Design and development of a hydraulic ram pump for the rural communities

The provision of adequate domestic water supply for rural populations is a major problem especially for isolated area and in a deep forest. It is particularly difficult for the indigenous communities since the population size is small, remote and challenged by other additional issues such as the nomadic nature of the people and the difficulty to secure essential power and water services. As fuel and maintenance costs to operate conventional pumping systems are becoming an issue, the hydraulic ram pump (hydram) is an alternative pumping device that is relatively simple technology that uses renewable energy, and is durable. It uses energy from a falling quantity of water to pump 10 - 20% of it to an elevation much higher than the original level at the source. No other energy is required and as long as there is a continuous flow of falling water, the pump will work continuously and automatically. The objective of the study is to construct a reliable and low-cost ram, made of locally available off-the-shelf parts for the people of village in Royal Belum Forest, Gerik, Perak, Malaysia. Different designs were tested under varying conditions. The final design of the hydram is able to deliver water to the header tank at a rate of 6.70 m³/day family with a calculated efficiency of 62%. The power required of about 23.9 kW is enough to overcome the calculated head losses at the site.