INDEX -

1) AIM AND INTRODUCTION

2) THEORY AND EXAMPLES
3) OBJECTIVE AND ABSTRACT
4) EQUIPMETS
5) METHODOLOGY
6) RESULT AND ANALYSIS
7) DISCUSSION
8) CONCLUSION
9) REFERENCES
 INTRODUCTION –

AIM – To investigate the new emerging electricity generating techniques.

Theory –
Since the dawn of the industrial age, the world has been powered by a relatively small
set of technologies. The 20th century was the age of coal, but this side of 2000, that’s
changed.

The need to curb emissions and the rise of renewable, from wind to solar to biomass,
has significantly changed how we fuel our power generation.

Today, some of the world’s most interesting and exciting emerging technologies are
those designed to generate electricity are as follows –

1) Microbial fuel cells – harnessing the power of bacteria

Bacteria are all around us. Some are harmful, some are beneficial, but all of them
‘breathe’. When they breathe oxidation occurs, which is when something combines
with oxygen at a chemical level, and when bacteria do this, electrons are released.

By connecting breathing microbes to a cathode and an anode (the positive and

negative rods of a battery), the flow of these released electrons can be harnessed to
generate power. This is what’s known as a microbial fuel cell (MFC). MFCs are used
largely to generate electricity from waste water, but are expanding into more exotic
uses, like powering miniature aquatic robots

New developments are constantly expanding the power and applications of MFCs.
Researchers at Binghamton University, New York found that combining phototropic
(light-consuming) and heterotrophic (matter-consuming) bacteria in microbial fuel
reactions generates currents 70 times more powerful than in conventional setups.

2) Solar – a new dawn

Solar power may not be a new technology, but where it’s going is.
One of the most promising developments in the space is solar voltaic glass, which has
the properties of a sheet of window glass but can also generate solar power.
Rather than collecting photons like normal solar does (and which transparent
materials by definition can’t do) photovoltaic glass uses salts to absorb energy from
non-visible wavelengths and deflects these to conventional solar cells embedded at
the edge of each panel.
Or there’s solar PV paint, which contains tiny light sensitive particles coated with
conductive materials. When layered over electrodes you’ve got a spray-on power
generator.
 3) Betavoltaics – nothing wasted from nuclear waste
Nuclear material is constantly decaying and in the process emits radioactive particles.
This is why extremely radioactive material is so dangerous and why properly storing
nuclear waste is so important and so expensive. But this waste can actually be put to
good use. Betavoltaic devices use the waste particles produced by low-level
radioactive materials to capture electrons and generate electricity.
The output from these devices can be fairly low and decreases over long periods of
time, but because of the consistent output of nuclear decay they can be extremely
long-lasting. For example, one betavoltaic battery could provide one watt of power
continuously for 30 years.

And while they aren’t currently fit to work on a large scale, their longevity (and very
compact size) make them ideal power sources for devices such as sensors installed on
equipment that needs to be operational for long periods.
 4) Tidal power – changing tides

A more predictable power source than intermittent renewables like wind and solar,
tidal power isn’t new, however its growth and development has typically been
restrained by high costs and limited availability. That’s changing. Last year saw the
launch of the first of 269 1.5 MW (megawatt) underwater turbines, part of world’s
first large scale tidal energy farm in Scotland.
Around the world there are existing tidal power stations – such as the Sihwa Lake
Tidal Power Station in South Korea, which has a capacity of 254MW – but
the MeyGen array in Scotland will be able to take the potential of the technology
further. It’s hoped that when fully operational it will generate 398MW, or enough to
power 175,000 homes.
We might not know exactly how the electricity of tomorrow will be generated, but it’s
likely some or all of these technologies will play a part. What is clear is that our
energy is changing.
 OBJECTIVE – An Experimental Study Of Electricity Generation
Using a Horizontal Spiral Turbine

Abstract

This study aimed to develop horizontal spiral turbines for generating electricity by
designing spiral turbines using the Golden Ratio function. The study analyzed the
impact of the diameter-length ratio and the number of the turbine’s blades (2 – 6
blades) on the torque of turbine. Then the prototype of the spiral turbine with a 0.6
meter diameter and 0.9 meter blade was designed to generate electricity with a water
velocity of 1, 1.5 and 2 m/s in order to compare to the propeller turbine which had an
identical diameter size. The results indicated that a 3-bladed spiral turbine with a 2/3
of diameter-length ratio of turbine had maximum torque at 1 m/s of water velocity.
The spiral turbine produced an optimal efficiency of 48% which was 15% higher than
that of the propeller turbine.

