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FINAL REPORT Team 05: Water Tower Generator
Website: http://coewtgteam5.weebly.com/
Water Tower Generator System is a Trademark of Senior Design Group Team 5
Members:
Komlan Amesse [email protected]
Darius Wright-Tippins [email protected]
Moises Zamor [email protected]
Olivier Perrault [email protected]
Faculty Advisor
Hui Li, Ph.D.
Faruque Omar, Ph.D.
Sponsor
Talquin Electric Cooperative, INC.
Instructors
Jerris Hooker Ph.D.
Table of Contents
Table of Figures*
Table of Tables*
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Executive Summary
Introduction
Problem Statement
Constraints
Operating Environment
Intended Uses/User
Assumptions & Limitations
End Product
2. System Design
2.1 Initial Design
History of renewable energy
Hydro Electric Power
Solar Panels
PV module (photovoltaic) system
PV system Components for small scale
Advantages of PV
Disadvantages of PV
Microcontroller Unit
Hydro-system
Turbines
3. Design of Major Components
3.1 Hydroelectric Turbine Generator
3.2 Water Pump and the Pressure Tank
4. Testing Documentation
4.1 Hydroelectric Turbine Generator Testing
4.2 Water pump Testing
4.3 Digital multimeter and power meter
4.4 Testing the DC to AC Inverter
5. Schedule
Potential Challenges
6. Risk Assessment and Budget Costs
7. Conclusion
References
*Biography
Appendix A – User’s Guide
Table of Figures*
Figure 1: Design Project Diagram 12
Figure 2: Design Project for small scale model 12
Figure 3: Small scale model outside 15
Figure 4: 1st design for project 18
Figure 5: Water flow system 19
Figure 6: Graph showing monthly peak load 22
Figure 7: Graph showing monthly Kilowatts used 22
Figure 8: Graph illustrating monthly bill 22
Figure 9: Data showing the level (in ft) of water 23
Figure 10: Flowchart for the Design Project 26
Figure 11: 3rd initial design 27
Figure 12: Flow chart of design 28
Figure 13: Final design 29
Figure 14: Flow chart of final design 30
Figure 15: Flowchart of the Microcontroller Unit 34
Figure 16: Data Info 36
Figure 17: Turbine Design 37
Figure 18: Turbine system 37
Figure 19: Water Buddy Turbine 38
Figure 20: Turbine Nozzles size vs. Power @ 50 psi 41
Figure 21: Pressure gauge showing pressure in the tank Figure 22: Testing the water pump 42
Figure 23: The testing of the digital multimeter and power meter was fruitful. 42
Figure 24: Gantt Chart 43
Figure 25: schedule for the spring semester of design 44
Figure 26: Project parts 46
Table of Tables*
Table 1: Bradfordville monthly power used/billing…….……………………….... 21
Table 2: Result table………………………………………………………………… 24
Table 3: Contrast between different types of PV module………………………..... 30
ABSTRACT
Team 5‟s Water Tower Generator senior design project is sponsored by Talquin Electric
Cooperative, Talquin Electric is a membered own electric distribution cooperative headquartered
in Quincy Fl. By purchasing electricity from Seminole Electric, Talquin is able to provide
electricity for 53,000 accounts, water and wastewater services from the Gulf Coast to Florida
State line. Talquin Current system requires a substantial amount of money to deliver water to its
members. Talquin is investing in renewable resources and noticed there is a lot of untapped
potential energy in their water tanks. Team 5 is developing a hybrid water tower energy storage
system which will harness the unused energy from water towers, reducing the cost of storing
water and supplying members. After many iterations, and guidance from the sponsor Matthew
Gibson of Talquin Electric and faculty advisors Dr. Li and Dr. Hooker, the final design has been
approved and the Water Tower Generator has been built.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Team 5 would like to thank the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering for giving them the
opportunity to participate on this project for the 2016-2017 Senior Design school year. They
would like to give thanks to their sponsor, Talquin Electric Cooperative for trusting them with
making their project come true. Special Thanks to Dr. Li, Omar Faruque, Dr. Guo and Dr.
Hooker for supervision and providing guidance and direction with their project. They‟ve guided
us not only on the technical aspects, but also in team morale and because of that we learned to
perform in an optimal and cohesive manner.
Executive Summary
The purpose of the executive summary section is to provide an overview of the final
report. This section includes the problem statement, selected method, key features, evaluation
method, and important results of the water tower generator created by the ECE group 5 senior
design team.
Water towers have been seen by many people. The purpose of water towers varies, a
water tower is is an elevated structure which stores water in a storage tank to pressurize a water
system to distribute potable water. Also water tanks have been used to store emergency water for
fire protection services.Clean water pumped and stored into tank. Water flows out of outlet pipe
to its members. Due to gravitational pull and height of tower can provide high pressured water.
