Table of Contents

1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 2
2 Classes of hydropower installations ........................................................................................ 3
3 Major components of hydropower plants ................................................................................ 4
4 Materials and method .............................................................................................................. 4
4.1 Design calculations .......................................................................................................... 4
5 References ............................................................................................................................... 8

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The basic principle of hydropower is that, if water is piped from a certain level to a lower level,
the resulting water pressure can be used to do work. This work is a practical implementation of the
theory of hydropower generation. It considers the design and installation of mini hydropower plant.
A storage tank (fitted with siphons to increase water pressure) and a plastic pipe were used to
represent the dam and the penstock respectively. The turbine and generator were constructed and
the various parts were coupled together to form the hydropower plant. The hydro turbine converts
water pressure into mechanical shaft power, which is used to drive the electric generator, and the
result is a 218V alternating e.m.f of frequency 50Hz that is suitable for powering some household
electrical appliances.

1 Introduction
Hydropower is a renewable energy source currently used in most parts of the world to supplement
with electricity needs. Hydropower was first used in 250BC, and it was recorded that waterpower
was used to power the clock. Since this time, hydropower has evolved from running a small clock
to generating enough power to supply a large city. In ancient times, water wheels were used, but
only got a new impulse at the beginning of the 19th century with the invention of hydro turbines.
Small-scale hydropower was first commonly used style of electricity generation in early 20th
century. In 1924 for example, in Switzerland alone, nearly seven thousand small-scale hydropower
stations were in use. Then improvements of distribution possibilities by means of high voltage
transmission lines caused fainted interest in small-scale hydroelectric power installations. Also in
China, renewed interests in the technology of mini hydropower started between the year 1970 and
1985, estimate says that between this times nearly seventy-six thousand small scale hydro power
stations were built there. Hydropower is a very clean source of energy, which does not consume
but only used the water and again make it available for other uses. It involves the conversion of
the potential energy of water into mechanical energy, which is a technology with higher efficiency,
in most cases double that of other conventional electric power plants. Hydroelectric power plants
already supplies over 6% of the world energy needs and over the next decades much of the growth
in renewable energy source will result from large-scale hydroelectric power project particularly in
the developing world. The basic principle of hydropower follows that; if water can be piped from
a certain level to a lower level, then the resulting water pressure can be used to do work. This
means that hydropower involves the use of potential energy released by the weight of the falling
water through a vertical distance to generate energy. If the water pressure is allowed to move a

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mechanical component, then that movement involves the conversion of the potential energy of
water to mechanical energy which can be used to drive an electric generator, a grinding or some
other useful devices. Hydroelectric power depends on the dynamic head, the amount of water flow
and the efficiency of the generator/turbine. To know the power potential of a river, it is necessary
to know the flow in the river and the available head. The flow Q of the river is the amount of time
(in m3 or liters) that passes in a certain amount of time across a section of the river. Flows are
normally given in cubic meters/seconds. The head H is the vertical difference in level (in meters)
through which water falls down. The theoretical power P available from a giving head of the water
is exactly equal to the head H and flow Q. That is

P=Q.H.C 1

Where C is a constant and is given as the product of water density and acceleration due to gravity
(g). If P is measured in watt, Q in m3/s and H in meters, the gross power of the flow of water is
given as

P=1000 X 9.8 X Q X H 2

This available power will be converted by the hydro turbine into mechanical power. As a turbine
has efficiency lower than one, the generated power will be a fraction of the available gross power.

The main objective of this research is to see the possibility of powering a generator using water
from a storage tank in other to generate electricity without polluting the environment.

2 Classes of hydropower installations

The large-scale hydropower installation has a capacity of more than 1000KW. This type of power
plant requires huge sum of money and has a high environmental cost loss of available fertile lands,
forced migration of large group of people and danger of malaria and bilharzias inherent in non-
moving water. The small-scale hydropower installation are associated with capacity between 500-
1000KW. The small-scale hydropower has hardly any disadvantage. It can be decentralized and
locally implemented and managed. Power generated with the small-scale hydro station can be used
for agro processing, water pumps and small businesses. Mini and micro hydropower installations
are very similar to the small-scale hydropower. They also have little or no environmental effects,
low cost of installations and maintenance and very little disadvantage, only that their power is

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much lower than the small scale hydro. The mini hydropower has a capacity between 100 and
500KWwhile the micro hydropower installation has a capacity less than 100KW.

