UEEA3363 Renewable Energy

Group Assignment
Micro Hydro Power Generator
Group Members:
No
.
1

Prabu Ravendran

Pala Khartikeyan Periasamy

3
4
5
6

Name with student ID

Course / Year / Sem

ID

% Contribution
100%

3E /Y3 / S3

1003452

100%
100%

Assignment Marking Scheme

Category

Presentation
of Report

Prototype
/Design
Demonstratio
n

Maximum
Marks

Criterion
Standard structure of report. (Introduction, main
body, conclusion, references and appendixes)
Readability, logical flow
Good use of diagrams, tables and pictures
Objectives and aims are clearly stated
Literature review is comprehensive
Work of others is properly referenced, standard
references
Free from spelling and grammatical errors
On time submission

40

Promising product / design

Creativity
Demonstration and Q & A

20
10
20

Presentation technical content and skill acquire

10
Total

100

Marks

1. Introduction
As days goes on more problems arise on climate change and greenhouse gas emission. The world
is looking into an alternative energy source as we currently are depending on fossil fuel to produce most
of the energy today .As we know, generating energy from fossil fuel has many disadvantages, mainly it
produces large amount of carbon emission which leads to greenhouse gas emission and climate change
.Apart of that fossil fuel is a non-renewable energy which means it will deplete or run out one day .A
solution for this problem is to switch to renewable energy.
In this project we have built a self-renewable energy generator .This DC generator works in the
principle of electromagnetism and able to produce alternating current which is later converted to direct
current to charge up a battery or other kind of storage device.
A DC generator is quite common and is easily available in the market. In this project we will
explain and show how to maximize the usage of a DC generator in a house hold and how we can save
energy and produce a self-generating energy devise. Following is an explanation of what is a generator
and how it works.

2. Generator
Generator is a system which converts mechanical energy to electrical energy . Generators are
available in different electrical and physical configurations for use in different applications. In the
following sections, we will look at how a generator can help us save and produce electrical energy .
It is important to understand that a generator does not actually create electrical energy. Instead,
it uses the mechanical energy supplied to it to force the movement of electric charges present in the wire
of its windings through an external electric circuit. This flow of electric charges constitutes the output
electric current supplied by the generator. This mechanism can be understood by considering the
generator to be analogous to a water pump, which causes the flow of water but does not actually create
the water flowing through it.

2.1How the Generator Works

The modern-day generator works on the principle of electromagnetic induction discovered by
Michael Faraday in 1831-32. Faraday discovered that the above flow of electric charges could be induced
by moving an electrical conductor, such as a wire that contains electric charges, in a magnetic field.

A generator works by a magnetic field inducing a voltage into a coil of wire. Important points to
note are that the voltage increases as the number of turns of wire on the coil, the size of the coil and the
strength of the magnetic field increases. The magnetic field (or the coil) needs to be in constant motion to
produce/induce the electricity into the coil. This can be done by moving the magnet or by moving the coil
- the effect is the same.
The coil (or the magnet) needs to move in such a way that the coil continually passes through the
magnetic field. The Iron nail is also important in our simple generator as it tends to concentrate the
magnetic field. As the coil is wound around the nail it tends to draw in more magnetic flux into the area of
the coil which boosts the overall efficency of the device and increases the voltage that is produced.

The type of wire in the coil is also important. For example, thick wire means there will be less power
loss, but the down side is that the coil will get very large when a great number of turns is needed. In a
practical generator some trade off has therefore to be found between the size of magnet, coil and the wire.

2.2 Direction of current

The direction of the magnetic field and the direction of the wire will determine the direction of
the current through the wire. By convention, the direction of the magnetic field is from N to S. Also by
convention, the current goes from plus (+) to minus (). But note that in reality, the negatively charged
electrons move in the opposite direction than the current. They move from () to (+). You'll just have to
remember that the electrons move in the opposite direction than the convention for the direction of
current.
Moving wire through a magnetic field generates electrical current. Electrical generators rotate a
coil of wires through a magnetic field. The difference between an AC and a DC generator is that the AC
generator uses slip rings to transfer the current to the electrical circuit, while the DC generator uses a

split-ring commutator. Very large generators create electricity for the community. An electric motor is
very similar to a generator, except that power is provided to turn the rotors.

2.3 AC and DC
This simple generator is called an AC generator. This means that the voltage appearing at the two
wires alternates between + and -, and - and + each time the magnet makes a complete revolution. As a
result the generator can light a bulb or an LED without you having to worry about which way round the
connections need to go (as they are effectively reversing all the time anyway). The generator in this
project produces AC which is later converted to DC to suit our application .

