Alaska Hydro-Flow Generator

Project team 19
Jacob Gore, Eric Lankheet, Jason Riggs, Ching-shih Yang

ME 450: Design and Manufacturing III

Winter 07’ Final Report
Professor Katsuo Kurabayashi
4-17-2007

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 Table of Contents

Abstract.............................................................................................Page 2
Introduction and Problem Statement................................................Page 2
Information Search...........................................................................Page 3
Customer Requirements and Engineering Specifications…………Page 3
Preliminary Concept.........................................................................Page 5
Concept Generation..........................................................................Page 6
Concept Evaluation and Selection....................................................Page 8
Engineering Analysis........................................................................Page 10
Final Design…………......................................................................Page 14
Prototype Test Plan...........................................................................Page 16
Prototype Manufacturing……..........................................................Page 21
Final Design Manufacturing.............................................................Page 22
Bill of Materials................................................................................Page 23
Discussion for Future Improvements................................................Page 24
Conclusions…...................................................................................Page 25
Acknowledgments.............................................................................Page 26
References….....................................................................................Page 26
Team bios..........................................................................................Page 27
Appendix A.......................................................................................Page 29
Appendix B.......................................................................................Page 30
Appendix C.......................................................................................Page 31
Appendix D.......................................................................................Page 32
Appendix E.......................................................................................Page 33
Appendix F.......................................................................................Page 34
Appendix G......................................................................................Page 35
Appendix H......................................................................................Page 36
Appendix I........................................................................................Page 37
Appendix J........................................................................................Page 38

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Abstract
The University of Michigan’s Hydrodynamic Laboratories has requested our assistance in
designing and developing a portable hydroelectric generator for supplying power to
remotely located Alaskan research camps using nearby rivers. The design specifications
required our product to be portable and robust enough for the given environment. To
meet these specifications, we generated and analyzed various concepts to ultimately
select a concept that uses two turbine blades in series that will drive an electric generator.
Using a generator and blade test rig, we estimate that the finished product will be able to
produce approximately 1 kilowatt of power.

Introduction and Problem Statement

At the Bering Glacier in Southwest Alaska, valuable research is being conducted every
summer on the natural evolution and future preservation of the area. However, because
of its remote location, research camps and native villages in the region do not have a
ready source of power. Thus, researchers have been relying on gasoline powered
generators to fulfill their power needs. To supply these generators, bush planes are used
to transport gasoline. This method of transportation presents a possible danger both to
those transporting the gasoline and to the environment. An accident that resulted in the
death of a bush plane pilot has proved this danger to be real. To deal with this problem,
the research camp must be able to find or develop an alternate source of energy that does
not require transportation that could be potentially dangerous.

To tap in to the energy available in the surrounding environment, researchers at the

University of Michigan’s Marine Hydraulic Laboratory (MHL) observed that the nearby
river systems possess far more than enough energy that could be harvested to power the
camps. As shown in Figure1 below, the melting of glaciers in the region result in
channels of water that supply the river system in the surrounding region.

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 Figure 1: A Channel of Water Formed by Melting Ice (courtesy of MHL)

Since the most amount of ice melts in the summer, the river flow is also the fastest at that
time. Therefore, research activities, which are carried out in the summer, could take
advantage of this increased flow to produce the necessary power requirements. Supplied
by the melting ice, these rivers have an estimated flow rate of 1,400 to 2,500 m3/s, which
corresponds to a water speed of 2 to 4 m/s.

MHL researchers have proposed that a hydroelectric generator could be developed to

environmentally harvest the power from the river flow. To satisfy the camps’ power
needs, the hydroelectric generator system would need to provide 10 ~ 30kw of power.
Also, to be easily transported, the hydroelectric generator would need to weigh less than
500 lbs. Due to floating ice blocks and sediment in the river, the portion of the
hydroelectric generator system in the water needs to be very robust and durable. MHL
has presented these requirements to us for guiding our design and manufacturing process.

Information Search
To begin the design process, we researched information and patents for portable
hydroelectric generators to better understand the system that we need to design. We
found that most portable hydroelectric generators on the market are designed to generate
electricity from a vertical downward fluid flow in a pipe or tube. These portable
hydroelectric generators are meant to produce lower power than that which is needed for
an entire research camp. Also, these products are typically designed for high head, low
flow rate environments. Figure 2 below shows a picture of such a product.

Figure 2: Platypus Power’s M1 Micro Hydroelectric Generator (Max: 800 Watts) [1]

Customer Requirements and Engineering Specifications

Since the portable hydroelectric generator will be operating in a remote location with a
harsh environment, MHL has specified several requirements that the product will need to
meet. The product will need to be able to withstand the harsh environment and be
portable enough to be transported by a bush plane. Also, the generator will need to be
able to produce enough power to decrease the amount of gasoline consumed by the camp.
The specific requirements and corresponding engineering specifications are as follows:
1. Portable: Less than 500 lbs.; able to be carried by a bush plane

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 2. Durable: Needs bearings that won’t be ruined by the sediment and debris
deflection device for deflecting ice blocks; needs to last for a long time.
3. Consistent power output: Need system to control power output to a constant value.
4. Ability to store excess output: Could use a hydraulic accumulator, batteries, or
other such components for energy storage.
5. Small environmental impact: Made of components that won’t have a negative
impact on the environment during or after usage.
6. Easy setup: All components to system must be easily assembled on-site.
7. Multi-use: System would preferably include methods of utilizing excess energy
that will improve the users’ standard of living.
8. Safe: All electrical and hydraulic systems must be safe to the users.
9. Robust: System should be able to compensate for the wide range of river flow rate.
10. Low cost: Whole system should cost less than $4,000.
The specific requirements and engineering specifications are included in the quality
function deployment shown below as Figure 3.

Figure 3: Quality Function Deployment

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Preliminary Concept

Before requesting our assistance, researchers from MHL have already developed a
concept for the energy extraction component of the system. Figure 4 below presents this
concept. The twin blades in this concept would allow for more power extraction from the
river flow. The spinning of the blades would actuate the hydraulic pump, which would
then send pressurized fluid up to the rest of the hydroelectric system. With this concept,
most of the electrical components could be kept safe and dry on land. Another option is
that the twin blades could directly run a generator instead of a pump. In that case, an
electrical line would directly carry current from the generator up to the camp to be used.

Figure 4: MHL’s Hydroflow Generator Concept (courtesy of MHL) [1]

Along with the current concept for the hydroflow generator, our team has determined that
the entire hydroelectric generator system could be setup in two ways. In the first method,
the system would directly convert the rotational power from the spinning blades to
electrical power by using an electrical generator. This method would result in an
approximately constant flow of electricity from the generator, which would most likely
need to be stored in batteries in order to be useful to the camp. Also, this first method
would very likely require electrical components like the generator to be underwater. The
second method for setting up the system would essentially involve storing the power
from the hydroflow generator as pressure in a hydraulic accumulator. Then, when
desired, the accumulated pressure could be used to complete a hydraulic circuit with a
commercial hydraulic generator, which would then generate the necessary power.

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 Concept Generation
To generate possible concepts for our generator system, we first determined that the
system will need to be made of 3 or 4 components: energy extraction component, energy
transfer component, an optional energy storage component, and an energy dissipation
component. We continued by producing several concepts for each component. The
result of this process is shown below in the morphological chart.

Concept 1 Concept 2 Concept 3 Concept 4 Concept 5

Function
Water Wheel
Multiple Turbines in Multiple Turbines
with generator:
Energy Parallel: Axis of in Series: Axis of
Axis of rotation
Extraction rotation parallel to rotation parallel to
perpendicular
water flow water flow
to water flow
Energy Hydraulic pump Direct Electricity
Air compressor Water pump
Transfer and circuit generation

Battery array Direct

Energy Accumulator – Compressed air Elevated water (Lead Acid, electricity
Storage Hydraulic pressure storage tank tank Hydrogen Hybrid, generation
or NiMH) (No storage)

Air-driven tools or Gravity-fed Direct Current

Energy Hydraulically-driven Heated
an air-driven hydroelectric connection to
Dissipation Generator Water
generator generator battery array

Table 1: Morphological Chart

The morphological chart shows all the different concepts for each component that we’ve
mentioned. In the subsections below, we introduce a representative concept for each
system component. The rest of the concepts are briefly explained in appendix A.