The water flows out of the pipe during peak time, when people tend to use water the most and
refills throughout day. The sponsor of this project, Talquin Electric has been investing in
renewable energy and noticed a significant amount of potential energy in their towers. The goal
of this project for team 5 was to create a small scale model of hybrid water tower energy storage
system, which will store generated electricity from moving water from the outlet pipe of a water
tank. The energy produced would be tapped back into the grid on the larger scale for Talquin
Electric.
The design of the small scale model was modified several times after discussions with the
project sponsor and careful re-evaluation of the project's individual systems. The final design
fulfills the fundamental goals and requirements of the project. Ultimately, the small scale water
tower generator system that was prototyped is user friendly and efficient. The final design that
will be discussed in this report is the small scale model that was built for this project.
The major components of this project that were used to create the small scale model
include: Wayne ½ HP (horsepower) pump and pressure tank, which simulates a standard water
tower. The pressure tank provides similar pressure as Talquin‟s Bradfordville tower and stores
water. Instead of building an actual tower the team decided to scale the model down by using a
pressure tank to provide 50 psi. A pressure gauge is used to monitor the pressure out of the
pressure tank. The following component used in the project is a water buddy turbine to capture
the flowing water to generate DC electricity. An inverter is used to convert DC to AC electricity.
Loads used are a phone and laptop charger, which represents power going into the grid. Each of
these components are detailed in this report.
This small scale model design is intended to be an innovative solution to the problem
given by the sponsor. This report will give an overview of the water tower generator small scale
model which was created by team 5.
1. Introduction
Excessive energies are used frequently each day to pump water to the water tower to
serve the customer. A body of water at relatively high elevation represents a potential energy. At
the need, the water stored in the tower is release through the pipe for distribution. The goal of
this project is to recover some if not all the potential energy and transform it into electrical
energy. To offset the maximum of electrical energy used to pump the water to the tower, solar
system and turbine generator constitutes two major components of the project. The system can
be call “Micro Hybrid hydro-solar system” and the overall system is assisted by the grid as
backup. The aim of this project is to design a simple, less expensive and which reduces the cost
pumping and distributing water to the customer since the electricity used to pump water into the
tower requires substantial expenses. At the normal scale the water tower represent a huge energy
storage. For small scale of the design a container of 5 to 50 gallons (US) is used as a water
reservoir.
For many years now Talquin has been using their water towers to store and create reliable
fresh water to their members, whether there is an outage or power surge within the communities.
The purpose of a water tower is to provide water storage pressure for surrounding areas and back
up capacity in case of a fire demand. The tower is an elevated structure which can create
maximum amount of pressure to distribute potable water to its community. A water tower acts as
a reservoir to help the community with water needs during peak usage hours. Talquin goal is, and
always has been, to provide you a safe and dependable supply of drinking water. To continue
providing fresh water to the communities at a low cost, Talquin is looking to enhance their water
tower system.
A few utilities are experimenting with using water turbines in their water storage towers
to store energy. By the definition, there is Potential energy in the mass body of water being
stored at about 150 to 200 feet high. As the water is released from the tower and into the
pipeline, kinetic energy is created. The purpose of this project is to design a system that can turn
both the kinetic and potential energy created by the down flow of water into electrical power.
This can be done by implementing a water turbine into the water main system which then will
transfer the kinetic energy into electrical power. The electrical power will be sent back to the
grid so Talquin can receive a credit from seminole electric. This process will help reduce the
total cost of electricity need to pump water up the system. A small scale model of this type
system will be built to properly demonstrate the process.
Figure 1: Design Project Diagram
Figure 2: Design Project for small scale model
Problem Statement
“Design a more independent and efficient system which convert potential and kinetic energy
to electrical energy and provides electrical power back to the system and grid”
● Successfully convert potential and kinetic energy to electrical energy ● Successfully harness power generated by the turbine and send it to the grid for credit. ● Suggest more efficient design adjustment that will offset Talquin utility bill ● Must use green energy (solar) as primary power source for the system ● Must use grid utility as overall backup source and “dump load”.
Talquin Electric Cooperative proposed a project for developing a hybrid water tower
system using solar to power the pump for the tower as well as a turbine to generate electricity
which will offset their water tower bill. The system presently utilized by the company to pump
water up and down in the tower use only electrical current from the grid and as result increase
their utilities cost. Furthermore, Talquin realize a waste of a massive amount of potential and
kinetic energy that can be utilize as electrical power.
The goals aimed to be completed by this project are as follows. The team is focused on
creating the perfect system for Talquin in a small scale which can be scaled up for Talquin
Bradfordville tower. In addition, the team is also focused on designing a system that is simple,
efficient, effective, easy to assemble that has the potential to be mass produced for all of
Talquin‟s water towers.
