An experimental study of the solar Jack pump

Albert Kojo Sunnu^a,* and Amakiri Abor Anthony^a

^aDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) Kumasi, Ghana.

Corresponding author Email: aksunnu.soe@knust.edu.gh

Accepted 01 May, 2012

Abstract

An experimental study of the performance characteristics of a water jack pump powered by solar energy at the Department of Mechanical Engineering Workshop of the KNUST, Kumasi has been conducted.  The 0.062 m plunger diameter, 0.16 m stroke, lift pump recorded an average hourly discharge of 0.546 m³/h and an overall efficiency of 1.2% at a head of 5.6 m. The Volumetric efficiency of the system, η_v was 98%.  The array efficiency of the solar panel was η_p 11%. The water pump system usually started between 9h00-10h00 a.m. with an average start-up and cut off threshold irradiation of 350 W/m² and operated for about 6 hours daily.  Although the efficiency was small, the fulfilment of a daily discharge of 3.3 m³/d was enough to supply 73 persons per day in Kumasi, Ghana, with 45 litres minimum standpipe water demand per capita per day.

Keywords: Solar energy, Solar powered pump, Pump discharge, Solar panel, Array power