Innovative Systems Design and Engineering

ISSN 2222-1727 (Paper) ISSN 2222-2871 (Online)

Vol 3, No.11, 2012

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PEDAL POWERED CENTRIFUGAL PUMP

PURIFIED WATER SUPPLY DEVICE

Ademola Samuel Akinwonmi*, Stephen Kwasi Adzimah, Fredrick Oppong,

Department of Mechanical Engineering
University of Mines and Technology, Tarkwa, Ghana.

* E-mail of corresponding author: ademost2003@yahoo.co.uk

Abstract
This paper analyzes the design of a pedal powered purified water supply device to be used by
local dwellers. It works on the principle of compression and sudden release of a tube by creating negative pressure in
the tube and this vacuum created draws water from the sump into the pump while rollers push the water through to
the filter where adsorption takes place to purify the water. The design composed a peristaltic pump powered by
paddling, a carbon filter and hose or flexible tube. As the operator sits on the seat and paddles, the pedal crank
transfer the motion to the rotor thus the rollers and the tube is squeezed by the set of rollers to move the fluid. The
design analysis shows that one revolution of the pedal gives 1.1 litres of water. This design will reduce the labour,
cost and weariness caused by transporting and sanitizing drinkable water for use in the homes of Ghanaian villages.
Keywords: Design, Pedal crank, Peristaltic pump, Sump, Local dwellers, Drinkable water

1. Introduction
Failure to provide safe drinking-water and adequate sanitation services to all people is perhaps the greatest
development failure of the 21st century. The most egregious consequence of this failure is the high rate of mortality
among young children from preventable water-related-diseases. Water is essential to sustain life, and a satisfactory
(adequate, safe and accessible) supply must be available to all. Improving access to safe drinking-water can result in
tangible benefit to health. Nearly, one billion people suffer needlessly without access to safe drinking water and over
five thousand children die each day because of water related diseases. Water-related diseases: caused by insect
vectors, especially mosquitoes, that breeds in water; include dengue, filariasis, malaria, onchocerciasis,
trypanosomiasis and yellow fever. (Peter H.G., 2002). Drinkable water sources are distant from most villages in
Ghana. Women and children especially spends hours of labour just to meet the basic needs of their families
walking five miles and more to nearby towns just to have access to drinkable (purified) water whiles most children
also go to school with gallons and jerry cans as shown in Fig. 1. so as to fetch water for their families after school.
Some well to do inhabitants in these villages travel long distances with motor bikes and trucks which consume fuel
and pollute the air.

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Innovative Systems Design and Engineering

ISSN 2222-1727 (Paper) ISSN 2222-2871 (Online)
Vol 3, No.11, 2012

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Fig 1 Difficulties Some Communities encounter to have Access to Purified Water.

Moreover, a family of five needs a minimum of fifteen gallons of water each day. The only way to sanitize the stream
water available to these villages is by boiling which also consumes precious resources and contributes to
deforestation since the only source of energy for boiling this much water is firewood and charcoal. The process of
selecting the water source should take account of the particular needs of low-income people, because they are at
greatest risk of infectious diseases from inadequate water supply (Payment and Hunter, 2001; Howard, 2002).
Groundwater constitutes 97% of global freshwater and is an important source of drinking-water in many regions of
the world (Howard, 2006). However, a number of studies from low-income countries have indicated that improved
access to water and the resulting increases in the quantity of water or time used for hygiene are the determining
factors of health benefits, rather than improvements in water quality (Curtis and Cairncross, 2003).
The objective of this work is therefore to design a mechanism to be used with water filter to supply purified water for
villages by harnessing the human pedal power and the nearby streams in these villages in order to reduce the labour,
cost and weariness caused by transporting and sanitizing drinkable water for use in the homes of Ghanaian villages.

2. Materials and Methods.

This type of pump is selected for this work is peristaltic pump. A peristaltic pump is a type of positive displacement
pump used for pumping a variety of fluids. The fluid is contained within a flexible tube fitted inside a circular pump
casing (though linear peristaltic pumps have been made). A rotor with a number of "rollers", "shoes" or "wipers"
attached to the external circumference. As the rollers compress the hose and move away from the inlet a vacuum is
created drawing in liquid. The rollers work together to capture liquid between the pinched areas of the tube and move
the liquid toward the discharge. The front roller leaves the hose, opening the captured area whiles the back roller
pushes the liquid out the discharge. This process is called peristalsis and is used in many biological systems such as
the gastrointestinal tract. This type of pump is selected for this work because of the following characteristics: because
of its wider range of operating speeds, thus efficient at both high and low revolution per minutes (rpm), dry running/
self-priming/ seal less, creation of high vacuum for suction lift application, smooth passage through the pump thus no
checks or obstructions, relatively high discharge pressure

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Innovative Systems Design and Engineering