Talquin Electric has made the following request for the small scale system:
Constraints
● Have a system which is cost effective
● Easy to assemble
● Run on solar for outside demonstration, or plug into outlet for indoor demonstration
● Successfully convert potential and kinetic energy to electrical energy
● Successfully harness power generated by the turbine and send it to the grid for credit.
● Suggest more efficient design adjustment that will offset Talquin utility bill
● Must use green energy (solar) as primary power source for the system
● Must use grid utility as overall backup source and “dump load”.
● Budget of $2,000
● Project completion by 2017 ● Must be accurate in accordance with Talquin standards
● Must use PV module (220W, 48VDC) ● Must harness energy from falling water using water turbine ● Must use inverter ● Must use a water turbine to harness power store the water tower and inject it to the grid
for credit.
● Must use battery as storage unit
● Must use compressor to increase the pressure of the water which will compensate the
height (head) of the water tower
Each request was considered during the process of creating the final design.
Operating Environment
The intended operation environment for this particular project is meant to be outdoors, so
Talquin can scale the project up for their actual system. For team 5 specific design the project
environment was indoors for demonstration purposes given by professor. The testing for this
particular project was done outdoors.
Intended Uses/User
The intended user for this project would be Talquin Electric. For the small scale model the
intended users would be students who would like to do a science project.
Assumptions & Limitations
During the course of designing and building the water tower generator system, a number of
assumptions and limitations had to be established. The assumptions provide a context within
which the final design is expected to perform, while the limitations constrain the design to
conditions outside the control of the project.
Assumptions:
● The system will have constant flow in order to generate power.
● Power created from turbine will power inverter in order to power loads.
● Kept in mind that this project is intended for Talquins large scale system.
Limitations:
The design team has limited access to premium products to create this project. Because of budget
the team was able to produce a small scale model without premium products. If the team had
higher budget the design could be more appealing to the eye.
End Product
Figure 3: Small scale model outside
2. System Design
The purpose of this section is to show the evolution of this project.This section includes an initial
design section and a final section.
2.1 Initial Design
During the process of making the final design many initial designs were considered for this
project. Below will be an overview of the initial designs.
History of renewable energy
Fossil fuels have been a primary source of energy since coal was discovered. When
inventors found various ways coal could be used as a source of energy it fueled the industrial
revolution in the western hemisphere. This then began the race to build bigger, and faster
machines once the coal burning steam engine was built as these were the same machines that
provided transportation and replaced work done by animals and humans. The invention of the
internal combustion engine came into play which used oil and gas instead of coal, making it
more efficient, but the pure number of automobiles on the road alone has offset the positive
impacts set from this transition. Burning all these fossil fuels has steadily released harmful gases
that have grown to be the problem they are today. At the rate of the greenhouse gases like carbon
dioxide released in the air scientist predict that “we will destroy both the breathable air and the
energy reserves of our only home.”[1]. The growing environmental problems these sources have
played has been a worry to world leaders since the end of the 20th
century and even greater since
the beginning of the 21st century. Along with the high levels of pollution fossil fuels cause,
source limitation has been another reason scientist have looked to other sources of energy.
It is for this reason that although an abundance of the energy is still produced in the
United States is from fossil-fuel and nuclear power plants, the shift from this old way of energy
has been quick but steadily replaced by renewable energy. Renewable energy unlike fossil fuels
can be replaced at a faster rate and is a source of energy that does not need to worry about being
limited because of its abundance. Wind, water, and solar are all examples of renewable sources
of energy that are natural and can be harnessed to replace the power fossil fuels use to provide.
The transition to this form of energy steadily growing can be proven by statistics as a report from
the International Energy Agency showed an increase of renewable sourced electricity from “over
13% in 2012 to 22% the following year and a projected 26% by 2020.”[3] This push is due to
renewable energy not only them being practically non polluting but also more cost effective for
producers and consumers.
Hydro Electric Power
The embrace of renewable energy is happening on a large scale and hydropower leads the
way of them all as the most important and widely used renewable energy source. It plays a vital
role in the supply of electricity today contributing “more than 16% of electricity worldwide and
about 85% of global renewable electricity.” Falling water itself is an energy source that has been
used since the first major plant took advantage of the abundance of kinetic energy created by
Niagara Falls in 1895. How it works is by using the force of the falling water to transform
mechanical energy striking the blades of the turbine. The rotation of the turbine in-turn rotates
electromagnets, generating a current in coils of wire. This current is then placed through a
transformer where the voltage is stepped up to travel long distance over power lies. The benefits
of using this type of technology range from low operation and maintenance costs to minimal
pollution as a result from its energy production making it a high desire as a renewable energy
source. To achieve the goal of this project, the same concept of hydroelectric will be apply to
harness the electricity since most hydroelectric power comes from the potential energy of water
driving a water turbine and generator. The first diagram of the project includes batteries Bank.
But after deep analysis, we decide to implement batteryless on-grid systems which use the grid
as the “dump load,” sending excess energy back to the utility‟s grid to be credited to Talquin
Company for use at other time. Below is 1st and 2nd initial diagram of the project.
