Design and Construction of a 10KW

Pelton Turbine
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CONTENTS

Contents ....................................................................................................................................... 1
Lxecut|ve Summary ....................................................................................................................... 4
1 8ackground ............................................................................................................................. S
2 1eam Members ....................................................................................................................... 8
3 Mechan|ca| Des|gn .................................................................................................................. 9
3.1 In|t|a| Des|gn kev|ew ...................................................................................................................... 9
3.2 8eam Ca|cu|at|ons ........................................................................................................................ 10
3.3 8ear|ng Se|ect|on ......................................................................................................................... 11
4 Manufactur|ng ...................................................................................................................... 11
4.1 1urb|ne Shou|der 8|ocks ............................................................................................................... 11
4.2 1urb|ne Spacers ............................................................................................................................ 12
4.3 1urb|ne Shaft ............................................................................................................................... 12
4.4 1urb|ne kunner |ates .................................................................................................................. 13
4.S 1urb|ne 8ear|ng nous|ng .............................................................................................................. 13
4.6 1emporary Support Stands ........................................................................................................... 14
4.7 1emporary kes|n e|ton Cups ....................................................................................................... 1S
4.8 Sta|n|ess Stee| e|ton Cups ........................................................................................................... 17
S Mater|a|s ............................................................................................................................... 18
6 1ransm|ss|on System ............................................................................................................. 18
6.1 re||m|nary Des|gn kequ|rements ................................................................................................ 19
6.2 Des|gn kat|ona|e .......................................................................................................................... 19
6.3 u||ey Se|ect|on ............................................................................................................................ 20
6.4 1ens|on|ng Methods ..................................................................................................................... 20
6.S Imp|ementat|on ........................................................................................................................... 20
6.3.1 MeLhodology ................................................................................................................................. 20
6.3.2 roblems LncounLered on Lhe Cround ......................................................................................... 20
7 1urb|ne Cas|ng ....................................................................................................................... 21
7.1 Cas|ng Des|gn ............................................................................................................................... 21
7.2 Contractua| rocedure ................................................................................................................. 22
7.3 Manufactur|ng ............................................................................................................................. 23
7.4 kecommendat|ons for Iuture Des|gn ........................................................................................... 2S
8 L|ectr|ca| Dump Load ............................................................................................................. 26
9 1est|ng .................................................................................................................................. 29
10 I|nances .............................................................................................................................. 30
11 Conc|ud|ng kemarks ............................................................................................................ 31
Append|x A - 1echn|ca| Draw|ngs ................................................................................................ 32
1urb|ne Cas|ng Draw|ngs: ....................................................................................................................... 32


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0378_001: Ceneral ArrangemenL urawlng ................................................................................................ 32
0378_002A: lan urawlng A ...................................................................................................................... 32
0378_0028: lan urawlng 8 ....................................................................................................................... 32
0378_003A: LlevaLlon urawlng A ............................................................................................................... 32
0378_0038: LlevaLlon urawlng 8 ............................................................................................................... 32
0378_004: SecLlon urawlng ....................................................................................................................... 32
0378_003: Swan ArrangemenL .................................................................................................................. 32
0378_006: klosk lumblng ArrangemenL .................................................................................................. 32
e|ton 1urb|ne Draw|ngs: ...................................................................................................................... 32
0378_007: 8earlng Pouslng ManufacLurlng urawlng ................................................................................ 32
0378_008: 8unner laLes ManufacLurlng urawlng .................................................................................... 32
0378_009: ShafL ManufacLurlng urawlng .................................................................................................. 32
0378_010: Shoulder 8lock/Spacer 8lock ManufacLurlng urawlng ............................................................ 32
0378_011: elLon Cup Machlne urawlng .................................................................................................. 32
0378_012: 1urblne Craphlcs ...................................................................................................................... 32
Append|x 8 - Manufactur|ng Contracts ........................................................................................ 33
1urb|ne cas|ng contract s|gned between e.qu|nox and kenewab|e Lnergy Company .............................. 33
r|ce break down sheet for turb|ne cas|ng s|gned between e.qu|nox and kenewab|e Lnergy Company . 33
ALNDIk C - Cost 8reakdown .................................................................................................... 34
L.qu|nox 1urb|ne 1emporary Support Structure I|nances ....................................................................... 34
L.qu|nox e|ton 1urb|ne I|nances .......................................................................................................... 34
L.qu|nox 1urb|ne Cas|ng I|nances .......................................................................................................... 34
Append|x D - Des|gn Ca|cu|at|ons ................................................................................................ 3S
e|ton 1urb|ne Des|gn Ca|cu|at|ons ........................................................................................................ 3S
8eam Ana|ys|s kesu|ts ........................................................................................................................... 3S




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Document Control Sheet
Project: E.quinox Hydro Project
Report Title: Design and Construction of a 10KW Hydroelectric Pelton Turbine
Date: 1
st
September 2013
Project Code: 0578



Name Date
Prepared by:
Evan Lawson
1
st
September
2013
Reviewed by:
Matthew Wood 6
th
October 2013
Approved by:
Rushabh Mehta 6
th
October 2013

Revision Date Description Prepared Reviewed Approved
Evan
Lawson
5
th

October
2013
Corrections and revisions EL MW RM














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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
E.quinoxs ambitions as an organisation to develop a hydro system with a low cost self built Pelton turbine
and casing stem back as far as 2009 during the inception of the organisation. Only in the summer of 2013
were these ambitions fully realised. After a year of design and manufacturing work an in-house low cost
Pelton turbine was manufactured and assembled at Imperial College London by a group of E.quinox
mechanical and civil engineers.
During the summer expedition of 2013 the turbine system was transported to Rwanda where it was installed
at the E.quinox Rugaragara falls hydro station for testing purposes. Whilst on the ground an extensive
period of turbine casing design was undertaken. The Renewable Energy Company (REC), a subsidiary of
Sonatubes Kigali, were contracted to manufacture the casing due to their previous experience with such
work and designs. After collaboration and communication of the design via a series of technical
manufacturing drawings, REC were able to deliver a finished casing with two weeks.
Delivery of the casing and turbine to site followed, with a period of installation and testing programmes.
Electrical installation of an asynchronous alternator and dump load was also performed in order to regulate
the turbine speed and measure the system electrical output.
Evaluation of the whole system has concluded in many positives coming from the overall design ethos of the
project. However likewise many recommendations for design changes and improvements have also been
noted and discussed here in detail. These design recommendations should be considered for the E.quinox
summer expedition 2014 with an envisaged aim to fully commission the system.




















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1 BACKGROUND
Since e.quinoxs early history the idea of developing a pico hydro-electric power system has been high on
the organisations agenda. Accompanying these plans were proposals to mechanically engineer a turbine
system in order to generate power from the hydro plant. In 2013 these ambitious goals were finally realised
with the design and construction of a 10KW Pelton turbine. The following is a brief breakdown of the
organisations historical involvement with turbine development as well as its shortcomings before finally
constructing a Pelton turbine prototype.
During the e.quinox summer expedition of 2011, the then executive committee had ambitions to exploit a
site for hydropower development following a similar model to that of the solar energy kiosks already
installed in Rwanda. Such an infrastructure intensive project could not be handled by e.quinox alone and so
the committee sought a partnership with DHE (Dartmouth Humanitarian Engineering), a US based student
organisation with aims aligned with e.quinox vision. In that same year DHE had finished construction of
their second pico hydro-electric system in Banda, Nyungwe, Southern Province, both of which with a
capacity sub 1KW. One of the Banda sites was in 2011 upgraded with a Pelton turbine (figure 2) designed
and built by DHE in America, the turbine was shipped to Rwanda within travellers baggage allowance and
the casing was developed in country. This was e.quinoxs first exposure to a self-manufactured turbine. The
turbine previously operating at that site was an unconventional device made in Rwanda, whereby the
turbine cups (arguably the most difficult to manufacture) were created from steel tubing cut in half and
welded together (figure 1).

Figure 1: DHE Early prototype turbine after one-year
service, cups formed from middle cut steel tube.


Figure 2: DHE Pelton turbine prototype after installation
with inlet valve, mechanical deflector, shaft and three
stage pulley.

During 2011 and 2012 design and planning work commenced for e.quinox and DHEs collaborative 6KW
hydro-electric power system at the Rugaragara falls in Southern Province. Early design calculations
suggested that the proposed system tapped a potential 6KW of electrical power from the river in dry
weather flow conditions. Over the course of the design phase many options were evaluated for both
turbines and electrical generator devices. Principally a choice was necessary between Pelton and cross-flow
turbines. A Pelton turbine design was chosen due to its improved efficiency in high head, high flow
situations characteristic of the site in question, despite the Pelton design being more complicated to
manufacture. Unfortunately, after exploring several avenues for the manufacture of a Pelton turbine, it
was decided that ultimately no 6KW capacity turbine would be installed during construction of the hydro
system in 2012. As a reliable alternative, it was decided that the DHE contingent would purchase a Stream
Engine Turgo turbine with combined induction generator. These compact units are manufactured in Canada


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by an external company (http://www.microhydropower.com/); the unit was shipped to Rwanda in
travellers additional baggage allowance. Despite the unit being undersized for the full potential of the
site, an identical unit had run flawlessly at DHEs Banda site for over one year and was considered a credible
alternative. The 1KW capacity was also plenty to run a battery charging scheme of 120+ battery boxes as
was intended for the site. The stream engine was installed with the intention of being able to install a
larger capacity turbine at a future date, this included; additional plumbing outlets, oversized tailrace, and
additional space in the powerhouse.

Figure 3: Rugaragara falls hydro site, installed stream engine with one nozzle input. Note space and additional
plumbing allowed for future Pelton turbine installation.