Energy Extraction: This component of the system will extract energy from the river’s
flow. Essentially, this component converts the kinetic energy of the water into some
other form of energy that can be easily transferred to the camp without too much loss. As
listed in the morphological chart, concepts for this component include: the hydroflow
generator from MHL, multiple turbine blades used in parallel (see Figure 5), and a
waterwheel. Figure 5 on the next page shows the concept for multiple turbine blades in
parallel. This concept is similar to the hydroflow generator concept shown in Figure 4.
However, in this concept, there will only be one turbine blade per turbine unit. This
concept could allow us to add turbine blades to the system later on to increase the power
extracted from the water. In this case, the power extracted from each turbine blade would
add together after the power is converted into a form that will allow the summation of
power. Since this summation of power is possible with pneumatic, hydraulic, and
electrical circuits, selecting this concept will not limit our selection of concepts for other
components of the system.

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 Figure 5: Multiple Turbine Blades in Parallel

Energy Transfer: The energy transfer component includes the energy conversion unit in
the energy extraction unit and the circuit through which the energy is transferred. In the
hydroflow generator in Figure 4, the energy conversion unit is located between the two
blades and could either be an electrical generator or a hydraulic pump. As shown in the
morphological chart, the concepts for the energy transfer component include: hydraulic
pump/ circuit, electrical generator/ circuit, air compressor/ pneumatic circuit, and water
pump/ flowing water. The energy transfer component of the system more or less
determines the concepts required for many other components. For example, if the
hydraulic pump/ circuit concept is selected, then the energy storage component will most
likely have to be either a hydraulic accumulator or a battery array. In this case, the
hydraulic pump converts the energy from the energy extraction component into a flow of
pressurized hydraulic fluid. Then, the flow in the hydraulic circuit could cause energy to
be stored as pressure in a hydraulic accumulator. Alternatively, the hydraulic circuit’s
flow could directly run a hydraulic generator, in which case the energy would have to be
stored in a battery array, if energy storage is desired.

Energy Storage: As described in the previous section, concept selection for the energy
storage component is strongly dependent on the concept selection for the energy transfer
component. In fact, concept generation for these two components typically occurred
simultaneously. A concept for the energy storage component typically comes with a
required energy transfer concept. Therefore, one can see the relationship between the
energy storage and energy transfer concepts in the morphological chart. These energy
storage concepts include: hydraulic accumulator, battery array, compressed air storage
tank, and elevated water tank. Here, the elevated water tank concept stores energy as the
gravitational potential energy in water that’s pumped up to a higher location. Wind
generators in many places use this concept for storing wind energy. When the energy is
needed, then the water is run down through a high head low flow hydroelectric generator,
which is commercially available.

Energy Dissipation: This is the final component before useable electrical power is
delivered to the research camp. The morphological chart shows that our concepts for this

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 component include: hydraulic generator, inverter, air driven tools or compressed air
generator, heater/ water boiler, and a high-head/ low flow hydroelectric generator. If we
ever intend to store energy in a battery array, the inverter mentioned here would be
needed to convert the DC current from the battery to AC current, which is what the camp
needs.

Concept Evaluation and Selection

After developing all the concepts for each component of the system, we began to reject
inferior concepts so that we may ultimately arrive at the best final concept for the whole
system. Since concepts for most components could be used together with multiple other
concepts for another component, we did not directly narrow down the number of
concepts for the whole system. Rather, we focused on rejecting individual concepts for
each component of the system. For rejecting these concepts, we utilized a Pugh chart.
The Pugh charts shown in appendix C depict our evaluation of each concept for each
component. By using the Pugh charts and other research information, we eliminated the
concepts that are crossed out in the revised morphological chart below.

Concept 1 Concept 2 Concept 3 Concept 4 Concept 5

Function
Water Wheel
Multiple Turbines in Multiple Turbines
with generator:
Energy Parallel: Axis of in Series: Axis of
Axis of rotation
Extraction rotation parallel to rotation parallel to
perpendicular
water flow water flow
to water flow
Energy Hydraulic pump/ Electrical
Air compressor Water pump
Transfer circuit generator/ circuit

Battery array Direct

Energy Accumulator – Compressed air Elevated water (Lead Acid, electricity
Storage Hydraulic pressure storage tank tank Hydrogen Hybrid, generation
or NiMH) (No storage)

Air-driven tools or Gravity-fed Direct Current

Energy Hydraulically-driven Heated
an air-driven hydroelectric connection to
Dissipation Generator Water
generator generator battery array

Table 2: Revised Morphological Chart

Below is a list of all the rejected concepts and a brief description of why they were
rejected.

Energy Extraction
1) Water wheel with generator: After doing some research on waterwheels, we
determined that the typical waterwheel would be too massive, and too difficult to
setup. Since our system must be portable, the waterwheel concept is not suitable.
Also, research showed that waterwheels are most efficient when the river has a
low flow rate and high head [2]. Since we will have a high flow rate with low
head, turbine blades are more suitable.

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 2) Multiple turbines in parallel: After running a few tests in MHL’s testing basin, we
realized that the force from the flow causes problems in trying to secure the
energy extraction component of the system. Since this concept requires securing
multiple separate components, we decided that using the multiple turbines in
series would be preferable. Placing the turbines in series would require securing
half as many underwater components as if the turbines were places in parallel.

Energy Transfer
1) Air compressor: From correspondence with Dr. David Swain at the National
Vehicle Fuel and Emissions Laboratory of the Environmental Protection Agency,
we determined that using a pneumatic circuit with and air compressor would be
less efficient than using hydraulic or electric circuits. This is because of the
significant turbulence losses in the air that wouldn’t be as big of a problem in
hydraulic or electric circuits.
2) Water pump: See explanation for the rejection of the elevated water tank concept
in the Energy Storage section below. We rejected this concept because it requires
energy storage by an elevated water tank.
3) Hydraulic pump/ circuit: Dr. David Swain of EPA has informed us that the low
temperatures in the Alaskan environment would necessitate the use of special
hydraulic fluid that would maintain its viscosity at lower temperatures. Moreover,
due to environmental concerns, the hydraulic oil we would need to use must not
pollute the environment if it happens to spill. Based on these concerns, we have
decided that the electrical circuit may be a better concept to use.

Energy Storage
1) Hydraulic accumulator: Along with the problem of needing special hydraulic fluid,
Dr. David Swain has also point out that the hydraulic accumulator needed for our
energy storage requirements would be much too heavy to be part of a portable
system. Therefore, we have determined that other storage methods would be
more suitable for our application.
2) Compressed air storage tank: See explanation for air compressor in the Energy
transfer section. Pneumatic components are all rejected because of inefficiency
due to turbulence losses.
3) Elevated water tank: Some simple calculations showed that any water tank that
can hold any significant amount of energy would be too large for our purposes.
For example, if we want 8 kilowatt-hours of energy, which is equal to 28.8 Mega
joules, with a water tank at 8 meters high, then the volume of the tank can be
determined with the equation:
Energy
V = Eq. 1
Density × Height × grav. _ const.
Using this equation, we determined that the necessary volume would be 367 m3.
If the tank were a cube then each side of this tank would be 7.2 meters long. This
conservative calculation does not even take frictional losses in the pipe into
account, and the tank would already be too large to transfer with a bush plane.
Because of this, we rejected all the concepts that require using an elevated water
tank as the energy storage component.

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Energy Dissipation
1) Air driven tools or an air driven generator: See explanation for the air compressor
in the Energy transfer section. This energy dissipation concept requires a
pneumatic circuit, which we have already rejected.
2) Gravity-fed hydroelectric generator: See explanation for the elevated water tank
concept in the Energy storage section. This energy dissipation method required
using an elevated water tank, which we have already rejected.

Engineering Analysis
Initially, we used an energy equation to help us determine an approximate amount of
power that is available in the river flow. Then, using a control volume analysis, we
determined an ideal approximation of the amount of energy that our blades should be able
to extract. Afterwards, we used the linear momentum equation to predict the force of the
flow on our system. Finally, by using the force on the unit, we determined the stresses on
the bars connecting the sealing and the outer casing. The details of these analyses are
described below.