Initial Method 1:
Figure 4: 1st design for project
This first design we had for the project show how the team would create the small scale
model and scale up for Talquin‟s plant. This design is considered as a closed loop system, which
power generated by solar and turbine would power an MCU which will run the motor. The
battery bank will store energy created by turbine so if energy is needed to run the system,
Talquin will have power to use instead of the grid. The grid in this diagram is used as a backup if
the solar malfunctions. To calculate theoretically the amount of power that can generate, we
must understand how the water tower work.
Figure 5: Water flow system
The Q is the rate flow at which the water is pumped to the tower, V is the volume of
water pump into the tower. Q is the outlet flow rate of the water that will generate the
power needed to be harness. is the outlet flow rate. To estimate the power that can be harness, we
proceed as follow:
Per figure 7, it can be shown that the power required to pump fluid into the water reservoir
(tower) is given by the following expression:
Where E is the energy, t is the time, p is fluid pressure at the base of the tower, and Q is
the volumetric flow rate of the fluid into the tower. The water pressure at the base of the tower is
again:
Since the water is incompressible, the volumetric flow rate can be expressed as
where A is the cross-sectional area of the tower.
The volume V of the tank is assumed to be:
Substituting equations (2) and (3) into (1), produces the following expression for hydroelectric
energy stored in the tower (water reservoir):
Equation (5) expressed the energy storage capacity for the tower (reservoir) in joules. To get the
kilowatts-hour,
If this energy discharge over time T (hour) period, the power generate is:
To determine the exact electric power, generated by the water, the inlet flow rate Qin and the
outlet flow rate Qout must be know. It follows that Talquin spend a lot of dollars monthly to cover
the expenses of pumping water to tower. Below are the data.
Table 1: Bradfordville tower billing
Figure 6: Graph showing monthly peak load
Figure 7: Graph showing monthly Kilowatts used
Figure 8: Graph illustrating monthly bill
The above graph illustrates the cost of pumping the water. The main raison for the project is to
offset some of these expenses. To estimate theoretically a minimum daily power that can be
harness, we were provided a data showing the level of the water inside the tower each hour
during a period of 24 hours.
Figure 9: Data showing the level (in ft) of water
Using the daily data, and the equations (1) through (5) we have:
As result, the total energy that can be harness that typical day is about 60.65 kWh. Note that the
actual energy will be affected by the product of efficiency of all components use to build the
system.
Throughout the project, a solar PV (array) is used to generate some amount of electricity to run
the water pump motor. Therefore, power required to pump water into the reservoir is [6]:
The Horsepower convert into kiloWatts is used to size the DC power of the PV (solar panel)
array.
Quantity or Given Results
Height of water tower h 160 ft
Height of water level in tank h 30 ft
Area of water tank 2827.4 sq ft
Volume of tank 250,000 US gallons
Inlet flow rate of water 1000 gallons/min
Outlet flow rate using daily data provided 2.74 gallons/sec
Cost per kWh required for pump 7.6 cents
Power required for pump 75 kW
Total storing capacity of water tower 349.141 kWh
Energy calculated using daily data provided 60.65 kWh
Amount of dollars save using daily data provided $4.61
Monthly saving using daily data provided (exclude peak load) $138.3
Yearly saving using daily data provided (exclude peak load) $1659.38
Table 2: Result table
Initial Method 2
Figure 10: Flowchart for the Design Project
The 2nd diagram after deep analysis, the team decided to implement a battery less on-
grid systems which use the grid as the “dump load,” sending excess energy back to the utility‟s
grid to be credited to Talquin Company for use at other time. The reason for change is because of
cost for a battery bank to be built. The team's sponsor stated that a battery bank that can hold 25
kilowatt would cost them $40,000. That would not be feasible for them.
Initial design 3:
Figure 11: 3rd initial design
Figure 12: Flow chart of design
This design Includes:
● pump
● one way check valve
● pressure gauge
● pressure switch and pressure tank
● Valve, water turbine
● arduino mega microcontroller
● Led lights to represent grid
Final Design Overview
Multiple system designs were considered for this project. Below is an overview of the various
factors that led us to the final design of our major systems. These factors describe the main
reasons the previously listed initial designs were not used as final designs.
