Field Fabrication of Solar-Thermal Powered Steam Turbines For Generation of Mechanical Power

Field Fabrication of Solar-Thermal Powered Steam Turbines for
Generation of Mechanical Power
by
AmySun
DualB.S.ComputerandElectricalEngineering,
PurdueUniversityinWestLafayette,Indiana(1996)
SUBMITTEDTOTHEPROGRAMINMEDIAARTSANDSCIENCES,
SCHOOLOFARCHITECTUREANDPLANNING
INPARTIALFULFILLMENTOFTHEREQUIREMENTSFORTHEDEGREEOF
MASTEROFSCIENCEINMEDIAARTSANDSCIENCES
ATTHE
MASSACHUSETTSINSTITUTEOFTECHNOLOGY
SEPTEMBER2006
MassachusettsInstituteofTechnology2006.Allrightsreserved.
Author
PrograminMediaArtsandSciences,SchoolofArchitectureandPlanning
August25,2006
Certifiedby
NeilGershenfeld
DirectoroftheCenterforBitsandAtoms
AssociateProfessorofMediaArtsandSciences
Acceptedby
AndrewB.Lippman
Chair,DepartmentalCommitteeonGraduateStudents
THISPAGELEFTBLANK
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AMYSUN:FIELDFABRICATIONOFSOLARTHERMALPOWERED
STEAMTURBINESFORGENERATIONOFMECHANICALPOWER
FIELDFABRICATIONOFSOLARTHERMALPOWEREDSTEAMTURBINES
FORGENERATIONOFMECHANICALPOWER
by
AMYSUN
SubmittedtotheprograminMediaArtsandSciences,
SchoolofArchitectureandPlanning,
onAugust21,2006
inpartialfulfillmentoftherequirementsforthe
degreeof
MasterofScienceinMediaArtsandSciences
atthe
MassachusettsInstituteofTechnology
ABSTRACT
Providingadequateenergytodevelopingcountriesisoneofthegreatestglobaltechnicalchallenges
today. Fabrication is undergoing a revolution that parallels the digitization of computation and
communications. Emergingaffordable,desktopfabricationtoolsareprovidingtheprecisionand
repeatabilitynecessaryforregularpeopletodesign,manufacture,andinstallasystemtoconvertsolar
thermalenergytousefulwork.Inthespectrumofdevicesthatusesolarenergy,thisfieldfabricated
system exists in a space between crude solar cookers for heating food and complex, expensive
photovoltaiccells. Computercontrolandhighprecisionallowsregularpeopletoexperimentally
convergeonalocallyappropriatedesignandimplementationtosolvethechallengeofproviding
energy.
Thisthesisdescribesafieldproducible,smallscaleturbinethatusessolarthermalenergyto
providemechanicalenergy.Iinvestigateasolarthermalsteamdriventurbinesystemandbuild
andevaluateseveralversionsinfieldfabricationlablocationsaroundtheworld.Iconsiderthe
efficacyofdeploymentinruraldevelopingareas.
ThesisSupervisor:NeilGershenfeld
Title:AssociateProfessorofMediaArtsandSciences,PrograminMediaArtsandSciences,Schoolof
ArchitectureandPlanning
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THESISREADER:JohnM.Deutch
JohnDeutchisanInstituteProfessorattheMassachusettsInstituteofTechnology.Mr.Deutchhas
beenamemberoftheMITfacultysince1970,andhasservedasChairmanoftheDepartmentof
Chemistry,DeanofScienceandProvost.Mr.Deutchhaspublishedover140technicalpublicationsin
physicalchemistry,aswellasnumerouspublicationsontechnology,energy,internationalsecurity,and
publicpolicyissues.
ProfessorDeutchsresearchappliesstatisticalmechanicstoequilibriumandtimedependentproblems
inphysical chemistry. Emphasis is placed on developing techniques that permit the quantitative
understandingofawidevarietyofphenomena.Threedistinctareasofresearchareunderinvestigation.
One area is the theory of dilute and concentrated polymer solutions with attention placed on
understandingthefrictionalpropertiesofthesesolutions,forexample,diffusionandviscousflow.
Recent efforts have been directed to modeling the solution as fluid in a porous medium; to
investigatingpolymerbehaviorinconstrainedspaces,suchas,poresorthinfilms;andtoapplyingthe
renormalizationgrouptechniquetopolymerproblems.
A second area of interest involves twodimensional chemistry. This work includes study of the
chemistrythattakesplaceinconstrainedenvironmentssuchasatfluidinterfaces,insidecells,andin
liquidcrystalsolvents,wheretheenvironmentinfluencesboththeequilibriumdistributionofparticles
andtheirdynamicmotion.Mostrecently,atheoryhasbeendevelopedtopredicttheequilibriumshape
oflipidbilayers(bothonsurfacesandinthreedimensionalvesicles)basedonthecompetitionbetween
surfacetensionanddipolarforces.
Thethirdareaconcernsthetheoryofdiffusioncontrolledreactions.Heretheinterestisinstudying
situationsthatarisefrequentlyinpracticebutarenotcorrectlydescribedbyconventionaltheory.A
specific example is the enhancement in chemical rates that can be realized by modifying the
dynamicalpathwaysavailableforreactantstofindeachother.
In recent years, John Deutchs research interests have turned to physical chemistry and energy
technology.Currentlyamajorprojectisunderwaytoanalyzeandmodelfuelcellbehaviorincluding
technical,economic,andenvironmentalaspectsofthesesystems.Acomprehensiveinterdisciplinary
facultystudyofthefutureofnuclearpowerhasrecentlybeenandafollowonfacultystudyonthe
futureofcoal(includingCO2captureandsequestration)isunderway.
Readby:
JohnDeutch
InstituteProfessor,DepartmentofChemistry
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THESISREADER:AlexanderH.Slocum
AlexanderHSlocumisProfessorofMechanicalEngineeringandMacVicarFacultyFellowat
MIT.Hisresearchprojectsrangefromconsumerproducts(e.g.camerasandprinters)tothe
machinesthatmakethem(e.g.,diamondturningmachinesandwafersteppers).Hismainarea
ofinterestisprecisionengineeringtheabilitytopreciselycontrolmotionwhichiscriticalto
thesuccessofanymanufacturingbasedeconomy.Heteachescourses2.007Introduction2
Designand2.75PrecisionMachineDesign.
AmongthenumerousawardsandprizesSlocumhasreceivedare9R&D100Awardsfor
scientificproductdevelopments,SMEsFrederickW.TaylorResearchMedal,theMartin
LutherKingLeadershipAward,andhewastheMassachusettsProfessoroftheYear(2000).
Alexhasover5dozenpatentswithmoreontheway.HeisalsoamemberoftheAmerican
SocietyforPrecisionEngineering,theAmericanSocietyofMechanicalEngineersandthe
SocietyofManufacturingEngineers.
Readby:
AlexanderH.Slocum
Professor,MacvicarFellow
DepartmentofMechanicalEngineering
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
ThisworkwasfundedbytheNationalScienceFoundation(NSF)GrantCCR0122419insupportoftheCenter
forBitsandAtoms(CBA).InadditiontoNSFsupport,thisworkwasadditionallyfundedbythevarious
grantsandsponsorsoftheCBA.
Consideringabottomup,decentralized,thermomechanicalapproachtosolvingtheworld'senergyproblems
canonlytakeplaceatthisstrangeplacecalledtheMediaLabatMIT.HereIamsurroundedbysupportive,
inspirational,andcrazypeoplewhopersistinspiteofthe(perceived)absurdityoftheirprojects.Theirideas,
encouragement,assistance,andenthusiasmhaveledmetodevelopandunderstandmyrelationshipwithworld
asanengineer.Iamindebtedtotoomanytonameanddescribe;inadditiontothepastandpresentmembers
ofPhysicsandMedia(myresearchgroup),Ifoundatthiswonderfulplaceinparticular,
KennethCheungandAmonMillnerwhobothvolunteeredridiculousamountsofcompetenthelpinthe
executionoftheseexperimentsandothertangentialadventures.Thetime,energy,andcommittednessthey
willinglyofferedwasofanenormityunreasonabletoask.Iaminexpressiblygrateful.
AraKnaianwhopatientlyledmethroughthermodynamics(andnearlyanyotherengineeringtopic)and
continuestobeaconduitforexpressingthedynamicalphysicalworldintermsthatcanbeevaluatedwith
properengineeringrigour.
SherryLassiterwhowasthesourceofallthingsthatmadeitpossibletoresearchfromfar,faraway.Sheisall
ofthese:travelagent,shippingagent,travelcompanion,editor,student,teacher,friend.
Everettwhoisanamazingsourceofunboundedhappinessandenergy.Heismyconstantcompanion,patient
anduncomplaining,eventhroughthesnowyandwindywalkshomeoncoldCambridgenights.
IssacChuang,withoutwhomthisadventureneverwouldhavebegan.
and,
NeilGershenfeld,myadvisor,whopracticesready,fire,aimwithsuchprofoundbrilliancethatIcannotbutbe
leftgrinningstupidlyhappy.
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TableofContents
Introduction...................................................................................................................................................14
Challenge................................................................................................................................................14
Solution..................................................................................................................................................15
Motivation..............................................................................................................................................16
Background...................................................................................................................................................18
Energy....................................................................................................................................................18
EnergySchemeforRuralVillages...........................................................................................................20
Measuringavailablesolarenergy............................................................................................................22
Precisiondigitalfabrication.....................................................................................................................23
Solarenergytechnology..........................................................................................................................24
HowBoilersConvertThermaltoKineticEnergy.....................................................................................25
UnderstandingTurbomachinery..............................................................................................................26
TheBoundaryLayerTurbine...................................................................................................................27
FromTurbinetoGeneratorByElectromagneticInduction.......................................................................29
Implementation............................................................................................................................................30
Integratedsystem....................................................................................................................................31
SolarCollector........................................................................................................................................32
CollectorShapeandForm.......................................................................................................................33
ReflectorMaterial...................................................................................................................................35
FragilityandOtherProblems...................................................................................................................37
SteamGenerator.....................................................................................................................................39
Turbine...................................................................................................................................................42
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Evaluation.....................................................................................................................................................52
SystemCost............................................................................................................................................52
Efficiencycomparedtotheoreticalpowerofcompressedair....................................................................53
ComparisontoPhotovoltaics(SolarCells)...............................................................................................55
Impact.....................................................................................................................................................57
FutureWork..................................................................................................................................................59
SolarCollector........................................................................................................................................59
SteamGenerator.....................................................................................................................................59
Turbine...................................................................................................................................................60
Direct3DPrinting...................................................................................................................................61
Functionalrepresentationofphysicalthings.............................................................................................61
Conclusions...................................................................................................................................................63
References.....................................................................................................................................................66
AppendixA:parab.m....................................................................................................................................67
AppendixB:trough.m...................................................................................................................................71
AppendixC:trough.py..................................................................................................................................73
AppendixD:bearing.hf.................................................................................................................................76
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LISTOFFIGURESANDTABLES
Table1:Extractableenergyavailableonanyacreoftheearthinoneyear
Table2:Resolutionrequiredformechanical,electrical,andopticalsystems.
Table3:Comparisonofcostsforreflectormaterials.
Table4:CostperkWhofsolarpoweredsteamturbine.
Figure1:Measuringsolarirradiancewithalightmeter.
Figure2:Overallsolarthermalsteamturbinesystem.
Figure3:Integratedsolarcollector,boiler,andturbine.(CaleroStatePark,California)
Figure4:180cmx100cmParabolictroughmadefrommirroredglassslats(Pabal,India)
Figure5:pythongeneratedtroughpieceslaidoutasacutsheetinSVGformat
Figure6:Slottedslideassemblyparaboliccollector:softwaregeneratedmodel,cutsheet,actualpieces,and
assembled
Figure7:Staplingaluminumflashingtoshapingribstoformparabolicreflectortrough
Figure8:Onenight'sdirtaccumulationontrough.(Pabal,India).
Figure9:Winddamagedtrough.(Devil'sTower,Wisconsin)
Figure10:Stiffeningthereflectivesurfaceofthetroughusingthinplywoodscrewedintotheshapingribs.
(SevenTroughs,Nevada)
Figure11:Steamgeneratormadefrom2.5diametercopperpipe.
Figure12:Aflaskofboilingwaterdoesnotdriveaturbine.
Figure13:Awellformedjetofsteamfromthepressurecookerboiler.
Figure14:60SCFHvolumeflowfromthepressurecookerboiler.
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Figure15:Aluminumspacers,shaft,anddiscs.
Figure16:Acrylichousingandendplateswithpressedinsteelbearings.
Figure17:0.016"aluminumspacers.
Figure18:0.040"aluminumdiscs.
Figure19:Assemblingthediscpackontotheshaft.
Figure20:Cleaningtheacrylicendplatepriortobonding.
Figure21:Installingtherotorintoendplateandhousing.
Figure22:Fullyassembled9diameterturbine.
Figure23::Turbineendcapisremovable.
Figure24:Deformationofastainlesssteeldisk,probablyoccurredduringmachining.
Figure25:6.5diameterstainlesssteeldiscturbine.
Figure26:CADdrawingofslidefitshaftmadefrom2Dsheet
Figure27:Plasmacutmediumsteelshaft.
Figure28:Adirectprint,3D,workingplasterturbine.
Figure29:Adirectprint,3Dfuseddepositionmodelworkingturbine.
Figure30:9diameterturbinewithPowerTappowermeter.
Figure31:Renderingofapolygonizedfunctionallydescribedbearing.
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Introduction
Challenge
Providingadequateenergytodevelopingcountriesisoneofthegreatestglobaltechnicalchallenges
today.Anindividual'sabilitytoproduceelectricalpowerindevelopingruralareasisrestrictedbythe
economiclimitationsofimportingenergyproductionmachinessuchasgeneratorsandtheconstant
needforinputfuel.Solarenergyhasgreatpromiseasaninputsourcebecauseitiswidelydistributed
aroundtheplanetandhashighenergydensity.Thecurrentpracticeforsolarenergyusageinrural
areasisthepurchaseofphotovoltaicsystemswhichareexpensivetoproduceandrequirespecialized
siliconfabricationprocesses.Ruralinhabitantsneedtobeabletofabricatesolarenergyconversion
machineslocallytoreducedependenceonsupplysourcesandtheenergymustbeproducedatalower
costthanwhatisavailable.
IoncetraveledtoaruralvillageinWesternIndiatoworkwithtechnicalstudentsfindingsolutionsfor
localproblems. Ibroughtwithmesomeneatequipment,allofwhichranonthewrongvoltage.
Powerwasprimarilyprovidedbyadieselgenerator,whichrequireddiesel,avaluablecommodity.My
eyeswereopenedtothecripplingeffectsofnotbeingabletoplugintoanything. Iwasseverely
restrictedinproblemsolvingbecauseIwaslimitedtosolutionswithoutcomputationcomplexity.
Therewerefewtextbooksorprintresourcestoturnto,andtheyweredifficulttosearch.Handtooled
mechanismswerecrudeandimprecise.Computation,communication,andfabricationallhingedon
theavailabilityofelectricalpower.Withoutthatgenerator,IfeltlikeIcouldgetnothingdone.Since
then,overandoveragain,I'vetraveledwithmoreandmoreinterestingequipmenttomoreandmore
interestingplacesandeachtimeIstoodfrustrated,holdingaplugwithnooutlettopluginto.
InGhana,asmallnationinWestAfrica,twolargedamsinthenorthatLakeVoltaproduces1.1GWof
electricity, but the transmission infrastructure reaches only about onequarter of the nation's
householdssotherestofthecountrystillreliesondeforestationburningeverythingtheycanfind.A
tribalchieffromaverysmallnortheasternvillageaskedme, whatelseisthere? Ghanaisan
equatorialnationjustonedegreenorthoftheequator.Istoodinthemiddleofthattropicaljungleand
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lookedaround.Lush,verdantvegetationgrewnearlybeforemyeyesunderthekilowattpersquare
meterfromthesunwhichbakedtheground.Ifeltthesteadysixtoeightmeterpersecondinland
breezeandheardseveralstrongflowingwaterwaysandaccesstooceantides.Ofthesenaturaland
renewableresources,thechiefwantedtoknowwhatcouldbedonewiththesun,themostabundantly
availableresourceeverywhereinGhana.Photovoltaicsaremuchtooexpensiveforwidespreaduse,
heretheannualperhouseholdincomeisjustover$2,000.Aidworkersbroughtsolarcookersbutthey
areusedjustforcooking.Whatapplicationoftechnologycouldaddresstheneedforruralenergy?
Solution
For$50,0001today,youcanplacefabricationcapabilitiesinthefieldthathavemicrometermachining
precision,microsecondcontrolloopresponsetimes,andcomputationalcomplexityontheorderof
gigaFLOPS2.Accesstomicrons,microseconds,andgigaFLOPSallowpeopletodesign,optimize,
fabricate,andevaluatedevicesofacomplexitythatistoodifficultandtedioustodobyhumanbrain
alone. Thecurrentcollectionofmachineslooselyrepresentwhatisnowpersonalfabrication.
Today'sbundleofdisjointcommercialmachineryandsoftwarewillbecomedesktopfabrication.Just
aswhenmainframecomputersandtypesettingmachinesgavewaytodesktopcomputersanddesktop
printers,intime,desktopfabricationwillbecomeindividuallyaffordableanduserfriendly.
Thecomingwidespreadavailabilityofaffordabledigitalfabricationtoolspavesthewayforsomething
ascomplexasasteamturbinetobemadeinthefield.Micronprecisefabricationtoolsandmodest
desktopcomputerstodrivethemaredeployedinthefieldandenablethedesignandconstructionof
alternativesolarenergydevices,expandingtherangeofsolarresourceoptions.Thisthesisdescribesa
solarpoweredsteamturbinetoconvertsolarthermalenergytousefulwork.Itisanexperimentthat
showsthefeasibilityofdeviceswhichlieinthelargelyunexploredspacebetweencrudesolarcookers
forheatingfoodandcomplexphotovoltaiccellsfornarrowspectrumconversiontoelectricity. A
turbinesystemcanbemanufacturedinfieldfablabsbylocalresidentsandindoingsotheycan
USA2006dollars;seehttp://fab.cba.mit.edu/forfablabinventorylist
FLOPSisfloatingpointoperationspersecond.Itisameasureofaprocessor'sperformance.MoreFLOPSmeansa
fasterprocessorandthereforeallowsmorecomplexcomputationinlesstime.AmoderatelyinexpensivePentium4
computesontheorderofafewgigaFLOPS(GFLOPS).Comparatively,apersoncalculatesontheorderofoneFLOP
(plusawholelotofcomplaining).
1
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addressimmediateenergyneedsaswellascontinuetogrowandexpandtheirenergysystem.The
successfulimplementationofsmallsolarsteamdriventurbinesleadstoconsiderationofamechanical
energyeconomydrivenbysolaravailability.
Thesolarthermalsteampoweredturbineenergysystemusesaparaboliccollectortoconcentrate
sunlightheattoaboiler.Theboilerconvertswatertosteamwhichexitstheboileratahigherpressure
andvelocitythanthewater.Thesteamactsonaturbinewhichprovidesrotationalmechanicalforce.
Therotationalshaftworkcanbecoupledtothosethingsthatrequireenergypumps,compressors,
grinders,andgenerators.Allcomponentsofthesystemcanbemadeandassembledbyregularpeople
inafieldfabricationlab.Becausetheusershaveaccesstothedesignsandthefabricationtools,they
areabletoexperimentallyoptimizethedesigntomeetchangingconditionsandneeds.
Motivation
IcametotheMITMediaLabasadefenseengineer,devotedsincechildhoodtoputtingthebest
technologiesinthehandsofournationsservicemenintheirpursuitofsecurityforAmericancitizens.
Ibelieved,andstilldo,thatAmericansoldiersshouldcarrywiththemtoolsthatareeasytouse,dont
break,onwhichtheycanentrusttheirlives,andarebetterthaneveryoneelse's.Thesesystemscan
alwaysbemadealittlebetter,improvementsmeasuredineversmallertimeorweightunits,sothat
defenseresearchlivesonthebleedingedgeofscienceandmanufacturingcapabilities.WhenIbegan
tosharewithothersthejoyofacareerinmakingthingsandsolvingproblems,Ifoundthatmany
people(especiallystudents)lackedbasicunderstandingoffundamentalengineeringprinciples.Once
introducedtotheseideas,studentswouldrocketintofrenzieddesignbuildevaluateredesigncyclesas
theyexperimentallydiscoveredtheworld.Ialsoquicklyrealizedthatmuchoftheunderservedfirst
worldandunderdevelopedthirdworldlackedaccesstobasicengineeringconceptsandoldideasfrom
thetimemanbecameindustrialized.Itbecamecleartomehownecessaryitisforpeopletospeak
openlywitheachotheraboutideasandshareknowledge.Thegreatdivideisnttohaveorhavenot,its
knowingaboutthethingatall.
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ItookleavefromdefenseengineeringtotraveltheworldandbringastartlingconceptwhereIgo.Itis
acrazyandprematureideathathaspotentialtochangethewaytheworldthinksabouttechnology
consumersandproducers,andevenwheretherichesoftheworldlie.Iventuredouttofindthespecial
placesandpeoplethatshare mypassionsandunendinghopeinpeople,findingapplicationsfor
technology and learning about the social and community needs that go hand in hand with
development.Severallabsaroundtheworldnowcomprisealimitedexperimentincludingdrydusty
ruralIndia,ashippingportinGhana,anApartheideratownshipinSouthAfrica,coffeegrowinghigh
mountainsofCostaRica,ArcticsheepandreindeervalleysinNorway,andeveninnercityBoston.It
isanexcitingmoderndayversionoftrekkingoffintothejunglewithcratesandcratesfullofsensitive
equipmentinDr.Livingstonestyle,andit'sverycool.(Themultitudinousbitinginsectsandheatare
probablystillthesame.)
Inthecourseoftwoitinerantyears,myfocusshiftedfromtheengineeringdetailsofenergyconversion
andmechanismstothesocialandindividualimplicationsofmakingcomplex,highprecisiondevices
inprimitiveplaces.Thisthesisisapartial,mostlytechnical,descriptionofmyexperiencesbuilding
solarandwindenergyconversiondevicesinprimitiveandremoteplacesintheworld.Earlyon,I
mistakenlybelievedthatIwasembarkingonanengineeringprojectwithsomebroaderconsideration
for energypolicies. Iwasgenuinely surprisedto discovermy greatestimpactistoaddressthe
cripplinglackofworldwideapplicationoftechnologyforpeacefulandhumanitariangoals.
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Background
Energy
Proper consideration of energy topics include policy, economics, technology, and analysis. I
conductedtechnicalresearchfordeploymentindevelopingnationswithemergentenergypoliciesthat
aredifficulttostudy.Thisthesisdoesnotprovidepolicysuggestionsorenergyplansfromanational
viewbutinsteadconsidersanalternative,decentralizedapproachtoconvertinglocalenergytousable
energy.
Fireprovidesheatandlight.Animalsprovidemechanicalenergy.Fireandanimalswerenearlythe
entiretyofmansenergyportfoliountiltheinventionofthesteamenginewhichconvertsheatenergy
tomechanicalenergy.Accesstoenergyleadstoabetterqualityoflife.Inplaceswherethereareno
alternatives,themotivationforcreatingenergyconversiondevicesissimplytohaveenergyratherthan
thedisplacementoflessdesirablefuelsources.
Ifwecouldpretendthatenergyresourcesaredistributedequitablyaroundtheearththencalculatethe
extractableenergyavailableonanyoneacreinoneyear,fossilfuelsarethebigwinner.Intable1,I
donttakeintoconsiderationtheenergyrequiredtoextractorprocesstheenergyintousableenergy.
wind
solar(total)
solar(availabletoPV)
cornintoethanol
switchgrassintoethanol
algaeintobiodiesel
naturalgas,shallow
naturalgas,deep
coal,shallow
coal,deep
oil
3.42E+04
2.41E+10
6.08E+08
2.20E+06
2.70E+07
4.11E+08
1.28E+04
6.74E+07
4.50E+09
2.38E+13
1.57E+18
Whe3
Whth4
Whth
Whth
Whth
Whth
Whth
Whth
Whe
Whe
Whth
inonefootdepth
inonemiledepth
inonefootdepth
inonemiledepth
Table1:Extractableenergyavailableonanyacreoftheearthinoneyear
Whemeanselectricalwatthours
Whthmeansthermalwatthours
3
4
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Therealityisthatoilandcoalresourcesareunevenlydistributedintheworld.Toelectrifytheir
countries,manygovernmentsmustcompetewithotherconsumersandnegotiatewithforeignexport
sourcesorfindtechnologiesthatutilizedomestic,renewableenergysources.Torepaythecapitalcost
ofbuildinglarge,centralizedenergyplants,promotionalincentivesareoftenemployedtoartificially
inflateauser'selectricityneeds.Theseelectricityusagebehaviorslearnedinthestartupperiodofa
plantsoperationcanleadtolongtermunnecessaryhabitsthatdriveenergyconsumptionbeyonda
nationsmeansandcontributetoairbornepollution.
Thesystemefficiencyforelectriclightingfromacentralizedcoalfiredplantisaslowas1.3%.
Thegenerationofelectricityattheplant,transmissionofelectricity,andelectricalto
incandescentlightconversioncomprisethemajorlosses.[Fowl]Centralizedenergysystems
losemorethan50%ofheatfromindustrialprocessesthatcouldbeusedincogeneration.Inthe
caseofrenewableresources,hydropoweredelectricalgenerationhasahugeadvanceinthatthe
watersourceisgenerallynotasintermittentassunlightorwind.AttheHooverDaminNevada,
highlyefficientFrancistypeturbinesatthebaseofthedamareusedtogenerateelectricity.
Powerlinesbringtheelectricityfromthebottomofthedamtoasubstationatthetopofthe
canyonwheretheelectricityisupgradedfortransmissiontoCalifornia,Utah,Colorado,New
MexicoandArizona.Becausethequalityofthesignaldegradesoverlongdistances,alongthe
waythepowerisroutedthroughseveralsubsystemswhereitisreupgradedandconditioned.
Finally,asubstationnearthepointofconsumptiondowngradespowertofordeliveryto
households.AlthoughtheFrancistypegeneratorisapproximately90%efficient5,substantial
lossesinthetransmissionsystemmaketheentiresystemlessthan50%efficient.
Powershouldbegeneratedclosetowhereitwillbeconsumedinadistributedratherthan
centralizedscheme.Decentralizedsystemshaveaninherentfeatureinthatthemalfunctionof
onesmallplantamongmanysmallplantsislesscatastrophicthanifasingleequalcapacityplant
weretomalfunction.Smallerplantscanalsorespondmorequicklytoshiftingloadneedsand
thusloselesstolostoverproduction.Anation'spotentialCO2emissionsissignificantlyreduced
simplybynotoverproducingpowerthatwillbelostintransmissionorstorage.
DataonturbinesfromGEEnergy,http://www.gepower.com/
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Agreatdealofenergyisusedforheatingandmechanicalwork.IntheUnitedStates,heatisthe
desiredendproductofenergyapproximatelyhalfofthetimeandmechanicalenergyisthe
desiredproductaboutonequarterofthetime[Fowl].Iconsideranalternativeenergysystem
basedondecentralizedconversionofavailablefuelstogenerateenergyinitsmostneededforms:
heatenergytocookfoodanddrivecoolingforrefrigeration,mechanicalshaftworktoperform
dailytasksofgrinding,plowing,andpumping.Electricityisneededonlyforcomputationand
lightingandpossiblyinstrumentation.
Energy Scheme for Rural Villages

