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Project Report:
Pico-hydro Generator Design Project for the
Developing World
Version 2
10/25/16
Tyler Criddle
Jonathan Rogers
Daniel Loefstedt
Joshua Pardoe
Andrew Reedy
Shane Braunworth
Partner
Engineering Ministries International
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Version History
Version
Date
Description/Notes
MVP 1
10/17/16
Project info and goals/testing protocol/prototype testing
/operations/safety considerations
12/02/16
Project info and goals/research/design and
analysis/testing/results and conclusions
Fall 2016
MVP 2
Fall 2016
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Table of Contents
Executive Summary
Abstract:
Problem Definition:
Project Goals:
Design Specifications:
Characteristics to Evaluate
Technical Requirements to Evaluate
Partners and Stakeholders:
Research
Overview of Hydropower:
Hydrokinetic Power
Hydrostatic Pressure
Advantages and Disadvantages of Hydropower:
Hydropower in General
Micro and Pico Hydro (Small Hydro)
Existing Generator Projects and Designs:
Target Communities and Market Analysis:
Design and Analysis
Turbine Development:
WEDGE 1.0
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WEDGE 2.0
WEDGE 3.0
WEDGE 4.0
Generator Development:
Testing Rig
Light Board
Data Collection System:
Summary and Conclusion
Appendix A
Project Records:
MVP 1
MVP 2
Appendix B
References:
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Executive Summary
Abstract:
The goal of the Pico-hydro project is to provide Engineering Ministries International (EMI) with
an in-stream tested pico-hydroelectric generator capable of generating up to 800 Watts of
electrical power. In working toward this goal, we will be testing and improving three generator
prototypes provided by EMI. We want to use the results of these tests to create our own design
for a fully-functioning hydroelectric generator with optimized power output. After construction
and testing of our optimized design, we hope to hand our final product over to EMI, along with
all necessary documentation and testing data.
Problem Definition:
The need that we are trying to meet is the lack of renewable and affordable electric energy in
small, off-grid communities in developing countries around the world. This project is focused on
meeting this need through the utilization of hydroelectric generation to capture hydrokinetic
energy. Upon the completion of this project, we hope that we can provide EMI with an efficient
and sustainable source of electrical power to be implemented in one such community. Without
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access to this electrical power, it will be much more difficult for target communities to be
enabled with better economic and educational resources and opportunities.
Project Goals:
● Test WEDGE (Water Energy Device for Generating Electricity) prototypes (1.0, 2.0 and
3.0) in the Yellow Breeches Creek to evaluate performance and identify design
improvements.
● Construct a final design for an optimized, field-tested prototype (WEDGE 4.0) that meets
EMI’s design specifications
*The predicted timetable for this project is 4-5 semesters.
Design Specifications:
One pico-hydroelectric power system design that can produce 300-800Watts of electricity that
costs under $500 for parts and materials and/or produces energy under $0.08/kWh that can
operate 24h/day for 3 years complete with product documentation.
Characteristics to Evaluate
● Affordable – for farmer/villager making $2/day
● Reliable & Durable – 24 hours/day for +3 years
● Simple – easy to install and maintain in developing world environment
● Elegant design for developing world manufacturing simplicity
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● Safe
● Low voltage – battery charging
*Many of these characteristics will be dependent upon the target community and the natural
environment in which our product will be implemented. For instance, manufacturing simplicity
will depend on available resources and materials of the target community. Also, the requirements
for “easy” installation will depend on the physical environment and local weather conditions of
the target community. This target community will be determined by EMI and communicated to
us before finalization of our new prototype design.
Technical Requirements to Evaluate
● Stream Flow of 1-5 m/sec
● Power > 300 watts – enough for lights, cell phone, computer
● Ideal Cost < $500 (production model in developing world)
○ hopefully produce power for < $.08/watt
*Throughout this project, it is possible that we may encounter a situation where we must make
some tradeoffs between power generation capability, durability, efficiency, portability, cost and
manufacturability based on availability of local parts. In such a case where we can simply not
have everything, we will need to decide which of these things will take priority in the design of
our final product. We plan on determining these priorities through correspondence with EMI
after we complete prototype testing and begin preliminary design on our new generator.
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Partners and Stakeholders:
Engineering Ministries International (EMI) is a non-profit organization that strives to give help
and hope to people in impoverished communities through engineering projects. They have a
vision of "people restored by God and the world restored through design", and a mission "to
develop people, design structures, and construct facilities which serve communities and the
Church."
EMI is seeking a solution to provide affordable hydroelectric power to off-grid communities in
developing countries. By testing and optimizing the work they have started we hope to produce a
more market-ready model of their pico-hydroelectric system. This project seeks to empower the
poor by providing a reliable electric source.