Figure 13: Final design
Figure 14: Flow chart of final design
Initial design Method 1 was scrapped because the project would require the team to build
a tower of a significant height in order to get a certain pressure to drive water into a turbine. Also
if scaled up, a battery bank would be expensive for Talquin.The team sponsor noticed after an
meeting that it would be best to just send any surplus energy back into the grid to receive a
credit. Initial design 2 and 3 were scrapped because the use of a microcontroller would be of no
use. The turbine max output wattage is 200 watts, it would fry the microcontroller if connected to
the output terminals of the turbine. Based on advice received from faculty, it would be best to
connect a powerful inverter which can power loads such as phone chargers, laptop chargers and a
powerful LED lightbulb. The use of pvc pipe was scrapped as well. The team decided to change
the pvc pipe for flexible faucet supply line tube. It is still cheap and can allow the system to be in
a small area. The Solar Panel was scrapped from the final model because the enphase inverter
did not produce enough current to start or run the pump that the team has. The wave of the
inverter was also inconsistent. The motor needs a modified wave to start and run it. Also the
demonstration was indoors, the team needed to ground the motor of the pump to utilize it
indoors.
Below is the research which helped team 5 come to the conclusion of the final design.
Below shows the research of different parts of the major components that were included in the
first design and scrapped towards the final.
Solar Panels
PV module (photovoltaic) system
PV system transform solar radiation directly into electricity called solar electricity. The size and
configuration of a system depend on its intended task. Modules are used to power loads and send
excess energy back to the utility‟s grid for credit. The power produced by the solar module is DC
power and with appropriate power converter/inverter we can invert/ convert DC to AC power.
After investigating the different types of PV module on the market, we will recommend the use
of monocrystalline PV for the big scale project not because is the most efficient but the most
affordable acceptable efficiency. Below is the table illustrating the pros and cons of different PV
module.
Types Advantages Disadvantages
Monocrystalline Highest efficiency 22.5%
Space-efficiency
Long lifespan (25 years)
More efficient (weather)
Very expensive
Polycrystalline Less cost
Lower heat tolerance
Low efficiency 16%
Low space-efficiency
Thin Film Flexible
High temp and shade have
Low space-efficiency
less impact Degrade faster
Table 3: Contrast between different type of PV module
The module can be arranged in parallel/series combination to maximize the output DC power
[4].
Figure 15: Sample of PV in parallel en series
We will recommend PV tracker for the PV array. The trackers generate more electricity than
their stationary counterparts due to increased direct exposure to solar rays. This increase can be
as much as 10 to 25% depending on the geographic location of the tracking system. There are
many kinds of solar trackers, such as single-axis and dual-axis trackers, all of which can be the
perfect fit for a unique project.
Figure 16: Different type of tracker
PV system Components for small scale
● Panel: One PV panel is intended to be used
● Mounting equipment
● DC charger controller/inverter
● Lead acid battery
● Electrical wire
Advantages of PV
● Clean energy
● Versatile system
● Low maintenance
● Can be stand-alone, grid, or hybrid
● long-life
Disadvantages of PV
● High cost installation and maintenance
● The output DC by PV vary with the solar radiation
● Low efficiency (13 to 18%)
Microcontroller Unit
In order to control the flow of the electricity base on the need of the sources and the Loads, the
use of MCU is helpful. Different loop is design to implement the goal. The goal of using the
MCU is to alternate the source of the electric power base on the need of the Loads. The
flowchart in figure 5 illustrated the objectives.
Figure 15: Flowchart of the Microcontroller Unit
Hydro-system
Turbines
The purpose of a hydro power turbine is to convert the kinetic energy of the oncoming
water through the pipes to electrical energy. The types of hydropower turbines that make this
power generation possible fall into the categories of an impulse or reaction turbine. The type of
hydropower turbine chosen for a system within these two categories are based mainly on the
“head” and flow rate of water in the system. The head is a term used to describe the height of the
standing water to run through the turbine and is broken up into low, medium and high head with
a low head being less than 10 meters, medium head ranging from 10 to 50 meters and a high
head greater than 50 meters.
Impulse turbines use the velocity of water to drive the runner. With a high speed water
stream, the water is directed to hit the bucket of the runner allowing for a rotation of the turbine.
Examples of this turbine includes a Pelton wheel with the runner connected to buckets that
capture the energy of the jet of water. Nearly all of the energy of the water is used to propel the
buckets and the reflected water falls into a discharge channel.
A reaction turbine is the type of turbine that would be better suited for the type of hydro
system Talquin is trying to incorporate. Reason for this being that reaction turbines exploit the
flow of oncoming water to rotate the runner blades. A reaction turbine also doesn‟t change the
direction of a fluid as much as an impulse turbine making it more suitable to place with the pipes
that deliver the water to Tarquin's customers.
Hydrokinetic turbines are a type of reaction turbine that use the energy from the flow of
present water. These systems are most efficient with low head, high flow systems that typically
consist of rivers, tidal waves, and ocean currents. A turbine we researched that incorporates this
style of turbine is manufactured at Lucid Energy. The system they have in place captures the
flow of moving water within already present pipes and converts the energy with the installed
generator above. As ideal as this turbine would be for our system, a hydrokinetic turbine requires
a low head, typically up to around 10 meters, which conflicts with our high head at Talquin
standing at roughly 33 meters.
