See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/245526004

Operation Theory of Wind Pumps

Article in Wind Engineering · October 2010

DOI: 10.1260/0309-524X.34.4.361

CITATIONS READS

3 712

1 author:

Mohammed Hashim Siddig

University of Khartoum
26 PUBLICATIONS 26 CITATIONS

SEE PROFILE

All content following this page was uploaded by Mohammed Hashim Siddig on 14 January 2015.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 Operation Theory of Wind Pumps
by

Mohammed Hashim Siddig

R EPRINTED FROM

WIND ENGINEERING
VOLUME 34, N O . 4, 2010

M ULTI -S CIENCE P UBLISHING C OMPANY

5 WATES WAY • B RENTWOOD • E SSEX CM15 9TB • UK
T EL : +44(0)1277 224632 • FAX : +44(0)1277 223453
E-MAIL: mscience@globalnet.co.uk • WEB SITE: www.multi-science.co.uk
W IND E NGINEERING VOLUME 34, N O . 4, 2010 PP 361–374 361

Operation Theory of Wind Pumps

Mohammed Hashim Siddig
Mechanical Engineering Department, University of Khartoum, Sudan
Hashim.siddig@gmail.com

ABSTRACT
A theoretical formulation of the operation of wind pumps is proposed, including the starting
and stopping behaviour. The paper defines a wind pump form of Froude number as the basic
dimensionless parameter of the system. The influence of the turbine’s power levels at low tip-
speed ratios on the system performance is studied. The study is based on theoretical analysis
and confirmed by experimental findings on the behaviour of constant-torque machines.

Key words: Wind pump theory; Froude number; torque coefficient; start; stop; crawling.

NOTATION
B Dimensionless constant
CP Turbine power coefficient
CT Turbine torque coefficient
CT0 Turbine torque coefficient near zero rotational speed.
CTC The critical turbine torque coefficient
CTM The maximum turbine torque coefficient
d Turbine rotor diameter
Fr Froude number form defining the operational condition of the wind pump, v gh
h Total head of pump
m Number of effective piston sweeps per cycle; equals 1 for a single-acting unit, 2 for a
double-acting unit and equals the number of cylinders for a multi cylinder unit.
n Pump speed, revolutions per second
nt Turbine speed, revolutions per second
q Average water flow rate
rN Step-up ratio of the rotational speed, n/nt .
s Pump stroke
v Average wind speed
Vs Swept volume of pump’s cylinder
ηp Pump efficiency
ηTr Wind-pump mechanical transmission efficiency
η ηTr .ηp
λ turbine tip-speed ratio
γ Geometric factor of the wind pump, γ = Vs d 3
ρa Air density
ρw Water density
362 O PERATION T HEORY OF W IND P UMPS

Subscripts
c Critical
p Pump
s Starting
ss Stopping
Tr Transmission

1. INTRODUCTION
The present literature on wind pump operation is largely empirical. The uncertainty in
knowledge of system behaviour seems to be implicitly blamed on the wind’s unsteadiness and
unavoidable mismatch between driving and driven parts. While a vast amount of research
already led to incremental improvements of the machine, a full and basic theoretical
formulation should be appreciated as the prerequisite of substantial development and
optimization..
This present work formulates the governing factors by analysing relevant dimensionless
groups and producing the optimized system performance. The remaining error margin shall
then depend on the wind pattern at the site and how close it is to the steady average speed
assumption.
The study demonstrates the proposed model with two approaches: prediction of
performance of an existing system and a design for known site requirements.
The principle of a Froude number based analysis was presented earlier by this author as
part of an optimization procedure of wind-powered piston pumps, [1]. Emphasis, then, was on
the application of the Froude number concept to the start-stop behaviour of wind pumps. This
present paper develops the full theoretical concept of wind pump performance in a rigorous
and comprehensive manner that includes the dynamic performance of the wind-pump in
addition to the start-stop prediction. The theoretical model is detailed further with two
illustrative examples.