3. Design Consideration
In this project , rare earth magnet is used to maximize the output of the generator . Rare-earth
magnets are typically two to three times stronger than ferrite or ceramic permanent magnets. In electric
generators , the use of rare-earth magnets enables greater performance to be obtained from a smaller,
lighter generator . This magnet is chosen in this project because of its size and ability to produce more and
stronger flux . With this magnet , the design and size of our generator is small and able to fit in to our
suggested application .
In this project we have chosen a two pole stator design to maximize the output power . Each pole
consists of 500 turns on coils. The magnets are attached to the generator rotors . A self designed and
constructed propellers are attached to the rotor .This propellers are designed to capture maximum water
flow to maximize the rotor speed .The rotor speed in directely proportional to the output power produced .
We have attached a full bridge rectifier to convert the alternating current produced by the generator to
direct current in this project . This is done to charge up the existing battery or storage device . The full
bridge consists of four diodes and a capacitor. The main advantage of this bridge circuit is that it does not
require a special centre tapped transformer, thereby reducing its size and cost. The single secondary
winding is connected to one side of the diode bridge network and the load to the other side as shown
below.

Figure 1 : The Diode Bridge Rectifier

The four diodes labeled D1 to D4 are arranged in series pairs with only two diodes conducting
current during each half cycle. During the positive half cycle of the supply, diodes D1 and D2 conduct in
series while diodes D3 and D4 are reverse biased and the current flows through the load
A capacitor is added in parallel with the load resistor of a the rectifier to form a simple Filter
Circuit, the output of the Rectifier will be transformed into a more stable DC Voltage. At first, the
capacitor is charged to the peak value of the rectified Waveform. Beyond the peak, the capacitor is
discharged through the load resistor until the time at which the rectified voltage exceeds the capacitor
voltage. Then the capacitor is charged again and the process repeats itself.

Figure 2: Stable DC Voltage

4. Application of the Project

The DC generator in this project can be install any where which has a water flow . It can be
installed on rain water gutters which only guild water form the roof top to the drain all this while, but by
installing this DC generator we are able to generate some amount of energy . It is self-generating because
it does not require any work to be done by human . The rain water will spin the turbine attached to the
rotor of the generator and it will start producing free energy .
Apart of that this generator can also be installed on water pipes installed in a house hold .A good
example would be to install this generator on the main water pipe which carries the main water supply to
our water tank . Currently the water pipe only does one function which only guides the water from the
main supply to the tank .By installing this generator we are able to generate some amount of energy .This
energy is once again self generating because , obviously water has to be filled on the tank for daily usage ,
but after installing the generator we are able to get some energy which is free and it is a continuous
energy production .
Not only that but this generator can also be installed in drains which has water flow . We are able
to get energy from a process which occurs naturally . This generator has many application and can be
installed in many location in a house hold . For a better energy management , all the energy produce from
several parts of the house can be channel to a storage device .This energy can be reused to power up our
appliances .
One thing to keep in mind is that the energy produced is continuous , free and self-sustaining .
Whether we like it or not ,water will flow in all the pipes in our house as we use the bath room or use
water for any other purposes . Why let water flow for our usage only when we are able to generate
energy out of it . We dont have to pay extra our water service provider if we use water to generate energy
, but we will pay lesser to our electricity provider .
Actually this concept is already being applied in some places. The system is called micro-hydro
plants. Micro-hydro power is the small-scale harnessing of energy from falling water, such as steep
mountain rivers. The micro-hydro station converts the energy of flowing water into electricity. For places
that has no access to electricity, this is a small-scale way of harnessing of energy from falling water, such
as steep mountain rivers

