Design and Manufacturing of HydRotor

Abstract

This work presented here describes the design of a power generation system that could be used in open channel water flow with low flow velocities. The purpose is to make a turbine that could provide for the power requirements of general public when on an adventurous trip or for a small scale power requirement in a forest. Experiments are done to find out whether setting up such a system in open channel water flow will actually be successful. small capacity power generation system is the aim, hence the name Hydrotor Turbine, and to discover new way of providing electricity to the people. To design such a system, a detailed study of different types of turbines is conducted. Vertical axis drag type turbines are most suited for small capacity generation systems. Therefore, a Savonius type water turbine is designed using helical blades to give the best possible results. A small prototype of the selected rotor is designed. Mathematical modeling of the turbine is completed after the design is finalized. The turbine is then 3D-printed in parts to maximum precision. The fabricated model is tested in the water tunnel to compare its results with the theoretical study done earlier. The turbine is portable and can simply be taken anywhere easily