Scholarly Journal of Engineering Research Vol. 1(1), pp. 19-24, April 2012 Available online at http:// www.scholarly-journals.

com/SJER ISSN 2276-8955 2012 Scholarly-Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Design and installation of a mini hydro electric power plant

Okonkwo G.N and #Ezeonu S.O
1Department of Science Laboratory Technology, Federal Polytechnic, Bida. 2Department of Physics and Industrial Physics, PMB 5025 Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka
Accepted 12 September, 2011

The basic principle of hydropower is that, if water is piped from a certain level to a lower level, the resulting water pressure can be used to do work. This work is a practical implementation of the theory of hydropower generation. It considers the design and installation of mini hydropower plant. A storage tank (fitted with siphons to increase water pressure) and a plastic pipe were used to represent the dam and the penstock respectively. The turbine and generator were constructed and the various parts were coupled together to form the hydropower plant. The hydro turbine converts water pressure into mechanical shaft power, which is used to drive the electric generator, and the result is a 218V alternating e.m.f of frequency 50Hz that is suitable for powering some household electrical appliances. Keywords: hydropower, turbine, dam, electric generator, power plant

INTRODUCTION Hydropower is a renewable energy source currently used in most parts of the world to supplement with electricity needs. Hydropower was first used in 250BC, and it was recorded that waterpower was used to power the clock. Since this time, hydropower has evolved from running a small clock to generating enough power to supply a large city (Energy saving trust, 2003). In ancient times, water wheels were used, but only got th a new impulse at the beginning of the 19 century with the invention of hydro turbines. Small-scale hydropower was first commonly used style of electricity generation in th early 20 century. In 1924 for example, in Switzerland alone, nearly seven thousand small-scale hydropower stations were in use. Then improvements of distribution possibilities by means of high voltage transmission lines caused fainted interest in small-scale hydroelectric power installations. Also in China, renewed interests in the technology of mini hydropower started between the year 1970 and 1985, estimate says that between this times nearly seventy-six thousand small scale hydro power stations were built there (Wisconsin Focus on Energy, 2002). Hydropower is a very clean source of energy, which does not consume but only used the water and again make it available for other uses. It involves the conversion of the potential energy of water into mechanical energy, which is a technology with higher efficiency, in most cases double that of other conventional electric power plants (Energy saving trust, 2003). Hydroelectric power plants already supplies over 6% of the world energy needs and over the next decades much of the growth in renewable energy source will result from large-scale hydroelectric power project particularly in the developing world. The basic principle of hydropower follows that; if water can be piped from a certain level to a lower level, then the resulting water pressure can be used to do work. This means that hydropower involves the use of potential energy released by the weight of the falling water through a vertical distance to generate energy. If the water pressure is allowed to move a mechanical component, then that movement involves the conversion of the potential energy of water to mechanical energy which can be used to drive

Corresponding authors phone: +2348055116296

e-mail;

ogooezeonu@yahoo.co.uk,

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an electric generator, a grinding or some other useful devices (Tout Unlimited, 2003). Hydroelectric power depends on the dynamic head, the amount of water flow and the efficiency of the generator /turbine. To know the power potential of a river, it is necessary to know the flow in the river and the available 3 head. The flow Q of the river is the amount of time (in m or liters) that passes in a certain amount of time across a section of the river. Flows are normally given in cubic meters/seconds. The head H is the vertical difference in level (in meters) through which water falls down. The theoretical power P available from a giving head of the water is exactly equal to the head H and flow Q (US Department of Energy, 2004).
That is, P=Q.H.C 1

while the micro hydropower installation has a capacity less than 100KW.

MAJOR COMPONENTS OF HYDROPOWER PLANTS Hydropower plants consists basically of a dam to store water in a fore bay, a penstock to deliver the falling water to the turbine and hydraulic turbine to convert the hydraulic energy released to mechanical energy and alternating generator (alternator) to convert the mechanical energy to electrical energy. These are the main parts of the hydropower installations, all other components are accessory equipment necessary to control the power flow, voltage and frequency and to also provide the protection needed (McGraw hill, 1982). In the hydropower generator , water pressure from falling water pushes the turbine blades which are connected to a generator shaft and therefore causing the armature to spin in the magnetic field and by this electricity is generated (Encarta Concise Encyclopedia,2005).

Where C is a constant and is given as the product of water density and acceleration due to gravity (g). 3 If P is measured in watt, Q in m /s and H in meters, the gross power of the flow of water is given as
P=1000 X 9.8 X Q X H 2

This available power will be converted by the hydro turbine into mechanical power. As a turbine has efficiency lower than one, the generated power will be a fraction of the available gross power. The main objective of this research is to see the possibility of powering a generator using water from a storage tank in other to generate electricity without polluting the environment.

MATERIALS AND METHOD Design calculations The speed at which the rotor must rotate to generate an e.m.f of frequency f for a (P/2) pole pair generator is given by Kothari and Nagrath as N= (120f)/P 3

CLASSES OF HYDROPOWER INSTALLATIONS The large-scale hydropower installation has a capacity of more than 1000KW. This type of power plant requires huge sum of money and has a high environmental cost loss of available fertile lands, forced migration of large group of people and danger of malaria and bilharzias inherent in non-moving water. The small-scale hydropower installation are associated with capacity between 500-1000KW. The small-scale hydropower has hardly any disadvantage. It can be decentralized and locally implemented and managed. Power generated with the small-scale hydro station can be used for agro processing, water pumps and small businesses. Mini and micro hydropower installations are very similar to the small-scale hydropower. They also have little or no environmental effects, low cost of installations and maintenance and very little disadvantage, only that their power is much lower than the small scale hydro. The mini hydropower has a capacity between 100 and 500KW