Despite no turbine of 6KW capacity being installed during 2012, it has already been discussed that
significant efforts had been made in that direction during the build up to the 2012 expedition. In
September 2011 a mechanical engineering project was started within e.quinox to design and manufacture
our own Pelton turbine. Two 2nd year mechanical engineering students took up the project, fresh recruits
to the e.quinox hydro team. Initially design work progressed well, however significant problems were
encountered during manufacture. Due to a combination of lack of experience and a lack of time the project
was never realised. The design was for a cantilevered shaft with a double set of bearings on the left side of
the shaft and the turbine unit on the right. Later it was discovered that overall the turbine and shaft were
undersized, and in reality the cantilevered shaft design was unnecessarily complicated. The shaft and part
of the bearing housings were the only parts to be manufactured. Only months before the expedition was
due to depart it was decided to put the Pelton turbine project on hold and explore other options. We
immediately contacted a company based in Cornwall named Evans Engineering (http://www.evans-
engineering.co.uk) about the potential for having them build a 6KW Pelton turbine, casing, and inlet with
two spear control valves. There were several issues associated with this plan, firstly due to the restricted
time frame and the companies busy order books it was not possible to turn something around in the
allotted time, secondly the added logistics of shipping a very heavy and very large mechanical unit to
Rwanda needed to be considered. Evans Engineering were able to offer us a 10KW Pelton system that was
stored at their workshops but had a single broken stainless steel cup. The total quoted cost for this unit,
including casing and spear valves was 13,000. This was largely in excess of our budget (3000) and did not
incorporate the costs of shipping such a large volume and heavy unit to Rwanda. Appropriately, this line of
enquiry was terminated.
Following our failed attempts to manufacture or buy a Pelton turbine system in the UK our attention
switched to having a system manufactured in Rwanda. During a previous surveying expedition in January
2012, e.quinox team members had been informed of a location to purchase high pressure PVC pipe stock
named Sonatubes. Coincidentally whilst meeting the manager there, discussion was struck about a separate


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business he was running named the Renewable Energy Company, through which hydro turbines were being
manufactured at the Sonatubes factory. No evidence of the quality of manufactured machines was
obtained. During our purchase of PVC penstock piping upon our return to Rwanda in the summer of 2012 a
meeting was arranged between e.quinox, DHE, Fidele Claude (Sonatubes Manager), and Eugene Walliaula
(Workshop Manager). It was agreed that a Pelton turbine could be produced, as well as a casing and two
spear valves for flow control. The design of the machine and unit was discussed but mostly left up to the
workshop manager Eugene who had allegedly produced these machines before. The total cost for the
machine was quoted at 3000 (converted from RWF). Unfortunately due to major delays in the
manufacture, poor communication and poor manufacturing quality the agreement was cancelled. Many
lessons were learnt from this experience, a non-exhaustive list follows. Ability to manufacture stainless
steel Pelton cups in East Africa is poor and limited, even in Kenya where Eugene attempted to have them
milled from bronze. A more viable alternative is to have these investment cast in the UK. Firm contracts
need to be created between e.quinox and the supplier, highlighting; expected manufacturing completion
dates, expected manufacturing tolerances and finished, penalty clauses, expected safe working practices
and communication procedures. The biggest mistake made in 2012 was the lack of a binding contract.
Lastly a full set of working drawings with exact specifications and dimensions should be given. Allowing the
manufacturer free reign over the design is not appropriate, especially if your machine needs to meet
certain design standards, providing high quality manufacturing drawings avoids any ambiguity. We later
revisited Eugene at Sonatubes in January 2013 and discovered the extent of manufacturing that had
actually been completed (figure 4 and 5). Whilst the work appeared to be heading in an appropriate
direction, both the time frames and manufacturing quality achieved was not workable within our budget
and schedule.

Figure 4: Steel turbine casing manufactured by
Sonatubes in 2012.


Figure 5: Bronze Pelton cup prototypes manufacutred
by Sonatubes in Nairobi, Kenya.


The many lessons learnt over the two previous years had culminated in a vast array of organisational
knowledge pertaining to the ups and downs of producing Pelton turbine machines. With that in mind, in
September 2012, after successfully installing e.quinox first ever hydropower system, a fresh attempt was
made at producing a turbine in the UK. A group of six mechanical engineers were enrolled to the project,
and worked from concept design through to manufacturing completion. The following report is a technical
discussion on the successful design and construction of a 10KW Pelton turbine for installation at the
Rugaragara falls hydropower system in rural Rwanda. It is intended as a guide for those intending to embark
upon a similar project, but is not a comprehensive design for a Pelton turbine because each must be
specifically tailored to the particular characteristics of the site at which it is to be installed.


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Figure 6: E.quinox Pelton turbine prototype during casing manufacture and before installation of stainless steel
cups.

2 TEAM MEMBERS
The following Imperial College e.quinox team members were involved with the inception, design and
construction of the Pelton turbine project.
Matthew Wood (MEng) Civil and Environmental Engineering E.quinox Alumni and Technical Development
Head 2012- 2013. Matthew helped manage the design and manufacturing team to realise the aims of the
project both in the UK and Rwanda.
Joakim Scharp Civil and Environmental Engineering E.quinox Hydro Project Leader 2013 2014. Joakim
helped manage the design and manufacturing team to realise the aims of the project both in the UK and
Rwanda.
Finlay Mcphail (MEng) Civil and Environmental Engineering E.quinox Alumni and Hydro Project Leader
2012 - 2013. Finlay helped manage the design and manufacturing team to realise the aims of the project
both in the UK and Rwanda.
Evan Lawson Mechanical Engineering Evan led the majority of design as well as mechanical installation
work in Rwanda and the UK. He was also responsible for a large part of the shaft and spacer manufacturing
as well as final assembly. Evan also designed the entire power transmission system.
Rebecca Telford Mechanical Engineering Rebecca contributed largely to the design of the casing whilst in
Rwanda, as well as the design of the Pelton turbine in the UK. Rebecca also contributed much to the design
and manufacture of the Pelton turbine especially the bearing housing.
Laura SanMiguel Gimeno Mechanical Engineering Laura especially contributed to the early stage design
and calculations as well as making significant contributions to the manufacture of the Pelton turbine in the
UK.
Dmitri Ivanov Mechanical Engineering Dmitri was fundamental to the early stage design and calculations
involved in the turbine project. Later he went on to contribute much to design revisions, CAD work and the
manufacturing of shoulder and internal spacers.


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Avtar Rekhi Mechanical Engineering Avtar contributed significantly to early stage design and
manufacturing work.
3 MECHANICAL DESIGN
3.1 Initial Design Review
To start the initial design phase, calculations were conducted to size the turbine and jets for the system.
The engineering theory behind these was taken from the Micro Hydro Design manual. Based on the
properties of the stream flow and net head, it was possible to calculate the optimal diameter for the
runner plate and diameter of the jet nozzles. It was also important to select the correct number of jets and
the number of Pelton cups on the turbine; achieved using the same design calculations. Due to the changes
in flow during the wet and dry seasons, the efficiency of the system was calculated for varying stream
flows, to ensure the system would work as intended throughout the year. Appendix D gives details of the
calculations and the resulting design parameters used to size the turbine.
During the early stages of the project, after the appropriate turbine system parameters had been
calculated, it was important for the team to brainstorm different mechanical design iterations before
choosing the final form factor. Several critical decisions were made during this phase that led to the final
design; these are discussed and justified below.
In previous years a cantilevered turbine had been investigated and prototyped. Immediately this was ruled
out due to the extra manufacturing complication it produces. Furthermore comparing a cantilevered system
with a simply supported system shows that the former requires much larger shaft diameters to
accommodate the increased forces and moments. The knock on effect is to require larger bearings. The
increase in cost of both materials and bearings is not proportional to the size, with larger parts costing
exponentially more. For these reasons a simply supported beam system was chosen.


Figure 7: Early complex design idea involving use of a catalogue shaft bolt to lock turbine against a shoulder.



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The difficult design problems are the need to axially and rotationally fix the runner plate onto the shaft.
Rotational restraint is traditionally provided by an industry standard keyway, this was instantly recognised
as the appropriate solution for our design. More difficult is the problem of axial restraint. We developed
many different solutions each having a range of complexities and manufacturing issues. These included the
use of circlips and grub screws as well as catalogue locking shaft nuts. Finally the solution as described
below was chosen in which a shoulder is manufactured in the shaft around which spacers can be made to
bolt the turbine around the shoulder.
Lastly a method of restraining the shaft axially between the bearings was required. Again although options
were considered, by far the easiest way to achieve this is by machining a step down shoulder in either end
of the shaft. Bearings then abut these shoulders and the correct positioning of the bearing housings restrain
the shaft axially between the bearings.
3.2 Beam Calculations
The stresses developed in the turbine by self-weight as well as the design action of jet impact pressures
may be fully evaluated by calculation. Many aspects are very complex to derive meaningful solutions by
hand unless significant simplifications are made. For example the stresses developed in the runner plates
are best modelled using finite element analysis. There is a dynamic element to the loading also as alternate
cups are loaded causing the turbine to subsequently spin at large RPMs.
One of the more basic calculations to consider is the forces and moments developed in the shaft due to it
being simply supported between two bearing blocks and then cantilevered beyond the bearings. An
idealisation of the system is given in the sketch below (Figure 8).

Figure 8: Idealization of turbine as a simply supported beam system.

The turbine is idealised as a simply supported beam of length L
1
with cantilevered length L
2
. The weight of
the turbine itself is modelled as a load P
1
, the load due to the tension force imparted by the belt is
modelled as P
2.
A UDL w represents the self-weight of the shaft, theoretically this is not a uniform load, but
for simplification it is assumed that the variation is marginal and a load corresponding to an aluminium
shaft of 30mm diameter is used. The dynamic loads are ignored here as it is considered that if the turbine
is properly balanced then no dynamic loads are present. Note also that the beam is not rotationally
restrained along its longitudinal axis (along the shaft); hence the moment that would be introduced due to


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the jet hitting a cup at an eccentricity from the shaft is not present. Theoretically some frictional
resistance would cause a moment to be induced but this is considered negligible. The aim then is to check
that the design stresses developed in the beam do not exceed the material factors of safety for the
aluminium shaft. From this a minimum design diameter for the shaft is calculated as 21.8mm. Refer to
Appendix D for full calculations and load derivations.
3.3 Bearing Selection
The method used for selecting bearings follows that laid out by the hydro design manual. Firstly the bearing
type chosen was a deep groove ball bearing, as they can take a relatively high axial and radial load. Sealed
bearings were chosen in order for them to be suitable for the damp environment of the kiosk. It was then
decided that the bearings should last for 1 year of constant use at 500rpm. Using equation (1), and then
applying a safety factor of 10 to account for the environmental effects, we calculated the required static
and dynamic load requirements. The next step was to select a bearing with an inner race that would
accommodate the shaft diameter and shoulder step.
Table 1: Bearing parameters (Data Sheet: http:]]uk.rs-on||ne.com]web]p]ba||-bear|ngs]4088414])
Parameter Value
Bearing Type Deep Groove
Bore Type Parallel
Cage Material Steel
Dynamic Load Rating 20.6 (KN)
End Type Sealed
Inside Diameter 25 (mm)
Maximum Speed - Grease 8000 (RPM)
Maximum Speed - Oil 13,000 (RPM)
Number of Rows 1
Outside Diameter 62 (mm)
Race Type Plain
Race Width 17 (mm)
Static Load Rating 11.2 (KN)

L
10
=
C
P
!
"
#
$
%
&
10
3
B
n
!
"
#
$
%
&

(1)
Where: L
10:
Is the bearing life in hours
C: Is the radial rating of the bearings in N
P: Is the dynamic equivalent radial load applied to the bearing
B: is 10
6
/60
n: is the rotation speed in rev/min


4 MANUFACTURING
The following section describes the manufacturing procedure for each of the components within the Pelton
turbine. CAD graphics of each of the components can be viewed in Appendix A Drawing 0578_012. For
manufacturing of the turbine casing see section 8.
4.1 Turbine Shoulder Blocks