ThefastestgrowingmarketofsolarenergytechnologiesarethethirdworldcountrieslikeGhanawith
abundantsunlightandapopulationcurrentlywithoutelectricity.Ghanareceives46kWh/m 2perday
andacumulative1,800to3,000hoursofsunlightperyear.Solarradiationishighestinthenorthof
thecountrywhichisalsothemostrural(manyvillagesheredonothaveasinglephone).Developing
nationswithoutexistingcentralizedinfrastructurecanbenefitfromemployingthebestofacenturyof
electrifiedtechnologieswithoutbeingsaddledwithbackwardintegrationconcerns.Asnewhomesare
builtinruralareas,theycantakeadvantageofadvancementsinlowenergyconsumptionproductsand
architecturaldesignsforpassivemanagementofspaceheatingandcooling.
Intheconventionalview,thirdworldcountriesregardenergyasfoodandheat,somethinggathered
andconsumedwhiledevelopednationsviewenergyasacommodityenergyismeasured,stored,
purchasedandtraded.Theindustrializedenergyeconomyisbuiltaroundthemovementofelectrical
energybecauseelectricalenergyiseasilytransportedandmeasured,andcanbeeasilyconvertedto
mechanicalworkorheat[Ruedisili].Thecentralizedenergycreationschemeappearstoworkbecause
theconversionfromheattoelectricalenergycanbeefficientatlargerscaleswhereoutputheatcanbe
reused. However,cumulativeefficiencyofthesystemmusttakeintoaccounttheentireelectrical
powerinfrastructureincludingunusedelectricallosses,sourcefueltransportation,andwastedisposal.
Adecentralizedapproachtoprovidingondemandenergyforruralhomesrequiresaschemefor
energystorage.Thisisespeciallytrueiftheinputsourceissolar,wind,tidal,oranynonconstant
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force.Storagecapacitymustbeatleastequaltotheconsumptionexpectedwhenthesunisbelowthe
horizonorwindsshiftbecauseoflocalweather.Commonly,rechargeablebatteriesareusedtostore
electricalenergygeneratedwhenthesunorwindispresentthendischargedastheuserrequires.
Batteriesareconvenienttheyaredenseandmostlyquiet,butdonotholdchargeindefinitely.Nickel
metalhydride(NiMH)batteries,themostenvironmentally(andpeople)friendlyrechargeablebattery
typeusedinhouseholdphotovoltaicsystems,dischargeafewpercentperdayat70F,atemperate
daytimetemperature.Inhotclimates(86F104F),aNiMHbatterywillselfdischargeinoneto
threemonths,andinveryhotclimates(104F122F)orifthebatteriesarestoredinaspacewhich
trapsheat,aNiMHbatterywillselfdischargecompletelyinlessthanamonth[Quest].Thebatteries
mustbecycled(dischargedcompletelyandchargedcompletely)everyfewmonthsormore,andthey
losetheirabilitytobechargedovertime.Thebiggestdrawbackstomostbatteriesaretheircost,toxic
chemicalmakeupandinabilitytobelocallymanufacturedatthepointofuse.
Analternativeschemeforenergystorageismgh,orpotentialenergy.Pumpingwateruphill,lifting
weights,andcoilingaspringmechanicallystoreenergyforlaterrelease.Hydroelectricgeneration
fromdamsareanextremeexampleofobtainingelectricityfrompotentialenergy.Scaledtoindividual
households,thistakestheformofpumpedstorageofwatertolargewatertanksonrooftops.The
waterisn'tconsumed,itcanbecollectedinanundergroundorgroundleveltankthenpumpedbackto
therooftopwhentheenergysourceresumes.
Importantly,whenahouseholdorvillageoutgrowsitsexistingcapacity,itgainsmorecapacityby
makingmoreconversiondevicesinsteadofcuttingdownmoreforests.Thecommunity'sabilityto
fabricatetheirownenergydevicesmeansaccesstousableenergywithouttradingtheirairquality,
futureresources,orbeingforcedtomoveclosertocities.Thestartuprateismuchmoretimely,and
ruralvillagerdon'tneedtowaitforotherstobring,orfund,developmenttothem.Localselfreliance
ataninitiallyreducedcapacitycanbeadesireableoptionasopposedtoatwoyearwaitand$15Mcost
ofa1GWecoalplant.
Energyproductionisstillmostsorelyneededinthefield. Energyproducingmachinesmustbe
fabricatedinthefieldforthebestuseofresources,localandoverallcosts,andlongtermsustainability.
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Measuring available solar energy

