Szabo, Phillip (2013) Development of a pump efficiency monitor for use in cotton irrigation. [USQ Project]
|
Text
Szabo_2013.pdf Download (3MB) | Preview |
Abstract
Direct energy inputs such as diesel and electricity are major costs incurred on an irrigated cotton farm. They also account for a significant proportion of the total greenhouse gas emissions from cropping systems. As energy costs continue to rise, so too does irrigator interest in assessing ways to improve their energy efficiency. Irrigators want to know how to reduce energy consumption. New techniques and equipment are required to assist irrigators in managing their energy consumption and therefore reduce running costs and meet targets. Cotton farmers use 60 -70% of their energy during the irrigation process (Ballie & Chen 2008), where large quantities of water are pumped during the irrigation season, and how efficiently this happens depends on the efficiency of the pump stations.
A Pump Efficiency Monitor (PEM) has been developed to identify pump efficiency problems. The PEM enables the continuous measurement of various pump parameters to assess efficiency and monitor energy use during an irrigation season.
The pump efficiency monitor was first trialled during the 2012/13 cotton irrigation season on a farm located at Goondiwindi, Queensland. Data for one pumping event was successfully obtained during the trial. The data was analysed to determine a combined efficiency of the pump and diesel engine. It was identified that reducing engine speed by 250 RPM would improve efficiency. A cost benefit analysis performed on the results indicates that reducing engine speed would reduce running costs for this particular pump station by 44%.
The ability of the PEM to continuously log various pump variables not only provides data to assess pump station efficiency, it also provides accurate information concerning energy use for on-farm energy assessments.
|
Statistics for this ePrint Item |
Actions (login required)
 |
Archive Repository Staff Only |