5. Advantages and disadvantages of this system for energy generation

The situation of declining in fossil fuels supply and the critical environment state are making it more and
more necessary to find alternative energy sources. More and more people are choosing magnetic
generators to replace traditional generators in some domestic applications.
The main advantage of this system is it is fueled by water, thus it's a clean fuel source. It won't pollute the
air like generators that burn petroleum products, such as coal or natural gas. When compared to thermal
power generator which has ash disposal problem, this generator does not produce any greenhouse effects
and emission of polluting gases. It is very easy to install this eco-friendly magnetic generator and it can fit
even in a small, condensed place.
The total cost to build this generator is also very less compared to other self-renewable energy generator.
The generator also works with minimum maintenance, thus it works efficiently without any problems for
long periods of time. During rainy seasons, the magnetic generator can reduce an individuals power bill
by about fifty percent. This magnetic generator provides essential back-up power during electricity
outages or disruptions providing there is water flow.
While PV module prices have recently dropped, they are still a high-tech and expensive commodity.
Magnetic generator systems can arguably be considered low-tech, with civil works and pipelines often
being the majority of the system cost. Of course, the actual cost varies significantly from site to site, and
from system to system.
In poor countries where there is less access to electricity, this system can be a solution for their electricity
need. The system can be designed to harnesses the natural power of fast-flowing rivers to create a
sustainable source of power.
The main drawback for this generator is the power generation depends on the nature. The quantity of the
water flow available is very important for the generator to work efficiently. Because of this factor, the
output of our generator is not constant because of the rate of water flow. The weight or pressure, of that
flowing water that spins the turbine to produce electrical energy is a factor. For an example, when this
generator is installed on rain water gutters, it has the highest output value only during heavy rain. Thus,
the output produced is inconsistent.

6. Improvisations

All of the energy systems no matter renewable or non-renewable that we rely upon convert
existing energy into a form that we can use to do the work we want to do. In our system, the energy of
moving water is transferred to a rotating shaft, converted to changing magnetic fields, and then converted
to moving electrons which is electricity. But at no point is energy created. Every component of such a
system has an operating efficiency of less than 100%. This leads to each conversion step in the process
wastes some of the potential energy that the system started with. The energy is not being destroyed, but it
is being allowed to escape the loop in the form of heat, vibration, and even noise. It is being converted
into a form that cant readily use, or even recover.
Malaysia gets about 90 inches of rain per year, with April being the rainiest month at an average
of about 11 inches. For an assumption, a two-story house would give a 25-foot-high roof, and thus 25 feet
of head. This 6,000-square-foot home has about 3,000 square feet of rainwater collection area. That
means that in November, this house would receive about 1,500 cubic feet of rain.
If that rainfall came as a constant drizzle all month long, flow from the roof would be only about
1 litre per minute. Currently there is no turbine on the market to work with that flows that low, but using
our system, we assume the following:
0.26 gpm 25 feet 10 = 0.65 watts 720 hrs./mo.
= 468 Wh
So our system theoretically harvest very small flow, it would result in less than 1/2 kWh of
electricity per month. To solve this, additional rain-collecting roof areas can be built to hold the water for
release all at once to increase flow.
Our design can be improved by using Double Stator Slot type Arc Permanent Magnet (DSSAPM)
as shown below. It has two stators at the outer surface and a single rotor in the inner sides. The arc type
permanent magnets are embedded inside the rotor and are magnetized in the circumferential direction.
The magnets are placed between the wedges of magnetic material of the pole pieces in the rotor. The
stator and rotor are made from magnetic material and non-ferromagnetic material, respectively. The
traverses along the stator core, return across the air gap and then enter the pole of the other permanent
magnet. The advantage of using the double stator topology is that it increases the output power. The
advantage of using rectangular type of magnet is that it reduces of the size of the magnet and the
reduction of the complexity on the rotor fabrication.

Figure: Double Stator Slot type Arc Permanent Magnet (DSSAPM)

7. References
1. Hosseini, S. M., M. A. Mirsalim, and M. Mirzaei, Design,prototyping and analysis of low
cost axial flux coreless permanent magnet generator," IEEE Transactions on Magnetics, Vol.
44,No. 1, 75-80, 2008
2. Arnold, D. P., Review of micro-scale magnetic power generation," IEEE Transaction of
magnetics, Vol. 43, No. 12, 3940{3951, 2007.
3. Khurana, S. and Anoop Kumar: "Small hydro power A review", International Journal
of Thermal Technologies, Vol. 1, NO. 1, pp. 107-110, December, 2011.
4. http:// www.microhydropower.net/
5. http:// www.alternative-energy.info/micro-hydro-power-pros-and-cons
6. M.Sadiqi, Basic Design and Cost Optimization of a Hybrid Power System in Rural
Communities in Afghanistan, M.Sc. Thesis, B. S. Kabul University, Afghanistan, 2007.
7. A. Varughese, P A Michael, Electrical Characteristics of Micro-Hydro Power Plant Proposed
in Valara Waterfall International Journal of Innovative Technology and Exploring
Engineering, IJITEE, Volume-2, Issue-2, January 2013.