3 Major components of hydropower plants

Hydropower plants consists basically of a dam to storewater in a fore bay, a penstock to deliver
the falling water to the turbine and hydraulic turbine to convert the hydraulic energy released to
mechanical energy and alternating generator (alternator) to convert the mechanical energy to
electrical energy. These are the main parts of the hydropower installations, all other components
are accessory equipment necessary to control the power flow, voltage and frequency and to also
provide the protection needed. In the hydropower generator, water pressure from falling water
pushes the turbine blades which are connected to a generator shaft and therefore causing the
armature to spin in the magnetic field and by this electricity is generated.

4 Materials and method

4.1 Design calculations
The speed at which the rotor must rotate to generate an e.m.f of frequency f for a (P/2) pole pair
generator is given by Kothari and Nagrath as

N= (120f)/P 3

Therefore, for a frequency of 50Hz, N=50rev/s. To derive the power needed to drive the rotor of
the generator at 50rev/s, equation 4and 5 are used. From Newton’s second law of motion.

F=ma 4

Since a=v2/r and v=wr then,

F=mw2 r 5

Where F is the force, m mass of the rotor runner combination, r radius of the runner and w angular
velocity of the runner. From the averaged power P developed by an engine over a period of time,
which is defined as the quantity of work done by the engine divided by the time t required to do
the work.

P= W/t 6

The instantaneous power being developed at any instant is defined as,

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 P= dw/dt

W= F.S----i. e work=force x distance--- Therefore, P = d(F.S)/dt

If F is constant with respect to time then,

P=F.ds/dt

P= F.V 7

Equating 5 and 7,

mw2 r =P/V

Therefore P= mw3 r2

It is given that the power potential of a dam that can be converted by the hydro turbine into
mechanical power is P = Q.H.C. To produce the needed frequency, the power required to rotate
the generator at that frequency mw3 r2 must be equal to the power produced by the dam-

(H.Q.C), i.e mw3 r2 =H.Q.C. The materials used in the construction of the major parts of this
system were carefully selected, since most of these parts in one way or the other have to frequently
come in contact with water. Most of the materials used cannot be easily corroded or destroyed by
water. In the construction of the dam, a plastic storage tank is used. It is placed at a given height
H, from the ground and fitted with two plastic siphons to increase its pressure. The penstock is
also made of plastic pipe. For the turbine, metal sheets were unavoidably used, since no other
material can perfectly serve this purpose due to the welding involved in putting together all its
component parts. For the generator, all its parts were prevented from coming in contact with water
since they are made from materials that are not water friendly. Figure 1 show the turbine used in
this work. It has a water inlet at the top which collects water directly from the turbine, a scroll case
in which the runner is suspended, a runner which is suspended at the center of the scroll case by
two ball bearings for easy movement and a water outlet at the base (draft tube) which allows for
passing out excess water from the scroll case and hence easy movement of the runner. The dam is
represented by plastic storage tank, which is placed at a reasonable height H called the head, so as
to obtain a desired pressure. Also to add to the water pressure and thus complement for height, the
plastic siphon from a low level water flushing system are connected to the bank from the inside
and are directed into the penstock. The penstock is made from a plastic which passes pressured

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water from the dam into the turbine scroll case. A low speed generator is used so that the potential
power from the dam is enough to give to the speed that will generate an electromotive force, e.m.f,
of desired frequency. For this work, an air-conditioner alternator was recoiled to form a low speed
capacitor generator. In its construction, the coils from the alternator were first removed and new
sets of coils were used. The coils used were made from wires of standard wire guage. The generator
has both auxiliary and main windings. Four auxiliary windings, each having 2 sets made of 25
turns, were made. Also four main windings each of 2 sets made of 40 turns were made.

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5 References
 Energy Saving Trust, (2003 ). Htt//www.saveenergy.co.uk/download hydroelectric. Pdf
retrieved on 3/12/2003
 Wisconsin Focus on Energy, (2002). http.//focus on
energy.Com/data/common/pagebuildersfiles/1802977667 low head %20 hydro. NE.Pdf.
Retrieved on 5/9/2003
 Trout Unlimited, (2003). http//tu.org/conservation/threats-hydro.asp Retrieved on
4/7/2004
 U.S Department of energy, (2004). Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
 http//www.eere.energy.gov/wind%20and %20hydrol. Retrieved on 23/7/2005
 Wikipedia. http.//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/hydroelectricity Retrieved on 23/7/2005
 McGraw H (1982) McGraw Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology. 5th edition.
McGraw Hill Inc. pp.278-282. Encarta Concise Encyclopedia. (2005)
 Korthari DP, Nagrath IJ (1989). Theory and Problems of Basic Electrical Engineering
Prentice Hall of India. pp.520
 Ewaraye AO, Inyang AE (1989). Introduction to Mechanics and Properties of Matter.
Africana FEP, Nigeria, pp.80 View publication