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To Make and Operate a Mini Hydroelectric Generator
INVESTIGATORY PROJECT WORK
Submitted By
(Name)
Class: XI : A
Under the Guidance of
(Teacher name)
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CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that (Name) of Class XI A has prepared the investigatory project in Physics
entitled To Make and Operate a Mini Hydroelectric Generator. The report is the result of
his/her efforts and endeavours. The report is found worthy of acceptance as the final project
report for the subject Physics of Class XI. He/She has prepared this report under my
guidance.
Name of the Internal Examiner Signature
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
(It can be your own…)
I would like to express my deep sense of gratitude and sincere thanks to my subject teacher,
[Teacher's Name], for their invaluable guidance, constant support, and keen interest in my
project throughout its duration. Their encouragement and insightful feedback were
instrumental in the successful completion of my work.
My heartfelt thanks also go to our Principal and Head of School for providing every possible
support and for fostering an environment conducive to learning and research.
I am equally grateful to my parents and classmates for their timely help, motivation, and
unwavering support during the course of this project.
Last but not the least, I extend my sincere appreciation to all those who contributed, directly
or indirectly, to the successful completion of this project in fulfilment of my course
requirements.
Name of the Student
Signature
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Index
Topic Page No.
Introduction 5
Types of Hydropower 6
Homemade Mini Hydroelectric Generator 7
Aim, Apparatus and Procedure 10
Bibliography 11
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INTRODUCTION
Hydroelectricity:
Hydroelectricity is defined as:
“Electricity produced using flowing water (typically from a reservoir held behind
a dam or other barrier) to drive a turbine that powers a generator.
Hydropower is produced in 150 countries, with the Asia-Pacific region
generating 33 percent of global hydropower in 2013.
China is the largest hydroelectricity producer, with 920 TWh of production in
2013, representing 16.9 percent of domestic electricity use.
Flexibility of Hydropower
Hydropower is a flexible source of electricity since stations can be ramped up
and down very quickly to adapt to changing energy demands.
Hydro turbines have a start-up time of the order of a few minutes.
It takes around 60 to 90 seconds to bring a unit from cold start-up to full load;
this is much shorter than for gas turbines or steam plants.
Power generation can also be decreased quickly when there is a surplus power
generation.
Hence the limited capacity of hydropower units is not generally used to
produce base power except for vacating the flood pool or meeting downstream
needs. Instead, it serves as backup for non-hydro generators.
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A dam built for generation of hydropower.
Types of Hydropower:
There are four broad hydropower typologies:
Run-of-river hydropower: a facility that channels flowing water from
a river through a canal or penstock to spin a turbine.
Storage hydropower: typically, a large system that uses a dam to
store water in a reservoir. Electricity is produced by releasing water
from the reservoir through a turbine, which activates a generator.
Pumped-storage hydropower: provides peak-load supply, harnessing
water which is cycled between a lower and upper reservoir by pumps
which use surplus energy from the system at times of low demand.
Offshore hydropower: a less established but growing group of
technologies that use tidal currents or the power of waves to
generate electricity from seawater.
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Homemade mini Hydroelectric Generator:
Often called as a low-impact hydro, micro-hydro, this system is not very hard to
build.
To build a hydroelectric generator one must follow these steps:
Preparing the Disks
Our hydroelectric generator will consist of two main parts:
The stator (this part is not moving and it is equipped with coils of wire to
collect electricity)
The rotor (the rotor is the part that moves and has some powerful
magnets that will induce electricity in the coils)
First you need some templates and a cardboard. The two templates that
contain the rotor and stator scheme must be cut and attached to the front and
back of the cardboard. After these templates are well glued to cardboard make
a hole (1 cm) at the center of the stator disk.
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Attaching the Stator
Now, you have to make 8 coils that will be attached on the cardboard. Then,
start winding the wires on this cardboard to form a tight coil (100 turns) and
then, repeat this procedure to make 7 more coils.
Arrange the coils on the cardboard alternately clockwise and counter clockwise.
You must be sure that an electron would follow the path shown by the arrows
in the template.
Connect the ends of coils and use insulation tape to prevent any errors.
Attaching the Rotor
At this stage you need 8 strong magnets to be attached on the stator. Check the
magnets, mark the south pole on two of them and the north pole of the
remaining two. The magnets should be arranged on the template so that their
polarity alternates (N-S-N-S-N-S-N-S).
The Turbine
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Find a used exhaust fan. Try removing it out from the exhaust machine and cut
a hole through it to pass the rod through. Use it as the turbine.
Generator body and Final Assembly
Find a plastic tank or a bottle to attach the rotor, the stator and the small
turbine. After you find the center of the tank, make a hole in that place and fix
the stator with its coils just above the hole.
Then, attach on the same shaft the turbine and rotor. Magnets should be very
close to the coils. (3mm distance).
It seems that our small hydroelectric generator is almost ready to use.
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Aim:
To test the hydroelectric generator.
Apparatus:
1. LEDs
2. Water Pipe
3. The Hydroelectric Generator
4. Multimeter
Procedure:
1. Connect the LEDs to the two ends of the copper coil wire. Ensure that the
circuit is closed.
2. Take the water pipe in your hand and hold it perpendicularly above the
turbine.
3. Now partially turn on the tap connected to the other end of the hose.
4. Check if there is any glow in the LEDs. If not, then remove one LED and
check again.
5. If it still does not glow, check again by increasing the rate at which water
flows out of the tap.
6. Now whether you notice a glow in the LED or not, remove the LED and
connect the multimeter and check the current and the voltage through
the circuit.
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Bibliography:
A. Books and Journals:
1. Agarwal JS, Text book of Physics for Advanced Learners, 2006
2. Pradeep’s Modern Physics
3. Together with Physics - Lab Manual – Class 11
B. Online Web Sites:
1. [Link]
#.Whv5WUqWbb0
2. [Link]
3. [Link]
4. [Link]
5. [Link]
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