Experimental Investigation of a Miniature In-Pipe HydroTurbine
Loading...
Date
2024-05
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
The Ohio State University
Abstract
A recent report published by the UN revealed that 26% of the world’s population lacks access to safe drinking water, and 46% lacks access to basic sanitation. These groups cannot afford to revamp their infrastructure and filter their water. This project provides a cheaper alternative by disinfecting water at the Point-of-Use scale by employing pico-hydropower turbines to power UV-LEDs, disinfecting the water as it runs out of the faucet. Available options had previously been found to have turbine efficiencies of <1%. Previous research showed that an increase to approximately 10%-20% efficiency should successfully power the UV-LED device. The current research entailed the testing, analysis, and optimization of two available off-the-shelf options. The testing was done by running tap water through the turbines and measuring the current and voltage using an oscilloscope, as well as manually recording the rotational velocity and flow rate. This was done at several resistances and pressures. These measurements were then used to calculate power and efficiency. The turbines tended to fail sporadically at higher pressures or after several consecutive trials. To counter this, they were taken apart and lubricated before being used for testing again. The findings showed a moderate increase in efficiency to approximately 8% when operating with resistances around 220 Ohms. However, after months of being taken apart and used for testing, the turbines reached the end of their lifecycle, yielding efficiencies of 2% or less despite being lubricated. Further examination of the turbines shows that water damage due to poor casing design is the likely culprit of the low power output. After testing the generator, it was determined that the generator was up to 50% efficient, with most tests yielding results between 20%-45%. This suggests that the turbine is most likely the limiting factor preventing the system from functioning at full capacity, as opposed to the generator. The next steps include redesigning the turbine and the casing in order to reduce the likelihood of water damage and prolong the lifecycle of the turbine. With continued testing, the 10% efficiency threshold could be met and potentially power the UV-LED device to disinfect the water.