2. Literature review
2.1 Improving the performance of wind pumps
The literature available on procedures to upgrade the output of wind pumps is quite
considerable. This section presents the part of this literature available to the author and seen
as relevant to this work.
Dixon, J.C. [2] reported a remarkable study on improving wind pumps performance. The
paper addresses the low performance reputation of the wind pump and summarizes the
reasons in three factors: the turbine’s low efficiency, the mechanical mismatch between pump
and turbine and the cyclic torque required by the reciprocating pump.
One interesting point in relevance to this present work is the author’s recognition of a start
uncertainty at low velocity. The paper seems to , implicitly, concentrate on a fixed head
application and consequently overlooks the head as an equally controlling factor. This limits
the generality of the analysis.
Pinilla, et al [3] used test data from known makes of wind pumps to check on results from a
mathematical model for wind pump operation. The mathematical model relates output
power to system parameters taking wind velocity, normalized with start velocity, as the
independent argument and adopting empirically modelled turbine characteristics.
The study’s conclusion reported good agreement with the proposed model when applied
to high solidity turbines.
Use of the start velocity as the normalizing parameter is a feature of Pinilla’s paper. Its
W IND E NGINEERING VOLUME 34, N O . 4, 2010 363

choice, however, seems arbitrary as it did not crop out naturally from analysis. The start
condition for any system is not necessarily relevant to the dynamic behaviour of the system.
The field test results presented in this paper should be of good value to any modelling
study on wind pumps. The data collected for the performance of an Aeromotor wind pump,
Figure (4a), was made use of in this present paper to validate some of the paper’s findings.

2.2 Analogous Starting behaviour of electro-mechanical drives

Regarding the starting behaviour of turbine-driven piston pumps, the induction motor
analogy is quite interesting. Ample description of this case is available in electrical machines
literature [4, 5, 6].
Quoting Theraja & Theraja [6], and referring to Figure 2.1, redrawn from the reference’s
Figure 35.25; “If the mechanical load on the shaft involves a constant load torque, it is possible
that the torque developed by the motor may fall below this load torque. When this happens,
the motor will not accelerate up to its normal speed but will remain running at a speed, which
is nearly 1/7th of its full speed. This referred to as crawling of the motor.”

stable
torque

ble
sta
un

stable

constant load torque

crawling
speed

speed

Figure 2.1. Induction motor characteristics with a constant torque load

3. TESTING OF HAWTS ACTING UNDER CONSTANT TORQUE

A number of 4-bladed horizontal-axis wind turbine models of 270mm diameter were designed,
fabricated and tested at the Fluids Engineering Section of the University of Khartoum. The
tests were performed using air flow provided by a wind tunnel jet of 0.3m × 0.3m section at jet
velocities ranging between 14 and 18m/s. A torque wheel was fitted to the rear side of the
turbine’s shaft with a fixed spring balance tied to one end of the friction belt and a weighing
pan attached to the other end.
At each loading the torque on the shaft was calculated and the rotational speed was read
using a stroboscope. The torque coefficient CT and the tip-speed ratio λ were deduced and
plotted. Figs.(3.1a, b and c) show the torque and power coefficients obtained for the models
tested.
The results confirm known dynamic features of wind turbines and may be summarized as
follows:

