Miniature Hydro Power Station Research Paper

ENGINEERING SKILLS AND DESIGN:ELEN1004

MINIATURE HYDRO POWER STATION: DESIGN PROPOSAL

MOKGOBA MHLONGO 879092

8/25/2014

MENTOR NAME: PROF ANTON VAN WYK

GROUP NUMBER: 21

Abstract This report investigates the use of water to produce electricity; it firstly discusses the main theories and principles that have to be applied in order to create an efficient hydro power station. The report also discusses a design proposal for a miniature hydro power station which has to be designed in such a way that it meets certain requirements. Using MATLAB simulations, it was found that the proposed design will be able to meet the minimum requirements and produce a fair amount of electricity. It is

The magnets will be glued on to the rod in a circular pattern with alternating poles, such that they rotate with the rod. Two nails will be hammered in to a 20cm plank and then wrapped with insulating tape, and the 300 turns of wire will be made around each of them. The rod and magnet system will be placed in the middle of the nails, such that the nails are on opposite sides of the magnets. The generator is shown in figure 2, where A is the wooden rod from the turbine, B is the nail with the coil wrapped around it, C is the magnet system and D is the wooden plank. Figure 2: proposed design of an AC generator

4. Analysis

When the system is simulated in MATLAB, it is found that the maximum EMF that can be produced is 2.45 volts, the other relevant calculations of the system are shown appendix A, which is a MATLAB simulation of the results. Figure 3 shows the EMF as a function of time Figure 3: voltage as a function of time for the generator

The flow chart in figure 4 shows the energy conversion that takes place in a generator, whereby mechanical energy is converted into electrical

Environmental, economic and social impacts

The proposed design of the hydro power station requires a large amount of water to generate only a small amount of electricity, this means that it will be expensive to produce hydroelectricity in areas that are far from water sources like rivers, lakes and streams [3]. Hydroelectricity is much cleaner and safer to produce because it does not emit any dangerous greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and also due to the fact that it is a renewable energy source.

6. Project plan

The actual construction of the miniature hydro power station should take approximately three weeks to complete, whereby the first week will be used to collect all the relevant materials and data required, week two will be used to build the hydro power station and the third week will be used to test the system, measure the voltage produced, and also correct any errors that may have come up during the construction phase. The design will be constructed by a group of six people, whereby three people will be responsible for finding the materials and building the turbine, and the other three will be responsible for finding the materials and constructing the generator.

7.