Water Turbine Help!

[SplashEng]

I am an civil engineer for a waterslide manufacturing company. We also design and build interactive water features for various projects. We are tackling a new project where we will be displaying 5 different types of turbines on a pre-determined platform. Each turbine will need to hydro-electrically powered. These turbines are to be small scaled; around 1-1.5 feet for the diameter of the turbine blades.

The 5 different types of turbines that will be on display are
- Pelton Turbine
- Cross Flow Turbine
- Propeller Turbine
- Francis Turbine
- Kinetic Turbine

We are not needing these turbines to produce a lot of power but rather show students the benefits of using different types of hydro-electric power.

I was wondering if anyone new of manufactures of any of these turbines on a small scale? Would it be easier to just fabricate all of these in our steel shop? Any information you can provide me will be much appreciated. Thanks for your time.

 

[rasevskii]

Do a search on "microhydro" or "minihydro", There are many manufacturers of such equipment around in many parts of the world. But because it is custom designed (usually) for a given site, be prepared for exotic prices.

rasevskii

 

[GearlessGenerator]

Hi SplashEng

I like to share some thoughts though they may not belong to "want to hear" category. Specially in small hydro devices;

(1) It contains so much power; about 1000 folds of the wind; a device with a few percents or even dozens more the efficiencies does not make much of the big difference.

(2) Utilizing small (tiny) hydro device has been and continued as "the dream"; although there are much of the claims.

(3) The real hurdle is NOT (IS NOT) - at the mechanical design(s) at least there are centuries old waterwheels. We has been working with various designs to find out at the final stages, to generate electricity and export it to the grid seem to be the impassible wall. Some may argue that there are technologies to do so. I suggest a close, very close study on their feasibility and the practicality before invest to go further. Thing may theoretically "sounded" but miserably fail in practice and/or its cost;

(4) Until there is an avenue for slow, very slow device to generate grid tie electricity other than PMA + Inverter or Induction motor + Gearbox there is not a real solution. The first solution is too costly; taking year(s) to recover the components' cost and the second is not practical although the big one such as large wind turbines are doing so; a "sale man" may said such as "we have been doing at the oil well pump which alternately acts as motor and generator . . . . - Oh! give me a break! $10,000.00s become items on craigslist.

(5) Suggest reading:

http://www.philica.com/display_article.php?article_id=316

-There is also some claims on Variable speed generator which utilized device such as VFD to reduce/adjust the synchronous RPM . . . (VSG-USA.COM?)- they are not the first but the newest kids on the block as I know off.

I am not sure if it works; I have been promised "by sale" men(not of the above company)" of such product in order to wait.

Good Luck!

 

[LionelHutz]

GearlessGenerator - I don't follow your post. The OP asked about building scale demo models and not about building a working system. Besides, I don't see how connecting a smaller scale hydro generating plant to the grid is difficult at all.

 

[GearlessGenerator]

@Lionel!

I am sharing my own experience.

It's not difficult when you build model/prototype - Using PMA+Inverter scheme. When the purpose is the prove of concept. -

FYI: a $1.00/watt at $0.10/KWH requires 10,000 continuously operational hours to recover cost. 1 year= 24*365 = 8760 Hrs

Using Induction generator + gearbox scheme: If you think it fits yours then . . . good luck.

Beside: Just for the sake of playing; as of the Tyson turbine; one can use the blades of an electric fan, it could do the work.