Intro: The rampump project on campus involves the use of a flowing water source to be pumped to a higher level

from the source using the energy gained from the flowing water. Given the client has requested a system which can
water the plants above street level we must ensure our system is efficient and able to provide a suitable amount of
water throughout the day as it operates. Ensuring the rampump works we will then seek suitable funding and
revenue from clients to build this project on campus, meeting sustainability quotas as well as environmental targets
for long term usage. One thing to consider is that water is in abundance at the street level, so there is not much
concern about waste water however one must consider waste impact as well as be considerate about how much
water is used from the source.
Theory: the rampump works due to water flowing constant from a source which then flows into the pump. The
energy gained from the water flowing downwards means it has enough speed to flow forcing the waste valve to
close due to constant flow from supply, this results in a build up of pressure inside the system. The high pressure
forces the delivery valve to open and allows water to flow through the delivery tube, causing the water level to
increase and build up pressure inside the column. This forces air into a small column of the tube resulting in pressure
increasing due to the rising water level. The high pressure forces water back down the delivery tube and closes the
delivery valve, then because of the air pressure inside the column it then forces water up vertically through the pipe.
The energy gained of the water will be equal to the gravitational potential energy (the repeated build up of pressure
will pump the water up the vertical column and to higher heights). Because water flows into the delivery tube this
causes pressure to fall inside the waste valve allowing it to open again, resulting in water leaving the system through
the waste valve and being pumped out. The process then repeats itself, as water flows in at a high rate it will close
the waste valve and pressure building up with open the delivery valve, causing water levels to rise and air being
forced into a small column then closing the delivery valve and the pressure forcing the water up the delivery column.
Hence the pumping of water vertically upwards comes from the repeated opening and closing of the valves and
build up of pressure. The valves in the system work opposite to one another, meaning as the waste valve closes the
delivery valve will open and vice versa, allowing the pumping process to come from the build up of pressure.
However there are a few things that must be considered during testing prototypes: ¹

-a steady and reliable source of water with sufficient volume flowing to measure waste and useful flow during timing
-the vertical column is 8m high (delivery tube) hence providing enough gravitational potential energy for water flow
-no additional power supply necessary, only two valves that act to build up pressure
-suitable survey work was conducted around site ensuring suitability for use
-water tank used in testing can be modelled as constant water supply due to sufficient volume of water
-suitable height for gravitational potential energy to build up and for water to flow (if not enough energy provided
then pump will not be as efficient due to less volume in outlet pump)
-in order to minimise the amount of water loss, lots of tape was placed around each joint of the pipes in order to
stop water leaking out of the mechanism. This is to ensure sufficient water is provided to the plants for our client as
well as minimal waste during a period of 24 hours. Despite minimal concern for waste as the client will build the
pump at street level and water will be discharged into drains, this is more so to ensure sufficient volume is given in
the pump to then water more plants
To meet client needs, there are no running costs of the pump due to no external power supply being needed as well
as nothing needing to be fixed hence no replacement of components. This means the pump is self sustaining and can
run for a long duration of time providing sufficient water, the only thing needing to be considered is the amount of
waste which will limit how much water can be supplied to the plants on campus ²
Method and measurements: having managed to easily sort out components and connect them together, we then
ensured lots of tape was placed around our joints to prevent lots of waste water from our system. Having attached
our pump mechanism to the holder and connected the hose tightly, making sure not water could leak out, we then
took appropriate measurements of our apparatus to calculate the efficiency after. Firstly, we measured height up to
the water level of the supply from ground level. We then measured the height of our pump set up as it was slightly
above ground and had to take this into consideration. We already knew the height of the supply line and then had to
process our data afterwards. Next we then started our pump to get it flowing before testing it. Having let the water
flow into the system ensuring there was no leakage, we then had to tap the waste valve a little to allow the pressure
to leave the system and allow the mechanism to begin pumping water. After allowing the system to pump water and
water properly flowing through the delivery tube, this meant our pump was working and now needed to be tested
for waste and useful flow. We then placed buckets by the useful outlet and the waste valve, allowing us to measure
the volume of water from the system under a 60 second time period. This data would then be processed to calculate
our rate of water flow as well as the efficiency of water. Upon research, the relative efficiency of a rampump is
roughly 60% efficient, so after calculating the relative efficiency I will be comparing my calculated value to the
researched value. ³