Therefore, for a frequency of 50Hz, N=50rev/s To derive the power needed to drive the rotor of the generator at 50rev/s, equation 4and 5 are used. From Newtons second law of motion (Ewaraye and iyang, 1998),, F=ma 4 2 Since a=v /r and v=wr then, 2 F=mw r 5 Where F is the force, m mass of the rotor runner combination, r radius of the runner and w angular velocity of the runner. From the averaged power P developed by an engine over a period of time, which is defined as the quantity of work done by the engine divided by the time t required to do the work. P= W/t 6

The instantaneous power being developed at any instant is defined as,

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Figure 1: Inner view of the turbine

Figure 2: water tank representing the dam

P= dw/dt W= F.S----i. e work=force x distance--Therefore, P = d(F.S)/dt If F is constant with respect to time then, P=F.ds/dt P= F.V Equating 5 and 7, mw r =P/V Therefore P= mw r
3 2 2

It is given that the power potential of a dam that can be converted by the hydro turbine into mechanical power is P = Q.H.C. To produce the needed frequency, the power 3 2 required to rotate the generator at that frequency-- mw r must be equal to the power produced by the dam3 2 (H.Q.C), i.e mw r =H.Q.C. The materials used in the construction of the major parts

parts of this system were carefully selected, since most of these parts in one way or the other have to frequently come in contact with water. Most of the materials used cannot be easily corroded or destroyed by water. In the construction of the dam, a plastic storage tank is used. It is placed at a given height H, from the ground and fitted with two plastic siphons to increase its pressure. The penstock is also made of plastic pipe. For the turbine, metal sheets were unavoidably used, since no other material can perfectly serve this purpose due to the welding involved in putting together all its component parts. For the generator, all its parts were prevented from coming in contact with water since they are made from materials that are not water friendly. Figure 1 show the turbine used in this work. It has a water inlet at the top which collects water directly from the turbine, a scroll case in which the runner is suspended, a runner which is suspended at the center of the scroll case by two ball bearings for easy movement and a water outlet at the base (draft tube) which allows for passing out excess water from the scroll case and hence easy movement of the runner. The dam is represented by plastic storage tank, which is placed at a.

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Figure 3: Stator coil of the generator

Figure 4: Connection of Main and Auxiliary Winding

reasonable height H called the head, so as to obtain a desired pressure. Also to add to the water pressure and thus complement for height, the plastic siphon from a low level water flushing system are connected to the bank from the inside and are directed into the penstock. The penstock is made from a plastic which passes pressured water from the dam into the turbine scroll case. A low speed generator is used so that the potential power from the dam is enough to give to the speed that will generate an electromotive force, e.m.f, of desired frequency. For this work, an air-conditioner alternator was recoiled to form a low speed capacitor generator. In its

construction, the coils from the alternator were first removed and new sets of coils were used. The coils used were made from wires of standard wire guage (s.w.g ) 24. The generator has both auxiliary and main windings. Four auxiliary windings, each having 2 sets made of 25 turns, were made. Also four main windings each of 2 sets made of 40 turns were made

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS The design, construction and installation of the mini

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Figure 5: The Mini-hydro power generator

hydro-electric power plant were carried out at the federal polytechnic, Bida Niger state of Nigeria. After installation, the system was operated and the output voltage was measured using digital multimeter. The reading obtained was 219Vac. The output was again measured with an oscilloscope and a sine wave pattern was indicated. This output was applied to a 40W bulb which was blown immediately. It was again applied to a 60W bulb and it was blown. Then a 200W bulb was connected to the output. This time the bulb was not blown but was extremely bright. When the load to the output was increased (by connecting a number of laboratory equipment), the brightness of the 200W became normal and both 40W and 60W bulbs could be powered without being blown. Form this; it was observed that the output current was quite appreciable to power these loads. This mini-hydroelectric power plant could power a load of up to 2000W at the release of the water in the dam. From the design calculations, Flow rate Q = 0.2l/s C = water density x acceleration due to gravity = 9,800 Mass m of rotor/runner combination = 2.5kg Runner radius, r = 8.8cm =0.088m

Angular velocity, w of runner = 50r/s Dam head H = 1.23m. This implies that the storage tank must be placed at a height not less than 1m.

CONCLUSIONS It is very possible that a generator can be powered by a 3 2 storage tank since Q x H x C = mw r represents the powers of the dam and the generator respectively, and these quantities could be calculated separately as explained. If this is done successfully and the turbine is built with high efficiency, the generator will generate electricity.
REFERENCES Energy Saving Trust, (2003 ). Htt//www.saveenergy.co.uk/download hydroelectric. Pdf retrieved on 3/12/2003 Wisconsin Focus on Energy, (2002). http.//focus on energy.Com/data/common/pagebuildersfiles/1802977667 low head %20 hydro. NE.Pdf. Retrieved on 5/9/2003 Trout Unlimited, (2003). http//tu.org/conservation/threats-hydro.asp Retrieved on 4/7/2004

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U.S Department of energy, (2004). Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy http//www.eere.energy.gov/wind%20and %20hydrol. Retrieved on 23/7/2005 Wikipedia. http.//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/hydroelectricity Retrieved on 23/7/2005 McGraw H (1982) McGraw Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology. 5th edition. McGraw Hill Inc. pp.278-282. Encarta Concise Encyclopedia. (2005)

Korthari DP, Nagrath IJ (1989). Theory and Problems of Basic Electrical Engineering Prentice Hall of India. pp.520 Ewaraye AO, Inyang AE (1989). Introduction to Mechanics and Properties of Matter. Africana FEP, Nigeria, pp.80