1. Three segments are distinguishable on the CT -λ characteristic; coded in Figure 3.2 as

I, II and III.
364 O PERATION T HEORY OF W IND P UMPS

Figure 3.1a. Experimental turbine characteristics – model a

Figure 3.1b. Experimental turbine characteristics – model b

Figure 3.1c. Experimental turbine characteristics – model c

W IND E NGINEERING VOLUME 34, N O . 4, 2010 365

2. The system operates within segments I and III, but never on II.
3. If the turbine is originally at rest and then the system’s load is gradually decreased,
operation shall start when CT drops below CT0 , where CT is the system’s torque
coefficient and CT0 is the turbine’s torque coefficient at zero rotational speed. As CT
continues to be lowered towards the turbine’s critical level CTC , operation would
remain in the low speed segment I (Crawling!). To accelerate the turbine towards
the corresponding point on the high speed segment III, CT of the system has to be
dipped first below the level CTC . This is because segment III would be the only
segment along the turbine’s characteristics that shall cross this horizontal load
characteristic. The operation point would remain within segment III as long as CT of
the system is below CTM ; this being the favourable working condition. If CT exceeds
CTM , the maximum torque level of the turbine, the system stops.
The load control described above, may seem to depend only on the water head. It is
important to note, however, that the same effect take place if the reverse action on
wind speed is introduced, i.e. wind loading. What matters, in fact is the mutual
effects of water-head and wind-speed. This point shall be emphasized further as the
governing relations of operation are developed.

Torque
coefficient
CTM

CTO II III
I

CTC

Tip-speed-ratio

Figure 3.2. Operation zones of the wind pump

4. THE INDUCTION MOTOR ANALOGY. CRAWLING AND THE CRITICAL TORQUE

COEFFICIENT
As discussed in the Literature Review (Section2), some induction motors were observed to
have torque-speed characteristics of the type shown in Figure 3.3. If the system’s torque line
crosses the smaller hump, as shown, then the operation point would stick to these low speed
levels and the condition is known, in electrical machines jargon, as crawling. To escape
crawling to the high speed right hand segment the torque level has to be lowered below point
(1).
Reflecting on the experimental results described for the wind system (Section3), it is
evident that the low speed trap observed is identical to the crawling zone of the induction
motor. The intermittent nature of wind, however, leads to frequent stoppages, frequent bouts
of crawling at near-zero power coefficient levels and, consequently, a frequent need for a CT
decrease below CTC , followed by a CT increase towards CTM . This creates a weak aspect of this
366 O PERATION T HEORY OF W IND P UMPS

drive originating from the shape of the turbine’s torque-speed characteristics at low speed. Of
particular importance is the torque coefficient at point (1), named earlier as the critical torque
coefficient, CTC .

Torque

(1)

Speed

Figure 3.3. Torque-speed characteristics of an induction motor driving a constant torque load

5. THE WIND-PUMP’S ‘FROUDE NUMBER’

Considering a wind-powered piston pump of m piston sweeps per cycle and a shaft-to-water
efficiency η = ηTrηp, the net wind-to-water power conversion factor is

water power g ρ w hq 8 g ρ w hq
= C pη pηTr = C pη = = (5.1)
wind power 1
ρ Av
2 a
3
πρa d 2 v 3

where h and q are the water head and flow capacity, respectively, v is the average wind speed,
d is the turbine’s diameter, ρa and ρw are the densities of air and water, respectively.
For a piston pump the time-averaged water flow rate
q = mnVsη p = mnγ d 3η p (5.2)

where n is the pump speed in cycles per second, Vs the cylinder’s swept volume, ηp is the
efficiency of the reciprocating pump and g is a geometric factor of the wind pump, = Vs/d3.
Substitution in Eqn.5.1 gives

8 g ρ w hmnγ d 8mγ rn ρ w π dnt gh

C pη pηTr = ηp = ηp
πρa v 3
π 2 ρa v v 2
(5.3a)
8mγ rn ρ w π dnt gh
Cp =
π 2ηTr ρa v v 2

nt being the turbine’s revolutions per second.

Since multiple-acting wind pumps are not common, Eqn.5.3a is simplified by taking m = 1

8γ rn ρ w π dnt gh
Cp = (5.3b)
π 2ηTr ρa v v 2

Froude number is the Fluid Mechanics dimensionless parameter that appears wherever
inertia and gravity effects are of significance. The last term of Eqn.5.3b indicates that this is the
case for wind-powered piston pumps; gh being the gravity term and v the wind speed.
W IND E NGINEERING VOLUME 34, N O . 4, 2010 367

Defining the wind pump’s Froude number, Fr, as

v
Fr = (5.4)
gh

π dnt
and noting that the tip-speed-ratio λ = , Eqn.5.3b takes the form
v

8 ρ w γ rn λ
Cp = (5.5)
π 2 ρa ηT r Fr 2

Division by the tip-speed-ratio provides the required dynamic torque coefficient

8 ρ w γ rn 1
CT = (5.6)
π 2 ρa ηT r Fr 2

The concept of a wind-pump Froude number may now be appreciated and clearly seen as
being the dimensionless parameter that fully characterizes the operation of the wind pump.