Upon completion of a successful project, all of our deliverables will be given to EMI for
approval and ownership.
Research
Overview of Hydropower:
Hydrokinetic Power
Hydrokinetic energy is the energy that comes from flowing water in oceans, rivers and streams.
This kinetic energy can be harnessed and transformed into hydrokinetic power through the
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utilization of a hydroelectric system. These systems typically use turbines consisting of fan
blades to convert hydrokinetic energy into mechanical energy. This mechanical energy from the
turbine will drive some kind of generator that produces hydropower in the form of electricity.
Hydrokinetic power can be used as an efficient and reliable source of alternative energy.
Hydrostatic Pressure
TBD
Advantages and Disadvantages of Hydropower:
Hydropower in General
Accessible electricity is extremely beneficial as it advances many different areas. Socioeconomic standing, development, economic presence, meeting basic needs, promoting promising
prospects, and positively influencing governments are all furthered through access to electricity.
Energy producing alternatives to electricity can carry harmful environmental factors. Renewable
energy provides cleaner energy through electricity. Specifically, hydropower provides the
cleanest and most reliable electricity. Unlike solar power or wind power, hydropower is not
dependent on the time of day, producing a continuous energy supply, and is therefore a much
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more consistent energy-producing alternative. Thus, hydropower serves as an excellent solution
to meeting the growing lack of access to electricity.
Micro and Pico Hydro (Small Hydro)
Micro hydro - produces between 5kW and 100kW of electricity
Pico hydro - produces less than 5kW of electricity
Advantages:
● Small hydro provides an extremely efficient energy source, because it only takes a small
amount of water flow or a small amount of drop to generate sufficient electrical power
able to be used up to a mile away.
● Small hydro is very compatible with “run-of-river” projects, and therefore does not
require a large reservoir of water. Because of this, small in-stream hydro projects have
hardly any negative impact on the surrounding environment.
● Due to the smaller size and smaller need for materials, small-scale hydro systems are
much more cost efficient than other hydro technologies.
● Because of their low costs and longevity, small hydro systems are perfect for
implementation and use in small, developing communities and villages. Small-scale
hydro systems are also simple enough for the people of these developing communities to
build and maintain on their own.
Disadvantages:
● One obvious disadvantage to utilizing pico and micro hydro systems is that because of
the smaller scale, the power output will be significantly less than other larger hydro
projects.
● Small hydro projects are dependent on the site in which the system is to be installed.
Factors affecting small hydro performance include the size of the stream, the time of year
(there will likely be less water flow during the summer months) and the distance that the
power is being transmitted.
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Existing Generator Projects and Designs:
Understanding what hydropower actually is, here are some examples of different types of
projects in hydro power.
- Reservoir-Type Project
An example of a reservoir-type is the Hoover Dam. The idea is that creating a large head
of water (a reservoir) will ensure consistency in maintaining a good flow through the generators.
It is also useful during the dry seasons, providing a reliable source of energy even without rain.
- Run-of-River Projects
A run-of- river project primarily focuses on the flow of a river rather than a head. A head
can be considered as a gradient in the river. They can be designed to either be on large rivers
with a gentle gradient or in small rivers with a steep gradient. An advantage is that it does not
require a dam to create a reservoir. However, it can be unreliable at times because of the
tendency of river flows to fluctuate with weather.
- Pumped-Storage Projects
These projects are very similar to reservoir-type projects because they both have a large
head. The difference is that during the off-peak hours, energy is spent in pumping water back
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into the reservoir for later use. Even though this uses up energy, it is during off-peak hours, and
is therefore profitable.
- River Diversion Projects
These are very similar to run-of- river projects because they both utilize river flow. River
diversion includes the technique of combining the flow of multiple rivers into one to create a
faster flow or diverting the flow of a river in a direction that creates a steeper gradient (larger
“head”).
Target Communities and Market Analysis:
TDB
Design and Analysis
Turbine Development:
WEDGE 1.0
TBD
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WEDGE 2.0
Design Overview:
The WEDGE 2.0 is a much bigger and heavier prototype than any of the others. The main body
of the turbine is made of construction tubing, which could possibly be found for cheap or may be
locally available. The frame and some of the turbine body do require welding, so welding would
be a necessary manufacturing process in the developing area. Finally, the motor utilized in the
energy generation process is from an electric bicycle conversion kit which uses electromagnets
to generate the power output, so the availability of that may be limited. However, the motor itself
is small enough that it may be possible to ship.
Some main components and sub-assemblies to test include the turbine blades, the motor,
and the turbine, driveshaft, and motor system. It will also be critical to determine the best set-up
for the body and frame. Finally, the jump plate can also be evaluated for its effect on the system.