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The shoulder Block is a set of three components designed to maintain the axial and rotational location of
the runner wheels and the Pelton cups. The shoulder flange fits over the shoulder on the shaft and fixes the
runner plates to the other two components of the shoulder block via eight M6 bolts. For manufacturing
drawings of the three components see Appendix A drawing 0578_010.
The shoulder flange was manufactured from an 80 mm diameter aluminium cylinder that was cut down to
40 mm length. A 30 mm diameter hole was drilled through the centre of the block, then the centre of the
block was bored out to a diameter of 50mm and a depth of 20 mm to make it flush with the shoulder on the
shaft. Finally, 8 M6 holes were drilled into the spacer at 45-degree intervals, with a centre distance of
32.50mm away from the centre of the spacer.
The second spacer was also manufactured from a 80mm diameter, 40mm long aluminium cylinder. A 30 mm
hole was drilled trough the centre of the block, and 8 M6 holes were drilled unto the block as in the
shoulder flange. A keyway 3.30mm deep was cut into the flange in accordance with British standard keyway
manufacturing practises and dimensions. Care was taken to ensure that the keyway had the same angular
orientation as the M6 holes, to ensure that the keyways and the holes on the second and third spacers line
up correctly.
The third spacer was manufactured in the exact same manner as the second one, except that the length of
the space is smaller at 20 mm instead of 40mm.
4.2 Turbine Spacers
Eight internal spacers were cut from a 50mm aluminium bar of 20 mm diameter. Oversized spacers
(approximately 43mm long) were cut from the bar using a band saw, before the spacers were trimmed
down to size on a lathe and an M8 clearance hole was drilled through the block. This process was repeated
on each of the eight spacers. The spacers were designed to add rigidity and stiffness to the mid section of
the turbines runner plates.
4.3 Turbine Shaft
The turbine shaft was manufactured from a 50 mm diameter, 550mm long aluminium round bar. The shaft
was turned down to a length of 546mm and then the cuts were made as shown in Appendix A drawing
0578_009. Care was taken to ensure that the cuts on each side of the central shoulder were completed in a
single session to ensure the concentricity of the shaft. In addition, to prevent the shaft from bending under
its own weight during turning, the shaft needed to be supported at both ends. To accomplish this, a small

Figure 9: Turbine shoulder block and spacers (From left to right: Shoulder Block, Runner plate, Internal spacer,
runner plate, external spacer, Note yellow blocks are bearings.)



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pilot hole was drilled into both ends of the shaft, to provide purchase for a rolling support.
4.4 Turbine Runner Plates
The runner plates (Appendix A Drawing 0578_007) pose an interesting manufacturing challenge due to the
necessity to achieve an exactly circular plate with a multitude of accurately located clearance holes. The
consequences being that an off-circular plate would not balance correctly, and any hole misalignments
would create assembly problems. A Solidworks 3D model of the runner plate was first created in order to
accurately locate all of the component holes. Before producing the plates in aluminium, an acrylic
prototype was made using a 3-axis CNC machine at the Imperial College Ideas Laboratory. To do this a .stl
file was produced from the 3D model, square sheets of acrylic with sides measuring 10mm greater than the
diameter of the runners were placed in the CNC machine to produce the prototypes. The objective of
prototyping in acrylic is to check the accuracy of the CAD model and identify any design short falls before
manufacturing the final product from aluminium.
The aluminium runner plates were finally produced using a 2-axis CNC laser-cutting machine within the
department of mechanical engineering at Imperial College London. In order to achieve this a .dxf file was
generated from the 3D model and provided to the technicians along with a large sheet of laser grade
aluminium. The sheet, measuring 1.5m x 2.5m, was of a size the machine could accommodate whilst still
providing enough material to produce four plates in one cutting session. Laser grade aluminium is no
different to standard grade aluminium in its makeup, except the former is coated in a protective film that
does not reflect the laser cutter and does not melt onto the metal sheet. Four runner plates were produced
from 3mm thick aluminium, two of which will be used in service and the other two used as spares. Note
that the thickest material that can be processed on the laser cutter is 3mm. The laser cutting process was
complete in approximately 1hour and 30 minutes. However at least one week should be allowed in the
programme schedule to account for technician and machine availability.
Several other options were considered for manufacture before finally choosing laser cutting. Conventional
CNC was considered using the facilities within the mechanical engineering departments teaching workshop.
However the diameter of runner required was outside the working range of the machines. Use of an
indexing head on a milling machine was also considered but considered to be too time consuming and
overly complicated. Furthermore locating the multitude of clearance holes for components by hand would
have been time consuming, as well as less accurate than an automated approach.
Anybody wishing to employ the services of the plastics CNC machine should contact:
Ingrid Logan Ideas Lab Head Technician i.logan@imperial.ac.uk

Anybody wishing to employ the services of the laser cutting CNC machine should contact:
Graham Gosling Head of Mechanical Engineering
Laboratory Facilities
g.gosling@imperial.ac.uk
Paul Woodward Mechanical Engineering
Technician
p.woodward@imperial.ac.uk

4.5 Turbine Bearing Housing
Two bearing housings were manufactured to support the turbine shaft and constrain the bearings (See
Drawing 0578_007 in Appendix A). These were manufactured out of two aluminium blocks, of dimensions
100 x 128 x 51 mm. The large size of these blocks meant that they could not be sourced through the
conventional route of Imperial College, Mechanical Engineering Stores. Instead they were purchased online
(www.aluminiumwarehouse.co.uk). The bearing housings had to be secured to the turbine casing, and were
designed to rest on steel angle welded to the side of the casing. To secure the housings holes were drilled
through the entire block of material, so that they could be bolted to the casing. A hole was initially drilled


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through the centre of the block. This was then bored out to a diameter slightly larger than the end of the
turbine shaft. This allowed the shaft to be slotted into both of the bearing housings. This hole was then
enlarged to the diameter of the bearing, but only to a depth of 27mm. The advantage of this was that it
constrained the bearings axially in one direction and the shoulders on the shaft constrained them in the
other. An initial design idea was to then cut the bearing-housing block in half to allow easier assembly of
the turbine. This was later rejected as it was considered that cutting the bearing housing in half would
inevitably lead to bearing misalignment problems, ultimately leading to a reduction in bearing life.
4.6 Temporary Support Stands
In order to accommodate the testing of the manufactured turbine it was necessary to have a stand to
secure the turbine to. This stand was also designed with the aim of developing into a future turbine testing
rig system.
The priority in the design was to create something that was easy to manufacture, but was robust and heavy
to act as resistance to any water jet impulses that may be used to spin the turbine. With this in mind we
approached the civil engineering structures laboratory at Imperial College London to source materials and
get advice on a design. Kindly the technicians were able to donate to us three offcuts of steel I section
beam designated as UKC-152. Two stands were constructed in total. Each stand (figure 10) comprised of a
bottom horizontal I-section member with an I-section located at the midpoint and welded vertically to the
top flange. A steel capping plate was then welded onto the end of the vertical I-section. Lastly holes were
drilled in the bottom flange of the horizontal members to allow it to be secured to a base.

Figure 10: Turbine temporary support stands before drilling of top holes to receive turbine housing



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Figure 11: Fully assembled turbine test unit with support stands, induction generator, turbine cover and ELC
housing.

As well as having two secure stands on which to test the turbine, it was also envisaged that the whole
system would be contained on a self-contained rig (figure 11). Although not completely finished the rig that
was built consists of a sturdy wooden base frame on which the steel stands are bolted. The wooden base is
framed internally for strength, and has detachable wheels to allow it to be transported easily. Between the
two steel stands is an opening in the wooden frame in order to allow water to egress. To the side of the
steel stands and turbine an induction generator is bolted to the wooden frame as well as a housing for an
Electronic Load Controller (ELC). Between the steel stands is a precisely made clear acrylic box. It is
envisaged that this box will be used to contain the turbine and the water jets used to power the turbine.
The transparent nature of the box allows for easy observation of the behaviour of the turbine.
The rig has not yet been finished and requires further development of the transparent acrylic box as well
mounting of the jet nozzles. Experience taken from the development of the real casing (section 7) in
Rwanda should also be noted so as to not make similar mistakes when developing this rig in the UK.
4.7 Temporary Resin Pelton Cups
Early on in the design phase it was decided that a set of prototype cups were necessary for testing and in
order to guide further design. However the manufacturing of Pelton cups due to their intricacy is extremely
difficult and expensive, particularly when multiple cups must be manufactured from stainless steel. To this
extent it was decided instead to cast a complete set of prototype cups from resin. Resin was chosen
because of its ductile properties and its ability to easily absorb and dissipate energy from an impact such as
that of a high power water jet.
However before resin casting of the prototype cups could commence, the difficulty still remained that we
did not have a master copy with which to make a mould from. To this extent we had two prototype Pelton
cups produced (figure 12) on a 3D printer owned by the Imperial College Robotics Society. The CAD design
for the cup itself was found on an open source 3D printer models website (www.thingiverse.com) and found
to be of a suitable size for our design. Two cups were produced in total, one with a slightly finer internal
mesh structure that proved to be of a much stronger and finer design. Nevertheless before the printed


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master copies could be used to produce moulds they were covered in wax in order to smooth out any
anomalies left as residue from the 3D printing.
The moulds and resin cups were manufactured at the Imperial College Ideas laboratory where specialist
equipment for mixing and pouring resin and silicon is available. Much of the following described
manufacturing was undertaken under the supervision and advice of the laboratory technician, Ingrid Logan,
who has extensive experience working with resins and plastics. Firstly a small MDF formwork was created to
contain the master models and pour silicon around. Three screws were drilled through the bottom of the
formwork upon which the flat base of the Pelton cup was attached using super glue. A silicon mix was then
produced in a centrifuge by mixing silicon with a hardening agent (mixing in a centrifuge eliminates any air
bubbles). This mix was poured around the master cup until fully covered whilst allowing around 25mm of
silicon above the model. The silicon was left to cure for 24 hours. Once cured the MDF formwork was
removed and the screws removed from the base using a cordless drill. In order to remove the master cup
whilst retaining the mould for future use a sharp knife was used to cut a wavy pattern through the mould to
the cup. The mould was cut on three out of four sides, the last side being left as a sort of hinge. Note that
the cutting of the mould and removal of the printed cup is a time consuming process. Lastly two holes were
drilled into the mould across the shoulder section. One hole would later be used to inject resin and a
second hole would be used to allow the egress of air. Two silicon moulds were made in order to speed up
the process of producing prototype cups.
Once the moulds were complete a resin was mixed, again in a centrifuge, by combining resin with a
hardening agent. Much smaller quantities are required than that of the silicon for the mould. The resin is
then injected into one of the holes previously drilled into the mould. On the first attempt it was found that
resin was seeping out through the gap in the middle of the mould. To solve this problem the moulds were
tightly wrapped in Clingfilm. Initially the amount of hardener agent used was insufficient as prototype cups
came out particularly malleable and soft. The ratios were changed as well as switching to a faster setting-
hardening agent in order to speed up the manufacturing process.
The quality of the cups produced was largely mixed. Many were of sufficient quality but required some
touching up with a patching resin mix. All required a small amount of machining in order to remove some
surplus resin material. Overall the shoulder end of the cups was produced very well due to its blocky
nature, however the thinner top end of the cups where the arms come round to the front opening was
produced more poorly. Generally this occurred because air would easily get trapped at the tips of these
arms. In the future placing air holes above both of these locations would be recommended.
In total 20 resin prototype cups were made. Holes in the shoulders to attach the cups to the runner plates
were drilled using an HSS drill bit after casting. Drilling in this resin material should be carried out using a
drill at a low speed and low torque. Anybody wishing to produce silicon moulds and resin prototypes should
contact Ingrid Logan (details above).