6. THE TORQUE CYCLE ON A WIND-PUMP

For a load characterized by a torque function independent of rotational speed, the system starts
from rest when the torque coefficient is less than the turbine’s zero-speed torque, CT0 , Figure 3.2.
But, as discussed above, this only leads to a crawling operation within segment I, if the turbine’s
characteristic is of the type shown in Figure 3.2, and if the torque-coefficient level is above the
critical CTC . So, for practical purposes, starting has to be linked to CTC rather than CT0.

s/2

Figure 6.1. Crank configuration

Considering the torque the wind pump needs to exert on the water column, Figure 6.1
shows the crank mechanism schematically. The momentary torque at any crank angle θ is

( s
2
) 
T = ρ w ghAp  cos θ 

368 O PERATION T HEORY OF W IND P UMPS

where ρw is the water density, g is the acceleration due to gravity, h is the water column above
the piston, Ap is the area of the piston crown and s is the stroke.
This can be expressed as
T = A cos θ (6.1)

where A is a calculable constant equal to 1ρwghVs, where Vs is the swept volume of the piston.
2
The torque-angle profile for a single acting pump would look as shown in Figure 6.2.

0 π

Figure 6.2. Torque cycle for a single-acting wind pump

The maximum torque that may be experienced by the wind turbine due to the water
column is A. The average torque is obtainable by integrating the torque expression, Eqn.6.1,
through an angle span 0 – 2π and dividing by the range 2π. The result for the average torque
Tav is A/π.
The torque-angle analysis of a reciprocating pump, thus, shows that the peak torque per
cycle is π times its averaged value for a single-acting system. A similar procedure for a double-
acting system, m =2, would indicate that the peak to average ratio is π/2.
Detailed analyses of torque-angle relations on similar mechanisms may be sought in
references on piston pumps and engines [7].

7. THE START AND STOP EQUATIONS OF THE WIND-PUMP

The following derivation will be based on the peak torque deduced, aiming for a conservative
design. It should also be noted that the predictions neglect the weight of the pump rod,
resistance due to starting friction on bearings and assume no starting aids are being used.
Applying Eqn.5.6 for the restart case, it is to be noted that the critical torque, that is CTC , is
equal to π times the right-hand-side of Eqn.5.6

8 ρ w γ rn 1
Frs = (7.1)
π ρa ηT r CTC

Eqn.7.1 defines the wind-pump’s starting condition.

As for stopping; the machine may stop in one of two conditions:

(i) When CT exceeds CTM while operation is in segment III, and

(ii) When CT exceeds CT0 while operation is in segment I.
W IND E NGINEERING VOLUME 34, N O . 4, 2010 369

The latter condition can be ignored as trivial.

Applying Eqn.5.6 to the limiting state

8 ρ w γ rn 1
Frss = (7.2)
π 2 ρa ηTr CTM

For the sake of comparing this model with experimental results from the available
literature, Eqns.7.1 and 7.2 are combined to give

Frss 1π
= (7.3)
Frs CTM CTC

For a high solidity turbine, extensively used in wind-powered piston-pumps: CTM = CTC =
CT0, Eqn.6.3 becomes

Frss 1
= (7.4)
Frs π

Further, for a wind-pump with an effectively constant water-column, hs = hss. Then Eqn.7.4
reduces to

vss 1
= = 0.56 (7.5)
vs π

Reference [8] reported test results of starting and stopping wind speeds for different wind
pump makes and deduced an empirical factor of 0.6 for the vss/vs ratio. Reference [9] reported
a ratio of 2/3. The results are close, noting that the proposed theory ignores the rod’s weight
and noting the probable error range in the reported experimental results.
Reference [3] cited experimental results from an Aeromotor unit and quoted the data
shown here in Table(1). Use of the defining equation for Froude number, Eqn.5.4, proves that
the start Froude numbers deduced from this data are identical, thus validating the concept
that Fr is the single dimensionless number that determines restart. One outstanding
consequence is that, once Frs is calculated for a start velocity and its corresponding head, no
extra testing is needed to decide on the restart velocity for any other head.

