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Abstract.

. People living in developing countries or undeveloped regions often do not have proper access to quantities of safe, clean water to fulfill their daily needs. Members of the families, often women and children, walk miles every day to collect surface waters that are frequently contaminated. To improve water availability and quality, a sustainable mechanical solution to access groundwater is in development. A well-driving attachment for a PUP (Practical Utility Platform) vehicle is proposed to provide a low-cost means for installing tube type wells in areas of high to medium water table heights. PUP vehicles have a niche in developing countries, as they offer impressive value and utility in comparison to other powered machines. The vehicles are built and sourced using locally available materials with basic tooling. A hydraulic post driver has been attached to the rear of a PUP frame to serve as an impact mechanism, driving a well point and a series of inter-connecting pipes to serve as a casing. Successful implementation involves converting a post driver into a reliable, easy to operate machine attachment. The main challenges involve analyzing vehicle integrity with high impacts, overall vehicle stability, and creating compatibility with a pipe driving system. Modifications must be made to the post driving system to prevent pipe buckling and to guarantee a plumb well drive. Results from testing will give meaningful insight to the viability of the prototype well-driving platform and its reliability in the field. Issues discovered in development of the unit thus far will be discussed.