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The Design and Evaluation of a Durable and Cost-Effective Handle for the LifePump™

Fisher, Sarah Marie
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu155537322622029

Abstract Details

2019, Master of Science, Ohio State University, Mechanical Engineering.
Access to clean, reliable water is an ongoing issue that affects more than 780 million people worldwide [1]. Multiple variations of water pumps have been installed in developing countries to relieve this issue, but these standard pumps can be unreliable or incapable of reaching sufficient depths underground [2]. Design Outreach (DO) is a non-profit organization who designed an innovative water pump known as LifePump™, to resolve the reliability and depth limitations of standard hand pumps [2]. The LifePump is a progressive cavity pump that is actuated by a manual rotary motion and can reach twice the depth (100 meters) of a standard hand pump [2]. Over the past 5 years, LifePumps have been installed and tested at various times in multiple countries including: Malawi, Zambia, Kenya, Ethiopia, Mali, South Sudan, and Haiti [2], [3]. In 2018, it was found that a pump installed in Malawi for 3 years had significant handle wear after experiencing higher use (serving an estimated 2000 people) than its normal service life (serving 250 people) [3]. The presence of high utilization and harsh environmental conditions caused extreme deformation and material loss of the LifePump handle stems. The handles currently used on the LifePump include an aluminum stem that is welded onto an aluminum arm. Then, a plastic grip that rotates about the stem is secured on by a threaded screw. Although all of the currently-installed water pumps are still functioning, the excessive wear observed on the handle of the pump in Malawi is unacceptable. The current handle was expected to last approximately 10 years without repair, and now the expected life-span is 5 years. The cost of this 5-year life is approximately $521, and this is higher than the desired cost goals of the device. Therefore, it was determined that a redesign of the handle would be beneficial with the dual goals of reducing the handle’s susceptibility to wear and reducing part cost. This thesis analyzes the excessive wear seen on the Malawi handle, examines loading conditions experienced by the LifePump, and reports on the process of redesigning the handle. The handle redesign process also included the design of a handle wear testing system. Empirical results from testing will be provided and discussed.
Sandra Metzler (Advisor)
Blaine Lilly (Committee Member)
Greg Bixler (Committee Member)
150 p.
Design; Engineering; Mechanical Engineering
LifePump; Design Outreach; innovative water pump; Malawi handle; design; engineering

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Fisher, S. M. (2019). The Design and Evaluation of a Durable and Cost-Effective Handle for the LifePump™ [Master's thesis, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu155537322622029

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Fisher, Sarah. The Design and Evaluation of a Durable and Cost-Effective Handle for the LifePump™. 2019. Ohio State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu155537322622029.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Fisher, Sarah. "The Design and Evaluation of a Durable and Cost-Effective Handle for the LifePump™." Master's thesis, Ohio State University, 2019. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu155537322622029

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu155537322622029
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This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.