Figure 12: 3D printed Pelton cup with applied yellow wax and seated on screws within mould formwork.



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Figure 13: Silicon mould with visible Pelton cup silhouette and curved cut for mould release.

4.8 Stainless Steel Pelton Cups
Following the success of the resin cast cups it was decided to have the Pelton cups manufactured in
stainless steel (figure 14). After seeking the advice of several of the mechanical engineering technicians it
was decided that the preferred process was investment casting (also referred to as lost wax casting).
However Imperial College has no facility for any form of metal casting. As such the work was outsourced to
a company in Devon named Investacast (http://www.investacast.com), which had previous experience with
producing Pelton cups.
There are several stages to this complicated process all of which are explained in detail on the Investacast
website (see above) with video explanations. Of particular note is that once the company have made the
master pattern or tooling from the prototype we sent, that tooling is kept and can be used again in the
future. This seriously reduces the cost of any future Pelton cups that wish to be made as the production of
a tooling represents around 50% of the cost of the initial cups.
Despite being very happy with the quality of the casting work produced by Investacast ltd, we were
disappointed with the timeliness and quality of service given to us, especially considering the large cost of
the items. Communication with Chris Buckland at Investacast was slow and often-required chase up phone
calls by us. The delivery of the items was also five weeks late despite constant promises from Investacast
that they were on schedule.
Anybody looking to employee the services of an investment casting company should contact:
Chris Buckland Costing Engineer at Investacast
Ltd (Ilfracombe Devon)
ChrisBuckland@investacast.com
+44(0)1271 866200


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Figure 14: Stainless steel Pelton cups before tidying and shoulder hole machining.

5 MATERIALS
In the selection of an appropriate material for the construction of the Pelton wheel turbine, the two main
material properties required are corrosion resistance and high load bearing capabilities. Although stainless
steel is perhaps the most attractive option for this application, it is among the most difficult materials to
work and manufacture, making it very costly and time consuming to produce turbine parts from.
Consequently, aluminium was chosen to build the main body of the turbine due to its resistance to
corrosion, cheap cost and suitable structural properties. Its forgiving nature and ease of manufacturing
made it an ideal material to construct the organisations first turbine from. Ideally for long term
deployment the aluminium would be anodised to improve its corrosion resistant properties. The Pelton cups
were made from stainless steel, as described in section 4.8 due to it being of a comparable cost to
aluminium when casting.
6 TRANSMISSION SYSTEM
Once the turbine design had been finalised, a method of linking the Pelton wheel to the alternator needed
to be developed. The transmission systems investigated were gear trains, pulleys and clutches, but a pulley
system was settled upon due to its flexibility, simplicity and greater tolerance allowances. Furthermore
pulley transmission systems were known to be available in Rwanda should replacements or repairs be
necessary to source in country.
The design rationale for the transmission system of our turbine follows the guidelines set out by The Micro
Hydro Design Manual.


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6.1 Preliminary Design Requirements
The transmission system needed to fulfil several design criteria. Primarily It needed to step up the rotation
speed of the system from 500 rpm to 1500 rpm. The reason for stepping the rotational speed up to 1500
rpm is such that the four-pole alternator machine employed would be able to generate 50hz AC when
spinning around 1500 rpm. As the turbine was designed to spin at only 500 rpm it was necessary to step the
system up using different pulley diameters. The estimated power output of the system was to be 10KW as
per the turbine design. The alternator had not yet been sourced at this point and so a certain degree of
flexibility was required in the transmission design so as to allow for a range of diameters.
6.2 Design Rationale
From the Power and the speed ratio, we can calculate the approximate torque that the generator shaft will
undergo, which is approximately 60Nm. From this, we could then calculate the minimum Pitch circle
Diameter (PCD) for the small (alternator side) pulley: 95mm. This means that the turbine side pulley will
have approximately a 300mm PCD.
From the turbine power, we can estimate the design power of our belts; they would have to be
conservatively rated for approximately 15KW. In addition, from this power rating and the maximum pulley
speed of 1500 rpm, we could determine that an SPC or SPB cross section for the belt would be suitable for
our transmission train.
It should be noted that the actual pulley is in fact comprised of two separate components: the actual
pulley, and a taper lock bush that lies directly on the shaft. This removes the need to provide axial location
for the pulleys, but requires the sourcing of two separate parts. The taper lock bush provides an industry
standard friction fit through the use of a slotted cut in the bush construction (figure 15) as well as the
installation of two grub screws. Two grub screw slots are located either side of the slit in the bush,
tightening the grub screws has a two fold affect, firstly it compresses the bush onto the axle creating a
friction fit, secondly it secures the taper lock bush component to the surrounding pulley. Conveniently a
third grub screw location is provided, tightening the grub screw here releases the taper lock bush for ease
of disassembly. There are different ISO series of taper lock bush, each of which have the same outer
diameter but have a range of different inner diameters to suit different axles. Make sure to match the
inner diameter to the axle size and the outer diameter (or the series number) to the appropriate pulley.
Note that although a friction fit is produced to axially restrain the pulley, a key is still required for
rotational restraint.

Figure 15: Taper lock bush being installed in a pulley.




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6.3 Pulley Selection
The pulleys taper lock bush and belts were initially sourced in the UK because the team were unsure as to
the availability of various and specific diameters of pulleys in Rwanda. The alternator shaft diameter was
initially unknown and so this was sourced in the UK later. However, the convenience comes depending on
what ISO standardised size is chosen, the taper lock may have varying diameters but will fit the same OD
pulley. Size ISO 1600 bushes come with inner bore diameters ranging from 14 to 42 mm, meaning that they
should be able to fit the shafts of most alternators we will come across. A pulley of size 1600 and PCD
95mm was chosen, and the corresponding taper was to be selected later after the generator was sourced.
All pulleys and taper lock bushes were sourced online in the UK from www.bearingboys.co.uk. They were
then transported to Rwanda in expedition members luggage.
For the pulley on the turbine side, the PCD must be 285 mm, which requires a 2012 size taper lock bush.
The bush must also have an ID of 25mm. A summary of components is given in table 2:
Table 2: Turbine transmission system components list
Item Designation Inner Bore
Diameter
(mm)
Outer
Diameter
(mm)
Source
Turbine
Pulley
SPB300/1 V - 305.5 www.bearingboys.co.uk

Alternator
Pulley
SPB100/1 V - 105 www.bearingboys.co.uk

Turbine Taper
Lock Bush
2012_25 25 - www.bearingboys.co.uk

Alternator
Taper Lock
Bush
1610_42 42 - RS Components

6.4 Tensioning Methods
When the system is set up, a method of tensioning the belt must be implemented, to prevent the belt from
damaging itself while in use. Two options are available: Slide rails and jockeys. Slide rails were chosen due
to their simplicity and ease of manufacture on site. This was achieved using two steel channel sections with
a rebate in the top flange to allow alternator bolts to slide along the length of the channel. A few belts
were initially sourced in the UK, these were B section v groove belts to match the purchased pulleys. An
initial inside diameter of 1524 mm was chosen but this proved too small for the final as built design.
Instead we sourced longer belts in Kigali, these are available in abundance due to their application in the
automotive and agricultural machinery industries.
6.5 Implementation
6.5.1 Methodology
Firstly the alternator was sourced in order to determine the alternator shaft diameter (42mm). Once the
shaft diameter was sent back to London, a taper lock bush was sourced form RS components and then sent
to Rwanda via DHL. The transmission system was then assembled as described above. To prevent injury to
the operators, a grille was erected around the transmission system (figure 16) to prevent contact with any
moving components. The grille was constructed from flat sheets of stiff steel grillage material. It was bent
and cut into the appropriate shape to form a cover over all moving components. It was then bolted onto the
turbine casing at its topside, and its bottom was drilled and screwed onto the concrete upstand.
6.5.2 Problems Encountered on the Ground
The casing design was largely unknown before leaving the UK, hence it was unknown what centre to centre
distance would be installed between turbine shaft and alternator shaft. The belts initially bought were too


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short but new belts were sourced in Kigali relatively easily. Furthermore the taperlock bush on the turbine
was initially slightly too lose due to manufacturing tolerances, this was later remedied by placing the
keyway. Lastly the taper lock bush on the generator side was not robust enough and fractured. Fortunately
the pulley could still be attached to the generator due to its operation in compression.

Figure 16: Turbine casing with grating around transmission system

7 TURBINE CASING
7.1 Casing Design
A casing was designed in order to house the turbine during operation. This served several purposes,
including: supporting the turbine and alternator; protecting people from moving parts and high-pressure
jets; and restricting spray from the turbine. The casing was composed of three components a base plate, a
top casing and a bottom casing. The base plate was manufactured from 8mm thick plate steel and the rest
of the casing from 5mm thick plate steel. The base plate supported the rest of the casing, and has runners
made from rolled steel channel section to allow the alternator to be laterally. The ability of the alternator
to slide relative to the casing meant the transmission belt between it and the turbine could be correctly
tensioned. A hole in the base above where the turbine was situated was also cut in the plate, to allow the
water to flush into the tailrace and exit the kiosk. The main body of the casing had to be designed in two
parts, due to the configuration of the bearing housings and turbine shaft such that the turbine could be
more easily assembled in situ. Steel angle was welded around the perimeter of the two casing halves to
allow them to be bolted together and also bolted to the base plate. Two holes were cut in the casing for
installation of the spear valves and nozzle jets. These were located on the casing top and casing front,
nozzle and valve assemblies were attached to the turbine casing using through bolts. Two more holes were