ISSN 2222-1727 (Paper) ISSN 2222-2871 (Online)
Vol 3, No.11, 2012

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Back Support
Seat
Handle
Tube

Filter
Roller

Pump Cover

Frame
Floor

Pedal

Pedal Shoe

Pump Casing

Fig. 2 Pictorial View of the Proposed Design

2.1 Principles of Operation of the Device.
This design is composed of a peristaltic pump powered by paddling, a carbon filter and hose or flexible tube as
shown in Fig. 2, the person sits on the seat and paddles, the pedal crank transfer the motion to the rotor thus the
rollers. The tube is squeezed by the set of rollers to move the fluid. By constricting the tube and increasing the
low-pressure volume, a vacuum is created to pull the liquid into the tube. Once in the pump, the liquid is pushed
through the tube by compressing the tube at a number of points in contact with the rollers. The media is moved
through the tube with each rotating or oscillating motion. The water is then forced through an activated carbon filter
which removes chemicals, bad taste and smell, pollutants, turbidity and other micro-organisms making the water now
safe and drinkable.

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Vol 3, No.11, 2012

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2.2 Materials Selection

Components of the Proposed Design
Peristaltic Pump
Peristaltic pumps in the design as shown in Fig. 3 consist of a tube which is squeezed by a set of rollers or shoes to
move fluid. By constricting the tube and increasing the low-pressure volume, a vacuum is created to pull the liquid
into the tube.

Fig. 3 Peristaltic Pump with Pedals.

Since the design is intended to suit the deprived communities in the third world countries, the materials selected for
this design also was selected to suit the environmental changes in different communities. Some of the problems most
likely to cause damage to the design are rusting and corrosion. Based on this background knowledge, ASTM A653
Mild (low-carbon) Hot Dipped Galvanized Steel is selected for this project. This material is used for the pump casing,
pedals, pump cover and other relevant parts exposed to the environment.
Galvanized steel is simply hot rolled steel to which a zinc coating has been applied for protection against corrosion.
2.3 Design Analysis and Calculations
The system design began by assessing all of the physical variables of the peristaltic pump configuration, namely case
diameter (D), tubing diameter (d), tubing length (L), friction due to pedal, friction at the axle, friction where the
rollers connect to the arms, and rolling friction between the roller and tubing. Dependent variables were then
considered, which include flow rate (Q), rotational speed (N) and power (P). Some of the physical variables were
eliminated from the possible design space (thus set at a fixed value) because they were deemed insignificant or too
hard to change. These include tubing length (limited by pump design and requirements), friction coefficients, and
roller diameter. Rolling friction and friction in the pedals were estimated to be negligible and were not considered in
the design.
To establish an analytical model using these parameters, it is necessary to consider the relation among the various
parameters. (Garneau C., 2008)
Psupplied = P(R,N)
Prequired = Pfriction + Psystem = P(L,D,d,N)

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Q = Q(D,d,N)
2.4 Theoretical Flow Rate Calculations
The theoretical flow rate is calculated as follows;

For a hose of 20 mm diameter and a casing diameter of 300 mm the volume displaced by the pump becomes;
= 0.0003 m3
But

the

discharge

per

occlusion

is

given

by:

where, N = rotor speed. The average paddle speed for human is 30-40 rpm
Therefore, considering a rotor speed of 35 rp

2.5 Frictional Head Loss

For a variety of D and d and a set (kinematic viscosity): N, Q, v (average fluid velocity), Re (Reynolds number), f
(friction factor), H (head loss). Variables v, Re, f, H , and WHP may be found as follows:
L

Let the diameter of both the suction and delivery tube be equal. For the purpose of this design, the tube is considered
to be smooth.
Therefore, velocity of flow in the tube;

In order to determine whether the flow is turbulent or laminar, it is first necessary to calculate the Reynolds number

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Innovative Systems Design and Engineering

ISSN 2222-1727 (Paper) ISSN 2222-2871 (Online)
Vol 3, No.11, 2012

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Therefore,
Therefore the Reynolds Number (Re) = 929203
Since the Reynolds Number Re > 2000, the flow is turbulent
For smooth tubes, when 50000 Re 40,000,000 the Nikuradse Experimental Equation is used to determine the
coefficient of friction (f). (Rajput R.K., 2000)
The Nikuradses experimental equation is given by:

Substituting the value of the Reynolds Number (Re)

Hence, the coefficient of friction (f) is 0.003 and this value is used to determine the head losses to friction in the
suction and delivery tube.
Therefore head loss to friction (HL)

Therefore, for a suction length of 2 m and delivery length of 3 m;

2.6 Required Power

The power required to drive the pump depends on the frictional forces and torque on the arm as shown in Fig. 4.
Therefore power required is given by:

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Innovative Systems Design and Engineering