Table 7.1. Experimental start velocity and head [3],

and deduced start Froude number
vs h Frs
7.2 304 0.132
5.8 220 0.125
4.9 152 0.127

8. PERFORMANCE PREDICTION/DESIGN OF A WIND-PUMP

Consider, as an illustrative example, a turbine with the characteristics shown in Figs.8.1a and
8.1b.
The best operation point for a turbine-pump system is the one corresponding to the
maximum CP level. Working from the theoretical relation, Eqn.5.6, and the experimental
profile relating CP to CT (Figure 8.1b), it is possible to obtain the wind-pump’s Froude number
corresponding to the maximum CP level. At such a point dCp/dFr = 0.
370 O PERATION T HEORY OF W IND P UMPS

Figure 8.1a. Typical experimental torque-speed characteristics

Figure 8.1b. Experimental torque-power characteristics

The Cp-CT experimental profile of Figure 7.1b may be modeled with a polynomial equation.
The direct approach, however, is to use the turbine’s characteristic curve and the available
system constraints either to predict the system behavior or to optimize the design for a
specified work condition. These two approaches are analyzed below.

8.1 Fixed system dimensions

Table 8.1 shows an assumed set of data for such a system. Table 8.2 shows the derived
parameters. The swept volume Vs and the geometric dimensionless parameter, γ, are
π
calculated using the definitions Vs = 4
d p2 s and γ = Vs d 3 .

Table 8.1. System data

d [m] s [m] dp [m] rn ηTr ηp ρa ρw
6 0.3 0.1 1 0.9 0.85 1.15 1000

Table 8.2. Derived parameters

Vs [m3] γ CTM CTC CT0
0.0024 0.000011 0.30 0.30 0.30

The characteristics shown in Figure 8.1a indicates that the torque coefficients CTM , CTC and
CT0 are all equal to 0.30 for this high solidity turbine.
The start and stop Froude numbers for the system are then calculated using Eqns. 7.1 and
7.2. These are listed in Table 8.3.
W IND E NGINEERING VOLUME 34, N O . 4, 2010 371

Table 8.3. Start and stop Froude numbers

Frs Frss
0.30 0.17

Now, noting that the dynamic relation between the turbine’s torque coefficient CT and the
v
system’s operational condition (Fr = ) is established through Eqn.5.6, and that the
gh
relation between the torque and power coefficients for the turbine is established from Figure
8.1b, it is possible to deduce the performance profile of the system as a CP.η-Fr relation, as
illustrated in Figure 8.2.

0 .3 0

0 .2 5

0 .2 0
Cp.η

0 .1 5

0 .1 0

0 .0 5

0 .0 0

0 .1 7 0 .1 8 0 .1 9 0 .2 0 0. 21 0.2 2 0. 23 0. 24 0 .2 5 0 .2 6 0 .2 7 0 .2 8 0. 29 0. 30

Fr

Figure 8.2. Dependence of CP.η on Froude number

The best operational Froude number for the existing design may be read from Figure 8.2
as 0.21.
Finally, it is possible to predict the pump’s capacity for any specified head, using Eqn.4.1.
This is shown in Figure 8.3 for the speed range 3-8m/s and the head range 5-150m.

Figure 8.3. Capacity-head chart for the wind speed range 3-8 m/s – prediction version

8.2 Optimizing system dimensions for the required design Froude number,
FrD
In this case the required operation condition is known, namely, the wind speed and the water
head. This leads to the best operation point and the design Froude number, FrD. By way of
example, such values are shown in Table 8.4.
372 O PERATION T HEORY OF W IND P UMPS

The turbine characteristics are assumed known. These shall be the same as those suggested
in Figs. 8.1a and b.
Further, except for the wind-pump’s stroke, all other parameters are assumed constrained
by some design considerations and are shown as design data in Table 8.5.