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drilled in the casing sides to allow the turbine shaft to be positioned through the casing. The casing was
fully sealed at joints using rubber gaskets. Lastly an access hole was cut in the side of the turbine casing; a
steel hatch was attached over the hole and secured with bolts. Lastly the entire casing was painted with a
two-coat epoxy paint.
7.2 Contractual Procedure
Historically our dealings with Renewable Energy Company (REC) - Sonatubes have been fraught with
delays, unclear costs, and false promises. To this extent when dealing with REC in summer 2013 it was
imperative that a clear and firm contractual framework was laid out and agreed upon by both parties in
order to expedite manufacturing. A copy of the contract agreed upon between e.quinox and REC can be
found in Appendix B. A copy of the price breakdown agreed upon for the manufacturing can also be found
in Appendix B as signed by both parties.
It is important to note that lengthy contractual agreements are not common practice when engaging in
small business transactions within East Africa. The concept of a contractual agreement is rather western
and may be met with resistance by business owners in East Africa where handshake agreements are more
common. When constructing such a contract it is important to include several key aspects. Firstly in order
to ensure that the manufacturing is delivered on time the contract must detail the expected programme of
works with a specific expected due date and time. It may be necessary to include penalty clauses such that
any delay in works leads to a reduction in payment in order to incite punctual delivery of works. Without
these programme arrangements it is likely that the manufacturer will run far over schedule. In fact our
experiences have taught us that the typical expected time for completion should be at least doubled in
order to allow for complications that mostly always occur.
Secondly notes on the expected specification and quality of works must be agreed. It is standard practice
that a full set of working drawings is provided to the manufacturer including the expected tolerances to be
met. Regular inspections of work should be undertaken such that these tolerances can be checked and
signed off before further work can progress. Without detailed technical drawings it is common that
manufacturers will deviate largely from the expected works.
Communication is imperative to successful completion of any project. Clear procedures for communication
must be provided within the contract. Not only does this mean highlighting primary and secondary methods
of communication (telephone and email details) but also the expected time frame within which a reply to a
communication must be made. Moreover the contract should highlight the fact that any changes or
requested deviations from the drawings provided should be communicated to the clients. Details should be
provided of the clients responsibilities to respond to such requests within a reasonable time frame.
Remember that email communication within east Africa is slow as most people do not have regular access
to email, communication by telephone should always take precedent over email.
Lastly consider that the contract is a two-way document. It should consider both the manufacturers and the
clients responsibilities. This should include such items as the scope of detail and specification the client
should provide to the manufacturer and the timely order in which it should be delivered. Finally a specific
break down of costs should be provided, written out in a separate document and signed & stamped by both
parties. Full payment should not proceed until full delivery of the manufactured product as to the agreed
specification. Normally a deposit is made as a percentage of the total cost. As a rule of thumb for total cost
less than 1000 a 10% deposit should be given, for total cost greater than 2000 20% should be given.
All these details and any special arrangements should be provided in a clear and professional document.
Upon agreement by both parties each page should be initialled and the last page signed, printed and dated.
Both parties should retain copies. A receipt should then be given for the deposit and a second receipt
should be obtained after full payment.
It is our experience that such contracts provide stability to a relationship between client and manufacturer
rather than a distinct binding legal framework. As in many cases within East Africa it is unclear as to what
procedure to follow should there be any serious break of clauses. Regardless it is certain that following a
legal dispute route would unearth a huge amount of unnecessary, costly and time consuming bureaucracy.
Rather it highlights in one easy document everything that the involved parties should be doing.


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7.3 Manufacturing
Manufacturing was completed within a small workshop sited at Sonatubes factory within Kigali. The range
of tools used was limited to mainly hand power tools running from a generator. These included a large
angle grinder, large powered drill and arc welding equipment. Although workshop space was available
strangely most of the work was completed outside the shop on the ground.
Appendix A gives detailed as built drawings of all the components making up the turbine casing. These
drawings were provided to the manufacturer before commencement of work and include the changes made
during manufacturing. The spear valve and nozzle on the top branch of the plumbing work was pre-
fabricated in summer 2012 for the previous project. As were the bottom nozzle and both deflector plates
internal to the casing.
Appendix A drawing 0578_002B gives details of the base plate fabricated from 8mm thick mild steel. The
thickness is required to ensure minimal deflection of the system across the tailrace upstand. The hole in
the base plate to allow egress of water was measured out and cut using an angle grinder. The M6 threaded
bar to be attached to the base plate was attached by first drilling through the base plate at the precise
location and then welding in place from the underside. We later found that this method was not strong
enough as a large torque applied to the bar by a tightening nut caused it to break off at the weld.
The main body of the casing was made from sheets of 5mm thick mild steel. These were all measured out
and welded together to create the top and bottom section of the turbine case as shown in drawing
0578_002B. The mild steel angle was then cut to fit the perimeter of the turbine case. This was then
welded onto both the top and bottom parts of the casing bottom section. Whereas the top section only
receives angle to the bottom edge. After welding the location of holes for securing bolts through the
middle angles are marked. The top and bottom sections are then clamped together and the through holes
are drilled. Following this holes in the bottom sections bottom angle are also drilled to allow securing to
the base plate. Lastly for the casing the location of maintenance access hatch is marked out and cut using a
grinder. The location for the top and side inlet as well as the holding down bolts is marked. Again this is cut
with an angle grinder and the holes drilled to attach the inlet nozzles. After the nozzles are located the
holes in the side of the casing are drilled to receive the main turbine shaft and the two shafts for the
deflector plates. Welding the large side angles that will allow mounting of the bearing housing block then
finishes the casing body. As holes had been predrilled in the bearing housings these locations were marked
on the angle and drilled through appropriately. Finally the swan neck plumbing was formed from pre rolled
steel tube piping. The correct section lengths were cut and the upwards diversion was welded onto the
bottom horizontal pipe section. By far this is the most complicated part of the project due to the
complexity of angles and dealing with round pipe sections. At the end of each pipe section a coupling was
welded on in order to allow it to fix onto the couplings already prearranged on the spear valves. To finish a
coat of epoxy paint was applied after a primer (figure 19).
Despite having a contractual agreement to finish the casing within 7 days, the total manufacturing time
took 13 days. This was due mainly to complications with the angles that the bearing housings are mounted
to, leading to them being ground off and re-welded. Furthermore the swan took longer to manufacture
than previously envisaged.



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Figure 18: Eugene (manufacturer) and Evan inspecting finished casing (swan neck absent)


Figure 17: Drilling holes in bearing housing mounting bracket


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7.4 Recommendations for Future Design
Despite being very pleased with the delivered product post manufacturing; after installation and testing,
evaluation has shown that several design changes are required to the turbine casing itself. These are
discussed below.
Firstly during installation gaskets were cut and added at the middle level intersection, and the intersection
between the base plate and the bottom section. Gaskets were also placed between the nozzle valves and
the swan. We found in some capacity most elements of the design caused some form of leak, some more
majorly than others. The base plate was placed down on the concrete upstand and secured using
mechanical fasteners anchored to the concrete. Mistakenly the base plate was grouted in post anchoring,
this meant that grout had to be filled into very small gaps underneath the base plate. Several leaks were
eventually found to come from underneath the base plate itself where the grout had failed. In future the
base plate should be laid down on a bed of grout and then bolted down to the anchors. This helps create a
seamless layer of grout around the entirety of the base plate to stop the ingress of water from inside the
tailrace. We also found that when the alternator is starting up and not necessarily spinning at its optimum
rpm the vibrations induced in the base plate are large and caused a lot of the grouting to crack. This effect
could be reduced by using vibration mount pads, but also by using more anchoring bolts between the
concrete and the base plate.
Furthermore we found that along the short sides of the bottom section, the gasket between the angle and
base plate leaked profusely. This is considered to be because only two connecting bolts are placed at the
ends of these shorter angles. Ideally more holding down bolts would be used and would be spread evenly
along the angle length. All together we found that actually having the bottom section be separable from
the base plate is unnecessary and adds very little to the ease of construction. Future designs should
consider minimising the amount of separable connections and instead weld the bottom section directly to
the base plate.
More leaks were found at the middle level intersection coming from the gasket between the two angles.
This intersection could not be designed out, as it is necessary to be able to lift the top section off to
perform maintenance on the turbine. A plethora of securing bolts have been designed all along the angles
in order to ensure a secure connection between both sections of the casing. However leaks around the
perimeter showed that the gasket material wasnt of a high enough quality. The problem being that the
rubber used was not thick enough or compressible enough, such that when all the bolts are fully tightened,
parts of the gasket are still loose allowing water egress. Future designs should allow for a thicker and more
compressible gasket so that the rubber can take up any flaws/unevenness in the angles surface.
Furthermore at the intersection between the top and bottom of the case we found that when the turbine is
starting up, there is a lot of water splashing unevenly around the inside of the case causing water to egress
from around the shaft. This problem is eliminated when the turbine reaches full rpm and the jets are fully
developed. However it shows that a shaft seal is necessary on the inside of the casing to eliminate leaking
during start up. Moreover the same problem is encountered around the two shafts for the deflector plates
as leaking was seen around the bearing housings. Again designing in shaft seals could solve this.
Finally a more extensive problem was found in the swan design. To start with after installation and testing
it was found that several leaks were present around the welds between the two parts of the swan neck.
Grinding down the welds solved this problem, followed by re-welding where holes were found and finally
covering the entirety of the welds with car body filler. However the more extensive problem was that
whilst the swan neck fitted to its connections on the casing immediately after welding (figure 18), some
time later the welds had cooled causing shrinkage. When trying to refit the swan it was found that the bolt
holes between case and swan connections were up to 20mm misaligned. Using a special arrangement of
bolts and a lot of leverage eventually solved this problem. The situation is less than ideal and is very time
consuming, taking around two hours to secure the swan; a job that should take 10 minutes. The solution is
to ensure more accurate manufacturing and leaving the swan neck connected whilst allowing the welds to
cool.


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Figure 19: Swan neck after painting

8 ELECTRICAL DUMP LOAD
The turbine system installed during the 2013 summer expedition was calculated to have a maximum output
of 10KW, hence in order to test the turbine it required an outlet to dump the generated energy. Ultimatel
the turbine will be connected up to the internal charging system within the kiosk, the electrical system to
achieve this was outside the scope of the 2013 summer expedition. Instead an alternator coupled with a
passive load would be used to test the electrical output produced, and stop the turbine from running out of
control. The alternator was selected to support the theoretical maximum 10KW capacity of the hydro
system. After inspecting several alternator options we chose a synchronous machine with the specifications
given in table 3. Synchronous machines of many different capacities and form factors were found, as were
induction generators. The machine cost 480,000 RWF in total and was sourced from a shop in Nyambogogo
which had a large store of alternators in a warehouse behind the shop, selling mainly motors and devices
for agriculture but also alternators and induction machines.