ISSN 2222-1727 (Paper) ISSN 2222-2871 (Online)
Vol 3, No.11, 2012

Fig. 4

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Friction Forces and Torque on the Arm

In general torque is defined as force multiply by corresponding radius.

where, T = torque
F = force pushing the rollers forward
r = moment arm of the force
where the force F is given by:

F = N

And so in this case the total torque is given by:

Ttotal = T1 + T2 = 2F1r1 + F1r1 = 2Nr1 + Nr2
Therefore considering one roller is in contact with the tube;
Ttotal = T1 + T2 = F1r1 + F1r1 = Nr1 + Nr2

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where,

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= friction coefficient

The force needed by the flexible tube choosing thus TygonTMXL-60 to retract after compression is 150 N therefore
that is the force that will act on the rollers, N = 150 N. Also assuming a friction coefficient of 0.3; r1 casing radius
minus tube diameter whiles r2 is the pedal crank radius as shown in Fig. 4.
r1 = 130 mm and r2 = 0.05 mm
Therefore:

Ttotal =

But

1m
Sump
(Stream)
Delivery tube
1

Suction

tube

Pump

Datum

Fig. 5 System Installation

Applying Bernoullis equation to Fig. 5 at the surface of the sump thus point 1 and the end of delivery at point 2 with
point 1 as datum;

For the purpose of this design, the losses include loss due to bend, frictional losses in both suction and delivery tube

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Vol 3, No.11, 2012

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and entry losses.

Losses = Friction losses (hfs + hfd) + Bend losses (hb) + Entry losses (he).
Therefore,

HL = hfs + hfd = 0.468 m

For purpose of this design, a net will be installed on the tube at the beginning of suction to prevent particles that may
cause blockage in the tube.
Therefore the entrance loss is given by
where, Ke = entrance loss factor and is equal to 0.5

Again, there is two 450 tube bend in the system therefore there will be loss due to bend. For 450 bend;

where, Kb = bending loss factor = 1.5 for 450 bend (Rajput R.K., 2000)
Therefore for 450 bend,
For two 450 bend, hb = 2

From the diagram, there will be no velocity head at point 1 and therefore v1 = 0. Also both point 1 and 2 are exposed
to the atmosphere therefore the pressure head at both points

and the datum is in line with point 1,

Z1 = 0.
Therefore from equation

The power needed to overcome all losses in the tube and to push the fluid is calculated as:

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Vol 3, No.11, 2012

3.

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Results and Discussion

The design was focused on all the processes of conception, invention, visualisation, calculation, refinement and
specification of details that determine the form of the product. The design has gone under force analysis so that its
performance criterion will not fail in any sense. The main physical parameters of the design are determined through
the appropriate calculations and practical considerations with reasonable assumptions. It is discovered that the design
is simple, cheap, efficient and affordable as could be seen from the readily available materials used. Figures 1 shows
the already existing way of getting access to water while figures 2 and 3 show the design and one its components.
is considered
It can be seen from the design analysis that the rate of discharge per occlusion
reasonable. The power required to drive the pump is 51.13 W and the efficiency gives 90 % which are all good and
reliable.
4.

Conclusion

The benefits associated with access to safe drinking-water provide a strong argument to increase resource allocations
to interventions aimed at further improving the current drinking-water situation, as a key entry point for achieving
much wider livelihood benefits.
The pedal powered purified water supply system is a new invention that utilizes simple inventions and puts them all
together to help villages in developing countries like Ghana to have daily access to safe drinking water all by
harnessing the energy of pedal power.
Acknowledgement
The authors are thankful to Prof. Adetunde, I.A, the Dean, Faculty of Engineering, University of Mines and
Technology, Tarkwa, Ghana for his valuable comments and suggestions.
References
Curtis, V. And Cairncross, S. Effect of Washing Hands with Soap on Diarrhoea Risk in the Community: A
Systematic Review. Lancet Infectious Diseases 3, (2003).pp. 275281.
Garneau, C. McNamara, K. and Chung, J. Peristaltic Pump Project, Unpublished Final Project Report, Team D,
ME 340.4, (2008), 41pp.
Howard, G. Groundwater and Public Health, In: Schmoll O. et al. (eds). Protecting Groundwater for Health:
Managing the Quality of Drinking-Water Sources, London, International Water Association Publishing, (2006), pp.
319.
Payment, P., Hunter, P. R. Endemic and Epidemic Infectious Intestinal Disease and Its Relationship to Drinking
Water, In: Fewtrell L., Bartram J. (eds), Water Quality Guidelines, Standards and Health, London, International
Water Association (IWA) Publishing, (2001), 6188pp.
Rajput, R. K. Fluid Mechanics And Hydraulic Machines, S. Chand & Company ltd, Ram Nagar, New Delhi-110
055, (2000), 1361 pp.

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