Toevaluatesystemefficiency,itisnecessarytomeasuretheinputenergy.InthesystemIdescribe,
heatfromthesunisthesolesourceofinputenergy.Solarradiation,ortheradiantenergyemittedfrom
thesun,thathitstheearthisafunctionofthedistancebetweenearthandthesun,theconditionofthe
atmosphere, and the latitude of the measurement. Solar irradiance is usually measured with a
pyranometer(broad,directanddiffusecontributionsofheat)orapyrheliometer(incidentlightonly).
Bothmetersuseathermopilethatconvertstemperaturetovoltage. Adecentpyranometercosts
aproximately$500.
Instead,Iuseda$20lightmetersoldforphotographerstofindanapproximatevaluefortheinput
energy.Themeterreadsaggregatelightintensityinlux(lx),theunitsofirradiance.
1lux(lx)=1lumens(lm)/m2
Toconvertfromluxtowatts,wehavetotakeintoaccountthedifferentconversionfactorforevery
wavelengthfromluxtotheradiometricunit(watts/m2).Directsunlightisknowntobeonaverage93
lumens/watt.
InthehighdesertinNevadawherethereisthelittle
atmosphericobscuration,Imeasureddirectsunlight
tobe122klx.Ona2.6m2solarcollector,
122k(lumens/sqm)(2.6sqm)(watt/93lumens)=
3,410wattstotalstrikethereflector
or1,311wattspersquaremeter
Figure1:Measuringsolarirradiancewith
Thisvalueisjustshortofthe1,363W/m21,375W/m2
alightmeter.
solarirradiancemeasuredoutsidetheearth'satmosphereover
26yearsbygeophysicaldatasatellites.
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Precision digital fabrication

Computershavebecomewidespreadandaffordableandcanbefoundinthemostunderservedand
leastindustrializedpartsoftheworld.Widespreaddesktopfabricationcapabilitieswillfollowshortly
behindandsooneveryonewillhavecommandofmicronsaswellasmicroseconds[Fab]. Digital
precisionfabricationinthehandsofnearlyeverypersonontheplanethashugeimplicationsand
promisestochangeeverything.
Partofwhatmakesitpossibletocreatecomplexdevicesinunderdevelopedplacesisthedegreeof
machineresolutionavailableindesktopformandtheavailabilityoftiny,cheapmicroprocessorsfor
machinecontrolandcomputation.Cheapaccesstosubmicronlengthscalemachiningandmetrology
aswellasmicrosecondsensorcomputationresponsecontrolloopsallowsustoconstructdeviceson
preciselythescaleforhumanstointeractwiththephysicalworld.Materialsatmicrometerscalestill
behaveclassicallyandcanbemodeledasbulkmaterials.However,amicrometerisjustbelowhuman
perceptionresolutionsofinelyfeaturedcontourscanbecreated. Submicronprecisionfabrication
equipmentandmetrologyallowsfielduserstoworkwithstateoftheartcommercialmechanical,
electrical,andopticalsystems.
System
PrecisionRequired
Precisionmechanicalpartsthatrequirepressfittolerances
0.001(0.0254mm)
Smallestsurfacemountelectricalcomponents
0.01"0.005"(0.3mm0.15mm)
Diffractiongratinggoovedensityforvisiblelightoptics
1mto100mbetweengrooves
Table2:Resolutionrequiredformechanical,electrical,andopticalsystems.
For $50,0006 today, youcanplace fabrication capabilities in the field that have submicrometer
machiningprecision,microsecondcontrolloopresponsetimes,andcomputationalcomplexityonthe
USA2006dollars;seehttp://fab.cba.mit.edu/forfablabinventorylist
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orderofgigaFLOPS7.Accesstomicrons,microseconds,andgigaFLOPSallowpeopletodesign,
optimize,fabricate,andevaluatedevicesofacomplexitythatistoodifficultandtedioustodoby
humanbrainalone. Thecurrentcollectionofmachineslooselyrepresentwhatisnowpersonal
fabrication. Today'sbundleofdisjointcommercialmachineryandsoftwarewillbecomedesktop
fabrication. Just aswhenmainframecomputersandtypesettingmachinesgave way to desktop
computersanddesktopprinters,intimedesktopfabricationwillbecomeindividuallyaffordableand
userfriendly.
Thefinalpiecenecessaryfortherevolutioninmakingthingsisthedigitizationoffabrication.Imagine
thecumulativepropagationofsmallerrorsthroughsomethingwithaverylargenumberofparts,say
anAvagadronumber(1023). Nomatterhowsmallwemaketheerror,thattinyerrorissignificant
whenamplifiedonehundredsextilliontimes.Conventionalmethodsofdesignandfabricationlimits
complexity,mostlybecausewerelyonthemanufacturingmachinestoprovidealloftheresolutionand
placementprecision.Whencommunicationsandcomputationmovedfromanalogtodigitalinthe
1940s,wewonincreasedcomplexity. Digitizationoffersthepromiseofincreasedcomplexitywith
predictableerrorsdescribedasthresholds.Digitalfabricationprocesseswillusebuildingblocksthat
locallycodeforglobalstructure.Blockassemblyisfullyreversiblethepiecescanbetakeapartas
wellasassembled.Localcoding,ageometricpropertyoftheblockperformsstaterestorationso
blocksplacedfarawayfromtheoriginhavethesamepredictableerrorsasblocksplacednearthe
origin.Theassemblerhaserrordetectionandcorrection,alltogether,thisdigitalassemblyprocessis
thetruepromiseforfabricationinthefuture.
Solar energy technology

Solarthermalenergydeliversmorethan3,000BTUor100Wtonearlyeverysquarefootonthe
surfaceoftheplanet.Thecommoditydoesntneedtobeelectricityproducedbyafewand
consumedbyall.Insteadthecommoditycanbethecollectionandconversiondeviceswhich
nearlyanyonecanmakeinthecomingyearsofpersonalfabrication.
7
FLOPSisfloatingpointoperationspersecond.Itisameasureofaprocessor'sperformance.MoreFLOPSmeansa
fasterprocessorandthereforeallowsmorecomplexcomputationinlesstime.AmoderatelyinexpensivePentium4
computesontheorderofafewgigaFLOPS(GFLOPS).Comparatively,apersoncalculatesontheorderofoneFLOP
(plusawholelotofcomplaining).
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Solarenergyisclean,widelydistributed,anddenselydeliveredascomparedtootherrenewable
resources.Thesunlightthatfallsonjust2%oftheEarthssurfaceisenoughtomeettheworlds
totalenergyneeds(1998).
Currentsolarusagefallsintothreecategories,directconversiontoelectricity,thermalcollection
togenerateheatorrefrigeration,andthermalcollectiontogeneratemechanicalwork.
Directconversiontoelectricityismostcommonlyaccomplishedwithphotovoltaiccells8.
Photovoltaics(PV),whichuseonlyasmallsliceofthesolarspectrum,arethemostcommon
exampleofruralhomesolarenergyusebutareexpensiveandinefficientfortrulywidespread
use.Thermalcollectionusageforcooking,heatingorrefrigeration(throughevaporativecooling
processes)isthecrudestformofsolarenergyandoftenfoundinvariousscalesfromdinnerpot
cookers,homeheating,andminirefrigerators.Thermalcollectionandconversiontoelectricity
ismainlyexperimentalandfoundonlyinthemostindustrializedcountrieswhereresearchis
focusedonlargescaledeploymentinacentralizedpowergenerationscheme.
Solarmotorshavebeendescribedinhistorysinceatleastthe1600's.Modernsolarthermal
enginestypicallyemploycomplexenginessuchastheStirlingenginewithhundredsofunique
partsrequiringtrue3Dmachiningandarenearlyimpossibletomakeinthefield.Whilethese
enginesarechosenforconversionefficiency,theoperatingcapacityisgreatlydiminisheddueto
frequentmaintenanceneeds.IntrinsiccomplexityoftheStirlingenginesarealsoreflectedin
theirpricetagandbuildtime.
NikolaTeslasboundarylayerengine,firstpatentedin1909,usesfluidtomechanicallytransfer
energytoflatdiskswhicharekeyedtoashaft.Theseflatdisksformtheworkingsurfaceofthe
engineandaresignificantlyeasiertoproducethanconventionalcurvedandflaringturbine
blades.Theturbinecanbescaledtomicrometerlengthsbecauseadhesion,notimpingement,
causesmomentumtransferbetweenthemovingviscousfluidwiththedisks.
ShuguangZhang,associatedirectoroftheMITCenterforBiomedicalEngineeringdemonstratedin2004theabilitytoconvertsunlightto
electricityusingaproteincomplexderivedfromplantchloroplasts.
8
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How Boilers Convert Thermal to Kinetic Energy

Asteamgeneratorisaheatexchangerusedtoconvertwaterintosteam.Thesteamisagasat
muchhigherpressurethanthewaterandthepressurecanbeconvertedintomechanicalenergy.
Simplyboilingwatercreatessaturatedsteamwhichcanrecondenseintowaterquickly.A
boilerwhichfurtherheatsthesteamcreatessuperheatedsteamatmuchhigherpressures.Wet
steamiswhatiscommonlyseencomingfromaboilingkettleandisactuallyamixofwater
vaporandtinydropletsofliquidwater.
Acommonsteamengineusesthevolumetricexpansionassociatedwithsteamproductionto
movepistonsorturbinestoperformmechanicalwork.Anintriguingmethodofsteam
generationistodripsmallamountsofwaterontoaveryhotsurface.Theresultingsteam
explosionisduetothewaterflashingintosteamveryquickly.
Understanding Turbomachinery
Turbomachineisagenerictermforadevicewhichtransfersmomentumtoandfrommoving
fluids.Turbinesandpumpsarebothturbomachines.Turbinestakeenergyfrommovingfluids,
usuallyagas,andconvertittomechanicalrotationalshaftworkenergy.Pumpsdothe
opposite;theytransfermechanicalshaftworkenergytothefluidwhichisusuallyaliquid.
Therearethreetypesofturbines,reaction,impulse,anddrag.Reactionturbinesusewater
pressurepushingontheturbinebladestoproducemotionandareanexampleofNewtonsthird
lawofmotionthatforeveryactionthereisanequalandoppositereaction.Thewaterpressure
changesasitmovesthroughtheturbineandgivesupitsenergy.Becausewaterstreamwill
chosethepathofleastresistancetheremustbeahousingtocontainthewaterintheturbine.
Reactionturbinesareoftenusedformediumandlowheadapplicationswithhighflowrates.
Impulseturbinesusethevelocityofwaterhittingthebladescausingthebladestomoveaswell
aschangingthedirectionofwaterflow.ImpulseturbinesareanexampleofNewtonssecond
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lawofmotionwhichdirectlyrelatestherateofmomentumchangewiththenetforcesactingon
theturbineblade,inthesamedirectionastheexternalforce.Watervelocityisthekeydriverso
pressuremustbeconvertedtokineticenergywithanozzleandaimedattheturbine.The
impulseturbineisusedinveryhighheadapplications.Drag,orfluidfrictionturbinesusethe
adhesionoffluidflowingpastarotorsurfacetodragtherotorintomotion.Dragturbinesare
oftenusedforverylowheadandhighflowrates.9
The Boundary Layer Turbine