Inside the turbine, near the motor, there is a fairly waterproof case, which encloses
several useful items for testing. There is a water flow rate meter, which appears to be long
enough to manually operate and move around to measure flow at multiple locations. Also, there
is an RC boat monitor, which can be used to monitor conditions. Those factors connected as
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upon arrival are current, rpm, and flow rate, which is plugged into the G-Force monitor. These
are output to a USB connection on a computer.
In-Stream Testing:
TBD
WEDGE 3.0
Design Overview:
The WEDGE 3.0 runs off of a permanent magnet DC alternator and has a fairly simple
assembly. The main body of the system consists of two half barrel drums attached to one full
barrel drum at an angle, which created a form of nozzle or funnel at the input end of the system.
This funnel allows for increased water flow through the system, which results in an increase in
power output. A long shaft is connected to the main body at an angle, with a fan blade propeller
attached to the shaft at the input end of the system. This propeller functions as the turbine of the
system, harnessing the hydrokinetic energy of the water flow and converting it to mechanical
energy. At the other end of the shaft is a V-notch step pulley, which is connected to our
permanent magnet DC alternator by a V-belt. The rotation in the shaft caused by the spinning
turbine drives the alternator, which generates hydroelectric power. The V-notch pulley is
supported at the output end of the system by a V-bracket, and the alternator is supported by an
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adjustable arm attached to the V-bracket. This adjustable arm locks and unlocks, changing the
position of the alternator and tightening/loosening the V-belt. The whole system assembly is
finally mounted onto a large plywood base for better stability and portability. The entire
WEDGE 3.0 system is fairly lightweight and can be easily transported to and from testing sites.
In-Stream Testing:
A. Testing goals - The main goal of our testing was to make sure that we could obtain
readable and useable data from our prototype. A secondary goal of the testing was to see
whether it was possible to charge a battery using our machine as well as how long it
would take to charge a battery.
B. Testing methods - Testing our prototype includes several different steps, the first of
which is preparing the machine and all our tools to go down to the breeches. Most
importantly, this includes the process of preparing our battery, that we are going to hook
up to the machine while it is running, for testing. We first drain the battery by hooking it
up to the resistor bank for an hour, or until it has been drained a sufficient amount. You
must make sure that you don’t disconnect the battery from the resistor bank until you are
ready to test, since the resistor bank drains at such a slow rate the voltage of the battery
will slowly recover if you unhook it from the resistor bank to early. Then, when the
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battery is properly prepared, we collected the rest of the testing materials, the tachometer,
measuring tape in order to measure the flow velocity of the water, multimeter, and the
proper wires in order to hook the battery up to the alternator. When all the supplies are
collected, we took the machine down to the Yellow Breeches, and selected a spot that,
visually, had the quickest flow. We then hydroplaned the machine into the water and
attached the leads from the alternator to the battery. We let the machine sit in the water
for about 30-45 minutes while periodically testing the voltage across the alternator as
well as the voltage of the battery. After letting the machine run until the battery was
recharged, we took out the machine and finished our final measurements, which included
testing the flow velocity of the water in the area that we had been testing.
C. Testing results - Our main testing period was divided up into two separate days. For Day
1 we tested using a 12V battery and by putting our machine at two different depths in
order to see the effects that water height had on the voltage output of our machine. The
results from our testing on Day 1 were not positive. We didn’t have any significant
increase in the voltage of our battery, which increased by only 0.20V, from an initial
12.03V to 12.23V, after about 30 min of charging time in the water (Table 1). We
perceived this lack of charging to be due to the lack of voltage output from our machine,
which was lower than the voltage of the battery. That meant in order to truly test if we
could charge a battery, we a battery that had a lower voltage than the 10.1V we were able
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to produce. Due to this lack of charge, we decided that it would be best to test the
machine with a drained 6V battery in order to see if our machine was truly capable of
charging a battery. The other part of our testing that day, testing the voltage output of our
machine at different water heights provided us with the one positive thing that we learned
from testing on Day 1. We learned that the 7.1V produced by our machine when the
water was filling up the entire tube was a significant decrease in voltage output, when
compared to the 10.1V produced when the tube was only 50% filled. This information
proved useful to us when we were testing on day 2. Knowing about the effects of the
height of the water on the voltage output of our machine, we decided that on testing Day
2 we would select a spot with water ¾ the height of the tube in order to maximize the
voltage output. Our testing from Day 2 confirmed that our secondary goal, that it was
possible to charge a battery using our machine, was obtainable. We saw a dramatic
increase in the voltage of our battery, which started at 6V and finished at 11.45V after 30
mins of testing, when compared to the voltage increase we saw in the battery from Day 1
testing.