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Table 3: Synchronous Generator Specification
Property Value
Model (-) STC-10
Manufacturer (-) Elmega
Phase (-) 3 Phase AC
Connection (-) Neutral Point Star Connected
Operational Phase Voltage (V) 230
Operational Line Voltage (V) 380
Frequency (Hz) 50
Power Factor (-) 0.8
Output (KVa, KW) 12.5,10
Current (A) 19.1
Pole Number (-) 4
Synchronous Speed (rpm) 1500

In a micro hydro system a common solution is to use heating elements as a dump load. Heating elements,
much like those found in a kettle, are cheap and easy to come by and will reliably transfer excess electrical
energy to the surroundings. The dump load was designed as a three-phase AC load connected to the
alternator in a star configuration with a neutral return line. The neutral line was left in to support a return
current which exists if the three loads are not balanced, which is entirely possible in the real world and
especially within the operating environment presented in a developing country such as Rwanda. The
impedance to be applied to each of the three phases was chosen so that it would allow the alternator to
run at its operating voltage and current, whilst the power rating of each must be more than that of the
calculated power as a safety factor. The real power in KW is the useful power output, however the system
must be rated to the apparent power in KVA. The load on each branch of the star has a voltage of 219.4V
across it and 12.1A running through it. This leads to a power of 4190.5VA dissipated in each load (leading to
a total apparent power of just over 12.5KVA dissipated across all three branches). The resistance required
for this load is then 21.4/19.1 = 11.5 ohms.
After exploring the market we found a combination of electric water heating coils that could be combined
to create a load with the correct resistance and rating. The objective was therefore to find a combination
of water heaters, which could be turned into a load equivalent to approximately 11.5 ohms and rated at
4.5-5KW. The solution we came up with was to use three 1000W heaters in parallel on each branch (figure
20). Each heater had a resistance of 61.2 ohms and cost 1500RWf (approximately 1.50). This gave the load
a total resistance of 12.24 ohms with a current of 3.82A passing through each branch. This resistance is
close enough to not affect the operating voltage too much. And each water heater will see a power
dissipation of 838W, which is suitably lower than the rating of 1KW. These numbers will fluctuate due to a
variety of factors, but using a safety factor of ~20% allows this to happen with jeopardising the safety of
the system.
To implement this design the heating elements were wired up in parallel and positioned in the kiosk
tailrace so that the water exiting the turbine will carry away excess energy. This method is particularly
smart as it ensures that at any one point that electricity is being produced, there must also be water
present in the tail race in order to dissipate excess heat. The tailrace was retrofitted with a concrete weir
to ensure that a pool of water backed up in the tailrace meaning the heater elements were constantly
submerged. Three bespoke steel brackets were created to secure the water heater elements to the
underside of the concrete slab placed over the tailrace (figure 21). The dimensions of the brackets and
heaters ensure that under full flow conditions only the metal heater element is fully submerged. Above this
metal element an HDPE plastic case contains the wire to element connections. This was stripped of
unnecessary electrical indicators such as LEDs before being glued and fully sealed using mastic for a
watertight seal. The two wire lines that emerge from the heater elements enter an IP65 case. One wire
from every water heater element is connected to a common neutral. The second wires from the element on
a branch are joined together to ensure a parallel connection and then spliced onto a single heavy gauge
wire that goes back to one of the phases on the alternator, depending on which branch of resistors it is
(each branch is colour coded). The neutral also comprises heavy gauge wire and follows the same route


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back through the kiosk wall and into the alternator. The physical wiring in the kiosk follows the schematic
given in figure 20.

Figure 20: Electrical circuit diagram for heater elements



Figure 21: Electrical dump load showing three rows of heater element resistors and IP65 case containing wiring




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Page 29

9 TESTING
Due to time constraints, an in-depth testing of the rig could not be implemented. In particular, a stress
test could not be performed to estimate how the turbine would perform if it were run consistently during
the year. Nevertheless, testing was attempted by running the turbine for short periods of time and
recording our observations. The plastic resin cups that were used in the absence of delivery of the stainless
steel cups held up remarkably well during testing. The only shattered cup was the 3-D printed cup; the
others showed little sign of damage. This could be due to the fact that the incoming jets are not as focused
as expected, reducing the pressure forces acting on the cups. The plastic cups will have to be exchanged
for the stainless steel ones at some point regardless of this, as they will eventually oxidise and become
brittle.
The turbine casing and the associated piping had severe leakage problems, specifically beneath the casing,
at the ball valve between the swan neck and the main pipe, and at the mid-section of the casing. The leak
at the ball valve was the most significant one in terms of volume of water lost, but the others are not small
enough to be ignored. Initially, the leak under the casing was sealed using grout, but once the alternator
was installed, the entire system vibrated significantly during use, to the point that the grouting cracked. In
addition to causing leakage problems, the excessive vibration may also cause structural problems later on.
The leak at the midsection of the casing is particularly troublesome, as it allows a noticeable amount of
water into the bearings, potentially washing away their lubricant and significantly reducing their design
life.
The turbine RPM and power output were much lower than expected.
Table 4: Alternator RPM when connected to the dump load, and when disconnected.
Flow Condition Unloaded (RPM) Loaded (RPM)
Full Flow 1450 580
Half Flow 1050 430

Table 5: Voltage, current and calculated power of the 3 phases during loading.
Voltage (V) Current (A) Power (W)
50 0.05 2.5

The dump loads appeared to work, as they did indeed exhibit a temperature increase of approximately 10
degrees while above water and the turbine was run for approximately 5 minutes. When the loads were
submerged, no noticeable temperature difference was noted assumedly showing that there is transfer of
energy from the elements to the moving water of the tailrace. On a separate occasion, the test was
repeated in the presence of Leonardo Ialongo, an electrical engineer. It should also be noted that the
second test was conducted after a period of rain, and that in this test, the settling tank reached
equilibrium such that the flow into the tank matched the output through the penstock and so full pipe flow
was observed through the penstock. In this test two of the phases were disconnected in an attempt to
reduce the load on the alternator. Doing so increased the alternators speed, but also significantly increased
the heat produced by the heating elements that were still connected. This was to be expected as all the
energy produced was now being dumped over just three heater elements instead of nine.
Table 6: Alternator Speed and Voltage measurements
Flow Condition Alternator Speed (RPM) Voltage (V)
Full Flow 720 120

During the second experiment, no current readings were taken under the suggestion of Mr Ialongo, as he
raised concerns that the potential design current could damage the multimeter, which was only rated to 10


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Page 30

amps. Overall a lower power output was observed than the theoretical power output of the site, this may
be explained by a plethora of reasonings:
1) The site was poorly rated in preliminary surveys.
2) The tests were conducted in the dry season, where the volumetric flow of the water was too low.
This is potentially the most likely explanation, as the second test was conducted after a period of
rain, increasing the inflow of water into the settling tank.
3) The settling tank was improperly calibrated. Occasionally the settling tank did not reach
equilibrium; it would empty faster than it would fill up. This would cause the flow in the pipe to go
from experiencing pipe flow, to open channel flow, reducing the potential pressure of the water jet
and overall power output.
4) Improper design of the conical input jet nozzles.
Although the issues discussed reduce the effectiveness of the turbine significantly, many of them have very
simple solutions. The following list is not meant to be an exhaustive list of solutions, but instead give an
idea of what may be done to further improve the system.
1) Vibrations in the turbine and alternator.
The vibrations of the turbine can be remedied in a number of ways. The most effective solutions would
probably be to anchor the baseplate of the turbine in more locations, specifically towards the edges of the
baseplate, as currently it is only anchored in the middle. Introducing dampeners under the baseplate to
absorb some of the vibrational energy may further improve the design. The vibrations of the turbine may
also be reduced by increasing / reducing the weight of the rig depending on whether it is operating above
or below resonance.
2) Leaks
The different leaks in the casing and the housing would each have different solutions. The leaks beneath
the baseplate would need to be sealed off with silicone or an alternative viscous solid. The leak at the ball
valve requires a flexible pipe to reduce the angle between the two adjoining pipes. The leak at the mid-
section of the baseplate can be resolved partially using improved gaskets, but the leaks in the bearing
housing will require that they be completely re-designed.
3) Low Power Output
The low power output of the turbine is not a problem that can be solved easily. The problem may be due in
part to the alternator not operating at the specified speed, or the low water flow rate or a number of other
reasons. More research should be done into understanding how generators work and what the realistic
power output of our site is.
10 FINANCES
This project consists of three key phases; manufacture of a testing support stand, manufacture of the
mechanical Pelton turbine, and manufacture of the turbine casing. To this extent the following cost
summaries are provided for each phase of the project:
Table 7: Project finances summary
Phase Cost
Turbine Temporary Support Structure 151.25
Pelton Turbine Manufacture 2568.62
Turbine Casing Manufacture 1696.37
Total 3416.24



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Page 31

A full cost break down for each phase can be found in Appendix C. By far the most expensive component
within the whole build was the investment casting of the Pelton cups in stainless steel by the external
company Investacast Ltd. This cost represents approximately 60% of the total cost given above. Other
options were explored for having the Pelton cups manufactured, however no other investment casting
company gave a markedly lower quote price. Notably we compared quotes at Investacast ltd for aluminium
cups vs stainless steel cups. Surprisingly these were of comparable cost despite stainless steel
manufacturing usually being much higher due to higher material and machining costs.
Please also note that the costs supplied above do not include the cost of labour, fabrication tools, or
workshop space hire (with the exception of the Pelton cups and turbine case). This is because the majority
of the turbine manufacturing took place at Imperial College mechanical engineering student teaching
workshops by current students. Overall the cost represents roughly one quarter of the costs quoted by a
professional company to manufacture an entire system in the UK. This represents a significant step forward
in the development of a low cost Pelton turbine system for pico hydro systems, assuming that the
manufacturing skills and facilities are available to those looking to undertake such a project.
11 CONCLUDING REMARKS
From the complexities of the project described in this report a plethora of conclusions may be derived.
Nevertheless the overarching conclusion concerns the success of the project. The beginning of this report
describes the complex historical background to creating a turbine in Rwanda. The devotion of the team to
this years project, and their willingness to create a truly fantastic piece of engineering has led to the
success of this project. This years project has set the foundation from which improvements and further
developments to the turbine system can be made.
It is recommended that the turbine is re-manufactured with an emphasis on improving the design and
construction of the bearing housings. Ultimately the alignment of bolts through a 100 mm thick bearing
housing is difficult to achieve, and a potential redesign should be considered. Furthermore many of the
aluminium parts were created from non-anodized sheeting. It is recommended that after manufacture the
aluminium components be anodized for longevity of the product. Although stainless steel would be the
ideal material choice, its cost and the difficulty to manufacture make it prohibitive to the success of
creating a low cost turbine system.
Considering the casing, the robustness and durability of the design were a success. Our working relationship
with the casing manufacture was also very successful and overall delivered a product that was very close to
specification, something almost un-heard of in Africa. The main problems with the casing concern the
leaking at several key locations as previously described. Some additional time and alterations to the design
will remedy these issues, and potential solutions have already been given. The vibrations of the casing
caused by the alternator are of particular concern, however solutions have been presented here and the
use of damping connections may be necessary.
Thoughts and effort for the coming year will involve developing and testing solutions to the specific
problems identified. The teams attention will then turn to developing scheme plans to usefully harness the
electricity produced from the Pelton turbine. In the coming year design work will shift from mostly
mechanical engineering to the incorporation of a joint mechanical electrical engineering team workload
as the two disciplines must work together to realise the aims of providing direct power to the local villages.
Particular emphasis should be placed on the sustainable implementation of such plans, from an
environmental, economic and social point of view.