Theboundarylayerturbineoperatesdifferentlythanaconventionalturbine.Theworkingfluiddrags
ontherotor,causingmomentumtransferbyadhesioninsteadofimpingement.Thiseffectismost
usefulforlowheadandhighfluidvelocitiesfluidswithlowReynoldsnumbers.Boundarylayer
turbinesareverysimpletomanufacture,operateswithouthighinternalpressures,andtendtofail
safely(ratherthanfiringabladeprojectile).
Asfluidmovesacrossasurface,theboundarylayeristhatfirstlayeroffluidnearestthesurfacethatis
slowedbyinteractionwiththesurface.Theboundarylayerisaviscousforcewhichcanbethoughtof
asarisingduetofluidfriction.Themagnitudeoftheforcesinteractingbetweenthefluidandsurface
arerelatedtotheviscosityofthefluid,representedbythefluidReynoldsnumber.AtlowerReynolds
numbers,viscousforcesaredominateandtheboundarylayerismosteffectiveatmomentumtransfer.
TousecommonAfricansightstoillustratethedifferentwaystheseforcesmoveobjects:Theforcewhichpowersa
reactionturbinecanbelikenedtoarhinocerosleaningagainstyourback.Youwouldmoveforwardaslongasthe
rhinocerosdoesntsliptotheleftorrightaroundyou.Theimpulseturbineisthecumulativeeffectofthousandsand
thousandsofbulletfastAfricanbitingfliesdivingKamikazestyleintoyourback,againpushingyouforward.Theflies
onlyneedtoaimforyou,butnotworryaboutbeingconstrainedaftertheyvehit.Thecohesion,ordragturbineistheeffect
ofapackofcheetahs,thefastestlandanimal,runningpastyou.Thecheetahscomeveryclosebutdivertbeforehittingyour
back,noneofthemhittingyouinthebackbutthecloseronesbrushingagainstyoursidesanddraggingyouforward.The
waterflowrateisanalogoustothemassoftheanimalandthewaterheadisanalogoustothespeedthattheanimalis
traveling.Ifwesubstitutedawarthogfortherhino(lowerflow,samehead)orifthebitingfliesflewslower(lowerhead,
sameflow)youwouldbepushedinthesamedirectionwithlessforce.Whenitcomestothecheetahs,itsmainlytheir
velocitythatmatters,apackbabycheetahswouldpullyoualongjustthesameastheLandRoversfullofhuntersfollowing
thematthesamespeed.
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Theboundarylayerturbineisanoldidea.In1913NikolaTeslapatentedaturbinebasedonthefriction
offluidflow.Itworksbecauseoftheattachmentattheboundarybetweentheimmovable,solidblade
andthemovingfluid.Attheveryinterfacebetweenthesurfaceandthefluid,someofthefluidmust
besloweddownbyfrictionwiththesurface.Thefluidjustabovetheinterfacewouldbemovingslight
fasterbecauseit'stanglingwithsomethingmovingslowly.Thefluidjustaboutthatwouldbemoving
slightfasterstill.Ifweplotthevelocitiesofthefluidasacrosssection,itisroughlyparabolic.This
boundarylayerisextremelysmallandusuallyignoredunlessyou'redealingwithconcretepipesor
somethingveryrough,oraveryviscous,thickfluid.Tesla'sturbinesexploitsthisinteraction.The
surfacesareshapedasdiscsaboutashaftandasthefluidmovesacrossthesurface,itessentiallydrags
thecircularbladealongwithit.Overallturbineefficiencyhasbeenestimatedat95%[Tesla]and
demonstratedat41%[Rice]withasinglestageand70%withmultiplestages.
Theconventionalwisdomisthatbladelessturbinesareinefficientcomparedtothesimplestofpaddle
wheels.Thisisgenerallyevaluatedattheoperatingpointsuitableforpaddlewheelshighheadand
variableflows.Butbladelessturbinesdontmakeuseofallthatpressure;thefluidshearsand
developsonlyasmalladhesionregion.Theboundarylayersystemismoreefficientatlowflow
pressuresandmomentumtransferefficiencyincreasesasReynoldsnumberofthefluiddecreases.A
Teslaenginedesigncanhaveasfewasadozenuniquepartsandrequiresonly2Dmachining,making
itidealforfieldproduction.InTeslastime,theboundarylayerenginewasdifficulttomakebecause
thinflatdiskscouldonlybemadeonalathewheretheforceofthechuckholdingthediskwould
causelargedeformations.MetallurgyatthetimewasinsufficientforhighRPM,hightemperature
steamapplications.Today,thebladelessboundarylayerdesignismostoftenusedasapumpfor
viscous,dirty,ordifficultfluids.Recently,thebladelessturbinehasbeenemployedinapplications
wheretheworkingfluidiscontaminatedwithashorotherresiduesuchasflueexhaustgases
[Schmidt],withwetlowqualitysteam[Navajo],andforpulsatilebloodpumpingwithoutcausing
damagetobloodparts[Miller].
Thearrangementoftheboundarylayerturbineissuchthatthesurfacesarespacedtominimizethe
regionsoflaminarflowabovetheboundarylayer.Forsteam,thisspacingisapproximately0.04.For
water,theidealspacingisapproximately0.16.Togetthemostmomentumtransferoutofthefluid,
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wewanttoexposeasmuchsurfaceareaaspossibletoasmuchofthefullyformedboundarylayeras
possible.Thediskscan'tbetooclosetogethersotheboundarylayersintersect,andwealsodon'twant
toleavetoobigofagaporwe'llbemissingsomeofthehighspeedfluidthat'srushingpast.Theexact
spacingnumberdependsontheinputflowrateandtheviscosityofthefluid.
From Turbine to Generator By Electromagnetic Induction