Total Energy in Flow

An equation for the total energy in a fluid flow is:

P V2 ∧
+ + gz + u = e Eq. 2
ρ 2
Where P is the pressure, ρ is the water’s density, V is the water velocity, g is the
gravitational constant, z is the height with respect to the reference state, û is a term
related to the internal energy of the water, and e is the specific total energy [2]. Since the
turbine blades are only able to extract kinetic energy from the flow, the energy available
for extraction via the turbine blade is just:

V2
= eTurb Eq. 3
2
If we multiply equation 3 by the water mass flow rate, then we get:
•
mV 2 •
=W Eq. 4
2
• •
Where m is the water mass flow rate, and W is the power available for extraction by the
turbine blades. Since the water mass flow rate is equal to the product of the density of
water with the cross sectional area and the velocity, we can determine the amount of
power available for turbine extraction for any given pair of cross sectional area and water
velocity value. Using this equation, we calculated the total energy in an area equal to the
size of the turbine blades for a variety of water speeds (see appendix E). From this data
we’ve determined that one single hydroflow generator unit would not be able to supply
the 10 kW of power for the research camp. However, using multiple hydroflow
generators together could allow us to produce enough power for the camp.

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Control Volume Analysis
The theoretical shaft power is based on linear momentum equations for turbines seen
below in equations 5 and 6.
wshaft = U 2Vθ 2 − U 1Vθ 1 Eq. 5
•
Pshaft = m wshaft Eq. 6
V is the absolute velocity of the water, W is the velocity relative to the moving blade, and
U is the velocity of the blade, they are defined in Eqs. 7 and 8 as well as Figures 7 and 8
seen below:
→ → →

V = V +V Eq. 7
θ x
→ → →

V = U +W Eq. 8
Using equations 5 through 8 with the control volume defined below in Figure 6 we were
able to calculate the theoretical shaft power for a variety of blade angles which is
displayed in Graph 1. This figure shows that an increase in blade pitch angle leads to an
increase in shaft power. Shaft power is also shown to increase with an increase in the
water velocity. Based on these findings were able to predict that our blade with the
largest pitch angle would extract the most power from the water which is consistent with
our results in the testing section.

This analysis was based on the following assumptions:

1) The entry control surface is equal in area to the exit control surface so V1 = V2
2) → → i.e. the blade spins at the same speed on both points
U 1 =U 2
3) There is no flow in the radial direction

Figure 6: Blade control Volume Figure 7: Entry Velocity Triangle (1)

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 Figure 8: Exit Velocity Triangle (2)

Shaft Power vs Water speed

14000
12000
Pitch angle 30
10000
Power (W)

Pitch angle 35
8000
Pitch angle 40
6000
Pitch angle 45
4000
Pitch angle 50
2000
0
0 1 2 3 4 5
Water Speed(m/s)

Graph 1: Power Output Increase with Pitch Angle

Anchoring Force Calculation

To help MHL determine a way for securing the hydroflow generator, we have calculated
the amount of force that the flow would exert on the hydroflow generator. This analysis
required the linear momentum equation [2]:

∂ ∧

∫ VρdV + ∫ VρV ⋅ ndA = ∑ FContents _ of _ CV Eq. 9

∂t CV CS

Where n is a unit vector normal to the control surface facing away from the control
volume, A is for the cross sectional area of the flow, and F is for the force. Since we
don’t expect the velocity to suddenly change, we assume a steady flow. With this
assumption, the time differential term integrating through the control volume is now 0,
since we assume that there will be no change with respect to time. Since we know the
flow velocity and flow cross sectional areas, and the density of water we can calculate the

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left hand side of this equation and thereby determine the force on our system. We
performed this analysis on both the nose cone and the blades to determine the force on
each of those components. The result of this analysis is shown below in Graph 2. Note,
however, that we neglected the surface drag on the unit. Therefore, the actual force
should be slightly greater than what we have predicted.

System Anchoring Force Versus Water

Speed
2000
1800
1600
1400
Force (N)

1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0
0 1 2 3 4 5
Water speed (m/s)
Graph 2: System Anchoring Force Versus Water Speed

Using this graph, MHL could determine the most suitable method for securing the
hydroflow generator such that the forces do not overwhelm the anchoring system.

Connecting Rod Bending Stress Analysis

Using the forces from the previous analysis, we performed a bending stress analysis on
the rods connecting the outer casing and the sealing. For this analysis, we used the force
on the system at the worse case of the unit’s operation: 4 m/s. Since we have 12
connecting rods, if we assume that the force is evenly distributed among the 12, then each
rod will experience 1/12th of the force, which is 146 Newtons. Then, modeling each rod
as a cantilever beam, we determined that the maximum bending moment, Mmax, is 52.5
N·M. Using the bending stress equation with the equation for the moment of inertia, I:

M max ⋅ r π ⋅r4
σ Bending = Eq. 10 I= Eq. 11
I 4

Where r is the radius of the rods, we’ve determined that the maximum stress that the rods
could experience is 132.8 Mpa. Since our rods have yield strengths of 434 Mpa, our
design here has a safety factor of 3.27. We feel that this kind of safety factor may be
necessary because of the unpredictable and harsh operating environment. Moreover, this
safety factor will take care of various simplifications and assumptions we have previously
made in our analyses. Graph 3 shows a plot of the rod bending stresses at varying
velocities.

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 Rod Bending Stress Versus Water Speed
Rod Bending Stress
500.0
Yield Strength = 434 Mpa
450.0
400.0
350.0
Stress (Mpa) 300.0
250.0
200.0
150.0
100.0
50.0
0.0
0 1 2 3 4 5
Water Speed (m/s)

Graph 3: Rod Bending Stress Versus Water Speed

As shown in this graph, our design for the connecting rods is safe for the given operation
conditions.

Final Design
Our final design for the hydroflow generator uses two turbine blades connected in series:
one after another. The CAD drawing of the final design is shown in Figure 9 below.

Nose Cone 1 Blade 2 Blade 1

Generator 2
Sealing
Nose Cone 1

Casing (to be covered

with material)
Gearbox 2 Generator 1
Gearbox 1

Figure 9: Hydroflow Generator CAD Drawing

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The left and front view of the CAD drawing of the unit is included in appendix G. As
depicted in Figure 9, the heart of the hydroflow generator is described by the following
outline:
Nose cone 1 Æ Blade 1 Æ Gearbox 1 Æ Generator 1 Æ Blade 2 Æ Gearbox 2
Æ Generator 2 Æ Nose cone 2.
In this setup, the first nose cone would separate the water, which would then spin blade 1.
The spinning of blade 1 would be transmitted through the first gearbox so that the
generator would be driven with the appropriate torque and RPM. According to our
calculations, both of the gearboxes will need to have a gearing ratio of 9:1. Not shown in
Figure 9 is the electrical line that would be coming out from the generator to carry the
power to the shore. After the water flows past the first blade, it will smoothly flow over
the sealing, which keeps the water out of the electrical components. Past the sealing, the
water will flow through the second blade, which would drive the second generator, just as
how the first blade drives the first generator. Since the blades are optimized when
receiving flow from a certain direction, both blades will face the same direction, even
though the nose cones will face the opposite directions. Note that the two generators and
blades are on separate shafts so that rotation at different speeds will not be a problem for
the unit. Once the flow proceeds through the second blade, the second nose cone will
help decrease the amount of turbulence. The whole internal hydroflow generator system,
along with the blades, will be covered and protected by an outer casing.

The sealing for the generators and gearboxes would be filled with special low viscosity
non-conducting oil to help decrease the pressure difference across the sealing and prevent
water from seeping in through the seal. Although it seems that the oil could introduce
losses by resisting the spinning of the gears and the generator components, researchers at
MHL, who have extensive experience regarding this subject, affirms that the losses
would not be significant, due to the oil’s low viscosity. For securing the entire hydroflow
generator unit, 12 steel rods would connect the sealing to the outer casing, which would
then be secured to whatever anchoring mechanism is required. The design of the specific
anchoring mechanism would depend on the unit’s immediate environment. Since the
anchoring mechanism is outside of the scope of our task, we will not discuss this
mechanism in detail.