The Francis turbine is another example of a reaction turbine and is the most commonly
used turbine in today‟s hydro systems. These turbines are suitable for medium and high head
systems and operate under high efficiency in a wider range of conditions compared to other
turbines which make them so commonly used. The shape of the turbine allows for a constant
velocity flow of the water and an outlet to allow for a recover of pressure within the turbine. A
small Francis turbine would be best suited for Talquin being that it fulfills a majority of the
requirements of this type of turbine, in terms of head and flow rate, to extract the most energy of
the flowing water. Because of the large head requirement of this type of turbine, we will not be
able to use it for a final scaled down model and plan to build or purchase a small turbine to act as
how a larger Francis one would work in real life.
Figure 16: Data Info
With the restricted head and flow rate of the small scale model being much smaller than
the ones for Talquin, it was found that a reaction turbine would be better suited to generate
electricity. Regarding the small scale model that was built for the final design, research was
conducted to find a mini hydro power generator to apply the same concept for Talquin to
generate electricity from the flowing water. The models that were narrowed down to were the
PowerSpout, Zurn Industries, and Water buddy systems.
The PowerSpout PLT is a Pelton type turbine as shown in Figure 13 below. With a
minimum flow of 0.8 gpm and head range from 10 to 430 feet, this turbine had the potential to
be utilized within our system. The main draw back with this turbine is its cost, being $1,599,
which would be a huge part of our $2,000 budget. It is for this reason that we kept this turbine in
mind but chose to look onwards to other systems.
Figure 17: Turbine Design
The Zurn Industries turbine is another general hydro power turbine and can be
seen in Figure 14 below. This generator kit includes both the turbine and internal components for
self-sustaining battery charging. It was more along the lines of our budget at around $250, and
was on of which was taken into consideration before making the final decision.
Figure 18: Turbine system
The final turbine on our list to choose was the Water buddy turbine. This small
machine generates DC power from the water flowing through its system. The water is directed
within a pipeline with enough of a head to build sufficient pressure. The water then passes
through a small nozzle that gives up the built up pressure for velocity. It is here that the water
passes through the turbine runner, converting the energy from the water to shaft power to spin
the generator. The power is first alternating current and is converted to direct current through a
rectifier and goes to the output terminals to provide charging for batteries. This hydro turbine not
only fell within the budget but also came with various nozzle sizes so that the desired power
could be achieved. It is for these reasons that the choice was made to go with this turbine for the
final design.
Figure 19: Water Buddy Turbine
3. Design of Major Components
The hydroelectric generator is a system comprised of numerous components, which work
together to produce the wanted power. This design meets the limitation of the sponsor. This
design has not only a hydroelectric turbine, but also water pump, water reservoir and pressure
tank to simulate the 60-psi pressure of water tower. The following subsections emphasize in
detail these components giving each part‟s importance, function, and construction.
3.1 Hydroelectric Turbine Generator
The hydroelectric turbine generator is one of the
most important pieces of the apparatus. The types of
hydropower turbines that make this power generation
possible fall into the categories of an impulse or reaction
turbine. Researched showed that hydrokinetic turbines
are a type of reaction turbine that use the energy from the
flow of present water. The system we design is most
efficient with low head, high flow systems.
3.2 Water Pump and the Pressure Tank
To simulate the free-falling water at 60 psi, our team select the Wayne SWS50-8.5FX is a
1/2 HP shallow jet well pump recharged 8.5 Gal. tank system. Includes 8.5 Gal. recharged tank.
30 psi to 50 psi pre-set pressure switch included. Shallow well system. Constructed of durable
cast-iron:
● 1/2 HP shallow well system with 8.5 Gal. recharged tank
● 1/2 HP; maximum flow rate is 420 GPH; (50 psi)
● 3/4 in. NPT discharge with 1-1/4 in. suction
● Dual voltage (120-Volt/240-Volt) high efficiency square flange motor (factory set for
240-Volt). Pressure switch is pre-set at 30 psi to 50 psi for automatic operation.
2.2.4 DC to AC Inverter
The DC to AC Inverter Aickar 300W Car Power
Inverter, DC 12V to AC 110V Dual AC Outlets + Dual
2.4A/24W USB Ports with Smart Fan Built-in – Blue.
• A REAL POWERFUL INVERTER: Our 12v power
inverter provides constant REAL 300W AC power and
600W peak power. Equipped with an intelligent fan that
runs according to the temperature of our power inverters
smartly to keep it cool.
• MULTIFUNCTIONAL: With 2x120V AC pocket
sockets and 2x2.4A intelligent USB charging ports, this
DC to AC inverter will safely power different electronic
devices.
•ALL-ROUND PROTECTION: Aickar 300W Inverter
Charger has over-temperature, under and over voltage
charging, short-circuit, reverse-connect and power
overloads protection.
