Hydel River Turbine

Project Title

Hydel River Turbine

Project Area of Specialization Mechanical EngineeringProject Summary

Pakistan has been benefited with a great network of flowing rivers nationwide which are capable of producing electricity. Yet, very few initiatives have been taken so far from this resource. Rational amount of power can be produced by harnessing the power of flowing rivers using the knowledge of contemporary physics.

According to the Pakistan Economic Survey 2019–2020. The maximum total electricity demand coming from residential and industrial estates stands at nearly 25,000 MW, whereas the transmission and distribution capacity is stalled at approximately 22,000 MW. Thus, Pakistan is 3000MW behind its electricity requirement. On the other hand, according to the World Energy Outlook (2016) statistics, at least 51 million people in Pakistan or representing 27% of the population live without access to electricity. This data clearly shows Pakistan need to take measures to increase its electricity generation because lack and unavailability of electricity supply affects countries’ business, tourism, trade, quality of life, economy, etc.

Although the world’s largest source of electricity generation is coal, followed by gas, but the whole world is trying to move towards renewable and clean energy sources and hydropower is the biggest renewable power generation source in the world. Hence, Pakistan should also be able to partake in clean energy initiatives and work on hydropower which is a clean and renewable energy source.

Our aim is to introduce an innovative hydroelectricity turbine model with all possible modifications in previously designed models to make it more cost-efficient, space-saving and reliable. We are focused on fabricating a model which is free from the aspects of natural calamities and suits the localities where it needs to be installed. Such an idea has already started to be implemented in developed countries like Japan and U.S.A, and it is a dire need for Pakistan to utilize its natural resources efficiently to be able to provide for the electricity demands of the people.

The Hydel River Turbine we propose will have the features of being small in size, having about 1kW generation capacity depending on river flow but multiple turbines can be installed within less space to produce more electricity. Furthermore, it can also be used to serve as an alternate clean energy water pumping device.

One of the biggest reasons we are still unable to utilize more hydel power potential is we only depend on conventional hydro technology which require high initial cost, lot of time to build and the large space to install. This makes it impossible for developing countries like Pakistan to gain more advantage from its hydel potential. Our project can be the answer to this problem. It can help Pakistan to increase its power generation especially in regions where electricity is still not available even though enough hydropower potential is present.

Project Objectives

Pakistan is endowed with a hydel potential of approximately 41722 MW and total installed capacity of the hydropower stations in the country is about 6595 MW, out of which 3767 MW is in NWFP, 1698 MW in Punjab, 1036 MW in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and 93 MW in the Northern Areas. 29% of total electricity in Pakistan is hydroelectricity and not only in Pakistan but hydroelectricity is the largest renewable source of electricity in the whole world. In addition, Pakistan’s hydel resources are mainly in the North. Numerous promising hydel potential sites have been identified in the Northern Areas, but due to the absence of high power transmission lines, these sites have not been developed so far.

Major portion of hydroelectricity generation is depending on conventional hydro technology. It refers to the use of dams, reservoirs or impoundments. It focuses on the use of potential energy which is stored in high head reservoir. To understand why we need to think about other options for producing hydroelectricity even though this method is 90-95% efficient for large installations, we must understand the problems related to this method of producing hydroelectricity:

1. Initial costs are very high with low rate of return.
2. The gap between the foundation and completion of a project is very long. The completion time may vary from 10-15 years and the Benjamin Franklin’s expression “Time is Money” is a fact.
3. Large hydro power plants disturb the ecology of the area by deforestation, destroying vegetation and uprooting people.
4. Hydroelectric power plants are often far away from the load centers and require large transmission lines to deliver the power. Thus, the cost of transmission lines, the cost of electrical losses in them and maintenance cost of transmission lines amounts to a big figure.

Our main objective is to reduce the need for expensive hydroelectricity projects as well as make Pakistan able to produce smart small-scale turbines locally, reducing technology import costs. We are proposing a smart turbine which requires zero head, no reservoir, no external flow by any artificial means and produce electricity using natural flow of water. This technology can provide electricity to regions where large projects cannot be constructed and regions not connected to national grid.

Project Implementation Method

The project will be implemented in a few phases
The first phase involved literature review of previous data to analyse and extract useful information from it in order to make our design more efficient and reliable.

Our group will send the Convergent-Divergent Nozzle for manufacturing (made of Galvanized Iron) and we will work on the rest of the design to complete the turbine during the time for fabrication.

Different Alternators will be tested for peak performance out of which the most suitable one will be coupled with a system of shafts and two bevel gears, one of them which will be a step-up type to enhance the performance of dynamo even if the propeller blade moves at low RPM.