Apart from protecting the internal components of the unit, the outer casing could be used
to help increase the flow velocity. As shown in the dimensioned figures in appendices G
and H, the entrance of the outer casing has a larger diameter than the exit. The principle
behind this feature is like that of a nozzle, which should ultimately increase the flow
velocity. The problem with applying a nozzle feature to the outer casing, however, is that
the casing is open to the flow so that the pressure at the entrance and exit of the casing is
the same. Since decreasing the diameter of the exit of the casing would increase the
pressure in the casing, this pressure difference between the inside of the casing and the
entrance of the casing would “push” back against the flow and thereby decrease the flow.
This argument describes how decreasing the diameter for the sake of increasing the flow
speed could backfire and result in decreased flow. To determine the optimal amount of
decrease in the diameter between the entrance and the exit, computational fluids analysis

15
or further testing may be required. But further research into this feature of the system
could result in increased power output.

At the heart of the system, the main mechanism for extracting the power is in the
generator. This component converts the rotational work of the shaft into electrical power.
This conversion happens through the phenomena of electromagnetic induction. When a
conductor is moved through a magnetic field, a current is induced. For our generator, the
conductor is a large coil of conducting wire, and the magnetic field is produced by
permanent magnets in the generator. When the input shaft of the generator in rotated, the
conducting coils move through the magnetic field and a current is induced in the coils.
The force resisting the rotation of the shaft is determined by the load of the generator, so
that if more power is being drawn, a greater force will resist the input shaft’s rotation.

The dimensions of the whole system were mainly determined by the blades that MHL
provided to us. The dimensions for the blades are included in appendix D, and the
dimensioned CAD drawings are included in appendices G and H. Increasing the
diameter of the blades and the casing would result in increased power extraction, since
more flow is available to provide torque to the blades. However, increasing the diameter
of the blades and casing will clearly increase the unit’s weight and bulk, thereby
decreasing its portability. Depending on the power and portability requirements, the
hydroflow generator could be altered to suit the needs of the particular circumstance.

Prototype Test Plan

Testing of the prototypes was carried out in two stages. The purpose of the initial stage
was to get a rough measurement of the amount of energy that could be captured by the
blades. For the second stage of testing, we used the information gained from the first
round of testing to make the proper generator and gearing selections. We then ran the two
different blades through the test basin while taking actual measurements of the amount of
energy produced by the generator.

Initial Turbine Blade Testing

We performed tests on our two turbine blades at MHL’s testing basin. In their testing
basin, a movable carriage on a track that runs the length of the basin is setup to run across
the top of the basin at user specified speeds. By fastening the testing apparatus with the
turbine blade onto the carriage, we simulated a certain water flow speed by moving the
dynamometer at that exact speed. For these tests, technicians at MHL helped us setup our
testing apparatus.

A labeled picture with the test apparatus is shown below in Figure 10. When the cart is
moving, the apparatus is brought through the water at the desired speed. This causes the
turbine blade to spin. The spinning of the turbine blade is then transmitted through a
bevel gear to become rotation in the shaft that’s behind the flow separator. The flow
separator here decreases the apparatus’s resistance as it moves through the water. To
measure the angular velocity of the blade, a spur gear is built into the shaft so that the
magnetic encoder in the apparatus could read the velocity by the rotation of the gear. To
measure the torque associated with the turbine blade’s rotation, we used a pneumatic
clutch along with a force gauge. We used the pressure dial to set the pressure in the

16
pneumatic clutch. This pressure then causes another metal cylindrical device to turn.
This device has an arm that then presses down on the force gauge. Using the force
readings and the length of the arm, we could then determine the blade’s torque in ft*lbs
using equation 12 below, where Force is the force measured on the load cell, (1/3) is the
length of the moment arm in feet, and 2 is the gear ratio for the bevel gear.

⎛1⎞
Torque = Force ∗ ⎜ ⎟ ∗ 2 Eq. 12
⎝ 3⎠

During testing, we broke a gear box because the torque was too great for the gear box.
Because of this, we had to be careful in the rest of our tests to keep the clutch pressure
and the overall cart speed low enough to keep the torque within the acceptable range of
the bevel gear.

Also, at high speeds, the magnetic encoder began reading incorrect values, despite our
use of a flow separator. This was due to the backwards bending of the shaft below its
mounting point causing the portion of the shaft above its mounting point to bend forward.
This forward motion was large enough to cause a collision between the magnetic encoder
and the gear it was reading the rotational speed from.

Pressure
Dial
Magnetic
Encoder
Turbine Blade
Pressure Gauge

Nose Cone
Pneumatic
Clutch

Force Gauge
Shaft with
Flow
Separator
Figure 10: Turbine Blade Test Apparatus

To determine the performance of the blade at different conditions, we varied the

pneumatic clutch’s pressure and the water speed while recording the blade’s angular
velocity. The magnitude of the pressure in the clutch simulates different loads that would
be placed on the electric generator. Although in application we won’t be able to control
the water speed, testing different water speeds allowed us to develop a better
understanding of the power extraction system so that we may extrapolate from our data to
predict system behaviors at water speeds that we were unable to test.

17
In our testing, we used two different turbine blades: one with a slightly smaller diameter
and lower pitch angle, and another with a larger diameter and higher pitch angle. A
summary of the test data and blade characteristics is included in appendix D. In our
analysis, we ran a few tests with no pressure in the clutch in order to determine the
amount of frictional loss in the system. This loss was then incorporated into our
calculation for the torque. Using the torque and the speed, we determined the power by
the relation:

Power = Torque × Angular Velocity Eq. 13

Graph 4 on the next page is the power versus speed curve for the second blade that we
tested, which is smaller with a lower pitch angle. The smaller blade was chosen for
representative values and future decision making criteria due to its higher calculated
power output. In order to help interpolate and extrapolate the data at speeds that we have
not tested, we fitted curves to our data. By maximizing the R2 values, we determined that
a binomial curve results in the best-fitting curve. Even though we were not able to test at
water speeds of 4 m/s, the high R2 values from our curves suggest that extrapolated
estimates should be somewhat reliable.

10 PSI
2500 12 PSI
14 PSI
Poly. (10 PSI)
Poly. (12 PSI)
2000 Poly. (14 PSI)
y = -46.509x2 + 860.81x - 857.38
R2 = 0.9988
Power (Watts)

1500
y = -95.366x2 + 870.33x - 751.14
R2 = 0.9998
1000
y = -18.371x2 + 398.7x - 251.52
R2 = 0.9931
500

0
0 1 2 3 4 5
Water Speed (m/s)

Graph 4: Power – Speed Curve for Blade 2 (Smaller Blade)

As predicted in equation 13, we see in Graph 4 that the power increases with the water
speed. Also, at the range of water speeds that we will operate at, 2 to 4 meters per second,
increased load results in increased power. To further aid our predictions of the blade
characteristics at speeds and loads that we have not tested at, we completed a regression
analysis and determined this relation between our variables:

18
Power = 936 − 818 × Speed − 0.0127 × Load + 0.0108 × Speed × Load + 30.1 Eq. 14

Where Power is in W, Speed is in m/s, and Load is in N/m2. Using this equation, we
could roughly estimate the expected power with a given speed and load.

Design Optimization Based on Test Data – Generator Selection

We then selected the generator to be used in our second prototype based on the test data
summarized in Graph 4. The first step in selecting the generator was to find a design that
was optimized for high efficiency use at various speeds and levels of power output. To
solve this problem, we looked at generators traditionally used in wind power applications,
as this represents an extreme example of the conditions our generator will be subject to.
Researchers at MHL have previously used generators from windstreampower.com for
lower power research applications, so that served as a starting point in our decision
making.

After locating a supplier with generators optimized for our application, the next task was
to select the proper size generator based on the estimated power output from our first
round of testing. After talking to a sales representative from windstreampower.com, we
learned that their generators have the same level of efficiency at very low power outputs
as they do at higher levels. This made the deciding factor in our selection the maximum
power output that the generator could produce.

We then estimated the maximum power that could be produced using the equation fit to
the data points representing our maximum resistance of 14 psi on Graph 4 at a maximum
water speed of 4 m/s, equation 15 below.

