Design and Analysis of low head hydrokinetic turbine
Design of a hydro-kinetic water turbine that can generate power up to 1000W. Our aim is to provide a affordable source of electricity generation by building a micro-hydro turbine that can generate power upto 1000W, enough to power the essentials of a small home. We target northern areas and villages
2025-06-28 16:31:09 - Adil Khan
Design and Analysis of low head hydrokinetic turbine
Project Area of Specialization Mechanical EngineeringProject SummaryDesign of a hydro-kinetic water turbine that can generate power up to 1000W. Our aim is to provide a affordable source of electricity generation by building a micro-hydro turbine that can generate power upto 1000W, enough to power the essentials of a small home. We target northern areas and villages primarily because our turbine is built to work on low heads of streams and rivers, hence eliminating the requirement to build a dam. These specific areas are usually built around such sources of water
We perform Numerical and Computational Analysis of the designed turbine to achieve maximum efficiency and co-efficient of performance as well as perform different simulations to check and test the structural integrity of design. Furthermore made modifications to an existing model by changing different parameters like increasing its power generation capability and aspect ratio.
1: Implementation of optimized blade design 2: Scaling up the power production capacity of a turbine: to enable it to power a single household. 3: Design of all components of the turbine along with the manufacturing design and specification 4: Analysis of the power coefficient and structural integrity using numerical simulations 5: Design a portable turbine and its carrying mechanism.
Project Implementation MethodProject Approval
Get the project approved by the FYP supervisor and FYP coordinator team.
Literature Review
Detail review of the literature available on thee hydro kinetic turbine available. That includes everything from comparing different types of turbine to different blades performance under different conditions and factors affecting the efficiency.
3D modelling of prototype
3D designing of the turbine which is proposed. This might not be the final design but it will definitely be the base to our final model.
Power Upscaling
Since one of the main goals of is the upscaling of the design worked on by our seniors, we will be recalculating everything from the scratch.
Material Selection
The material selection will comprise of selecting the material which holds the desired properties for example light weight and high strength etc.
Cost Analysis of Materials
The cost analysis of the parts to be purchased and the material which is later to be reformed into required shape and the cost of the whole process.
CFD Analysis of 3D Model
CFD analysis of the final 3D design to get the close to real values under the required surrounding.
Portability Mechanism
Since we are aiming that our turbine be portable, we will be aiming for the parts to be deconstructed and constructed again easily without the assistance of a professional.
Design of Electric System
Designing the electric system of the whole turbine.
Manufacturing of Components
Manufacturing of the parts of the final design of the turbine.
Assembly of components
Assembling the manufactured parts.
Testing and Implementation
Testing the Turbine to compare the results achieved through calculations and CFD and correcting the errors if any.
Project Report
Final Project report of the FYP.
Our goal is to design an efficient portable hydro-kinetic turbine that can power a single household system. Our design will provide power up to 1000W and it would be cost efficient due to its structural integrity and design specifications. Our aim behind choosing this project was that we know that in many under developed and even developed areas too usually (northern areas) during floods and earthquakes power supply cuts down. Due to which life of the people living there becomes more miserable. So if they have this cost-efficient portable turbine they can install it in any nearby stream (even the ones in which water velocity is as low as 1 m/s) and can enjoy the power supply. Moreover due to its portability it can be used during trips and camping. Also it can be used by farmers living near canals and rivers to provide energy for their tube-wells. Hydro-kinetic turbine is environment friendly too as it do not generate any environment hazardous substance (like that produced in thermal power generation) and is a renewable source of energy. The main difference in our project than previously designed turbines is that its power generation to cost ratio will be comparatively high that is it will produce 1kW of energy in minimal cost using S-1048 air foil rotor and optimum blade design
Technical Details of Final Deliverable
Our first deliverable is the implementation of optimized blade design, which is optimized by changing some parameters like the diameter of the rotor, the diameter of the blade, number of blades, height of rotor, aspect ratio, area of the rotor, tip speed ratio, the horizontal distance between blades and blade thickness in the existing blade. These parameters are changed to scale up our model to provide 1000 watts of energy, which is our second deliverable that aims to power a single household. For this, a correlation for power coefficient as a function of no stages, Reynolds number and tip-speed ratio, etc., is established.
Computational analysis is done by sliding mesh technique and some turbulence methods. The domain is divided into rotating and non-rotating zones. The interface is modeled as a non-conformal mesh. In this approach, there is relative motion between the zones, and thus the approach becomes transient. A SIMPLE algorithm of pressure velocity coupling is used. Pressure and velocity contours at different rotor entry angles are stimulated to get the actual regime of our turbine flow, for which it gives the maximum power generation. Torque coefficient variations concerning time, static pressure on the blades, and mesh generation are done to examine the power production. Boundary conditions are adjusted like inlet velocity of water, exit/outlet pressure, blades speed, etc.
Analysis of a power coefficient and structural stability is done by establishing numerical models and then relating them with our computational generated charts of power vs. RPM, Re vs. Power, tip-speed ratio vs. efficiency.
The portable design of the turbine is done by keeping in mind the more power to weight ratio.
| Item Name | Type | No. of Units | Per Unit Cost (in Rs) | Total (in Rs) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total in (Rs) | 36000 | |||
| S-1048 aluminium foil | Equipment | 50 | 300 | 15000 |
| Stainless steel | Equipment | 20 | 800 | 16000 |
| Bolts | Equipment | 100 | 50 | 5000 |