Development and evaluation of the paddlewheel blade for a hydro-powered water pump

Abstract

Abstract A hydro-powered water pump was designed to address the issue of high pumping costs, enabling the utilization of the abundant energy of the flowing water from rivers and streams for farming during the summer months. The study focused on refining the design and evaluating the efficiency and economic viability of the system. A power transmission system incorporating a speed multiplier gearbox, chains, and sprockets resulted in a 73.5% improvement in discharge rates compared to the previous prototype. The NS50 self-priming pump was recommended for coupling with the hydro-powered water pump due to its significantly higher efficiency. Evaluating different paddlewheel blade sizes, the ¾ size proved significantly most effective in terms of discharge rates for both open water and confined flow canals. Cost analysis revealed that the hydro-powered water pump incurred a significantly lower cost of 1.70 pesos per cubic meter compared to 5.32 pesos with a gasoline engine-driven pump, leading to potential savings of up to 68% in fuel expenses for irrigation. The return on investment for the hydro-powered system was determined to be 155.71% with a payback period of 0.64 years.