Power = −46.509 * v 2 + 860.81 * v − 857.38 Eq. 15

This gave us a maximum power of 1841 Watts. Due to errors in the initial test setup, we
knew this value to be only a rough approximation. Given that this value is an
approximation and that all generators offered by this company are very efficient at lower
speeds and power outputs, we selected a generator with a maximum power output of
2700 Watts, model #443905, 30 Amp Permanent Magnet DC Generator from
windstreampower.com.

We then used the characteristics of our selected generator, shown in Appendix J, as well
as our angular velocity and torque measurements from our initial test to select the proper
gearing ratio. Based on our initial data, at 2 m/s we achieved a rpm range of about 120 to
200 rpm. At a 9:1 ratio, this would give us generator shaft speeds of 1080 to 1800 rpm.
For faster flow rates, we selected a 6:1 gear ratio to be used for testing.

Second Prototype Testing

With all of the information gained during the first round of testing, we were able to
greatly improve our method of measuring energy extracted from the flow as well as
employing a chained gear setup which is much closer to what is to be used in the final
design.

19
The physical frame that held the blade in place while the carriage moved forward through
the tank remained unchanged, as it is to a large extent dictated by the setup of the carriage
and the depth at which it must hold the blade to achieve accurate test results. However,
instead of a bevel gear, we now used a shaft held in place by two roller bearings mounted
to a flat steel plate welded the bottom of the steel pipe that extends into the tank. A 72
tooth gear is attached to the end of the shaft opposite the blade to transfer the mechanical
rotation of the blade to the test rig by means of a chain.

The chain extends up out of the water and connects to a smaller 8 or 12 tooth gear that is
supported by another roller bearing and connected to the shaft of the generator. In this
manner we could directly measure the voltage being produced by the generator by
attaching a special resistor made for high power applications to the generator leads to
simulate the load of charging an array of batteries. We used a standard digital multi-meter
applied at the leads to measure the voltage being produced at different carriage speeds.
The power produced for each run was then calculated from the relationship shown in
equation 16 below.

V2
Power = Eq. 16
R

The results obtained from this round of testing are summarized in the graph of power
output vs. carriage speed for various resistive loadings shown below as well as in
Appendix B.

Power Output vs Water Speed

600

500

400
.8 ohm
Power (W)

6.4 ohm
300
4.8 ohm

200

100

0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4
Water Speed (m/s)

Graph 5: Prototype Power Output Versus Water Speed

20
Sources of Error
As can be seen from the graph, the amount of power measured at the leads of the
generator is significantly less than was predicted in the previous round of testing. There
are several possible explanations for this. While the measuring the power produced
directly at the generator is much more accurate than producing an approximation based
on the rotational force produced by friction from an pneumatic clutch, it is still only
measuring the amount of power that actually reaches the surface of the test carriage. A
single bevel gear, encased in a protective housing, is a much less error prone method of
transferring mechanical power than a chain with spur gears.

The problem in predicting the error that the spur gear/chain setup introduces into our
results is that it is different at different speeds. There are two reasons for this. The first is
that the drag force that the water exerts on the chain is proportional to the chains
horizontal and vertical speed through the water. The second reason is that, due to bending
in the mechanical support structure for the blade, the tension in the chain is not constant.
As the carriage pushes the blade through the water, in addition to rotating it, it is also
pushing in directly backwards. The force is enough to provide a significant displacement
of the blade relative to the carriage. The chain is forced into a position of greater tension
and friction to try and accommodate this new blade position.

Comparison to Theoretical Values

Throughout the course of this project, we have always been aware that there are several
large sources of inefficiency in the model we are using to test this concept. The blades are
from an old semi, and are optimized to drive air over a radiator, not be driven by water in
a river. This aspect of the project alone, if optimized, could greatly improve the amount
of energy procured. In addition, any of the methods we used to transfer the mechanical
power from the water were at best 80% efficient; in practice they were probably much
worse. In practice, direct shaft coupling with a single spur gear would provide better
power transfer. Therefore although the values obtained from the second round of testing
are nearly an order of magnitude less than the values obtained through our theoretical
analysis, the important part is that they follow roughly the same functional form as the
theoretical values. This verifies the validity of our calculations, and provides a basis for
further research into the optimization of this concept.

Prototype Manufacturing

The construction of our test rig can be broken down into two areas, component
procurement and assembly. Due to the nature of our project, many of the components
could be bought, with no modifications required for assembly. We have already ordered
two generator heads, each of which will be connected to a turbine blade. We have
procured sprockets of 9:1 and 6:1 ratios in combination with steel roller chain 41 with ½
inch pitch and 0.306 inch width that will be needed for matching the turbine blade’s
rotation to the optimal speed and torque for the generator head. We have additionally
procured and installed roller bearings (two 5/8 inch shaft size bearings for the generators
and four ¾ inch shaft size bearings for the turbine blades) that will help connect and
support the shaft of the two blades as well as the shafts turning the generators.

21
The other components were fabricated by the technicians at MHL. The hubs used to
mount the turbine blades to their respective shafts were made by cutting raw ¼ inch thick
steel into circular shapes using an electrically driven diamond-dusted blade and then
smoothed on a lathe. Holes for mounting were drilled into the disks and the lathed shaft
portion was welded on. The frame to support the turbine blades as well as the generators
and casing is composed of 2 inch schedule 40 steel piping welded to a 2 inch by 2 inch
angle iron of ¼ inch thickness. To weld these components together, a metal inert gas
welder was used with an internal metal feed system.

Figure 11: Blade to driveshaft coupler

The nose cone was also manufactured on site. It was constructed from a wooden center
that was surrounded with shaped foam. The foam was glued to the wooden middle
section and a fiberglass shell was installed on top of the foam, creating a light but strong
exterior.

Final Design Manufacturing

Generator Sealing
The most complicated aspect of the manufacturing of the final design is the watertight
generator housing. The outer casing of the housing will be made from steel piping,
sealed with rubber gaskets. The major protection from leakage will come from a special
low viscosity non-conducting liquid that the generator assembly will be submerged in
within the housing. This will eliminate a pressure differential between the inside and
outside of the casing and thereby greatly reduce the chances of the generator being
exposed to water.

Gearing
The final design would use a gearbox that provides a 9:1 constant gear ratio and could be
purchased in a ready to use form from McMaster-Carr industrial suppliers. This gearbox
would fit completely behind the nosecone as pictured in the CAD drawing.

Outer Casing
The design’s casing will decrease in cross sectional area in order to accelerate the flow
and thereby increase the power output. The casing would be composed of a cage of tubes
as seen in Figure 9 on page 14. This cage will then be wrapped with fiberglass.

22
 The material that the inside rib cage is composed of can vary depending on function. As
it is designed here, the frame for the casing can be constructed of plastic or light wood, as
the fiberglass coating will provide all of the strength necessary for flow restriction. If
however, a design were needed that would be able to sustain a hit from an iceberg or
from a rock being pushed along the bottom of the river, the casing could then be
manufactured from steel bars that would provide the necessary amount or structural
stability.

In order to manufacture the casing, thin plastic rods could be slightly heated and then
bent into the required shape, where they could be tied together with wire. Then fiberglass
could be soaked with epoxy and then applied over the outer casing. Once this epoxy
hardened the plastic inner skeleton could be removed.

Bill of Materials
For our prototype, we have generated an estimated bill of materials and a cost estimation
analysis. The bill of materials is presented as Figure 12. A separate bill of materials for
the final design, which was not fabricated, is shown in Figure 13.

