Design and development of a manual pump for agrarian communities

Pumps efficiency depends largely on the rotating impellers to provide rotary motion for constant supply of water for either domestic or industrial purposes. More so, all manually operated pumps uses the same principles of operation. However, to maintain the kinetic energy required to pump fluid to the desired destination, energy is required. The stress and fatigue associated with manual operations generally creates epidemiological conditions among users of locally fabricated manual pumps mostly propelled by hands. Again, the ease at which some of these pumps fail in these rural communities calls for urgent attention. The aim of this project was to design, fabricate, test run and deliver a locally made manual pump with a higher efficiency, ease of use and low fatigue to peasant farmers. Also the project can be used as a teaching aid for undergraduate students. The method adopted in the actualisation of the set goals include the re design of the impellers and the volutes using locally available materials. Also, to reduce the effects of muscular skeletal disorders among famers, bearings are also incorporated. The results when compared with the existing hand propelled pump showed a remarkable difference in the volume of water discharged with respect to time and a significant drop in fatigue level. The overall ease of use minimised the effects of muscular skeletal disorders among farmers.