Engineering study on harnessing energy using micro hydropower from untapped urban infrastructures

• Main Author: Lim, Bao Jie
• Other Authors: Heng Kok Hui, John Gerard
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2023
• Subjects: Engineering::Mechanical engineering
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/168266
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

In Singapore, the use of hydropower technology is not feasible due to the lack of fast flowing water. However, this project will explore the feasibility of installing pico-hydropower system and harnessing the flow of water from the inlet of water storage tank located in HDB rooftop. The power harnessed could be used for providing electricity in common areas such as the ceiling LED lightings that are low consumption in electricity. This alternative source of energy could be an add-on to the alternative source of energy for the country. In this project, literature reviews provide an overview of hydropower systems that include the study of turbines, generator, penstock, calculation, and selection of turbines. Experiments would be conducted. More focus would be concentrated on the feasibility of crossflow turbine and pelton wheel which is more suitable for the application in this project. The crossflow turbine is suitable for low head application and has an efficiency typically between 60% and 75%. The efficiency of the turbine could be increased by eliminating the guide vane and modification of existing parameters. Past research studies had claimed that Pelton wheel could be used for low head application as well.