Price
Quantity Part Description Purchased From Part Number
(each)
1 8 Tooth Sprocket for 41 Steel Chain with 1/2" Pitch McMaster* 2737T93 $6.04
1 12 Tooth Sprocket for 41 Steel Chain with 1/2" Pitch McMaster* 6280K502 $8.74
2 72 Tooth Sprocket for 41 Steel Chain with 1/2" Pitch McMaster* 2737T737 $35.31
1 50' 41 Steel Roller Chain 1/2" Pitch 0.306" Dia. McMaster* 6261K25 $132.50
3 10' 2" x 2" Angle Iron McMaster* 8968K636 $65.51
4 3/4" Shaft Size Roller Bearing McMaster* 6384K79 $10.35
2 5/8" Shaft Size Roller Bearing McMaster* 6384K76 $7.98
1 2" Schedule 40 Steel Pipe 60" Length McMaster* 7750K236 $49.93
2 5/8" Dia. Unhardened Precision Steel Drive Shaft 24" McMaster* 1346K25 $15.77
2 3/4" Dia. Unhardened Precision Steel Drive Shaft 24" McMaster* 1346K32 $20.05
2 30A Permanent Magnet DC Generator (+ Shipping) Windstream Power LLC** 443905 $789.00
2 Full Wave Bridge Power-Up Diode Kit Windstream Power LLC** 272125 $22.00
2 8" Diameter Mounting Disk University of Michigan $0.00
1 Housing Barrel University of Michigan $0.00
1 50 ft 12 Guage DC Wire University of Michigan $0.00
1 Wooden Nose Cone University of Michigan $0.00
1 Fiberglass Tail Cone University of Michigan $0.00
1 1/8" Thick Galvanized Steel Sheet Metal 6" x 10' University of Michigan $0.00

*http://www.mcmaster.com Total = $2,200.58

**http://www.windstreampower.com

Figure 12: Bill of Materials for Prototype

23
 Price
Quantity Part Description Purchased From Part Number
(each)
2 Parallel Shaft Spur Gear 3.9:1 Ratio McMaster* 6481K74 $203.13
3 10' 2" x 2" Angle Iron McMaster* 8968K636 $65.51
4 3/4" Shaft Size Roller Bearing McMaster* 6384K79 $10.35
1 2" Schedule 40 Steel Pipe 60" Length McMaster* 7750K236 $49.93
4 3/4" Dia. Unhardened Precision Steel Drive Shaft 24" McMaster* 1346K32 $20.05
30 6' Low Carbon Steel Rod 1/8" D Alloy ASTM 1018 McMaster* 8920K11 $3.49
3 5/8" Diameter rods of ASTM A108 Steel with 6' length McMaster* 6673T226 $28.50
2 30A Permanent Magnet DC Generator (+ Shipping) Windstream Power LLC** 443905 $789.00
2 Full Wave Bridge Power-Up Diode Kit Windstream Power LLC** 272125 $22.00
1 Wooden Nose Cone University of Michigan $0.00
1 Fiberglass Tail Cone University of Michigan $0.00
2 8" Diameter Mounting Disk University of Michigan $0.00
50 Sheet Metal Screw University of Michigan $0.00
1 50 ft 12 Guage DC Wire University of Michigan $0.00
1 Sheet of 5 m2 of fiberglass University of Michigan $0.00

*http://www.mcmaster.com Total = $2,586.52

**http://www.windstreampower.com

Figure 13: Bill of Materials for Actual Design (Not Prototype)

Using the bill of materials along with estimated labor costs, we have developed a cost
estimate. The total cost of raw materials and parts is $2,200.58 for the prototype and
$2,586.52 for the final design. There are two primary sources of labor: the cost of
welding and the cost of assembly/bending. The cost of welding is estimated to cost $45
per hour and require 10 hours using two people, resulting in a cost of $900. The
assembly/bending are estimated to cost $45 per hour and require 30 hours using two
people, resulting in a cost of $2700. This results in a net cost of labor of $3600 and an
overall net cost for the prototype and final design of $5,800.58 and $6,186.52,
respectively. Note that for our estimation, certain materials used are provided by MHL.
These materials are free for our team to use, so their cost is not included in the cost
estimate.

Discussion for Future Improvements

Due to the limited amount of time that was allotted to our team for developing this
system, we did not have an opportunity to optimize several aspects of the system so that
the power produced would be maximized. However, in our research and analysis of the
system, we have developed ideas for subjects that may require further investigation in the
future that could greatly increase the amount of power produced by the system. Namely,
we will discuss possibilities related to optimizing the blades, the outer casing, and adding
a flow diffuser.

For the current hydroflow generator design, one of the most logical system features to try
to optimize would be the blades. Perhaps the greatest limitation on the efficiency and
power obtained by the system is introduced by the blades that we have used. These
blades were originally heavy duty diesel truck radiator fan blades. These blades are

24
clearly not optimized for our situation because 1) they were designed to operate with air,
and 2) they were designed to drive fluid, not be driven by it. Therefore, we recommend
further research on optimizing the blades for our purpose. If, based on the future research,
appropriate blades could be obtained off the shelf, the blades may not cost much more
then the ones we have used.

As briefly discussed in the Final Design section, the amount of decrease in the diameter
of the outer casing would need to be investigated. If changes in the outer casing design
could increase the flow rate and flow velocity, then the amount of power extracted by the
blades could be increased as well. However, as described in the Final Design section,
two different principles operate against each other as the exit diameter is decreased more
and more. On the one hand, decreasing the exit diameter should increase the flow
velocity because of continuity:

VIN AIN
VEXIT = Eq. 17
AEXIT

On the other hand, the decrease in the diameter would increase the pressure in the casing
such that the pressure would push against the incoming flow and thereby decrease the
flow into the casing. If either further testing or a computational fluid analysis is
performed, an optimal amount of decrease in diameter could be determined so that the
output power is maximized.

Another potential method of increasing the flow is by adding a diffuser behind the exit of
the casing. The flow diffuser increases the area for the flow in such a way that the
pressure would be decreased significantly. If a flow diffuser is added to the exit end of
the hydroflow generator, the pressure after the hydroflow generator would be decreased
so that the flow would be “pulled” out into the flow diffuser. This works just like how
water is sucked through a straw by decreasing the pressure at the top of the straw. This
pulling effect from the pressure drop would help increase the flow through the hydroflow
generator and thereby increase the power extracted by the unit. Therefore, we
recommend further investigation into incorporating a flow diffuser into this system. If
this principle can successfully improve the unit, then the specific characteristics for the
optimal flow diffuser would need to be determined by computational fluids analysis,
testing, or more in-depth research on flow diffusers.

Conclusions
Since it is dangerous to continue supplying the power needs of remote Alaskan research
camps by transporting gasoline, MHL wants to develop a portable hydroelectric generator
to extract power from nearby rivers instead. MHL has requested our assistance in
designing and fabricating this machine to produce around 10 kW of power while
remaining lighter than 500 lbs.

After brainstorming to generate the different concepts for each separate component, we
utilized a Pugh chart to help eliminate inferior concepts. In addition to this, we
performed engineering analyses improve our understanding of the characteristics of our

25
final selected concept. From our analyses, we have determined that generating 10 kW of
power with the given blades was not possible (See appendix E). Also, we determined
that at flow velocity of around 4 m/s, the flow would exert nearly 2000 Newtons of force
on the unit. Using this data we performed a cantilever beam bending stress analysis and
determined that our connecting rods have a safety factor of 3.27 at the worst case
scenario. Following these analyses, we tested the characteristics of our blades in MHL’s
testing basin. Based on the results from testing, we determined the most suitable gearing
ratio (9:1) and commercially available generator for our unit. Upon procuring our parts,
technicians at MHL helped us fabricate a first prototype, which we then tested to
determine the power extraction capabilities of our system.

Based on results from our analysis and testing, we determined that our hydroflow
generator should operate at efficiencies around the range of 15 % when both blades are
used. This result prompted further research and scrutiny of our system. From this
inspection of our system, we developed recommendations for future improvements,
which include:
1) Research for optimizing turbine blades
2) Determination of optimal outer casing profile
3) Analysis for incorporating a diffuser into the system

Acknowledgments
We would like to thank Professor Guy Meadows for sponsoring our project. His
willingness and flexibility to meet and discuss the project as well as granting us access to
the facilities at the Michigan Hydrodynamic Laboratory contributed greatly to our efforts.
We would also like to thank all the staff at the MHL for all their help with construction
and testing of the prototype. The effort and time they put into this project was essential
for its success. Moreover, we would like to thank Professor Katsuo Kurabayashi, who
provided guidance on our fluids analysis along with advice for all aspects of our project.

References

[1] Platypus Power®, “240V AC Models”, from

http://www.platypuspower.com.au/m1.html, Retrieved on Jan. 20, 2007.