Theturbinecanbeaugmentedwithasmallchangetoproduceelectricitydirectly.Byplacing
magnetsontheoutermostdiskoftherotorandcoilsonlabyrinthplateofthestator,theturbineisalso
agenerator.
Whenaconductorisplacedinachangingmagneticfield,anelectricalcurrentisinducedinthe
conductor.ThisisknownaselectromagneticinductionandisdescribedbyFaradayslawofmagnetic
induction.Inthecaseofagenerator,itiscommontogeometricallycondenseasinglelongwireina
coilandmoveamagnetacrossthecoils.Thetotalvoltagegeneratedisthenumberofturnsinthewire
timesthechangeinthemagneticfluxthroughasingleloopofwire.
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Implementation
InthissectionIdescribetheentiresystemaswellasexperimentswithvariousdesignsforthe
collector,boiler,andturbine.
Theoverallsystemissketchedinfigure1.Solarthermalenergyiscollectedandconcentratedtoboil
waterintosteam.Thesteamisfedintoaturbineproducingmechanicalshaftwork.Acomplete
workingsystemtogenerateelectricityfromsolarthermalenergyhasfourparts,numberedinFigure1
(1)solarcollector,(2)steamgenerator,(3)turbine,and(4)electricalgenerator(notshowninfigure).
Thefirstthreepartsofthesystemwerebuilttogeneratemechanicalshaftwork.Thesystemdecouples
themechanicaltoelectricalconversionsouserscanpursuealternativemechanicalmeansofenergy
storagesuchaspumpingwaterintoatowerorraisingweights.
(a) Waterisprovidedtothesystematthe
inletofthesteamgenerator(2).
(b) Thecollector(1)focusessunlightonto
thesteamgenerator(2)convertingthe
waterintowetsteam
(c) Steamisdirectedtotheturbine(3)
(d) Rotaryshaftworkisgeneratedbythe
spinningturbine(3)
(e) Exhauststeam/liquidexitstheturbine.
(f) Optionally,the exhaustliquidcan be
recycled into the feed water. The
exhaustliquidisalsopurifiedandcan
beusedaspotablewater.
Figure2:Overallsolarthermalsteamturbinesystem.
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Integrated system
Figure3:Integratedsolarcollector,boiler,andturbine.(CaleroStatePark,California)
Lengthoftrough 6ft
Widthoftrough 42in
Reflectormaterial plasticcoatedmetalfilm(SpaceBlanket)
Boilervolume 1.78gallons
Lengthofsteamreheatpiping 0ft
Turbinerotordiameter 6.5in
Turbinepowerrating@5000RPM 0.2HP
Icoupledtogetheraboiler,solarconcentrator,andturbine.Thesun'senergyconvertedwaterto
steam,andIranaturbineoffthesteam.Theturbinecreatedrotationalshaftworkwhichcanbe
coupledtonearlyanything:waterpump,compressor,fan,mixer,graingrinder,sewingmachine,
refrigerationcompressor,andtopowerthosefewthingsthataretrulyelectronicinnature,an
electricgenerator.
Thesystemabovewasassembledin1.5hourswithhelpfromanotherperson.Themostdifficult
partoftheassemblywasgluingthereflectormaterialtothecollectorinabreezyfield.Slotted
designofthecollectorandfocalpointindicatorscutdirectlyintothecollectorallowedmounting
theboilerwithouthavingtotakecarefulmeasurements.Theentiresystemwasangledtowards
thesunandwedgedintoplacewithjackstands.Whenthecollectorwasaimedproperlyatthe
sun,thedullblackboilersurfaceeasilyshowedthebrightnessofcondensedsunlight.
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Solar Collector
Figure4:180cmx100cmParabolictroughmadefrommirroredglassslats(Pabal,India)
Lengthoftrough 180cm
Widthoftrough 100cm
Reflectormaterial mirroredglass
A6x42footparabolictroughusingaspaceblanketasthereflectorbuiltinCaliforniaanda180
cmx100cmparabolictroughusingflatmirrorslatsmadeinIndiabothobtainedinexcessof270Fat
thefocalline.InCalifornia,thetroughneededtoberepositionedapproximatelyevery30minutesto
remainpointingatthesun.Itboiledtapwaterinaboileratthefocallinewithinfiveminutes.In
India,incomingmonsoonwindsconsistentlypushedlargecloudsinfrontofthesun,obscuringlightto
thereflectormorethan75%ofthetime.Whenasmallpatchofsunlightappearedbetweenclouds,the
targetatthefocallineheatedupto280Fimmediately.However,therewasnotenoughthermalmass
inthetargetsystemtosustaintheelevatedtemperaturewhenthesunwasobscured.
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Collector Shape and Form
Figure5:pythongeneratedtroughpieceslaidoutasacutsheetinSVGformat.
The solar collector is a parabolic form constructed using sheet metals and plywood. Historic
collectorsbuiltinthefieldwithartsandcraftsprocesseshavebeenshowntobehighlyefficientin
heatconcentrated.Computercalculatedandcontrolledplottingincreasetheprecisionandefficiency
ofthecollector. Additionally,precisionplottingandcuttingcanallowpressfitassemblyofthe
collector minimizing assembly time, installation errors, and cost of fasteners and specialty
components.
Atroughshapewasconstructedinsteadofadishtoavoidthecomplexityoftrackingthesunintwo
axes.ItestedtroughshapedcollectorsinCalifornia,Nevada,India,andSouthAfricaandoccasionally
manuallyswungthecollectortopointatthesun.Thetroughdesigncouldbefurthercustomizedto
followthearcofthesungiventhelatitudeofinstallationandseasonofuse.Theboiler,describedin
thenextsection,wouldneedtobecurvedtomatchthefocalarc.Atrackingcircuitcouldbeeasily
implementedusinganAtmelATTiny45microcontrollerwhichhasanintegratedtemperaturesensor.
TheATTiny45andassociateddrivingcomponentsareastandardpartofthedistributioninthefab
fieldlabs[Fablab].
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Figure6:Slottedslideassemblyparaboliccollector:softwaregeneratedmodel,cutsheet,actualpieces,
andassembled.
Ialsoconstructedparabolicdishes,althoughasmentionedabove,theywereabandonedfortroughsfor
simplerpointing.InGhanaandSouthAfrica,Itriedxandyslicingaparabolicdishframewithslots
forassemblyasshowninillustration5.(SeeappendixAforparab.m,theMatlabcodetogenerate
arbitrarysizedframeslats).Alimitationtothedishsizewasthemaximumcuttingwidthofthelaser
cutter(24).Flatmirroredtilepiecesoracontinuoussheetofreflectivematerialwasplacedoverthe
frameandreflectedlightfairlywell.Inillustration5,thefocalareaisapproximatelytheareaofa
singletile.However,theframerequiredalotofmaterial,waslaborioustocutforlargersizesthanthe
desktopmodelshown,andunlessattachedwithfastenersoradhesives,difficulttopoint.Muchlaterin
theprocess,an4'x8'NCrouterwasaddedtothefabricationequipmentatthefieldsiteswhichwould
havemadeitpossibletomakelargerframepieces.Thelargerouterwasusedtomakethetroughribs
describedabove.
Itwassimpletomodifythecodefromparab.mtotrough.m(seeappendixB)butbynowIhad
movedontoNorwayandIndia.Inallofthefieldsites,theonlylicensedcopyofMatlabwasonmy
laptopsothecodewasn'tveryusefulforfutureworkbylocals.Irewrotethetroughcodeinpython,an
interpreted, interactive, objectoriented programming language [Python] (see appendix C for
trough.py).Pythonrunsonnearlyeverymachineplatformandisfreelyusableanddistributable,
even for commercial use. Because Python uses modules, I could make use of a collaborator's
implementationoftoolpathfilegenerationwithjustasinglecall[Scheffler].
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Thepythonscriptalsoautomaticallygeneratesslottedendpiecesandrailssothatallpiecesslidefit
intoacompletesupportassembly.Thefrontreflectingsurfacethenhastobecoveredwithareflective
material.
Reflector Material
Figure7:Staplingaluminumflashingtoshapingribsto
formparabolicreflectortrough.
reflectormaterial
purchasecostandquantity
$/ft
regularaluminumfoil
$1.99for12x25'roll
$0.08
spaceblanket
$3.99forsingle56x84piece
$0.12
roofingflashing
$17.98for10x50'roll
$0.43
Table3:Comparisonofcostsforreflectormaterials.
IfIwereonlytoconsiderreflectivityandcost,thebestreflectivematerialisaluminumfoil,shinyside
up[Harrison].However,aluminumfoilisdelicateanddifficulttoworkwithoverlargesurfaces.I
foundtheoverallbestmaterialwasasurprisinglytoughSpaceBlanketgluedtoabackingsurface.
Myearliest attempts inSouth Africa at gluing aluminum foil to anything large resulted in big,
smeared,wrinklymesses. InIndia,Isetaboutsandwichingextrasuperheavydutyaluminumfoil
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betweentwopiecesoflouvertypewindowpaneglass.Atthemarketplace,Idiscoveredthatitwas
cheapertobuymirroredglassthantwopiecesofcomparablysizeregularglass 10.Thissimplifiedthe
reflectorconstructionasIcouldjustthemirroredpiecesdirectly.Themirroredslatswereextremely
fragile(perhapstwopiecesofregularwindowglasswouldhavebeenbetter)andtheirlonglengths
meanttheywereeffectivelylongleverarms,increasingsmallforcesatoneendandbreakingtheglass
atthesupportingendpieceswhenhighwindsarrived.
InNevada,Iused0.0086thickrolledaluminumroofingflashingasthereflectormaterial.Flashingis
cold rolled which give both sides of the aluminum sheet a dull appearance.11 Flashing was
sufficientlythintoattachtotheplywoodshapingribswitharegulardutystaplegun.Whilethe
Nevadatroughfocusedsunlightadequately,asinglesheetofmoderatelywrinkledaluminumfoil
placedononeendmadeasignificantdifferenceandledmetocoatingtheCaliforniatroughwitha
shinysurface.Aluminumfoilisdifficulttoworkwithbecauseittearseasilyanditisimpossibleto
preventwrinkles(anewlypurchasedrollisoftenslightlywrinkledtobeginwith)soItriedaSpace
Blanket.Aspaceblanketisanextremelythinlayerofaluminum(0.000256)bondedbetweentwo
sheetsofplastic. Thelaminationprocesspreservestheshininessofthealuminumandtheplastic
allowsforlessgentlehandlingwhilestillprovidinggoodsunlightreflection.Athickermaterialsold
asmetallizedmylar,availableinlargerollsfourfeetwide,wasunsuitableasreflectormaterial
becausethemirroredlayerdelaminatedandturnedmilkyanddullwhenhumid,cold,orwet,and
appearedtoscatterlightmorethanthespaceblanket.Iusedcontactcementtoadhereasinglespace
blankettotheluanbaseofthetrough.
10
InaPuneglassshop,thepricefora5inwidex5ftlongwere:
mirroredglass:150rupees
clearglass(needtwiceasmany):88rupees
Forreference,$1USD=46.42INRatthetimeofwriting.
11
Aluminumfoilisalsocoldrolledbuthasashinyanddullsidebecausetwolayersofaluminumareforcedtogether
throughtherollerpress.Theshinysideiswherethefoilsarefacetofaceandthedullsidesarethatwhichwereagainstthe
rollers.Themanufacturersofthemostcommonaluminumfoilsrolltwopiecesoffoilatthesametimetoapproximately
0.00079thicknesseach.
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Fragility and Other Problems
Figure8:Onenight'sdirtaccumulationon
trough.(Pabal,India)
Figure9:Winddamagedtrough.(Devil'sTower,
Wisconsin)
Arecurringproblemateverylocationwasthecleanlinessofthereflectingsurface.Dirtandother
accumulantsonthereflectorsurfaceabsorbratherthanreflectandresultinalessefficientcollector.
For long term setup and use, the reflectors need to be kept clean without requiring significant
maintenanceeffort.Thisissignificantlyeasieratsomelocationsthanothers.Thetroughswerealso
basicallyanairfoilandwereoftendamagedbywind. InIndiaandNevada,seasonallyhighwinds
precedingthemonsoonseason(India)andanincomingthunderstorm(Nevada)crumpledandtorqued
thethinreflectingsurfacesintononparabolicshapes.
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Figure10:Stiffeningthereflectivesurfaceofthetroughusing
thinplywoodscrewedintotheshapingribs.(SevenTroughs,
Nevada)
ThetroughbuiltinCaliforniauseda1/8sheetofluan(thinplywood)screwedtotheshapingribsto
stiffenthetrough.Luanisalowgradeplywoodthatcomesinthinsingleplysheetsandisusually
strongerinonedirection.Whilemultipleplyplywoodismanufacturedwithlaminatedlayersofwood
withgrainsalignedperpendicularly,luanisasinglelayerandiseasilybentalongthedirectionofthe
woodgrain.
Buildingthesolartroughledmetoconsidermoregeneralizedparametricgenerationofphysical
objects.Thecodeexamplesprovided,parab.m,trough.m,andtrough.pycouldhavefront
endswrittensothattheuseronlyinputsasolarintensitymeasurementandadesiredvolumeflowof
steam.Thescriptshouldbeabletosufficientlyoptimizeonafullassemblydesignandgeneratean
appropriatetoolpath.
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Steam Generator
Figure11:Steamgeneratormadefrom2.5diametercopperpipe.LeftshowingfillandsteamexitTin
boiler.Centerandrightshowingsteamreheatcoils.
Lengthofboiler 84in
Diameterofboiler 2.5in
Volumeofboiler 1.78gal
boilermaterial copper
Preciseparabolicconcentratorsfocusheattoasmallvolume,forcinglargeamountsofheatenergyinto
asmallspace.Theintenseheatatthecollectorsfocusconvertswatertosteam.Thesteamisreheated
todryitfurther.
Aboilerwasconstructedusing2.5diametercopperpipesoldforhomeplumbing.Theendsofthe
copperpipeweresealedwithcapsheldinplacewithregularsolder.AreducingTwassolderedinto
oneendforbothsteamoutputandwaterfilling.Theentireboilerwaspaintedflatblacktoimprove
heatabsorption. Theboilerwasintendedtoholdavolumeofwaterandruntocompletion,then
refilled.Theboilerwas84longandheld1.78gallonsofwater.60Fwaterfromagardenhosewas
heatedtoboilingwithinafewminutes.
Thesteamoutputtubingwas3/8innerdiametercoppertubing(alsousedforhouseholdplumbing).I
