PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF LOCALLY ASSEMBLED SOLAR POWERED IRRIGATION PUMP

Abstract

Solar powered pump motor is a special DC motor normally manufactured in advanced countries such as Germany, USA, etc. To obtain PVP (Photovoltaic pumps) users in Egypt must import them from abroad. This study was conducted to modify a locally assembled solar powered irrigation pump. A direct coupled photovoltaic pumping system has been assembled and installed in the Egyptian desert in Inshas at the Nuclear Research Center (31O 21' E, 30O 17' N). Eight hundred Watts DC motor with brushes was modified to match unsteady PV generator current output. The DC motor was supplied with PV generator current, which was divided between 9 and 4 modules.  The 9 modules were connected to the rotor and the 4 modules to the stator field.  The motor was tested without load for several hours in situ and was coupled to the centrifugal pump. Pump-set output was tested at different insolation levels and a relationship was carried out from observed data. Monthly solar insolation for ten years period was obtained from a program named "Meteo-Norm" software in order to predict and calculate the average daily pumping system water delivery in cubic meters per month. The system showed flexible response to the PV generator output power demonstrated in DC motor RPM and consequently water delivery.