PERFORMANCE AND DESIGN CHARACTERISTICS OF A GEYSER PUMP FOR FIELD APPLICATIONS

Exercise 6

ADEL, DIANNE MICHELLE CATAPANG, MARINELLE

OGANA, JASPER CEASAR

ROXAS, AMPY PAULO

A POST LABORATORY REPORT SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE COURSE

AENG 181 G-2L AQUACULTURE ENGINEERING I

FIRST SEMESTER 2010-2011

INTRODUCTION Pump is a device that is constructed to uplift a volume of water from a lower elevation to a higher one. This principle of pumping had been very useful in the field of aquaculture when it comes to water exchange, but many innovations as to simplify the pump was done to cut cost and to achieve a relatively higher efficiency, An example of the pumps created for simplicity is the airlift pump. This pump is a simple pump which is powered by compressed air. Airlift pump was developed in 1797 by a German engineer named Carl E. Loescher. But due to lower efficiency in the use of a simple airlift pump another device was developed to enhance its efficiency and this device is called the Geyser pump. Geyser Pump is constructed made of an outer shell and an inside structure, which is installed at the lower part of a vertical pipe. Air injected to the outer shell is not released to the vertical pipe directly, but accumulated there, as the outer shell and the inside structure create an air pocket. When the air accumulated in the outer shell reaches to a certain level, a big volume of air is released to the vertical pipe instantly. This phenomenon results to a relatively higher efficiency than the conventional airlift pump. ()

OBJECTIVES At the end of this exercise the students are expected; a. To know the basic principle behind a Geyser pump; and b. To determine the efficiency that a Geyser pump can deliver.

METHODOLOGY The Construction of a Geyser Pump A Geyser pump was designed by the students to determine the effective discharge it can deliver through series of height variation. The pump was made of a readily available plastic pipe having a diameter of approximately one inch. A hole was constructed within the pipe bottom for the air to pass on through. A plastic bottle container bottom was then attached to the bottom of the pipe. Another plastic bottle with a bigger diameter was inserted relative to the attached smaller diameter plastic bottle. The construction made was the design correlated with the design of a real geyser pump.

Discharge and Efficiency measurements The constructed Geyser pump was given different height designation that would serve as the basis for the determination of the respective efficiency it can deliver. The pump was submerged into the water in the canal in the hydrology laboratory with its respective height variations. At different height the discharge was measured by collecting the volume of the water displaced by the pump with respect to the total time it was collected. There had been three different measurements done for each different height. The values obtained were then checked for their efficiency. Each efficiency was then compared with the other groups to determine whether the design is suitable for the ideal design of a Geyser pump or not.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

first level second level third level fourth level air inlet in the water tube inner air chamber water inlet air inlet outer air chamber

Figure 1. Geyser pump prototype Figure 1 shows the Geyser pump that was designed. The specifications for the prototype include the following: Length pipe w/o the elbow = 135.3 cm Length pipe from hole to hole = 125.0 cm Diameter pipe = 1.7 cm Diameter outer container = 9.5 cm Diameter inner container = 7.5 cm Length outer container = 21.3 cm Length inner container = 13.0 cm

For the Geyser pump constructed, the summary for the effect of different submergence-tolift ratio is presented in Table 1. Table 1. Summary of data of the experiment. Submergence (cm) 80.0 63.0 48.5 34.5 Submergence ratio 0.64 0.50 0.39 0.28 Average flow rate (mL/s) 20.94 13.52 7.13 1.20 Efficiency (%) 1.54 1.37 0.89 0.18

The results for the airlift pumps in the prior exercise are consistent with the outcome for Geyser pump. A direct relationship is observed between submergence and submergence ratio, and submergence and discharge rate. As the submergence decreases, the submergence and the discharge rate also decrease. From the previous exercise about airlift pumps, it is further emphasized that a submergence of 60 percent or more is desirable. If the submergence is too low, the air lift will not operate. From those, it can be said that percent of submergence and height of lift have major effect on how air lift pump will vary in terms of performance and effectiveness. To emphasize, the submergence ratio is the ratio of the distance between the air injection point and the surface of the water to total lift. As evidence, the efficiency of the Geyser pump decreases as the submergence decreases. The maximum efficiency of 1.54 is achieved by the Geyser pump at 80cm submergence. The minimum efficiency of 0.18 is obtained at 34.5 submergence. Figure 2 shows the effect of different submergence to average flow rate, Figure 3 represents the performance of the Geyser pump at different submergence ratio, and Figure 4 illustrates the relationship of the efficiency of the pump and the average flow rate.

