Intermittent Steam-Powered Energy Generation Using Domestic Water Geysers

Abstract

This project is aimed at proposing an idea of producing electricity on intermittent basis through trickle charging the current produced by a tesla turbine. The turbine runs on the steam produced by a domestic water geyser. The current so produced, can be stored in a UPS battery or can be used directly in case of power failure. With this proposed idea, a cheaper solution to power shutdowns is expected. This will allow the UPS battery to fulfill domestic needs of electricity for longer time period. In case, when commercial electrical power is available, the assembly will charge a shunt power capacitor whenever steam pressure turns the turbine. When the charging of capacitor is completed, the stored charge can be converted into 220 V with the help of a step-up voltage transformer. In this way the electricity produced will augment the main commercial power supply thereby reducing consumption of electricity from commercial source and reduce the monthly electricity bill to a certain extent. It is worth highlighting here that steam pressure plays the key role in amount of electricity that can be produced through tesla turbine and hence, it is the most important parameter in whole design. Higher the steam pressure, greater will be the turbine RPM and more will be the current produced which will determine the speed of charging the UPS battery or the capacitor. Finally, it will decide the extent to which this current can be used to fulfill domestic electrical needs. The thesis presents prototype design and 3D model of the power generation system through integration of domestic water geyser with the turbine, generator and the AC DC inverter. The simulation of turbine is also done based on the input of steam pressure and then turbine RPM is used to run the generator to produce electricity. The optimization of proposed power generation system through involvement of industry is expected to devise a cheap and economic solution to the current energy crises being faced by Pakistan.