usedafairlylargediametertubebecauseIdidnotwanttorestricttheflowrateofsteam.InNevada
andCaliforniatroughs,Icoiledtheoutputsteamtubingaroundthewaterboilingpipetoallowthe
steamtoheatabovetheboilingtemperatureofwateranddryoutfurther.Itwasverydifficulttobend
the3/8coppertubingintoacoilthatlaytightlyagainstthesurfaceofthe2.5pipe,sotherewasa
largegapbetweenthecoilandpipe.Thismeantthatthecoilwasfarfromthecollectorfocallineand
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Figure12:Aflaskof
boilingwaterdoesnot
driveaturbine.
Figure13:Awellformedjetofsteamfrom Figure14:60SCFH
thepressurecookerboiler.
volumeflowfromthe
pressurecookerboiler.
therewouldbenoheattransferbetweentheturbineandpipe.Theambientairtemperaturewascool
(77FinCalifornia)andapersistentbreezeconvectivelycarriedawaytheheatfromthethintubing.
Theintendeddryingcoilactedlikearadiatorandthesteamrecondensedintowaterinthecoil,forming
waterplugsinthelowpartsofthecoil.Asthewaterintheboilerreachedboilingandpushedsteam
intothetubingcoil,splurtsofhotwatercameouttheexitendofthetubing.Abettergeometryforthe
dryingtubingwouldhavebeentosimplyarrangethesteamtubeslongitudinallyalongtheboilerpipe
ascloseaspossibleandtofillthespacewithsolder.
Iwasbiasedtoacoilbecauseofanearlierexperimentwithapressurecooker. Initially,Isimply
coupledasmallturbinetoaflaskofboilingwater.Nothinghappenedexcepttheturbinebecamewet
withrecondensedsteam,becausetherewastoolittlevolumeflowandtoolittlepressure.NextItried
usingtheoutputofthesteamjetonanespressomaker.Again,thesteamrecondensedtooquicklyand
theturbinegotwet.Thesteamjetonanexpressomakerisintendedtoblowbubblesinmilkandhas
highpressurebutverylittleflow.SoIturnedtoalargerpressurevessel,akitchenpressurecookerone
mightusetocookriceorvegetables.Idrilledoutthepressurereliefvalveandreplaceditwitha1/4
copperfittingandtube.Iputthepressurecookeronmykitchenstoveandturnedtheheatupto260
F.Theoutputhadgreaterflow,butstillrecondensedtooquicklyandtheturbineslowlyfilledwith
water. Theproblemisthatwhile steamcancontinuetoabsorbheatandbuildpressure,wateris
unabletoholdheatabove212Fandthewaterlaybetweentheheatsourceandsteam.Iwrappeda
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longcoppertubearoundtheoutsideofthepressurecookersothattheheatwouldcontinuetoheatthe
steamanddryitfurther.FinallyIwasmakingsteamthatdidn'trecondense.Thesteamproduced60
SCFHat261Fthrougha1/4tube.Itwastimetomakealargervolumeboilerthatcouldholdmore
waterandstillreheatthesteamformed,asIdescribeatthebeginningofthissection.
Experimentation with flash conversion of small quantities of water into steam suggests it is a
promisingdirectiontopursueiftheheatsourceisconsistent.Usingacolumnofwatertomaintain
pressureonthefeedsideworkedinthecaseofglasscapillaries,butalargescalesystemwould
probablyneedasystemwithvalvesandseals.
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Turbine
Theturbine istheworkengine and must befieldproducible. Aboundarylayer turbinewasa
promisingdesignbecauseitcanbeefficientatlowoperatingpressuresandistheverystraightforward
toconstruct.ThedesignandconstructionofTeslaturbinesemployed2D(sheet)metalsandplastics
andusedtheleastnumberaspossibleofprefabricatedspecialpartssuchassprings,bearings,and
fasteners.
Variousindustrieshavebuiltboundarylayerturbinesforbothshaftworkandelectricalgeneration
applications.Mostturbinesarelargewith6to24diameterdisksandaregenerallyhydroorwet
steampowered.Historicalrotorefficiencyhasbeenreportedtobe97%.ModernanalysisofTeslas
designshowstherotortobemorethan95%efficientatfluidtorotarymotiontransfer.Theentire
enginewas36%efficientoverallwithmostofthelossesfoundtobeheatlostattheinletandoutlet
[Rice].
Improved modern designs include improved seals and nozzles which can increase the overall
efficiency.Whileanozzlewouldhaveincreasedtheturbine'sefficiency,Iwantedtomakeadirect
comparisonbetweeninputpowerandshaftworkwithouthavingtoaccountforanozzle.
The2HP(1,491watts)turbineismadefrom9diameter,0.040thickaluminumdiscsand0.016
thickaluminumspacers.Thefirstversionusedcheapsteelbearingspressedintoacrylicendplates.
Acrylicendplatesaremoreexpensivethansteelorothermaterialsandwasnotstrictlynecessarybut
thecleartransparentacrylicmadeiteasiertoobservetheturbineinaction.
Thediscsandspacerswerecutonthewaterjetcutterinstacksof10atatime,thendeburredbyhand.
Theacrylichousingwasalsocutonthewaterjetcutter,althoughitwasnotnecessary.Analternative
processtowaterjetcuttingwouldhavebeentomakeadieandstampfromahardermetalthendiecut
thespacersanddiscs.Diecuttingwouldbemoresuitableifsomeoneweretomakeseveralturbinesof
thesamesize.Theundersideofthecutwouldstillneedtobedeburredbyhand.
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Figure15:Aluminumspacers,shaft,anddiscs.
Figure16:Acrylichousingandendplateswith
pressedinsteelbearings.
Figure18:0.016"aluminumspacers.
Figure17:10.040"aluminumdiscs.
Figure19:Assemblingthediscpackontotheshaft
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Figure20:Cleaningtheacrylicendplatepriortobonding
Figure22:Fullyassembled9diameter
turbine.
Figure21:Installingtherotorintoendplate
andhousing.
Figure23::Turbineendcapisremovable.
Arotordiscpackwasmadebyalternatelystackingdiscsandrotors.Tomaintainalignmentofthevent
port,Iusedasmallamountofindustrialadhesivebetweendiscsandspacers.Iuseda3/4shaftcollar
setperpendicularlyontheshaftwiththehelpofasquaretoalignthefirstdiscsothatitwouldbe
perpendiculartotheshaft.(LaterIdiscoverthatthisisn'tgoodenoughandthisresultedinanoff
balancerotor.)Thehiddenendoftheshaftprotrudesthroughaholeintheworkbench.
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Theacrylichousingpieceswascarefullycleanedwithacetonethenbondedtogetherwithacrylic
cement.Therotorwasloadedintothehousing.OneendpieceneededtoremaindetachableincaseI
neededtotaketheassemblyapart,soIusedsiliconesealantbetweenitandtherestofthehousing,
thencompressedtheentireassemblywithscrewsandnuts.Aproduction,finishedturbineprobably
wouldn'tneedtobetakenapartandcouldbesealedwiththeacryliccementaswell.
Twogreatestsourcesofmomentumlosswerefrictionduetobearingsandimbalanceoftherotor.The
bearingsposedthegreatestsourceoffrictionallossesforthesystemandwillrequirefurtherresearch
andexperimentationtominimizetheirlosseffectsonthesystem.WhenIusedacompliantcentering
flexurewillconstrainthebearings,themovementoftheentirerotorwouldhitthehousingandseals.
Inpart,thisisbecausetherotorwassignificantlyoffperpendicularwiththeshaft.
Attachingthin rotor discs and spacers to the shaft so they were perpendicular to the shaft and
rotationallyalignedwithrespecttoeachotherwasmoredifficultthanIexpected.Nosimplejigheld
theshaftnormaltothestackingsurfaceandsmalltiltanglesfromeachsuccessivediscaddedupintoa
significantcumulativeerrornoticeablewhentherotorwasspun.Inoneshaftdesignutilizingtwoflat
andslottedpartspressfitintoa3Dpart,Iusedlongarmscutperpendiculartotheaxisoftheshaftto
guidethefirstdiscexpectingensuingdiscsandspacerstolieparallelwiththefirstdisc.Whilethefirst
discwasprobablynicelyperpendiculartothe
shaft,theentire2.5thickrotorstackwas
not.Muchofthiserrorisattributabletothe
burrs remaining on the discs and spacers
leftover from the machining process.
Another source of error are the non
uniformitiesandinflicteddeformationofthe
sheetmaterialused.
Figure24:Deformationofastainlesssteeldisk,
probablyoccurredduringmachining.
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Figure25:6.5diameterstainlesssteeldiscturbine.
Figure26:CADdrawingofslidefitshaftmadefrom2Dsheet
Figure27:Plasmacutmediumsteelshaft.Plasmacuttingwasunabletogivestraightperpendicularcuts
necessaryforthisdesign.
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Inthe9diameterrotorturbinedescribedabovetherearesomespecialpartsthatIdidnotfabricate,
theyaretheshaft,bearings,collars,andsprings.(Idon'tcounttheboltsandnutstoholdthehousing
together because the housingcould have been bonded but I use bolts so I can disassemble for
inspection).Toreplacethealuminumbarusedasashaft,Icuttwooppositelyslottedpartsthatslide
fitandlocktogether.Thisshaftalsoincludedaflangemeanttoprovideaperpendicularsurfaceforthe
firstdisctolieflatagainstduringassembly.
The discs have a plusshaped shaft hole to accommodate the assembled shaft profile. This
convenientlyhelpsthetransferoftorquefromdisctoshaft.Iattemptedtocutthisshaftfrommedium
steelwithanNCcontrolledplasmatorchbutthedesignreliedheavilyontheedgesoftheshafttobe
cutperpendicularlyandcleanly.Plasmaisavortexofswirlinggasandcutswitharounded,whirlly
edgethatwouldnotallowthepiecestoassemblecorrectly.Theshaftusedinthefinishedturbinewas
waterjetcutfrom0.25aluminum.
Thisturbinewasmeanttoberunwithlivesteam,sothethediscswerecutfrom0.060stainlesssteel
andspacerswere0.040aluminum.Theturbinehasonethrustbearingontheundersideandismeant
toruninthehorizontalposition.TheunassembledturbinepartstravelledtoSouthAfricaandback
beforebeingassembledandthediscssufferedsomewarpingduetopoorpackaging.Onceassembled,
therotorscrapedagainsttheendplatesbecauseitwasverymuchoffperpendicularfromtheshaft.A
thickerhousingandpinkacrylicendplateswerehastilymanufacturedtoallowmorespaceforthe
rotor,andtheentireturbinewasshippedtoCaliforniaforintegrationwiththesolartroughboiler
(resultsdiscussedintheEvaluationsection).
Theassembled6.5turbinehasatheoreticalpowerof0.10HP.Theturbinewasabletospinwithsolar
thermalgeneratedsteam;inourtestswith17SCFM@80PSIGcompressedairtheturbinewasable
tospinthebicyclewheeldescribedinthe Evaluation section,butthevaluesweretoolowforthe
powermetertorecord.
Figure28:Adirectprint,3D,workingplasterturbine.
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PerhapsthemostsurprisingoftheturbinedesignsweretheonesIdidn'texpecttowork.Nearing
theendofthisresearch,weprintedturbinedesignson3Dprinters12.Oneprintersquirts
microdropletsofbinderintoalooseplasterandtheotherprintermeltsandextrudesaplastic.In
bothcases,weallowedtheprinterstodirectlymaketheentireturbinecompletelyassembled,
eventheballscapturedinthebearings.Inbothcases,theprinttookaverylongtimeandthere
wasafairamountofpostprocessingnecessarytostabilizetheworkingmaterialandremovethe
supportmaterial.Alsoinbothcaseswevariedthesizesofthedigitaldesignfilearbitrarily,
scalingtheprintedturbinefornobetterreasonthanbeingableto.And,asIindicated,althoughI
completelydidnotexpectit,theseturbinesworked.
Figure29:Adirectprint,3Dfuseddepositionmodelworkingturbine.
12
Again,IamindebtedtoKennethCheungoftheMITSMArchSComputationGroup,whoprintedtheseturbinesdespite
mypessicism.
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Theabilitytoprintcompletelyassembled,functionalmechanismscoupledwithanabilityto
mathematicallydescribedevicesisrevolutionary.Inadirectprintdevice,bearingsarealigned
andmatched,rotordiscsareperpendicularandsymmetric(andthereforebalanced),andthe
entirestructureiscompletelyassembled.Designingamechanismwithouthavingtotakeinto
considerationit'sassemblyprocedureandaccessesalterstheframeworkinwhichthedesigneris
restricted.Functionbased,mathematicaldescriptionsofthesystemaresolvedjustbeforethe
printtimeandareportable,scalable,andeasilycustomized.Functionbasedmodelsdon'thaveto
bewrittensothattheuserdescribesjustthephysicalparametersofthedevicebutrather
measurableparametersofthesystemenvironment.Thecompilersolvercanutilizeadescription
moduleofknownphysicalconstraints(oftheUniverse)tofindanoptimalsolutiongiventhe
systemenvironmentanddesiredoutput.
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THISPAGELEFTBLANK.
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Evaluation
System Cost
#
each
total
SOLARCONCENTRATOR
3/4"plywood
2"x8"wood
drywallscrews,box
pintofcontactcement
spaceblanket
2 $22
3 $10
1 $2.50
1
$5
1
$4
$44
$30
$3
$5
$4
$86 concentrator
STEAMGENERATOR
2.5"diacopperpipe
2.5"endcaps
reducingT
ballvalve
3/8"coppertubing
2.5"diamountingbrackets
solder,fluxpaste
flatblackspraypaint
insulatingmaterial
1
2
1
1
1
2
1
1
2
$20
$1
$1
$2
$16
$0
$4
$2
$4
$50 steamgenerator
TURBINE(2HP)
0.040"12"x24"aluminumsheet
bearings
$20
$0
$1
$2
$16
$0
$4
$2
$2
10 2.808
10 0.562
2
$4
1 52.65
$28
Alsheetis$2.50/lbs,Al6061is0.0975lb/in
$6
$8
$53
housingandshaftcutfromthissheet
$94 turbine
$229 TOTALSYSTEM
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Efficiency compared to theoretical power of compressed air
Figure30:9diameterturbinewithPowerTappowermeter
Ibuilta9diameter3003aluminumturbinewith19discsand0.016discspacing.ThetheoreticalHP
ofthisturbineis2HPor1491Wat6,000RPM.Shopairavailableprovidedamaximumof16SCFM