• STRONGLY BUILT: Aickar AC DC converter is made
of durable metal, to provide advanced protection from
4. Testing Documentation
The following section will cover the testing and results of experiments performed. These
experiments were designed to test critical and integral aspects of our project. The experiments
were designed with an emphasized focus on mechanical and electrical aspects to validate the
functionality of the design.
4.1 Hydroelectric Turbine Generator Testing
Turbine testing was the most straightforward test performed yet arguably focused on the
most critical aspect to prove. The testing was conducted at different stage of the designs
completion. The initial testing was conducted by running water through the turbine using
different nozzles. The initial test was considered a failure because we did not have enough
pressure and appropriate water whose to produce enough torque of the turbine blade. The
problem was resolved by selecting appropriate water whose which effectively produced enough
torque to spin the turbine‟s blade. The next phase of testing that was conducted by securing the
end caps of the water whose and the turbine‟s water inlet on the one hand, and on the other hand
the ends caps of the water whose and the water outlet of the water pump. This test was a
successful and the data collected after measurement are as see below.
Figure 20: Turbine Nozzles size vs. Power @ 50 psi
4.2 Water pump Testing
The water pump dispersion test was conducted to verify that no complications would arise from
the water pump generated during operation. Our main concerns were:
1- If we connected the pump electrical wire properly (ground)
2- If the pressure tank will work us describe in the manufacture manual
Our first test was very successful. We noticed that once the pressure in the pressure tank is 50
psi, the water pump stop dispensing water which meet our expectation.
Figure 21: Pressure gauge showing pressure in the tank Figure 22: Testing the water pump
4.3 Digital multimeter and power meter
We chose bayite DC 6.5-100V 0-100A LCD Display Digital Current Voltage Power Energy
Meter Multimeter Ammeter Voltmeter with 100A Current Shunt, so we can be able to measure
current, voltage and power simultaneously. The device was connected according the
manufacturer requirement and to the diagram below.
Figure 23: The testing of the digital multimeter and power meter was fruitful.
4.4 Testing the DC to AC Inverter
We choose the DC to AC Inverter Aickar 300W Car Power Inverter, DC 12V to AC
110V Dual AC Outlets + Dual 2.4A/24W USB Ports with Smart fan. We conducted multiple
testing on the inverter. The first and second were a failure. AS result, we burned the devices. The
raison for the failure are divers. For the first test, we did not check properly all the requirements
for the inverter. One of the requirement is that input DC voltage of the inverter must not exceed
12 V. But during the first test we forget to check the size of the nozzle we are using. We were
using 4 mm nozzle which is producing a voltage greater than 12 V. Failure of the second test was
unknown. The third testing was successful.
Figure 24: Gantt Chart
5. Schedule
The group will utilize grant and different materials provide by Talquin to ensure
deliverables are met by deadline. Due to the academic requirement, the due dates are set by the
department, and the group is determined to fulfill the demand. As soon as the significant
components of the design project is properly identified, the tentative schedule will be update to
mirror the group‟s deliverable schedule
Figure 25: schedule for the spring semester of design
Potential Challenges
As the design becomes more refined, potential challenges that may occur is wetting of
components. Another challenge that may occur is stabilizing of pressure into turbine. Pressure
stability is a must in order to achieve the maximum RPM in the turbine to harvest energy from
flowing water. The team must create a small scale model easy to assemble for showcasing. A
challenge for this project is making sure flow of water does not flow backwards into pump. The
team found a solution for this issue by using a one way check valve. If this occurs, this can
damage the pump causing pump to overheat, cause boiling of water in rotor and scroll. Another
potential challenge the team may face is not generating enough energy to power the inverter. The
team did face issues when the turbine sent too much voltage to the inverter causing it to “fry.”
6. Risk Assessment and Budget Costs
This section of the paper is for problematic issues that may arise throughout the course of
this project. During the process of designing this project many risk factors came to mind. Budget
control was a key component when designing this project. Team 5 had a budget limit of $2000,
the complexity of this design can result in a possibility of going over budget. Components such
as, pumps, air compressor, and turbine generator kit can be expensive. While dealing with
electrical equipment such as a battery, turbine generator, microcontroller, pump, harm can
happen to its operators due to high voltage being used. Also, since the project will focus on
having a water reservoir and a tank to pump water into can cause electrical components to get
wet, if not properly sealed can cause shock to the operator. Overheating of parts can be a risk as
well, if a battery overheats, can cause material inside of the battery to deteriorate causing the
battery not to work properly. Overheating of any component in the design can cause burns to the
operator. Another risk that came to mind, is the improper use of machinery to build our small
scale model. Improper use of power tools can cause severe damage to operators. All these risk
can be remedied by proper usage of safety eye,ear and hand protection. If an incident occurs
during project proper authorities will be alerted.
As far as the budget costs went, the group was able to stay well within their given budget
of $2000 as many of the parts were cheap fittings that could be found at local stores. You can see
in more detail within the figure below where this money went to.
