal of using only a small DC motor to power the lifting mechanism. Finally, a sample model prototype of the device was constructed and employed in an experiment set-up to establish the whole system performance and value in agricultural irrigation applications.