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Page 18

APPENDIX A TECHNICAL DRAWINGS
List of Technical Drawings:
Turbine Casing Drawings:
0578_001: General Arrangement Drawing
0578_002A: Plan Drawing A
0578_002B: Plan Drawing B
0578_003A: Elevation Drawing A
0578_003B: Elevation Drawing B
0578_004: Section Drawing
0578_005: Swan Arrangement
0578_006: Kiosk Plumbing Arrangement
Pelton Turbine Drawings:
0578_007: Bearing Housing Manufacturing Drawing
0578_008: Runner Plates Manufacturing Drawing
0578_009: Shaft Manufacturing Drawing
0578_010: Shoulder Block/Spacer Block Manufacturing Drawing
0578_011: Pelton Cup Machine Drawing
0578_012: Turbine Graphics

DISCLAIMER:
As of 1
st
September 2013, and to the Authors knowledge, the drawings presented
here and their dimensions are accurate and representative of the as built state of
hydro the system. These drawings are specific to the site for which they were
designed, and as such should not be used by external partners, persons or companies
in order to manufacture a Pelton turbine system for any other specification before
first consulting an expert.


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Page 19

APPENDIX B - MANUFACTURING CONTRACTS
Turbine casing contract signed between e.quinox and Renewable Energy
Company
Price break down sheet for turbine casing signed between e.quinox and
Renewable Energy Company


























16/07/2013

!"#$%&' )*+%&, -*$#%)*.%/& )/&.#*).
0 1*#.%'+ ./ *,#''2'&.
1hls agreemenL ls Lo be made beLween Lhe leaders of e.qulnox hydro Leam and Lhe 8enewable
Lnergy Company operaLlng from SonaLubes, hereafLer referred Lo as Lhe "fabrlcaLor". e.qulnox
ls represenLed by llnlay Mchall, !oaklm Scharp and MaLLhew Wood. 1he fabrlcaLor ls
represenLed by Lugene Wallaula.
3 4".5%&' /- .'#2+
1hls conLracL covers Lhe fabrlcaLlon of a caslng for a elLon Lurblne, Lhe base for Lhls caslng and
Lhe assoclaLed plpe sysLems. 1hese parLs wlll hereafLer be referred Lo as the system.
1hls conLracL ouLllnes Llme-frame for fabrlcaLlon, cosLs, worklng relaLlonshlp, speclflcaLlon of
deslgn, Lolerances, and slLuaLlons of exLenuaLlng clrcumsLances.
6 7/22"&%)*.%/& $'.8''& 9*#.%'+
lL ls consldered crlLlcal LhaL channels of communlcaLlon beLween parLles are rapld, honesL,
clear, and open. ClarlLy and speed of communlcaLlon are glven greaL welghL by e.qulnox.
Any lssues wlLh fabrlcaLlon, querles or oLher buslness are expecLed Lo be communlcaLed
beLween Lhe fabrlcaLor and e.qulnox as soon as reasonably pracLlcal, lnlLlally by Lelephone and
followed up wlLh emalls or a face Lo face meeLlng. 1he fabrlcaLor may expecL a prompL
response from e.qulnox.
1he malnLenance of a poslLlve worklng relaLlonshlp beLween Lhe parLles Lhrough clear
communlcaLlon ls a hlgh prlorlLy for e.qulnox.
: ;9')%-%)*.%/& /- <'+%,&
1he deslgn of Lhe sysLem has been conducLed by e.qulnox. urawlngs have been prepared by
e.qulnox wlLh Lolerances. 1hese are Lo be agreed upon wlLh Lhe fabrlcaLor prlor Lo slgnlng of
Lhe conLracL.
Any modlflcaLlon Lo Lhe deslgn or devlaLlon from speclflcaLlons ls Lo be agreed wlLh e.qulnox ln
wrlLlng (by emall, or slgned off aL a face Lo face meeLlng) prlor Lo any changes. 1he fabrlcaLor
may expecL a swlfL response (less Lhan 24 hours) Lo any requesLs for deslgn changes and ls
16/07/2013

expecLed Lo conLacL e.qulnox lf any changes are deslred wlLhln Lhe same perlod of Llme.
!"# $%&'()*+',-)*.-/('+0,0%*-
1olerances are speclfled on Lhe drawlng. lL may be expecLed LhaL e.qulnox wlll conLlnuously
monlLor Lhe deslgn process and wlll regularly make checks as Lo progress and quallLy of work.
MonlLorlng vlslLs may be made elLher announced or unannounced.
uevlaLlon from speclfled deslgn or Lolerances may only be made wlLh expllclL, prlor and wrlLLen
auLhorlzaLlon.
! "#$%& ()* (+,*-.+#-)/
(lull worklng drawlngs provlded wlLh Lhls conLracLual agreemenL)
A) - SLeel 8ase laLe (lncludlng ralls for alLernaLor) As shown ln drawlng 0378_0028
8) - SLeel 1urblne Caslng As shown ln drawlng 0378_003A
C) - lpe-sysLem
a. SLeel Spear valve As shown ln drawlng 0378_001
b. Mechanlcal ueflecLor laLe SysLem noL shown ln any drawlng buL prevlously
arranged wlLh Lhe fabrlcaLor.
c. lnleL valve (no spear regulaLlon) As shown ln drawlng 0378_001
d. Swan neck lumblng SysLem As shown ln drawlng 0378_003
0 1+/2(+.#2*-/3 #-%$4(*+%$
1he Llme-llne for manufacLure wlll be agreed upon wlLh Lhe fabrlcaLor prlor Lo work
commenclng. lL ls expecLed LhaL Lhe fabrlcaLor wlll glve a reallsLlc esLlmaLe of Lhe Llme requlred
Lo compleLe Lhe work and fully ldenLlfy any areas LhaL may cause large delays due Lo Lhlrd
parLles.
1he Llme-frame wlll be produced by Lhe fabrlcaLor and slgned off by boLh parLles prlor Lo
fabrlcaLlon commenclng.
16/07/2013

!"# $
%&
'()%*+'&,-)+.'
lf unforeseeable delays are caused by 3
rd
parLy vendors lL ls expecLed LhaL Lhese delays wlll be
communlcaLed Lo e.qulnox as soon as reasonably pracLlcable (less Lhan 12 hours ls expecLed) by
phone and followed wlLh wrlLLen conversaLlon by emall.
lf Lhese delays affecL Lhe crlLlcal paLh for dellvery of componenLs a new Llmellne wlll be agreed
upon beLween Lhe parLles Lo Lake accounL of Lhls.
1he fabrlcaLor may, ln excepLlonal clrcumsLances, declare a force ma[eure due Lo unforeseeable
delays due Lo unexpecLed evenLs, e.g. war, slgnlflcanL accldenLs, naLural dlsasLers.
! "#$%&'
A blll of quanLlLles and LoLal budgeL lncludlng all foreseeable cosLs ls Lo be prepared by Lhe
fabrlcaLor and slgned off by boLh parLles prlor Lo work commenclng. Any changes ln budgeL of
greaLer Lhan 2 of LoLal conLracL value musL be agreed upon by boLh parLles ln wrlLlng prlor Lo
occurrlng.
Any changes necesslLaLlng a budgeL alLeraLlon of greaLer Lhan 2 of LoLal conLracL value are Lo
be communlcaLed by phone followed by emall wlLhln 24hrs, Lhe fabrlcaLor may expecL a
response wlLhln 24hrs afLer Lhls.
) *+,-&.'
1he paymenL for fabrlcaLlon ls Lo be of a sLaged naLure. An lnlLlal deposlL wlll be made equal Lo
20 of Lhe LoLal conLracL value.
lurLher paymenLs wlll be made upon dellvery of lLems A, 8, C of 10 of Lhe conLracL value.
1hese paymenLs wlll be made ln person afLer vlsual lnspecLlon of Lhe producL.
llnal paymenL of Lhe remalnder of Lhe conLracL wlll be made upon recelpL of Lhe compleLe and
flnallzed producL afLer a vlsual lnspecLlon and shake-down LesL.
/ 0#+1+.'&& 23 4215
1he sysLem wlll be sub[ecL Lo Lhree elemenLs of LesLlng durlng lnsLallaLlon and commlsslonlng,
fallure of any componenLs of Lhe sysLem durlng Lhese wlll be Lhe responslblllLy of Lhe fabrlcaLor
Lo repalr, unless Lhere ls a clear flaw ln Lhe deslgn.
16/07/2013

!"# $%&'()*+,-./(0/.
ManufacLured componenLs wlll be expecLed Lo be able Lo complete a basic shake-down test
after manufacture at the fabricators premises and prior to installation and commissioning.
!"1 $/2(00./(0/.
uurlng commlsslonlng and afLer lnsLallaLlon Lhe sysLem ls expecLed Lo be able Lo wlLhsLand
baslc sLress LesLs analogous Lo a uLS (ulLlmaLe LlmlL SLaLe) and ALS (AccldenL LlmlL SLaLe) Lo
slmulaLe Lhe exLreme loads LhaL may be expecLed over Lhe sysLem llfeLlme
!"3 4-)5+6-5.7&6-/(-&-8(.
1he sysLem ls expecLed Lo perform Lo deslgn crlLerla for Lhe flrsL Lwo monLhs afLer
commlsslonlng. lallure of Lhe sysLem afLer Lhls perlod ls Lhe responslblllLy of e.qulnox.
!" #$%&'(
e.quinox operates on the Zero principle for safety, this means zero harm Lo personnel or
envlronmenL. 1he fabrlcaLor ls expecLed Lo ensure all personnel lnvolved ln Lhe fabrlcaLlon are
worklng safely LhroughouL Lhe pro[ecL.
Speclflc requlremenLs:
lully raLed weldlng masks Lo prevenL damage Lo eyeslghL
Cloves and goggles used durlng any grlndlng or pollshlng
lully venLllaLed areas durlng weldlng and palnLlng
Any ln[urles Lo personnel wlll be consldered serlous breaches of Lhe conLracL.