[2] B. R. Munson, D. F. Young, T.H. Okiishi, “Fundamentals of Fluid Mechanics.” 5th

ed. Danvers, MA, 2006.

26
Team Bios

Jacob Gore

Jacob Gore is a student in the School of Engineering at the University of Michigan in

Ann Arbor Michigan. He majors in Mechanical Engineering and Industrial and
Operations Engineering. Jacob was born in Nashville, Tennessee and has moved many
times around the country with his family. His family currently resides in Saline,
Michigan, right outside of Ann Arbor. He has an interest in the manufacturing and
process flow of a wide range of consumer and industrial products. He has interned with
Mitsubishi Motors R & D Laboratory in Ann Arbor, Michigan, doing research on audio
and human interface systems of automobiles. He also has interned with Lutron GL in
Shanghai, China, measuring performance of manufacturing process flow at the assembly
lines there. His future career goals are to work for a large company in engineering
consulting, whether it be supply chain analysis or leaning an existing manufacturing
process.

Eric Lankheet

Eric Lankheet is a senior in mechanical engineering at the University of Michigan. He

originally comes from Grand Blanc located south of Flint in Michigan. He first became
interested in engineering through his father who is also a mechanical engineering
graduate of the University of Michigan. His main interests are design and manufacturing
and looks forward to working in this area in the future. He graduates in April 2007 and is
looking to enter industry. Outside of the academic field his main interests are sports,
more specifically football baseball and snowboarding, though he has not been able to
participate in the latter much due to the mild winter.

27
Jason Riggs

Born and raised in St. Louis, MO, Jason Riggs is currently a senior in mechanical
engineering at the University of Michigan. His major interest lies in the area of
mechanical design. He is the director of research for the Michigan Mars Rover Team,
where most of his efforts have gone towards developing a modular rover design. He is
also an avid guitarist/songwriter and volunteers regularly at The Ark, a small non-profit
music venue in downtown Ann Arbor. After graduation, he hopes to obtain a position in
the area of design of mechanical or electromechanical systems as well as to continue his
education.

Ching-shih Yang

Ching-shih was born in Washington D.C. to a family which then moved to Taiwan, Texas,
and then back to Taiwan again. After attending a bilingual school in Hsinchu, Taiwan,
Ching-shih moved to Ann Arbor to begin studying Mechanical Engineering at the
University of Michigan. In addition to his studies at U of M, Ching-shih actively
participates in the Christians on Campus student organization. Expecting to graduate in
April of 2007, Ching-shih has applied for the Sequential Graduate/Undergraduate
program. If accepted to this program, Ching-shih expects to graduate in April of 2008
with a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering. Ching-shih has been in a Co-op
program with the Environmental Protection Agency since January of 2006. He hopes to
work at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory sometime in the near future in order
to do work related to the topic of his interest: renewable energy.

28
Appendix A: Concept Descriptions 1
Energy Extraction:
- Waterwheel: Waterwheel with axis of rotation that’s perpendicular to the river
flow. River flow spins waterwheel, which could either directly run an electrical
generator, a pump, or an air compressor, depending on the energy transfer
component selected.

Energy Transfer:
- Electrical generator/ circuit: An electrical generator would be driven by the
energy extraction component. The current would then be carried by the circuit to
the energy storage component.
- Air compressor/ pneumatic circuit: An air compressor would be driven by the
energy extraction component. The pneumatic circuit would carry the pressurized
air to the energy storage component, which will be a compressed air storage tank.
- Water pump/ flowing water: The energy extraction component would drive the
water pump, which would the pump water up to a higher elevation in a water tank.

Energy Storage:
- Hydraulic accumulator: A pressure vessel designed to store energy in the form
of pressurized fluid.
- Battery array: An array of batteries. The Uninterruptible Power Supply, UPS, is
a type of battery that could store and dispense power at the appropriate times,
according to the research camp’s needs.
- Compressed air storage tank: Energy stored in the form of compressed air. This
concept is similar in theory to the hydraulic accumulator concept.

Energy Dissipation:
- Hydraulic generator: A commercially available hydraulic generator could
produce the desired AC current output when we incorporate this unit into the
hydraulic circuit.
- Air driven tools or compressed air generator: With a pneumatic circuit, if
compressed air generators are commercially available, then pressurized air could
be used to generate an electric current. When needed, this setup could potentially
allow the use for air driven tools by directly connecting the tools to the pneumatic
circuit.
- Heater/ water boiler: When the power extracted isn’t being used, it could be
dissipated in the form of heat to heat water or the living quarters. This energy
dissipation concept could be used with any other energy dissipation method
whenever there’s power being produced that isn’t being used.

- High-head/ low flow hydroelectric generator: These are commercially available.

See Figure 2 for an example of such a unit.
1
Except for concepts already described in Concept Generation section.

29
 Appendix B: Test Data – Round 2
6:1 ratio pitch
50 degrees
Speed
speed (ft/s) (m/s) RPM Voltage Load (ohms) Power (W)
3 0.9144 240 12.7 infinite n/a
3 0.9144 160 3 0.8 11.25
5 1.524 450 23.2 infinite n/a
5 1.524 350 7 0.8 61.25
7 2.1336 650 32.4 infinite n/a
7 2.1336 515 10.8 0.8 145.8
8 2.4384 750 37 infinite n/a
8 2.4384 640 12.7 0.8 201.6125
10 3.048 915 44.5 infinite n/a
10 3.048 766 15.6 0.8 304.2

9:1 ratio 50 degree pitch

Generator has 1.4 ohm internal resistance
Speed Voltage
Speed (ft/s) (m/s) RPM (V) Load (ohms) Power (W)
3 0.9144 250 19.4 infinite n/a
3 0.9144 150 3 0.8 11.25
5 1.524 400 35 infinite n/a
5 1.524 400 7 0.8 61.25
7 2.1336 650 48 infinite n/a
7 2.1336 460 12 0.8 180
8 2.4384 745 54.5 infinite n/a
8 2.4384 550 14.4 0.8 259.2
10 3.048 900 66 infinite n/a
10 3.048 700 18.5 0.8 427.8125
13 3.9624 1120 81.5 infinite n/a

new resistance 6.4

Speed Voltage
Speed (ft/s) (m/s) RPM (V) Load (ohms) Power (W)
7 2.1336 851 35.5 6.4 196.9140625
8 2.4384 972 41 6.4 262.65625
10 3.048 1236 51.2 6.4 409.6
11 3.3528 1341 55.5 6.4 481.2890625

new resistance 4.8

Speed Voltage
Speed (ft/s) (m/s) RPM (V) Load (ohms) Power (W)
7 2.1336 809 32.5 4.8 220.0520833
8 2.4384 470 37.8 4.8 297.675
10 3.048 474 46.5 4.8 450.46875
11 3.3528 1315 50.8 4.8 537.6333333
13 3.9624 1522 57.8 4.8 n/a

30
 Appendix C: Pugh Charts
Energy Extraction Energy Transfer

Turbine blades Hydroflow Water Hydraulic Air

in parallel generator wheel circuit (pneumatic circuit) Water Electrical circuit
Customer Requirement Weight
Portable 9 0 0 -1 0 -1 -1 0
Durable 7 -1 0 1 0 0 0 0
Consistent power output 8 0 0 0 0 -1 -1 0
Ability to store excess output 8 0 0 0 0 -1 0 0
Small environmental impact 8 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Easy setup 5 0 0 -1 0 -1 -1 1
Multi use 4 0 0 0 0 0 -1 0
Safe 10 0 0 0 0 0 1 -1
Robust 9 1 0 0 0 -1 -1 0
Low Cost 6 0 0 -1 0 1 -1 1
Sum 0 0 -2 0 -4 -4 1
Weighted Sum 2 0 -13 0 -33 -23 1

Energy Storage Energy Dissipation

Hydraulic Compressed Elevated Hydraulic Air Hydroelectric

Batteries Accumulator Air water tank generator generator Heated Water generator
Customer Requirement Weight
Portable 9 0 0 -1 -1 0 0 0 -1
Durable 7 1 0 0 -1 0 -1 0 0
Consistent power output 8 1 0 -1 -1 0 -1 0 -1
Ability to store excess output 8 1 0 -1 1 0 0 0 0
Small environmental impact 8 -1 0 1 1 0 1 1 1
Easy setup 5 0 0 -1 -1 0 0 -1 -1
Multi use 4 -1 0 1 -1 0 0 1 0
Safe 10 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0
Robust 9 0 0 -1 -1 0 0 0 -1
Low Cost 6 -1 0 -1 -1 0 -1 -1 -1
Sum 1 0 -4 -4 0 -2 1 -4
Weighted Sum 15 0 -33 -22 0 -13 11 -29