at80PSI.Loadwasappliedtotheturbinebycouplingitviaachaintoabicyclewheelmountedona
cyclingtrainerwhichprovidesresistancetothewheel.Thebicyclewheelhadanintegratedwireless
powermeterbuiltintoitshubwhichreportedRPMandpowerinwatts.
Theturbinedrovethesystematamaximum929RPMandproduced21W.Thetheoreticalpowerof
shopairdeliveredwas350W,sotheefficiencyofoursystemis6%.
Thecompressedairsystemwasunabletoprovideenoughflowtospintheturbineclosetoitsdesigned
operatingpoint.Itispossiblethatbetterefficienciescanbeachievedwithaturbinebuilttomatchthe
flowrateofthecompressedairsystem.
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Thesystemdidnotemployaderailertotensionthechainbecausetheadditionalloadfromtheadded
tensionpreventedtheturbinefromstarting(boundarylayerturbinesaredifficulttostartoninputflow
alone).Ireplacedtheinexpensive,steelbearingswithprecisionstainlesssteelbearingsandtheturbine
wentalittlefasteruntilitreachedtheresonanceofthechainandthechainbegantowildlybounceup
anddown,ultimatelyfallingoffthegears.
%eff.m
%calculateefficiencyofturbinerunningoncompressedair
%a.sun8/01/06
%
%%MEASURE%%
degC=20;
psi=80;
scfm=16;
W_t=21%measuredturbineperformance(watts)
%theoreticalhpincompressedair
degF=(degC*1.8)+32;
cfm=scfm/((520/(degF+460))*(psi/14.7));
hp_ca=0.2267*cfm*((((psi/14.7)+1)^0.283)1);
W_ca=hp_ca*745.70
%efficiencyisout/in
percent_efficiency=W_t/W_ca*100
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Comparison to Photovoltaics (Solar Cells)
sunlightperday(hours)
solarirradiancepersqm(kW)
efficiencyofsystem(%)
capitalcostofsystem($)
systemlifetime(years)
capacityfactor(%)
very,very
conservative
6
0.35
2.5%
300
0.75
50%
expected
average
8
0.5
5.0%
250
2
75%
idealconditions
12
1
10.0%
229
3
99%
optimistic
12
1
20.0%
200
5
99%
$/kWh
20.860
1.141
0.088
0.023
Table4:CostperkWhofsolarpoweredsteamturbine.Capitalcostofsystemdoesnotincludelaboror
manufacturingcosts.
ThecalculationforcostperkWhouris:
totalcollectedkWhoverdevicelifetime=
(sunlighthours/day)(365.25days/year)(solarirradiance(kW)/sqm)
(systemlife(years))(2sqmeters)
usefulkWhconvertedoverdevicelifetime=
(totalkWhoverlifetime)(efficiencyofsystem)(capacityfactor)
costperkWh=
capitalcostofsystemusefulkWhoverlifetime
ThewidedifferencebetweenconservativeandoptimisticestimatesofcostperkWhunderscoresthe
importanceofunderstandingtheinputconditionsatthedeploymentsite.Thevery,very
conservativecasedescribesalocationcompletelyunsuitableforasolarpoweredeconomy(theresun
isnotverystrong,thesunlitdayisshort,andweatherconditionsobscurethesunhalfthetime)andthe
conversiondevicewasbuiltverypoorlysothatitconvertsonly2.5%ofthelittleincomingenergyto
usefulenergy13.Idealconditionsdescribesasunny,equatoriallocationwherestrongsunlight
bathesthegroundforlongdays.Clearlythisisamorecosteffectivelocationforasolarthermal
system.
13
ThisisroughlyanalogoustoCambridge,Massachusetts,USAinthefallseason.
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Photovoltaiccellsareincreasinglyrecommendedfordeploymentinruralplacestogenerate
electricitydirectlyfromsolarphotonicenergy.Photovoltaiccellsaremadeusingsemiconductor
fabricationtechnologiesandareusuallyassembledintolargemodulesofcellsconnectedtoan
inverterandpowerconditioner.Althoughsignificantimprovementsinefficiencieshavebeen
made,afundamentallimitationtosolarcellefficiencyisthenarrowspectrumthatcellsrespond
to.Solarcellsmustbeorientedsothatincominglightisperpendiculartothesurfacesoan
accurateactivepointingsystemmustbeusedtomakeuseofanentireday'ssunlight.
Photovoltaiccellsaremadeusingsemiconductorfabricationprocesseswithhightemperatures
andtoxicchemicals.Thecellscannotbemadelocally,soconsumersaredependenton
manufacturers.Inrecentyears,thecostofphotovoltaiccellshavedecreasedbasedonmarket
proliferationandeconomiesofscale.
Asuccessfulenergyproducingdevicemustproduceaffordableenergy.Affordabilitymustconsider
theentiresystemscostsfromobtainingfeedsourcetowasteprocessing.Thedifferencesbetween
photovoltaic products and our device are most obvious when one considers manufacturing and
acquisitioncosts.Photovoltaicscostapproximately$6000perkWtomanufacturenotincludingthe
initial acquisition cost of the silicon fabrication facility. Over a predicted 20 year lifetime,
photovoltaicscosts$0.37perkWhinasunnylocation[Solarbuzz]. Thedevicedescribedinthis
researchcosts$153perkWtomanufactureandhasalifetimeof2years.Ourdevicecosts$0.08per
kWh(usingtheidealconditionsintable15)14.
14
PhotovoltaicoutputisinelectricalkWhwherethissystemisinmechanicalkWh.
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Impact
Itwilltakeatleastadecadebeforewefindouthowfablabsempowerindividualsandchange
communities.Weknowforcertainthatthefablabsareanalternativelearningmodelandwe
cannotdowrongbyofferingdifferentpathstosupplementlearners'curriculum.Howthose
peopleaffectthecommunitiesaroundthemremainstobeseen,butthereispotentialforgreat,
sweepingchanges.
Largeandcomplexproblemsrequirelotsofpeopleandresources.Weoftenassumethese
projectsrequireacentralizedstructure,asingularprogrammanagerwhodirectsmanagerswho
directworkers.Tosolvetheworldsbiggestproblemswecaninsteadtakeadistributedapproach
byenablingordinarypeopletocollaborate.Theopenintellectualnetworkofthefablabis
extremelyimportantandallowsworkatonelocationtofeedintoworkatanother.Viral
disseminationofknowledgeandpeertopeer,grassrootslearningallowsindividualstotake
advantageofeachother,creatingamuchlargerimpactasawhole.
MydiarydoesntgofarenoughbacktorecordBashirs15ageprecisely.Hewasprobably10
yearsoldwhenImethimindusty,ruralWesternIndiainthewinterof2002.Bashirwantedto
conquerwhathesawasoppressionoverruralfarmerstheenergyloadandwatersharing
outagesthatperpetuatedafrustratinginabilitytoindustrialize.Bashirdemandedtobetaught
aboutwindmills,generators,waterpumps,controlcircuitry,watersensors,dams,andwantedto
accessthatinformationviathecomputerweweretoleavebehind.Weperformedexperimentsas
wecould;thefablabequipmentlistwasinfantilethenandconsistedonlyofthe2.5Dminimill
andknifecutter.ItwasBashirsprecociousenthusiasmforchangingthelandscapeoftherural
Indianfarmerthatdraggedmeawayfromaproperengineeringjobandintothefield.WhenI
left,IgiftedBashirwitheverytechnicalbookIdbroughtwithmebutwonderedwhathecould
makeofthatlimited,staticresource.
Atthetime,thebestwecoulddotoconnectBashirtotheoutsideworldwasapainfullyslow
dialupconnectionwhichhingedontheupanddownruralphoneandpowersystem.Later,
15
Nothisrealname
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whenotherfablabsaroundtheworldsharedadeepdesiretoconnect,itspawnedaglobal
collaborativeprojecttocreateantennasthatcouldbemadewiththeresourcesineveryfablab.
Asolutionforthefablabconnectivityproblemcamefromwithinthefablabandhassince
spreadintoacommercialbusinessforatleastonecommunity.
Kalomi16was8yearsoldin2004whenshebecameaninternationalmoviestar.Headsofstate,
generals,corporatepresidentsaroundtheworldhavewatchedhermakeacircuitboardinthe
TakoradifablabinGhana.Afterhangingaroundthelabandwatchingolderboyslearningabout
circuitsforalittlewhile,Kalomineededverylittlehelptomakeandbuildhercircuit.The
reasonsKalomiwasabletomakeherfirstcircuitarethefabinventionsthatlowertheentry
thresholdfornewandbeginningusers.Shemighthavequicklylostinterestwithacumbersome
processthatrequiresanunreasonableamountofhandholdingfromanexperienceduser.Kalomi
didntneedtoknowcircuitanalysistofabricatethephysicalboardandshedidntneedto
understandtheentirecircuittolearnhowtohermodificationstothecircuitaffecteditsbehavior.
Sheskippedstraighttothefunpartofmakingtheboard,thenlearnedaboutcircuitpartsand
microcontrollersasneededalongtheway.TheopportunitiesKalomihasforsharingand
continuingtolearnaboutcircuitsgrowasthenetworkofotherfablabpeerlearnersgrow,
increasinginaviralfashion.
Throughplayinthefablab,Kalomihashadexposuretoscientificconceptsandexperienced
technicalexperimentalprocesses.NowKalomiis10yearsoldandsmarterthanallthekidsher
age(andseveralofthemucholderkids)andsomethingofafrustrationforherteachers.Her
parentshavewrittenusaskifwecouldhelpfindaplacetoeducateherbecausethereisnotan
advancedschoolingoptioninTakoradi.Iimaginethatfora10yearoldchild,itmustseema
punishmenttobetornawayfromalovingfamilysimplybecauseoneissmart.
Notherrealname
16
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Future Work
Solar Collector
Thecollectorcouldbeoptimizedintwoways. First,thepythonprogramcouldtakeasinputthe
latitudeofsiteofintendeduseandplotanoptimalshapethatrequirestheleastamountofsuntracking.
Second,asimpletrackingcircuitcouldbebuiltusingstandarddeployedfablabcomponentsanda
motor.Thetroughshapeisconvenientinthatitonlyrequirestrackingthesuninoneaxis.Atthe
moment,themotortoswingthetroughmustbepurchasedbuttherehasbeensomedevelopmentwork
inthefieldlabstomakemotors[Fab].Themotorisadevicewhichtransformselectricalpowerto
mechanicalwork,butthereisopportunityinsteadtoconsiderapassive,thermalpneumaticsystemfor
suntracking[Zomeworks]. Severalotherdetailsrequireoptimizationattheusersite,suchasthe
methodofadheringthereflectivematerialtothesurfaceandthethicknessesofmaterialsusedforthe
supportstructure.
Steam Generator
Modificationstotheboilerpresentthemostsignificantimpactonefficienciesfortheleastamountof
effort. Immediatebenefitswillbeseenbyapplyingapropercoatofblackpaint,creatingasteam
reheatingsystemthermallyconnectedtothewaterchamber,andinstallingawindblocktoprevent
convectivecoolingofthesteam.Theboilermustalsobemodifiedtocontinuallyfillwithwater.For
rural,droughtplaguedrurallocations,aclosedcyclesteamcaptureandcondensationstageafterthe
turbineisnecessary.
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Turbine
Themeasuredefficiencyoftheturbinesystemdoesnotadequatelyrepresenttheachievableefficiency.
Myerrorwasinnotmatchingtheinputflowavailabletoturbineparameterssothe2HPturbinewas
runfarfromit'sidealoperatingpointandasaresult,appearedsignificantlylessefficient.Iplanon
constructinganothercompressedairturbinetocreateplotsoftorqueatvariousloads.Iwillneedto
findeitherasourceofgreaterairvolumetomatchthesensitivityofrangesforthepowermeterorfind
ordeviseapowermeterwhichcanoperateatlowerranges(below0.5HP).
Itwasmuchmoredifficultthanexpectedtoassembletherotorsothatitwasbalancedandthedisc
packisperpendiculartotheshaft. Direct3Dprintingtheturbinesolvesthisproblem,butinthe
meantimeanyassembleddevicemustbemorecarefullytrued.Icouldnotsimplyrelyontheparallel
nessofstockmaterialandadecenthanddeburringprocess.Onecanassumethatwhilethiscanbe
improved,itwillneverbecompletelybalanced. Allowingtherotortodynamicallystabilizeonce
spinningseemslikeadesireablesolutionbutthegeometryofthehousingwillneedtobedesignedsoit
cantakeintoaccountthespacethattherotorwillsweepthrough.
TherollingelementbearingsIemployedareasorepointbecausetherestoftheturbinecanbemade
onsitewhereastoreplicatetherollingelementbearingsusedonemustturntohighquality,hardened
steelwhichisunreasonabletoexpecttofindandmachineinremotelocations. Averypromising
alternativearefluidbearings,alsoknownashydrostaticbearings.Fluidbearingsthatuseairasthe
lubricantrequireaconsistent0.0005(12.7micron)gapbetweenthemovingandstaticelements.As
withtheTeslaboundarylayerturbine,theairbearingisnotanewidea,earlyworkinairbearingsdate
back to 1897 [Devitt] but exceeded the machining precision, metallurgy, and computational
capabilities of the time. Today, field fab lab machining capabilities have submicron precision
[Modela]andeverfasterprocessorsavailablefordesignoptimizationtopreventrotoroscillation.One
ofthemostdifficultchallengesremaininginutilizinganairbearingwillbethedesignthatallowsfor
easyassemblyofthefinaldevice.
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Generalimprovementstotheturbinedesignincludesealstopreventinletflowfromflowingaround
therotortotheventportsandaredesignofthehousingsectiontominimizeNozzlesandadditional
inletswouldmaketheturbinemoreefficient. Anozzleshapeisbestcomputationallyderivedto
optimizegeometrywithflowconditions.
Animmediatemodificationtotheprintedturbinedesignistoaddwellstoglueinmagnetsandspools
aboutwhichtowindwiresothattheprinteddeviceneedsonlythesetwopostprocessingstepsto
becomeageneratorormotor.
Direct 3D Printing
Thelimitingfactorsfordirectprintingusefuldevicesaretheengineeringmaterialsavailableandthe
printtime. Additionally,anopensourcedesignandmodellingpackagemustbeintegratedwith
machinecommand.Atpresent,therearenofielddeployable3Dprintingmachinesinthefieldbut
nascentworkincontourcrafting[Khoshnevis]andmicroscaledigitalassembly[Popescu]suggest
we'rejustaroundthecorner.
Functional representation of physical things