SlgnaLures:
MaLLhew Wood: ................................................. Cn 8ehalf of L.qulnox.
uaLe:
Lugene Wallaula: ............................................... Cn behalf of 8enewable Lnergy Company
uaLe:


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Page 20

APPENDIX C COST BREAKDOWN
E.quinox Turbine Temporary Support Structure Finances
E.quinox Pelton Turbine Finances
E.quinox Turbine Casing Finances
!"#$ ro[ecL name: 1urblne
%&'()*'"+ -.&' ro[ecL 8ef: 378
uaLe: 19/09/2013
Made: MW
Checked: ?W
/0*1'('#$ 21(' 3.&'$ 4.'*5 3.&'$
1 4.48 4.48
1 1.99 1.99
1 2.47 2.47
3 2.30 12.30
1 3.17 3.17
3.3 1.80 6.30
2 12.34 24.68
2 - -
3 6.82 20.46
1 40.00 40.00
2 0.39 1.18
6 0.30 2.99
8 1.16 9.27
4 3.34 14.16
1 7.60 7.60
1 - -
1 - -
1 - -
4 - -
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
8S ComponenLs M4 (pack 100) M4 Washers
8S ComponenLs M4 (pack 100) M4 nuLs
1oLals: 131.23
olyfllla 1 llLre ldeas Lab
Poldlng down bolLs M8 ldeasLab
1heaLre lloor alnL 8lack heavy duLy palnL 2 llLres urama Soc
AssorLed Screws Self Lapplng ldeas Lab
SLeel 1oggle LaLch 8rass coaLed sLeel laLches 8S ComponenLs
ShafL Seals alusLra Llp Seals (8ag of 2) 8S ComponenLs
lasLlc Corner roLecLor lurnlLure roLecLor Self Adheslve Amazon
8ubber SealenL 1rlm Car 8ody edge Lrlm cosL per meLre Amazon
erspex 2300mm x 1200mm x 3mm Mech Lng SLores
Plnges Mlld SLeel 8S ComponenLs
SupporLlng SLeel Work 132 uC SLeel SecLlons welded Clvll Lng Workshop
Alumlnlum Angle 23mm x 23mm x 2000mm Mech Lng SLores
8ase Wooden lrame 8usslan 8edWood 2'x2' ldeas lab
Mul 8ase SheaLs 12mm Lhk SheeL ldeas Lab
Wheel w/brake 30mm dlam 8S ComponenLs
M4 8olLs M4 (pack 100) 8S ComponenLs
Wheel 30mm dlam 8S ComponenLs
%670(1.8 409:(1" 4");.9*9# <0;;.9' <'90-'09" =(1*1-"&
>'")$ ?.'"&$ <0;;5("9$
@.0AB' (1 -.01'9#C
-.1D"9' :*&"+ .1
EFGHI=
!"#$ ro[ecL name: 1urblne
%&'()*'"+ -.&' ro[ecL 8ef: 378
uaLe: 19/09/2013
Made: MW
Checked: ?W
/0*1'('#$ 21(' 3.&'$ 4.'*5 3.&'$
1 31.10 31.10
2 19.62 39.24
4 7.40 29.60
1 2,048.34 2,048.34
4 3.93 23.70
1.6 23.33 37.36
4 20.00 60.00
Alumlnlum 8ound - lnLernal Spacer Mech Lng SLores 1 3.27 3.27
Alumlnlum 8ound - LxLernal Spacer Mech Lng SLores 1 2.63 2.63
Alumlnlum 8ound - Shoulder Mech Lng SLores 1 3.27 3.27
Alumlnlum 8ound - Mlddle Spacer Mech Lng SLores 1 3.30 3.30
8S ComponenLs 1 3.29 3.29
8S ComponenLs 1 6.17 6.17
8S ComponenLs 1 2.10 2.10
8S ComponenLs 1 6.37 6.37
alusLra Llp Seals (8ag of 2) 8S ComponenLs 1 7.60 7.60
3 2.06 10.29
3 1.30 7.30
3 1.36 6.79
8 - -
23 3.38 134.41
1 10.32 10.32
1 6.60 6.60
1 3.38 3.38
1 8.30 8.30
1 33.39 33.39
3 6.70 33.30
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
860 v 8elL 8earlng 8oys
M10 1hreaded 8ar Zlnc laLed SLeel SLuddlng 8S ComponenLs
1aper Lock 8ush 1610-42mm 8S ComponenLs
1aper Lock 8ush 2012-23mm 8earlng 8oys
ulley S8100/1 v ulley 8earlng 8oys
ulley S8300/1 v ulley 8earlng 8oys
8elLs
1oLals: 2,368.62
8earlng houslng M10 bolLs M10 black coaLed sockeL head bolL Clv Lng uepL
8earlng houslng M10 nuLs and washers M10 sLeel zlnc plaLed nyambogogo
SLeel key SLalnless sLeel 300mm L 8mm x 7mm 8S ComponenLs
M8 1hreaded 8ar Zlnc laLed SLeel SLuddlng 8S ComponenLs
M6 1hreaded 8ar Zlnc laLed SLeel SLuddlng 8S ComponenLs
M8 Lock Washers
M8 nuLs
80mm dlam x 20mm L
80mm dlam x 40mm L
12mm dlam 600mm L
Zlnc plaLed pack of 100
Zlnc plaLed ack of 100
M6 Lock Washers Zlnc plaLed pack of 100
M6 nuLs Zlnc plaLed ack of 100
ShafL Seals
elLon Cups 8esln 4kg of 8esln [ 20 per kg ldeas lab
80mm dlam x 40mm L
Alumlnlum 8unner laLe 332mm sq Mech Lng SLores
Slllcon elLon Cup Moulds 1.6kg of Slllcon [ 23.33 per kg ldeas Lab
8earlng Pouslng 127 mm x 127mm x 30mm. Alumlnlum Alumlnlum Warehouse
8earlngs Skl Sealed lu 23mm 8S ComponenLs
elLon Cups lnvesLmenL casL sLalnless sLeel lnvesLacasL
6.078' (1 -.01'9#:
-.1;"9' <*&"+ .1
=>?@AB
%CD0(1.E F"5'.1 409<(1" 3.&'&
G'")$ H.'"&$ I0JJ5("9$
ShafL 30 mm dlam. 600 mm L. Alumlnlum Mech Lng SLores
!"#$ ro[ecL name: 1urblne
%&'()*'"+ -.&' ro[ecL 8ef: 378
uaLe: 19/09/2013
Made: MW
Checked: ?W
/0*1'('#$ 21(' 3.&'$ 4.'*5 3.&'$
1 163.73 163.73
1 141.93 141.93
1 272.04 272.04
1 223.81 223.81
1 112.90 112.90
1 40.37 40.37
1 74.40 74.40
2 86.36 173.12
1 172.04 172.04
1 118.28 118.28
1 43.01 43.01
1 73.27 73.27
1 4.30 4.30
1 3.23 3.23
1 12.90 12.90
1 63.03 63.03
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1oLals: 1,696.37
Cacklngero
MeLal graLlng 2300mm x 1300mm SonaLubes
8enewable Lnergy Comp
Swan ConnecLlon Mlld sLeel plpe plus Lhree coupllngs 8enewable Lnergy Comp
8ubber gaskeLLs 2000mm x 3000mm rubber sheeL nyambogogo
AnLl-rusL palnL 1llLre anLl-roullle klbeho
8enewable Lnergy Comp
ueflecLors remanufacLured 8enewable Lnergy Comp
labrlcaLlon cosL CosLs of Lools and spare blLs, grlnders 8enewable Lnergy Comp
Labour cosL CosL of Lugene plus Lwo labourers 8enewable Lnergy Comp
8enewable Lnergy Comp
Mlld sLeel plaLe - sldes one 1000mm x 2000mm x 3mm 8enewable Lnergy Comp
Mlld sLeel plaLe - sldes Lwo 300mm x 1000mm x 3mm 8enewable Lnergy Comp
Mlld sLeel angle 4000mm x 30mm x 3mm 8enewable Lnergy Comp
6.078' (1 -.01'9#:
-.1;"9' <*&"+ .1
=>?@AB
%CD0(1.E 409<(1" 3*&(17 3.&'
F'")$ G.'"&$ H0II5("9$
Spear valve and nozzle remanufacLured 8enewable Lnergy Comp
nozzle wlLhouL spear valve remanufacLured 8enewable Lnergy Comp
Mlld sLeel plaLe - base 1000mm x 2000mm x 8mm
Mlld sLeel channel 1000mm x 40mm x 3mm
alnLlng 8lue epoxy palnL and hardener
Poldlng down bolLs PllLl M10 mechanlcal fasLener


www.e.quinox.org
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Page 34

APPENDIX D DESIGN CALCULATIONS
Pelton Turbine Design Calculations
Beam Analysis Results
ro[ecL name: 1urblne
ro[ecL 8ef: 378
uaLe: 01/11/2012
Made: MW
Checked: 81
PART- FLOW SYSTEM EFFICIENCY
Pead (m) 21.00 lull llow 1/2 llow (0.3) 1/4 llow (0.23)
llow C (L/s) 60.00 CeneraLor Lff (-) 0.80 0.80 0.60
ower 1argeL (kW) 3.00 urlve SysLem Lff (-) 0.93 0.93 0.93
1urblne Lff (-) 0.73 1urblne Lff (-) 0.73 0.60 0.23
ower AcLual (kW) 9.43 ower (kW) 8.77
ower 8eal CuL
(kW) 7.06
lnpuL ower Lo
Lurblne (kW) 8.77 4.39 2.19
n CeneraLor (8M) 1300
urlve SysLem Loss
(kW) 0.44 0.22 0.11
C (gear raLlo max
3:1) 3.3
lnpuL ower Lo
CeneraLor(kw) 6.14 2.41 0.44
n 1urblne (8M) 428.37
CuLpuL ower from
CeneraLor (kW) 4.91 1.93 0.26
Speclflc Speed
(m/s) 33.17
SS2 (from graph) 23.38
COMBINED
EFFICIENCY (-)
0.56 0.44 0.12
n[ ( number of [eLs) 2
ns ( slngle [eL
speed) 33.2
SS (mulLl[eL wlLh n[
[eLs) 49.7
D (runner) (m) 0.406
u[eL (m) 0.044
noLch WldLh (m) 0.047
6u[eL (m) 0.262
20u[eL (m) 0.874
8unner ulameLer
[graph](m) 0.400
ulsk u (m) 0.346
no Cups (-) 17
Turbine and Jets Data
!"#$%&'( *+,-'& .$/0%&+ 12,3$,2-%'&4
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A3 ":%$= AB22


"#$%&$#'()* +,-%.(/'()*

+,-./01 %213/ 012.) 3.)4,%'
+,-./01 #-0412-5 67 89 !:/0;/< =) >41/ ?@A??A?B
Sheet 1 of


CCCD/DEF25-GD-,H

Design Loading Conditions:



F
2
is a point load attributed to the self-weight of the turbine. Calculated using the volumetric
dimensions of the turbine and the densities of the materials used.
F
1
is the tensile force attributed to the belt tensioning of the transmission system and includes
weight of the pulley.

Diagram above shows the calculated reactions. The diagram below gives the design shear force
diagram and moment diagram.


The peak moment in the shaft is -0.259 KNm. As this system is restrained at both supports by
the bearings the buckling capacity of the shaft is not critical, instead it should be designed for the
peak bending moment.

In order to find the minimum radius of shaft possible, set the design moment resistance to be
equal to the design moment and rearrange for the radius:



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Sheet 1 of


CCCD/DEF25-GD-,H
Design moment resistance is:
r
min
=10.8mm
Where:
M
R
is the design moment resistance
W is the plastic section modulus
f
y
is the yield strength of grade 6082 T6 aluminium = 260 N/mm
2

!
M0
is a material factor accounting for its variability, here assumed to be 1.0

Hence now set the design resistance to equal the design moment loading, and rearrange for
radius in the section modulus:
W =
!r
3
4

Rearranging gives:
r
min
=10.8mm

Or an overall minimum diameter of 21.6mm. The shaft should not be manufactured smaller than
this diameter.