31
 Appendix D: Blade Testing Results and Blade Characteristics

Blade 1 (larger diameter, higher pitch angle) Blade 2 (smaller diameter, lower pitch angle)
Speed Shaft Torque Power Speed Shaft Torque Power
Run (m/s) Load (PSI) RPM (NM) (W) Run (m/s) Load (PSI) RPM (NM) (W)
1 0.610 0 5 0.366 0.192 1 0.608 10 0 11.509 0.000
2 1.254 0 120 -0.017 -0.210 2 1.212 10 65 24.019 163.490
3 1.882 0 179 -0.175 -3.282 3 1.815 10 161 26.096 439.980
4 2.507 0 235 -0.319 -7.849 4 2.419 10 235 24.739 608.797
5 0.630 10 0 14.556 0.000 5 1.211 20 0 45.583 0.000
6 1.256 10 85 22.433 199.679 6 1.209 12 54 28.060 158.673
7 1.884 9.5 157 24.128 396.696 7 1.818 12 150 33.006 518.459
8 2.508 10 220 21.311 490.970 8 2.420 12 224 33.814 793.190
9 1.264 20 11 51.955 59.848 9 1.213 14 34 33.166 118.088
10 1.258 12 70 29.920 219.326 10 1.882 14 139 40.597 590.929
11 1.882 12 149 32.443 506.224 11 2.421 14 220 40.639 936.255
12 2.508 12 213 30.680 684.337 12 1.212 18 0 43.479 0.000
13 2.508 12 215 29.687 668.398 13 1.819 18 110 55.287 636.856
14 1.259 14 42 36.594 160.950 14 3.027 10 299 24.932 780.636
15 1.882 14 140 41.125 602.928 15 1.517 12 105 32.185 353.891
16 2.508 14 202 42.824 905.864 16 2.119 12 191 33.076 661.561
17 1.256 18 22 44.448 102.400 17 2.724 12 263 33.210 914.652
18 1.884 18 118 57.705 713.054 18 2.117 14 179 41.343 774.976
19 1.258 22 0 56.701 0.000 19 2.724 14 254 43.175 1148.394

Blade number Hub Diameter Total Diameter Pitch Angle

1 10.5 in. 26 in. 40˚
2 10.5 in. 24 in. 38˚

32
 Appendix E: Theoretical Power Calculations

Actual Power
Speed(m/s) Total Flow rate (kg/s) Theoretical Total Power in Flow (W) From Testing Efficiency
1.21 414.09 302.59 160.22 0.53
1.21 415.00 304.59 165.73 0.54
1.21 415.47 305.62 118.70 0.39
1.52 519.63 597.91 359.73 0.60
1.82 621.77 1024.37 453.70 0.44
1.82 622.69 1028.90 530.37 0.52
1.82 623.15 1031.21 643.26 0.62
1.88 644.48 1140.74 601.16 0.53
2.12 725.11 1624.68 791.94 0.49
2.12 725.69 1628.57 680.87 0.42
2.42 828.71 2425.31 638.03 0.26
2.42 829.03 2428.17 819.75 0.34
2.42 829.12 2428.94 961.88 0.40
2.72 932.96 3460.58 951.27 0.27
2.72 933.17 3462.88 1182.55 0.34
3.03 1036.79 4749.33 N/A N/A
2 685.07 1370.14 N/A N/A

33
 Appendix F: Theoretical Power Calculations

Total Flow Theta1

V1 rate (kg/s) (degrees) Theta1(rad) U1 W1 Vx1 Vtheta1 V2 Alpha theta 2 theta 2(rad) U2 W2 Vx2 Vtheta2 wshaft Power(W)
0.5 171.3 40 0.70 0.42 0.65 0.5 0 0.5 1.43 85 1.48 0.42 0.82 0.07 0.49 0.21 17.78
1 342.5 40 0.70 0.84 1.31 1 0 1 1.43 85 1.48 0.84 1.64 0.14 0.99 0.83 142.23
1.5 513.8 40 0.70 1.26 1.96 1.5 0 1.5 1.43 85 1.48 1.26 2.47 0.21 1.48 1.87 480.02
2 685.1 40 0.70 1.68 2.61 2 0 2 1.43 85 1.48 1.68 3.29 0.29 1.98 3.32 1137.82
2.5 856.3 40 0.70 2.10 3.26 2.5 0 2.5 1.43 85 1.48 2.10 4.11 0.36 2.47 5.19 2222.30
3 1027.6 40 0.70 2.52 3.92 3 0 3 1.43 85 1.48 2.52 4.93 0.43 2.97 7.47 3840.13
3.5 1198.9 40 0.70 2.94 4.57 3.5 0 3.5 1.43 85 1.48 2.94 5.75 0.50 3.46 10.17 6097.98
4 1370.1 40 0.70 3.36 5.22 4 0 4 1.43 85 1.48 3.36 6.58 0.57 3.96 13.29 9102.53
0.5 171.3 45 0.79 0.5 0.71 0.5 0 0.5 1.42 85 1.48 0.5 0.85 0.07 0.49 0.25 21.17
1 342.5 45 0.79 1 1.41 1 0 1 1.42 85 1.48 1 1.70 0.15 0.99 0.99 169.37
1.5 513.8 45 0.79 1.5 2.12 1.5 0 1.5 1.42 85 1.48 1.5 2.55 0.22 1.48 2.23 571.62
2 685.1 45 0.79 2 2.83 2 0 2 1.42 85 1.48 2 3.41 0.30 1.98 3.96 1354.96
2.5 856.3 45 0.79 2.5 3.54 2.5 0 2.5 1.42 85 1.48 2.5 4.26 0.37 2.47 6.18 2646.40
3 1027.6 45 0.79 3 4.24 3 0 3 1.42 85 1.48 3 5.11 0.45 2.97 8.90 4572.98
3.5 1198.9 45 0.79 3.5 4.95 3.5 0 3.5 1.42 85 1.48 3.5 5.96 0.52 3.46 12.11 7261.72
4 1370.1 45 0.79 4 5.66 4 0 4 1.42 85 1.48 4 6.81 0.59 3.96 15.82 10839.65
0.5 171.3 50 0.87 0.60 0.78 0.5 0 0.5 1.42 85 1.48 0.60 0.88 0.08 0.49 0.29 25.21
1 342.5 50 0.87 1.19 1.56 1 0 1 1.42 85 1.48 1.19 1.77 0.15 0.99 1.18 201.67
1.5 513.8 50 0.87 1.79 2.33 1.5 0 1.5 1.42 85 1.48 1.79 2.65 0.23 1.48 2.65 680.63
2 685.1 50 0.87 2.38 3.11 2 0 2 1.42 85 1.48 2.38 3.54 0.31 1.98 4.71 1613.34
2.5 856.3 50 0.87 2.98 3.89 2.5 0 2.5 1.42 85 1.48 2.98 4.42 0.39 2.47 7.36 3151.06
3 1027.6 50 0.87 3.58 4.67 3 0 3 1.42 85 1.48 3.58 5.31 0.46 2.96 10.60 5445.03
3.5 1198.9 50 0.87 4.17 5.45 3.5 0 3.5 1.42 85 1.48 4.17 6.19 0.54 3.46 14.42 8646.50
4 1370.1 50 0.87 4.77 6.22 4 0 4 1.42 85 1.48 4.77 7.08 0.62 3.95 18.84 12906.73

34
Appendix G: Hydroflow Generator CAD Drawings

35
Appendix H: Hydroflow Generator Dimensioned CAD Drawings (Left View)

*Note: all units are in mm

36
Appendix I: Hydroflow Generator Dimensioned CAD Drawings (Front View)

*Note: all units are in mm

37
Appendix J: DC Generator Performance Characteristics

38