WhenIsetaboutdesigningtheseturbines,Iusedthetimehonoredandtediousengineeringprocessof
designing and entering every minute detail in CAD. I iterated in guessing at reasonable input
parameters,solvingadoublesurfaceintegraltodeterminethediscdiameter,numberofdiscs,disc
spacing,andotherphysicalparameters,guessingatarangeofreasonablebearingsizes,findingthat
thebearingsizeisunavailable,andcyclingthroughtheguesscalculatedesignprocess.Finally,when
physicalparametersandpartavailabilityconverged,Isketchedtheturbinepartsbyhandonpaper,then
dreweachpartinSolidWorksbeforefinallycreatingdrawingfiles.Thosedrawingfileswerethen
broughtintoatoolpathgeneratorCAMpackagewhichgeneratesthemachinecodetodrivetheactual
machiningstep.
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Oneofthebiggestbenefitsofamathematicalrepresentationofphysicaldevicesisthatitleadstoa
digitaldescriptionthatcanbetreatedmodularly.Physicaldevicescanberepresentedasfunctionsina
descriptionlanguagethatdefinestheobjectalongwithit'smaterialpropertiesandlogicalrelationships
withotherobjects. Thesefunctionswouldrevealtotheusermeasurableparameters(suchassolar
irradiation)andhidenonmeasurableengineeringstatefunctions(suchasentropy)withinthemodel.
Lowerlevelparametersinthemodelsarethephysicalvariablesthatcanbeaccessibletotheuseronly
whenhigherlevelsystemorenvironmentalparametersdon'tfullyconstrainthefinalproduct. A
functionalrepresentationmodelingcommunityassociatedwiththefablabsistakingthefirststeps
towardsbeingabletofunctionalizerealobjects,reducingrealthingstofunctionalprograms.Another
relatedeffortisdefining.fab,thelanguageformachinecompilablephysicalobjectdescription.In
thefutureIwillwritecodethatdescribesthebehavior,notphysicalparameters,ofadeviceandIwill
beabletousealibraryofmodulesthatdescribelikelysolutionclassesandsystemconstraints.See
appendixEforanexampleofafunctionallydescribedbearing.
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Conclusions
Thereisa revolutionabout tocomeasregular people allover the worldgain accessto digital
fabricationthatwillenablethemtobuildcomplexproductssuchassolarenergyconversiondevices.
I'veshownthatitispossibletobuildmultipleversionsofsuccessfulsolarenergycollectorsandsteam
turbinesinfieldfabricationsites.
CollectorsofvariousdesignswereemployedinIndia,America,andSouthAfricaandconsistently
providedinexcessof270Fthermalheatforinputtotheboiler.Steamgeneratorsvariedinsizeand
shapebutgenerallytookonlyafewminutestoconverttapwater(approximately55degF)tosteam.
Severalboundarylayerturbineswereconstructedindifferentprocessesfromacrylic,ABSplastic,
plaster, paper, aluminum (3003, 7075, and 6061 alloys), and stainless steel and operated with
compressedair,funneledwind,water,andsteam.Theturbinesrangedinsizesfrom3diameterrotors
to9diameterrotors;themostcommonsizewere6or6.5diameterforconvenienceandaccessto
rawmaterials.Somewhatsurprisingly,allturbinesworkedincludingtheplasterturbineboundwith
cyanoacrylate. The9diameter,2HPairturbinewasmeasuredtobe6%efficientfullyloaded(at
stall).
Theprocessofcreatinganentiresolarthermalsystemformakingusefulenergyusingfabrication
available in the field required many iterations from the initial design. Commercial fabrication
machinesfordesktopuse(asopposedtospecializedlabfacilities)areemergingontotheconsumer
marketforindividualuserstoplugintotheirhomecomputersandwillsoonbeascommonasprinters.
Usingtheseearlyproducts,thefablabsplaceinthefieldatightcycleamongdesign,fabrication,and
fieldtestingtoallowpeopletoexperimentally converge onan idealdesign. Understanding the
engineering principles behind the mechanisms isn't strictly necessary for a person to begin
developmentandthoseconceptscanbediscoveredasneeded.Thismodeloflearninghasamuch
lowerbarrierofentrythantraditionalWesternmodels.Technologiesdevelopment,notjustenduser
technology products, have become accessible to persons not formally trained in sciences or
engineering.
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Myargumentforbuildingaboundarylayerturbineforfieldimplementationisthatthesavingsfrom
makingamoremanufacturable,lesscomplexdeviceprovidesasortofcredittowardstheoverall
turbineefficiencyandpoweroutputlevels.Theamountenergynecessarytocreateaboundarylayer
turbineissignificantlylessthanwhatisneededtomakeaphotovoltaiccellorStirlingcycleengine.
Aninefficientsolarcollectorisbetterthannosolarcollectoratall;thereisaminimumthresholdthat
mustbecorrectforthesystemtosimplywork.Overtime,efficiencygainscanbeexperimentallyand
incrementallyimplementedwhiletheuserenjoysanonzeroenergysource.
Boundarylayerturbineswereinterestingbecauseoftheireaseofmanufacturability,butinthecourse
of research we realized that what really needed is a fundamental shift in manufacturing from
subtractivetoadditiveprocesses.Materialssetsforadditivefabricationareimmatureandwillrequire
developmentbeforewecandirectprintrobust,workingproducts. Nonetheless,Iwasableto
directprintworkingturbinesusingexistingmachines. Thelimitednumberof proofofconcept
turbinesmadewiththe3Dplasterprinter(ZCorp)andplasticresindepositionprinter(Stratsys)
surprised everyone by actually working right out of the printer. The printed turbines were a
conventionaldesignthattakesintoaccountfeaturesneededtoassemblemanyseparateparts. But
theseprintedturbinesemergedwithallpartsintegratedsobearingballsweregrowninsidebearing
races,andturbinediscs,spacers,andshaft(andbearinginnerhub)werecreatedasasolidintegralunit.
Fieldfabricatedturbinestunedtothelocationstheyareintendedtoservewillbothdriveandbedriven
bytheexpandingengineeringmaterialsetavailabletotheadditivemachinesthatwillbeusedtomake
theturbines.Themostpressingneedsareforstifferandmorerobuststructuralmaterialsaswellas
thosewithelectricalandmagneticproperties.
Whilethecontinueddevelopmentofsolarenergyconversiondevicesarenotdependentonfabrication
machinesstillunderresearch,theneedforenergyinruralplacesispartofthecoevolvingfabstory
aroundtheworld.Inaddressingoneofgreatesttechnicalchallengessharedgloballyamongruraland
underdevelopedplaces,I'vedemonstratedthatcommercialdesktopmachiningproductscanenable
regularpeopleinruralplacestoapplytechnologytowardssolvingcriticalneeds.
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64OF78
References
[Fab]
Gershenfeld,Neil.Fab.BasicBooks,2005
[Ruedisili]
Ruedisili,LonC.PerspectivesonEnergy.OxfordUniversityPress,1978
[Quest]
HardingEnergyInc.BatteryTechnologyHandbook.2004.
[Python]
http://www.python.org
[Octave]
http://www.octave.org
[Scheffler]
CarlScheffler'sfablibsathttp://fab.cba.mit.edu/labs/pretoria/people/carl/fablab/fablib/
[Harrison]
Harrison,John.InvestigationofReflectiveMaterialsfortheSolarCooker.FloridaSolar
EnergyCenter,2001.
[Schmidt]
BiomassBoundaryLayerTurbinePowerSystem,http://eisg.sdsu.edu/Far/0006FARAppendix
A.pdf
[Navajo]
http://www.iaus.com/navajomountain.htm
[Miller]
Miller,GeraldE.AMultipleDiskCentrifugalPumpasaBloodFlowDevice.IEEE
TransactionsonBiomedicalEngineering.Vol7,No2.February1990.
[Rice]
Rice,W.TeslaTurbomachinery.ProceedingsoftheSASAIVInternationalTeslaSymposium;
Belgrade,Yugoslavia,Sept2225,1991
[Deutch]
Deutch,John,andLester,Richard.1.149ClassLecture.
[Solarbuzz]
November2005SurveySolarElectricityGlobalBenchmarkPricesIndices(InstalledHome
System).http://www.solarbuzz.com/SolarIndices.htm
[Fablab]
see[Fab]andhttp:///fab.cba.mit.edu/
[Devitt]
Devitt,Drew.HistoryofAirBearings.NewWayMachineComponents,Inc.Nodategiven.
[Zomeworks] Seethiscommercialproductathttp://zomeworks.com/solar/trackrack/trackwork.html
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Appendix A: parab.m
%parab.m
%parabolamesh
%thefinalproductisxslices_x,xslices_z,yslices_x,yslices_z
%
%A.Sun2005
%
%MassachusettsInstituteofTechnology2005
%Permissiongrantedforexperimentalandpersonaluse;
%licenseforcommercialuseavailablefromMIT.
%
clearall;
grid=6;
offset=.5;%basethicknessinches
focus=6;%inches
diameter=9;%inches
w_plate=.1;%platethicknessinchesunused
w_nub=.103;%nubwidthinches
h_nub=.103;%nubheightinches
w_grid=.113;%widthofgridplatesinches
N=grid;
A=1/(4*focus);
x=(diameter/2):diameter/N:(diameter/2);
y=(diameter/2):diameter/N:(diameter/2);
forn=1:N+1,
y_p(n)=A*y(n)^2+offset;
form=1:N+1,
z(m,n)=A*x(m)^2+y_p(n);
end
end
%%takealookattheproduct
figure(1);clfreset;
surf(x,y,z);
axisequal;
figure(2);clfreset;
forn=1:N+1,
subplot(N+1,1,n)
plot(y,z(n,:));
end
%I'lldonubsthatraiseupfromtheparabsurface
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z_x=[];
form=1:length(z),
x_slice=[];
z_slice=[];
forn=1:length(z)1,
middle=(y(n)+y(1+n))/2;
thisnub(1)=middle(w_nub/2);
thisnub(2)=middle(w_nub/2);
thisnub(3)=middle+(w_nub/2);
thisnub(4)=middle+(w_nub/2);
z_thisnub(1)=A*thisnub(1)^2+y_p(m);
z_thisnub(2)=z_thisnub(1)+h_nub;
z_thisnub(3)=A*thisnub(3)^2+y_p(m)+h_nub;
z_thisnub(4)=z_thisnub(3)h_nub;
x_slice=[x_slicex(n)thisnub];
z_slice=[z_slicez(m,n)z_thisnub];
end
x_slice=[x_slicex(length(x))];
z_slice=[z_slicez(m,length(x))];
z_x=cat(1,z_x,z_slice);
end
%%viewoutput
figure(4);clfreset;
forn=1:N+1,
subplot(N+1,1,n)
plot(x_slice,z_x(n,:),'bx');
holdon;
plot(x,z(n,:),'ro');
axisequal;
axis([diameter/2,diameter/2,0,focus*2]);
end
%%xandyslicesarethesameexceptforthe
%slotstofitthemtogether.arbitrarily,
%letxhaveslotsontopandyslotsfromthebottom
z_y=z_x;
%yiseasybecauseitdoesn'thavetobeinserted
base_y_z=[];
ford=1:length(y),
base_y_z_slice=[0];
forr=length(y)1:1:2,
base_y_z_slice=[base_y_z_slice0z(d,r)/2z(d,r)/20];
end
base_y_z_slice=[base_y_z_slice0z(d,1)];
base_y_z=cat(1,base_y_z,base_y_z_slice);
end
base_y_y=[];
base_y_y=[y(length(y))];
fori=length(y)1:1:2,
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base_y_y=[base_y_yy(i)+w_grid/2y(i)+w_grid/2y(i)w_grid/2y(i)
w_grid/2];
end
base_y_y=[base_y_yy(1)y(1)];
%finishedysliceshavebaseappended
yslices_y=cat(2,x_slice,base_y_y);
yslices_z=cat(2,z_y,base_y_z);
figure(5);
plot(yslices_y,yslices_z(1,:));
axis([(grid/2)1,(grid/2)+1,1,(focus*4)+2]);
axisequal;
title('yslice#1');
%xbaseiseasybecauseitdoesn'thaveanynotches,
%butneedtomodifythetopofitfornotches
base_x_x=[x(length(x))x(1)x(1)];
base_x_z=[];
ford=1:length(x),
base_x_z_slice=[00z(d,1)];
base_x_z=cat(1,base_x_z,base_x_z_slice);
end
notches_x_x=x_slice(1:5);
fori=6:5:length(x_slice)1,
notches_x_x=[notches_x_xx_slice(i)w_grid/2x_slice(i)w_grid/2
x_slice(i)+w_grid/2x_slice(i)+w_grid/2];
notches_x_x=[notches_x_xx_slice(i+1:i+4)];
end
notches_x_x=[notches_x_xx_slice(length(x_slice))];
notches_x_z=[];
forn=1:N+1,
notches_x_z_slice=z_x(n,1:5);
fori=6:8:length(notches_x_x)1,
%thesefouraredowngoinggridslots
notches_x_z_slice=[notches_x_z_sliceA*notches_x_x(i)^2+y_p(n)];
notches_x_z_slice=[notches_x_z_slice(A*notches_x_x(i+1)^2+y_p(n))/2];
notches_x_z_slice=[notches_x_z_slice(A*notches_x_x(i+2)^2+y_p(n))/2];
notches_x_z_slice=[notches_x_z_sliceA*notches_x_x(i+3)^2+y_p(n)];
%thesefourareupgoingnubs
notches_x_z_slice=[notches_x_z_sliceA*notches_x_x(i+5)^2+y_p(n)+h_nub];
notches_x_z_slice=[notches_x_z_sliceA*notches_x_x(i+6)^2+y_p(n)+h_nub];
end
notches_x_z_slice=[notches_x_z_slice
A*notches_x_x(length(notches_x_x))^2+y_p(n)];
notches_x_z=cat(1,notches_x_z,notches_x_z_slice);
end
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xslices_x=cat(2,notches_x_x,base_x_x);
xslices_z=cat(2,notches_x_z,base_x_z);
figure(6);
plot(xslices_x,xslices_z(1,:));
axis([(grid/2)1,(grid/2)+1,1,(focus*4)+2]);
axisequal;
title('xslice');
%%writeoutputsassvgfile
%findmin,maxxandy
xmin=diameter1;
xmax=diameter+1;
ymin=diameter1;
ymax=diameter+1;
fp=fopen('parab.svg','w');
fprintf(fp,'<?xmlversion="1.0"encoding="UTF8"?>\n');
fprintf(fp,'<!DOCTYPEsvgPUBLIC"//W3C//DTDSVG1.0//EN"
"http://www.w3#.org/TR/2001/RECSVG20010904/DTD/svg10.dtd">\n')'
fprintf(fp,'<svgwidth="%fin"height="%fin"viewBox="%f%f%f%f">\n',xmax
xmin,ymaxymin,xmin,ymin,xmaxxmin,ymaxymin);
fprintf(fp,'<gstyle="stroke:rgb(0,0,0);fill:none">\n');
%thetwoendsdon'tcrosswithanything,soleaveout
fors=2:N,
fprintf(fp,'<polylinepoints="');
forp=1:length(xslices_x),
fprintf(fp,'%f,%f',xslices_x(p),xslices_z(s,p))
end
fprintf(fp,'"style="fill:none"/>\n');
end
fors=2:N,
forp=1:length(yslices_y),
fprintf(fp,'%f,%f',yslices_y(p)+diameter+1,yslices_z(s,p))
end
end
fprintf(fp,'</g>\n');
fprintf(fp,'</svg>\n');
fclose(fp);
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Appendix B: trough.m
%trough.m
%parabolictrough
%thefinalproductisonecopyofidenticalendstoholdslats
%
%A.Sun2006
%
%MassachusettsInstituteofTechnology2005
%Permissiongrantedforexperimentalandpersonaluse;
%licenseforcommercialuseavailablefromMIT.
%
clearall;
N=100;%numberofpoints
trough_width=42;%inches
base_height=4;%inches
focus=8;%inches
cutout_margin=3;%inches
cutout_width=1;%inches
cutout_height=8;%inches
x=(trough_width/2):trough_width/N:(trough_width/2);
forn=1:N+1,
z(n)=(1/(4*focus))*x(n)^2+base_height;
end
base_x=[0cutout_margincutout_margincutout_margin+cutout_width
cutout_margin+cutout_widthtrough_width(cutout_margin+cutout_width)
trough_width(cutout_margin+cutout_width)trough_widthcutout_margin
trough_widthcutout_margintrough_width];
base_z=[00cutout_heightcutout_height00cutout_heightcutout_height
00];
base_x_rev=[0];
fori=1:length(base_x),
base_x_rev(i)=base_x(length(base_x)i+1);
base_z_rev(i)=base_z(length(base_z)i+1);
end
path_x=[0x+trough_width/2base_x_rev];
path_z=[0zbase_z_rev];
figure(1);clfreset;holdon;
plot(path_x,path_z);
plot(trough_width/2,focus+z(round(length(z)/2)),'o');
axisequal;
%%writeoutputsassvgfile
%findmin,maxxandy
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xmin=0;
xmax=max(path_x);
ymin=0;
ymax=max(path_z);
fp=fopen('trough.svg','w');
fprintf(fp,'<?xmlversion="1.0"encoding="UTF8"?>\n');
fprintf(fp,'<!DOCTYPEsvgPUBLIC"//W3C//DTDSVG1.0//EN"
"http://www.w3#.org/TR/2001/RECSVG20010904/DTD/svg10.dtd">\n')'
fprintf(fp,'<svgwidth="%fin"height="%fin"viewBox="%f%f%f%f">\n',xmax
xmin,ymaxymin,xmin,ymin,xmaxxmin,ymaxymin);
fprintf(fp,'<gstyle="stroke:rgb(0,0,0);fill:none">\n');
forp=1:length(path_x),
fprintf(fp,'%f,%f',path_x(p),path_z(p))
end
fprintf(fp,'</g>\n');
fprintf(fp,'</svg>\n');
fclose(fp);
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Appendix C: trough.py
#!/usr/bin/envpython
#
#trough.py
#parabolictrough
#thefinalproductisonecopyofidenticalendstoholdslats
#
#A.Sun2006
#
#MassachusettsInstituteofTechnology2005
#Permissiongrantedforexperimentalandpersonaluse;
#licenseforcommercialuseavailablefromMIT.
#
from__future__importdivision
fromtoolpathimport*
##orientation:x=width,y=length,z=height
#t=troughh=height
#b=basel=length
#f=framew=width
#n=notchm=margin
##physicalparameters(inches,everythingininches)
material_thickness=0.151
#inches
num_ribs=5;#numberofribslotstoputintherails
tw=12;#troughwidth(inches)
bh=1;#baseheight(inches)
tl=12;#troughlength(inches)
focus=4;#inches
boiler_radius=0; #radiusofboilerthatrestsonthestandend(inches)
##derivedphysicalparameters
nw=material_thickness;#notchwidth(inches)
nm=0.1*tw;#notchmargin(inches)
nh=((1/(4*focus)*((tw/2)(nm+nw))**2)+bh)/2#notchheight(inches)
evaluateparabolaatnm+nwanddivideby2
fh=nh*2;#frame_height(inches)
frame_overhang=tl*0.2;#overhangoneachend
##internal
N=100;#numberofpointstoevaluateparabola
##rib(makenum_ribs)
#
x=[]
z=[]
forninrange(N+1):
x.append((tw/N)*ntw/2);
z.append((1/(4*focus))*x[n]**2+bh)
x[n]+=tw/2
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b_x=[0,nm,nm,nm+nw,nm+nw,tw(nm+nw),tw(nm+nw),twnm,twnm,tw]
b_z=[0,0,nh,nh,0,0,nh,nh,0,0]
b_x.reverse()
path_x=[0]+x+b_x
path_z=[0]+z+b_z
writesvg('rib',path_x,path_z)
##framerail(maketwo)
#
fl=frame_overhang*2+tl#exacttroughlengthisbetweeninsidesof
ends
railb_x=[0,((fltl)/2)nw,((fltl)/2)nw,(fltl)/2,(fltl)/2,fl
((fltl)/2),fl((fltl)/2),fl((fltl)/2)+nw,fl((fltl)/2)+nw,fl]
railb_z=[fh,fh,nh,nh,fh,fh,nh,nh,fh,fh]
ribspace=(tl2*nw)/(num_ribs1)
railt_x=[0]
railt_z=[0]
forninrange(num_ribs1):
railt_x=railt_x+[n*ribspace+frame_overhang+nw,
n*ribspace+frame_overhang+nw,n*ribspace+frame_overhang+nw+nw,
n*ribspace+frame_overhang+nw+nw]
railt_z=railt_z+[0,nh,nh,0]
railt_x=railt_x+[fl(frame_overhang+nw+nw),fl(frame_overhang+nw+nw),
fl(frame_overhang+nw),fl(frame_overhang+nw),fl]
railt_z=railt_z+[0,nh,nh,0,0]
railb_x.reverse()
railb_z.reverse()
rail_x=railt_x+railb_x
rail_z=railt_z+railb_z
writesvg('rail',rail_x,rail_z)
##frameend(maketwo)
#
#yunknown=((xunknownxa)*yb(xunknownxb)*ya)/(xbxa)
#thetwoknownpointsare(0,fh)and((tw/2)boiler_radius,focus+bh)
xa=0
ya=fh
xb=(tw/2)boiler_radius
yb=focus+bh
end_top_x=[0,0,nm,nm,nm+nw,nm+nw,(tw/2)boiler_radius]
end_top_z=[0,fh,(((nmxa)*yb)((nmxb)*ya))/(xbxa),nh,nh,(((nm+nw
xa)*yb)((nm+nwxb)*ya))/(xbxa),focus+bh]
#fornowjustmakeasquarenotch
end_top_x=end_top_x+[(tw/2boiler_radius),tw/2+boiler_radius]
end_top_z=end_top_z+[focus+bhboiler_radius,focus+bhboiler_radius]
#thetwoknownpointsare((tw/2)+boiler_radius,focus+bh)and(tw,fh)
xa=(tw/2)+boiler_radius
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ya=focus+bh
xb=tw
yb=fh
end_top_x=end_top_x+[(tw/2)+boiler_radius,twnmnw,twnmnw,twnm,
twnm,tw]
end_top_z=end_top_z+[focus+bh,(((twnmnwxa)*yb)((twnmnw
xb)*ya))/(xbxa),nh,nh,(((twnmxa)*yb)((twnmxb)*ya))/(xbxa),fh]
end_x=end_top_x+[tw,0]
end_z=end_top_z+[0,0]
writesvg('end',end_x,end_z)
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Appendix D: bearing.hf
HyperfunProjectisafreesoftwaredevelopmentprojectforfunctionallybasedshapemodeling,visualization,
andanimation.Theprojectisbasedonasocalledfunctionrepresentationofgeometricobjectsandsupporting
softwaretoolsbuiltaroundtheHyperFunlanguage.http://www.hyperfun.org
Thecompiledandpolygonizedoutputofthefollowingcodecreatesan.stlfilewhichcanbefeddirectlyintoa3D
printer(ie,ZcorporStratasysFDM)orslicedforstacked2.5Dmachining.
Figure31:Renderingofapolygonizedfunctionallydescribed
bearing.
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bearing.hf
cagedbearing
A.Sun2006
(c)MassachusettsInstituteofTechnology2005
Permissiongrantedforexperimentalandpersonaluse;
licenseforcommercialuseavailablefromMIT.
bearing(x[3],a[1]){
DEF
arrayorigin[3],xt[3];
arrayball_center[3];ballcenter
pi=3.14;
epsilon=0.015;resolutionlimitofdepositionmachine
ORIENTATION
[x,y,z]=[width,height,length]
origin=[0,0,0];
shell_thickness=.125;
shaft_dia=1;
OD=3;
ID=2.5;
RD=(OD+ID)/2;racewaydiameter
ball_diameter=(ODID)epsilon*4;
shell_ID=ball_diameter+epsilon*4;
shell_OD=ball_diameter+shell_thickness+epsilon*8;
BALLS
max_num_balls=pi/(asin(ball_diameter/RD));
num_balls=max_num_balls/2;
N=0;
while(N<=num_balls)loopN=N+1;endloop;
i=0;
while(i<N)loop
ball_center[1]=RD*sin(i*2*pi/N);
ball_center[2]=0;
ball_center[3]=RD*cos(i*2*pi/N);
this_ball=hfSphere(x,ball_center,ball_diameter);
this_envelope=hfSphere(x,ball_center,shell_ID);
this_shell=hfSphere(x,ball_center,shell_OD);
if(i=0)then
balls=this_ball;
envelopes=this_envelope;
shell=this_shell;
else
balls=balls|this_ball;
envelopes=envelopes|this_envelope;
shell=shell|this_shell;
endif;
i=i+1;
endloop;
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INNERHUB
hub_OD=hfCylinderY(x,origin,ID);
hub_ID=hfCylinderY(x,origin,shaft_dia);
h=x[2];
h_hi=0.6*ball_diameter+h;
h_lo=0.6*ball_diameterh;
hub=h_hi&h_lo&hub_OD\hub_ID;
CAGE
cage_ring=hfTorusY(x,origin,RD,ball_diameter/3);
cage_chain=cage_ring&hub|shell\envelopes;
y=x[2];
y_hi=0.667*ball_diameter+y;
y_lo=0.667*ball_diametery;
cage_O=hfCylinderY(x,origin,OD0.05*ball_diameter);
cage_I=hfCylinderY(x,origin,OD1*ball_diameter);
cage=y_hi&y_lo&cage_chain&(cage_O\cage_I);
COMPLETEMODEL
bearing=cage|balls;
}
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Field Fabrication of Solar-Thermal Powered Steam Turbines For Generation of Mechanical Power

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Field Fabrication of Solar-Thermal Powered Steam Turbines For Generation of Mechanical Power

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Field Fabrication of Solar-Thermal Powered Steam Turbines for

Generation of Mechanical Power

Energy Scheme for Rural Villages

Measuring available solar energy

Precision digital fabrication

Solar energy technology

How Boilers Convert Thermal to Kinetic Energy

The Boundary Layer Turbine

From Turbine to Generator By Electromagnetic Induction

Collector Shape and Form

Fragility and Other Problems

Efficiency compared to theoretical power of compressed air

Comparison to Photovoltaics (Solar Cells)

Functional representation of physical things

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