Designing Spiral Turbine Using Golden Ratio –

The spiral turbine was designed to whirl around the core using the Golden Ratio
function [5] which is a general natural Mathematical serial number. With this, the
width of the blades was expanded at a ratio of 1.68 (the blade in every semi-circle of
turning the axle or to 180 degrees.) The ratio to the shape of the turbine was the
number of blades. When it turns one full round around the axle or 360 degrees with a
stable length, the number of blades is assigned a pitch. If the number of blades
increased then the pitch that was assigned decreased. On the other hand, when the
number of blades were less then the pitch distance increased. Hence, at the same
length of the turbine and the optimal number of blades, the best production power was
possible. The spiral blade turbine of the Golden ratio function feature is shown in
Figure.
Equipments and Methodology

Equipments in the controlled laboratory consisted of water gutters made from clear
acrylic resins which provide vision to observe water flow and velocity measurement
as shown in Figure 2. The turbine was made from hard plastic with a 10 centimeter
diameter and there were 5 types of blade strands as shown in Figure 3 : 2 blades-type,
3 blades-type, 4 blades-type, 5 blades-type, and 6 blades-type. In addition, the study
tested the turbine with D/L = 1/2 and 2/3. Where L was the ratio of the length of the
spindle, and D was the diameter of the widest diameter of the turbine. The study
controlled the velocity of the water to be 0.5, 1, and 2 m/s, respectively. Then the
speed of rotation was measured and this was used to find the torque of turbine. The
experiment tested 5 types of spiral turbines by the order of blade numbers in order to
find the ratio of width to the length of the turbine (D/L) and to find the optimal
number of blades for the best prototype design of water turbines for electricity
generation.

Equipment and Turbine Prototype Testing in the Irrigation Canal –

According to the laboratory observation, creating a prototype of water turbine for
irrigation canal experiments by applying the theory of dimensional similarity [8]
results in a relation equation of power and size such as the following:

{PMODEL / PPROTOTYPE} = {DMODEL / DPROTOTYPE}

Where PMODEL and PPROTOTYPE are Turbine output model and Turbine output prototype
, DMODEL and DPROTOTYPE are Turbine diameter and Turbine diameter prototype ,
respectively.

From the above relationship, the size and ratio of the spiral turbine can be assigned for
the test of 0.6 meters diameter with the length of 0.9 meters, and the study also
created an ordinary propeller turbine for an efficiency comparison. In the electricity
generation experiment system, there were spiral and propeller turbines as shown in
Figure 4. An electricity generator of 200 W was installed to the turbine structure with
pulley conveyers reduction systems of 1:4. Two different types of turbines were put
into the irrigation canal and were conducted to compare the efficiency of electricity
generation and turbine efficiency.
 Result and Discussion –

TURBINE TORQUE
According to turbine testing on the gutter in the laboratory for the ratio of optimal
turbine appearance, the study found that the appropriate number of blades was 3 with
maximum torque at water velocity of 2 m/s which is equivalent to 81.64 x 10-2 N.m.
The ratio of the diameter to the length of the turbine (D/L) is 2/3. Torque increased
when the velocity of the water increased from 0.5, 1, and 2m/s, respectively. The
results are shown in Table 1.

TURBINE EFFICIENCY
The experiment of electricity generation by prototype turbine with 3 blades (0.6
meters diameter, 0.9 meters length) having an optimal ratio according to the results
from the laboratory was conducted to test electricity generation at water velocity of 1,
1.5 and 2 m/s, respectively. The 3 blades-type turbine contributed maximum
generation of 40, 84.4, and 192 W. Total efficiency were 48%, 30%, and 28.77 %. In
terms of the propeller turbine, maximum generations were 28, 68.8, and 204 W. Total
efficiency were 33%, 24.7%, and 31%. Water velocity of 1, 1.5 and 2 m/s contributed
results as shown in Table 2, and Figure 5 demonstrates the efficiency of the spiral and
propeller turbines. As a result, the spiral turbine had more efficiency than the
propeller turbine when tested with a water velocity of 1 and 1.5 m/s.
Graph between Turbine Efficiency and Water Velocity –
 CONCLUSION –

This study developed a horizontal spiral turbine which had the feature of spiral blades
around a turning axle. The turning axle was placed parallel to the direction of the
water flow. The blades’ radius expansion was designed by applying the Golden Ratio
function. The experiment analyzed the optimal ratio of the diameter of the turbine (D)
to the length of the turbine (L) by developing 2 ratio models (D/L) of 1/2 and 2/3 to
test with 2-6 stranded turning turbines with a stable number of blades. Results at
different velocities in the laboratory showed that the optimal number of blades were 3
with the ratio of the turbine diameter to turbine length (D/L) of 2/3. After creating a
prototype turbine to compare electric power and efficiency between the prototype and
propeller turbines, at a water velocity of 1 m/s and 1.5 m/s the prototype had more
electric power and efficiency of 45.5% and 21.46%, respectively. Horizontal spiral
turbines were suitable for low speed of water. The shape of strands of the turbine are
capable of generating energy from low water velocity; therefore, it is appropriate to
utilize it with water resources or irrigation canals which have a water velocity of less
than 2 m/s.
 References –

1) https://www.power-technology.com/analysis/featuresix-of-the-most-promising-
new-green-power-technologies-4199646/

2) https://www.drax.com/power-generation/4-of-the-most-exciting-emerging-
technologies-in-electricity-generation/

3) https://www.slideshare.net/rahulkushwaha06/physics-investigatory-project-class-
12

4) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microbial_fuel_cell

5)
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/311002811_An_Experimental_Study_of_El
ectricity_Generation_Using_a_Horizontal_Spiral_Turbine