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Results and Evaluation: Overall, evidence shows that our pump design is 41.8% efficient, meaning we had near 60%
waste water relative to what the input volume of water was due to lots of volume loss through the waste valve as
well as at our pipe joints. This means our system was slightly inefficient and collection method being inaccurate. 4.2L
of water was supplied to the pump in 1 minute, with 0.32L being useful and 3.9L being waste once our system was
fully operational after setup. Our flow rate was 0.00533L/s meaning in 24 hours 460.5L of water would be pumped
through the mechanism, and considering our relative efficiency was close to 50% this means our design may be
approved by our clients for use. The efficiency of the pump is calculated using the fact that the gravitational
potential energy into the system will be equal to the energy flowing out of the system, and so comparing these
values allows us to find a theoretical efficiency for our pump as well as a practical one using the results we
measured. Providing a value for the volume of water in 24 hours gives our client a rough idea of how much water
would be provided through the delivery tube and how much water they would be able to give to plants for watering.
However the client may also see it that our pump is inefficient due to near 50% of the water being wasted, which
could have been useful for providing to the outlet pump, despite the water being supplied and discharged to the
street source of rainwater. This could also take into consideration the pledge of trying to be more environmentally
friendly, minimising waste as well as the pump not needing any external power source utilising energy from the
water flow keeping costs low for the client. Furthermore, the rampump will have no running costs due to the
components unlikely needing to be replaced suiting our client's needs. The only improvement likely to be needed is
to tighten the joints of the rampump and add more tape around the joints so that there is less water leaking hence
less waste and more useful supply to increase the efficiency of the pump. One other factor to consider is error
sources likely made in taking measurements of the volume and height of the pump, such as parallax error which will
affect the values slightly.

Conclusion: Overall, considering the efficiency of our pump design as well as the low running costs and setup costs,
the clients would be happy with our design and ease of set up in the locations specified in their documents, meaning
our pump will receive adequate funding and revenue for production across campus having an efficiency of 46.97%
and being able to supply 460.5L of water in 24 hours. Looking at the reference for rampump efficiencies before.
Seeing as our design came close to the average value this means it is acceptable for use. Despite the near 50%
inefficiency of the pump, this is not a huge issue due to the abundant water supply on the street level as well as
waste water being pumped back out and not having any negative environmental impact, only supplying less water to
the plants. Furthermore, the value of the efficiency is slightly different due to errors made in measuring the volume
of water (such as parallax error) and other external factors such as the pump possibly not operating at its most
efficient when being tested, despite letting it run for 2 minutes prior to minimise the impact that this may have.
Utilising the bench policy concept, if to discuss with clients possible areas for improvement as well as amendments
to the rampump design by tightening joints and placing more tape over them, then it is likely that the efficiency of
the pump will increase due to less waste water and more useful water, hence our clients will be more happy to
accept our design with slight modifications to reduce waste and increase the supply of water.

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Source References
¹ S B Watt. (2000). Manual on the Hydraulic Ram for pumping water. London: S B Watt.
pp.1-4.

² Mark French. (2022). SUS2 Rampump. London: King's College London. pp.2-5.

³ Reza Fatahi-Alkouhi Babak Lashkarara Alireza Keramat. (2015). Determine The Efficiency
of Hydraulic Ram-Pumps. [Online]. Research Gate. Last Updated: July 2015. Available at:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/277015032_Determine_The_Efficiency_of_Hydraulic_Ram-
Pumps [Accessed 22 November 2023].

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