25

20 Average flow rate (mL/s)

15

10

0 34.5 48.5 Submergence (cm) 63 80

34.5

Figure2. Average flow rates at different submergence.

25

20 Average flow rate (mL/s)

15

10

0 0.28 0.39 Submergence ratio 0.5 0.64

Figure 3. Average flow rates at different submergence ratio.

25

20 Average flow rate (mL/s)

15

10

0 0.18 0.89 Efficiency (%) 1.37 1.54

Figure 4. Average flow rates at different efficiency. Just like air lift pumps, different factors are to consider in designing Geyser pumps. Those may include submergence, lift height, the diameter of the pipe that will be utilized, the length of the pipe, and others. In our case, the group used a plastic bottle with fairly long and narrow dimensions to elevate efficiency at some extent, compared to the other groups that employed wide and big plastic bottles in their first attempt of designing. Also, the pipe that was used is not too long or too short. The diameter of the pump is rather appropriate for air to enter and exit efficiently. Errors may occur at some points which includes human error in general. And to highlight, it is significant that concepts are established appropriately for the efficiency of the design and proper application at different field conditions.

REFERENCES
Air powered water pump. 2008. Grid runner adventures. Accessed on: 15Sept 2010. Accessed from: <http://gridrunneradventures.com/air-powered-water-pump> Eddy N. New pump technology may improve small package plant treatment. 2001 National Small Flows. Accessed on: 1Sept2010. Accessed from: <http://www.nesc.wvu.edu/nsfc/Articles/ SFQ/SFQw02_web/SFQw02_NewPump.html> Geyer pump advantages over airlift pump. 2006. Eco Sustainable Village. Wave Power Plant Inc. Accessed on: 1Sept2010. Accessed from: http://www.ecosustainablevillage.com/air_lift_water_ pumps.htm> Geyser Pump. Geyser Pump Tech Co. Accessed on: 1Sept2010. Accessed from: </www.airliftpump. com/index.htm>

Websters Comprehensive Dictionary (Encyclopedic Edition). Naples Florida, Trident Press International, 1999

APPENDIX A. RAW DATA

Trial 1 2 3 Average Q (mL/s) Submergence ratio Water Power (Pwater) (W) Efficiency (%)

Submergence 1 80.0 cm Q t (s) V (mL) (mL/s) 23.6 500 21.19 19.2 29.1 420 575 20.94 0.64 0.0924 1.54 21.88 19.76

Submergence 2 63.0 cm t (s) 35.5 30.2 30.8 V (mL) 485 410 410 13.52 0.50 0.0822 1.37 Q (mL/s) 13.66 13.58 13.31

Submergence 3 48.5 cm Q t (s) V (mL) (mL/s) 60.9 480 7.88 60.2 60.4 405 410 7.13 0.39 0.0535 0.89 6.73 6.79

Submergence 4 34.5 cm Q t (s) V (mL) (mL/s) 120.6 195 1.62 120.1 120.3 120 119 1.20 0.28 0.0106 0.18 1.00 0.99

APPENDIX B. SAMPLE COMPUTATIONS Lpipe = 125 cm Hlift = 45 cm, 62 cm, 76.5 cm, 90.5 cm Ppump = 6W Q for Submergence 1, Trial 1

Submergence ratio for Submergence 1

Pwater for Submergence 1 1000 x 9.806 x Efficiency for Submergence 1

x 0.45 = 0.0924 W