A stainless steel supporting structure will be designed for the CD-Nozzle in order to fixate PVC pipes on top, leaving space in between for the installation of dynamo over a fibre sheet. The structure will be designed and sent to a workshop for fabrication after careful consideration of all necessary parameters needed to keep in mind for an optimum low cost, less heavy, least corrosive design.

A propeller blade previously imported will be used as reference for the project and will be sent to be casted in bronze and coated with a polyurethane seal, so as to keep it immersed in water without worrying about corrosion.

Finally the fabricated components will be assembled together and the complete turbine will undergo a detailed inspection before prelimininary testing, after which it will be ready to be installed at any river site with high hopes of future usage.

Benefits of the Project

Our proposed model requires zero head, no reservoir, no external flow by any artificial means and produce electricity using natural flow of water. It requires less space to install and about 4-5 feet of water with flow between 0.6m/s-3m/s to operate.

The proposed hydel turbine model will be able to produce 0.8kW-1kW of energy when the flow of river is adequate. Our product is designed after careful engineering analysis for maximum cost effective performance, which is why it can prove to be a very efficient product.

This project can fulfill the need for electric power, result in a better standard of living, boost tourism, enhance technological advancement in areas left behind due to unavailability of electricity, as well as serve as an alternate for pumping water using clean energy.

Another significance of such a turbine is its small size and ease in local production, thus reducing the need to import hydro-power utilizing material from abroad.

The proposed model is better than previously fabricated models as it provides:

• A better approach towards the concept of buoyancy
• Can stand under calamity
• Better dynamo performance and casing
• Weight reduction
• Sound installation techniques
• Portable and versatile

It solves most problems convention method of hydroelectric generation.

1. Its initial cost is 80,000 Pkr (For the whole model) and rate of return is small, but it is a start.
2. It has no effect on ecology of the area. It eliminates deforestation, destroying vegetation and uprooting people.
3. It only requires natural flow of river about 4-5 feet depth and width.
4. It can be install near load centers and eliminate large transmission requirement need and the cost of large transmission line, the cost of electrical losses in them and maintenance cost of large transmission line.

There are many areas in Pakistan where this turbine can make living standards better. In many areas there are no schools and education institutes because of electricity unavailability as people are unwilling to stay at a place where adequate electricity is not available. By utilizing multiple turbines implementing our idea, electricity demands in some areas can be fulfilled and schools and institutions related to education can blossom as people will be willing to spend time and money. Thus, quality of life can become better.

Technical Details of Final Deliverable

The hydro-electricity turbine we propose will consist of a convergent-divergent nozzle made from galvanized iron sheets riveted into a nozzle structure. A propeller blade at its throat, which would enhance and utilize the speed of flowing river water to generate electricity with the help of a dynamo (a truck pulled alternator will serve the purpose of electricity generation) which will be connected to the propeller bore using a system of keyed shafts and bevel gears. The turbine will be most useful in places where there are frequent power outages as it can provide alternate source of clean energy. Albeit being made of galvanized iron, it will consist of a floating deck made of a less dense material (PVC) along with a sheet of fibre to increase the floating surface area which would help keep the turbine afloat under extreme conditions. Furthermore, it can serve as a pumping alternate if the dynamo is replaced with a pump, utilizing clean energy to provide river water to desired places.

The model components have been designed on SolidWorks and Simulated on ANSYS to a certain extent to check for irregularities. Floating conditions have been numerically satisfied using Archimedes Principle. Design considerations are made according to material availability, cost and weight.

Reference Dimensions:

CD Nozzle length: 67 inches

Outer truncated cone diameter: 30.5 inches

Throat diameter: 18 inches

Floating Deck will consist of 2-4 PVC pipes with a diameter greater than or equal to 6 inches.

The CD Nozzle will be attached to the floating deck by means of Stainless Steel supports.

Propeller Details:

The proposed hydel turbine model will be able to produce 0.8kW-1kW of energy when the flow of river is adequate. It will be able to generate electricity when the river water speed would be at least around 2m/s.

Final deliverable model will be available for testing and installation at any river channel site with the addition of a few site related modifications to fix its position. 

Final Deliverable of the Project Hardware SystemCore Industry Energy Other IndustriesCore Technology Clean TechOther TechnologiesSustainable Development Goals Affordable and Clean EnergyRequired Resources

Item Name	Type	No. of Units	Per Unit Cost (in Rs)	Total (in Rs)
			Total in (Rs)	75000
PVC pipes	Equipment	2	3500	7000
Shafts	Equipment	3	1000	3000
Blade Casting	Equipment	1	10000	10000
Stainless Steel Supports	Equipment	1	9000	9000
Bevel Gears	Equipment	2	3000	6000
Overhead costs	Miscellaneous	1	5000	5000
Convergent Divergent Nozzle	Equipment	1	35000	35000