Table 8.4. Required working point

h v FrD
30 4 0.23

Table 8.5. Design data

d dp rn ηTr ηp ρa ρw
6 0.1 1 0.9 0.85 1.15 1000

Looking into Eqn.5.6 and defining B as a factor

8 ρ w rn
B= (8.1)
π 2 ρa ηTr

Then Eqn.5.6 takes the following form at design point

1
CTD = Bγ (8.2)
FrD2

FrD, B and CTD are of known values at design point, CTD being the torque coefficient
corresponding to FrD. The only remaining unknown is the geometric dimensionless
parameter, γ. Its value is can then be calculated for this case as 0.000015.
Noting that γ is defined as Vs/d3, where Vs is the pump’s swept volume and d the turbine’s
rotor diameter, it is possible to write

Vs s π4 d p2
= = 0.000015
d3 d3

Since the stroke s is the only unknown, its value for this case is deduced as 0.42m.
Generally speaking, any combination of the stroke, the cylinder diameter and the turbine
rotor diameter that satisfies Eqn.8.2 would lead to optimum system configuration. However,
one notes that the rotor diameter is also a leading parameter in the determination of the total
power required, the speed step-up ratio may prove expensive to change from unity and the
cylinder’s bore diameter might be a constraint for particular designs, then the stroke remains
the flexible parameter.
Once γ is fixed it is possible to estimate the start and stop Froude numbers as shown in Table
8.6.

Table 8.6. Start and stop Froude numbers

γ s Frs Frss
0.000015 0.42 0.35 0.20

The predicted capacity-head-wind speed chart is shown in Figure 8.4.

W IND E NGINEERING VOLUME 34, N O . 4, 2010 373

Figure 8.4. Capacity head chart for the wind speed range 3-8 m/s – Design version

9. CONCLUSIONS
1. The paper presents a complete theoretical formulation of the operation of wind
pumps, including the starting and stopping behaviours.
2. The basic dimensionless parameter defining the wind pump performance was
deduced as v gh , a Froude number type of number relating the wind speed to the
pump’s head.
3. The start and stop conditions for a wind pump was found determinable from the
wind-turbine’s torque profile at low rotational speed. The equations relating these
two endpoints were defined. Comparison with experimental literature indicated
close agreement.
4. The model developed helps to optimize wind pump design in reference to the two
site-dependent parameters: wind speed and water head.

REFERENCES
[1] Siddig, M.H., “Design optimization of wind-powered piston pumps”. Wind Engineering
Journal 20, 2. 63-71, 1996.
[2] Dixon, J.C., “Improving the mechanical load matching of wind energy converters”, 1st
BWEA Workshop, p.181-9, April 1979.
[3] Pinilla, A.E., Burton, J.D., Dunn, P.D., “Wind Energy to water pumped: Conversion
efficiency limits using single-acting lift pumps”, Proc. Conf. BWEA, Cambridge
University Press, p.334-345, 1984.
[4] Toliyat, H., Kliman, G, “Handbook of Electric Motors”, 2nd Edition, CRC Press. , 2004.
[5] Shepherd, et al, Higher Electrical Engineering, Pitman.
[6] Theraja, B.L, A.K. Theraja, “A textbook of electrical technology”, 23rd Edition, 2002, S.
Chand.
[7] Addison, H, “A Treatise on Applied Hydraulics”, 5th Edition, Chapman & Hall.
[8] Meel, J., Smulders, P.T., “Some results from CWD’s test fields: Are the IEA
recommendations sufficient for windmills driving piston pumps?”, Wind Engineering
Journal 11, 2, 89-106,1987.
[9] Fraenkel, P., Barlow, R., Crick ,F., Derrick, A. and Bokalders, V., “Windpumps - A guide for
development workers”, ITDG. 1993.
View publication stats