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WEDGE 4.0
*WEDGE 4.0 is the name given to a potential future prototype developed at Messiah College. No
work has been completed for this prototype as of December 2, 2016.
TBD
Generator Development:
Testing Rig
During the winter months, we needed a method for testing our prototypes indoors. We decided
that the best way to do this was to construct an indoor testing machine. Through extensive research and
consultations with Andy Breighner we decided that the best method would be to use a DC motor and
attach it to the alternator. We built a fully-functioning testing rig consisting of our 24V DC motor
attached to our permanent magnet DC alternator by a V-notch pulley and V-belt. This rig is powered
directly by a DC power supply and is used to operate our lightboard base load. Using an additional engine
to spin the alternator, not only allows us to continue our research during the winter months, but it also
allows us to control the RPM of the alternator and therefore see the power output of our alternator at
specific speeds. *Further information on the testing rig can be found in the “Design: Generator Testing
Rig” project record.
Light Board
A. Lightboard Preparation - For future testing, a light board consisting of a set of lightbulbs
was connected in series with the turbine alternator. It was found that 12V light bulbs
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would be necessary for this application due to the voltage output of the alternator. The
voltage output of the alternator while in the Breeches was approximately 12V. The
principle behind this light board is to screw in one light at a time until all of them turn off
due to lack of current. At that point, we can add up the wattages of the lightbulbs that
were turned on in order to determine power output of the turbine. Our goal is to be able to
also use the light board as the base load for our generator testing rig, so that it will
function as a visual representation of power output.
B. Lightboard Testing - TBD
Data Collection System:
The data recording system is a series of tools and data collection hardware currently attached to
the WEDGE 2.0 project. Main components include the Eagle Tree Systems Boat Data Recorder,
Eagle Tree Systems Electric Expander, Eagle Tree Systems RPM Sensor, Eagle Tree Systems
A/D Expander and Vernier Flow Rate Sensor. The Boat Data Recorder (commonly referred to as
BDR) allows for data to be collected from the attached tools, and stores said data in an onboard
memory chip. The Electric Expander allows the amount of current and voltage in the system to
be monitored, the is assuming that a complete circuit is formed. The RPM Sensor allows us to
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use a small magnet and Hall Effects Sensor to determine the angular speed of the rotating shaft
or part (Rotations per minute). The Eagle Tree Systems A/D Expander works in tandem with the
Vernier Flow Rate Sensor to find how fast the water is flowing. This is accomplished by the
water spinning a small propellor on the flow rate sensor. The data recorder and related data
gathering tools on the WEDGE 2.0 have the potential to be a very useful data gathering tools.
With the various included sensors such as the RPM meter and the current monitor we will be
able to research and observe trends such as water flow vs. wattage produced, or alternator rpm
vs. wattage produced. By observing correlations in the data collected we can figure out which
elements need to be maximized in order to produce the most electricity possible. Now that the
data recorder is operational our next step is to implement it on other design prototypes to help
collect data relevant to the testing. In order to get the Data Recorder operational troubleshooting
with the Data Recorder software was performed and a battery pack was created in order to give
the recorder a power source in accordance to the requirements displayed in the instruction
manual. Because there has been no real testing using the data recorder thus far there are nn true
results to report at this time.
Summary and Conclusion
The current status of the Pico-Hydro Project after MVP 2:
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We have developed an efficient method of testing generator performance (testing rig) and are
currently in the process of utilizing this testing rig in a way that is compatible with all of our
prototypes.
Appendix A
Project Records:
MVP 1
● Initial Testing of EMI WEDGE 3.0
● Enabling the Eagle Tree Systems Software to Record Data from WEDGE 2.0 Prototype
Testing
MVP 2
● Research: Generator, Electrical Components, and Circuit Design
● Design: Generator Testing Rig
● Data Collection System: Data Recorder to Collect Data for the WEDGE 2.0 and for
Alternative Applications
Appendix B
References:
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● http://teeic.indianaffairs.gov/er/hydrokinetic/restech/uses/index.htm
● http://www.eagletreesystems.com/Manuals/Pro,%20Glide,%20Flight%20and%20Boat%
20Seagull%20and%20Data%20Recorder%20Instruction%20Manual.pdf
● http://www.eagletreesystems.com/Manuals/ElectricExpander.pdf
● http://www.eagletreesystems.com/Manuals/A-D%20Expander%20Manual.pdf
● http://www.powerstream.com/Wire_Size.htm
● http://www.alternative-energy-news.info/micro-hydro-power-pros-and-cons/
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