Figure 26: Project parts
7. Conclusion
The purpose of this project was to determine if the implementation of a renewable energy
system that transfers the kinetic energy of falling water into electrical energy in a water tower
would be feasible. Talquin has hopes of improving upon their water towers by setting up these
systems in place so that electrical energy can be generated using a water turbine and sold back to
the utility company to offset costs and make it more affordable to deliver water to their clients.
Through the research and development of this project the team realized that not only would this
system not be feasible because of the constant water flow requirement to operate the turbine, but
also the hundreds of thousands of dollars needed to implement a turbine relative to how much
money Talquin would be getting back from it would not be cost effective for the company. With
this research done the team made Talquin aware of this and moved forward with the project,
simulating a design that would be feasible if Talquin were to have a constant flow of water
released from their towers. This final design implemented a water pressure tank to regulate the
water pressure at around 50 psi and a turbine called the Water buddy turbine that converts the
water into electrical energy. Once this conversion was made and being that the output of the
turbine was DC power, to better demonstrate the power created from this system the team
connected an inverter to the output of the turbine so that AC power could be used to charge a cell
phone, laptop, etc. This was shown in the final demonstration of the project as viewers were able
to power their own devices while the system was fully operational. The ultimate goal of this
experiment was to obtain energy from the flow of water and show Talquin what would be
possible if they chose to incorporate this small scale system into their own towers.
References
[1] Advameg, Inc. "Chapter 1 The Development of Energy." The Development of Energy. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 29 Sept. 2016.
[2] Perlman, USGS Howard. "Hydroelectric Power Water Use." Hydroelectric Power and
Water. Basic Information about Hydroelectricity, the USGS Water Science School. N.p., n.d.
Web. 29 Sept. 2016.
[3] Mason, Matthew. "Renewable Energy: All You Need to Know." Introduction to Renewable
Energy. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Sept. 2016.
[4] F. Omar, „Photovoltaics Design, Integration and Modeling‟, FAMU-FSU College of
Engineering, 2015.
[5] “How much hydropower power can I get - Renewables First.” [Online]. Available:
http://www.renewablesfirst.co.uk/hydropower/hydropower-learning-centre/how-much-power-
could-i-generate-from-a-hydro-turbine/. [Accessed: 24-Oct-2016].
[6] “The Mathematics of Pumping Water - Royal Academy of ...” [Online]. Available:
http://www.raeng.org.uk/publications/other/17-pumping-water. [Accessed: 24-Oct-2016].
[7] I. Buchmann, "Lead-based batteries information – battery university," in Battery University,
2016. [Online]. Available: http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/lead_based_batteries.
Accessed: Oct. 25, 2016.
*Biography
Darius Wright-Tippins:
Darius Wright-Tippins is a Senior Electrical Engineering student at Florida A&M
University. He is from New York City, and is currently pursuing his B.S. in Electrical
Engineering, his expected graduation date is April 2017. Darius has always been fascinated with
electrical work since a young age, which caused him to pursue Electrical Engineering in school.
Darius is currently taking Power System Analysis to gain knowledge of power and energy. His
goal is to work in the power industry after graduation.
Moise Zamor:
Moise Zamor is a Senior Electrical Engineering Major at Florida State University. He is
currently seeking his bachelors in Electrical Engineering with a focus in power systems. He was
raised in a strong Christian home where he received his morals and values. From Fort
Lauderdale, Florida. Zamor is known for his love with working with power electronics and
systems. As a child, he would always attempt to fix broken devices and appliances. He is
expected to graduate in April 2017. Based on his skill sets and love for power systems. Moise
Zamor will be a great addition for any company or corporation looking for an electrical
Engineer.
Komlan Amessee:
Komlan Amessee is a senior Electrical Engineering student at Florida State University.
Komlan is Originally from Togo Africa. He is currently pursuing his B.S. in Electrical
Engineering, expecting to graduate April 2017. Komlan is currently taking Power System
Analysis and Microcontroller Based System Design to gain knowledge of power/energy and
structured assembly-language software design, RTL, CPU design, pipelining and superscaling,
computer arithmetic, memory and I/O organization and interface, cache, and design tools.
Olivier Perrault:
Olivier Perrault is a senior electrical engineering student at Florida State University
pursing a Bachelor‟s degree with a focus in Power. Originally from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida he
plans on acquiring a position as a Project/Field engineer for a General or Electrical contracting
company upon graduation in May of 2017. He has previously taken Power Electronics and is
currently taking Fundamentals of Power systems to further his knowledge in the field of Power.
Appendix A – User‟s Guide
The User’s Guide report was not included in the final report. The User’s Guide report can be found at the
team’s website under the Deliverables section.
The team’s website: http://coewtgteam5.weebly.com/
Appendix B - Test Plan Documentation
Water Pump System Troubleshooting
