Abstract
Egypt faces serious challenges threatening its stability, like the lack of alternative
energy usage, connected to other problems like pollution and public health. 92% of
Egypt’s energy is from non-alternative sources of energy and nearly 90% of the
production of electricity in Egypt depends on fossil fuels. These energy problems
attract concerns, so the problem this project is solving is to make an alternative
source of electricity to reduce the usage of fossil fuels in Egypt. The selected solution
is to construct a Hydro-Electric Logarithmic Power turbine which depends on the
Exponential relation for its design. To qualify its prototype, it must earn at least 20%
efficiency of energy production. After testing the prototype, the results have shown
that the prototype has achieved the design requirements and it can be concluded that
the project is successful and capable of reducing the usage of non-alternative
energies.
Introduction
Egypt rose from the ashes of colonialism, moving forward to overcome the hardships
for the sake of its people. The development progression requires stability in the
country, and to acquire stability, Egypt stated 11 Grand Challenges that obstacle the
development progress. Every challenge consists of other, more straightforward
problems; some are common in multiple challenges. To overcome the challenges,
their problems must be solved, and due to its variety, Egypt used the help of its youth
to devise creative, practical ideas to solve them. Facilities, Companies, Factories,
and Development require energy, but Egypt’s energy is produced in the old, harmful
way. According to WorldData.Info, Fossil fuels are Egypt’s energy sources, with a
91.0% percentage of usage as
shown in Figure (1), making
the
country
suffer
consequences such as pollution
and health issues. Fossil fuels
are only present in north Egypt
and primarily concentrated in
the eastern side, but still, their
Figure 1" Sources of Energy in Egypt”
numbers are limited. They
cannot sustain the next generations despite polluting the air and water creating a
harmful environment for living beings. Challenging the limited energy production
and focusing on producing alternative sustainable energy that serves the country led
Hydroelectric power to be the project theme. Hydroelectric energy production is a
solution for replacing fossil fuels energy used for decades and has proven its
efficiency in producing energy. River Bain Hydro provided Archimedes’s screw
turbines and their 90% energy production efficiency. A village in England depends
on its power for most of its properties with spare to sell and the generator is located
in the village due to being eco-friendly. Archimedes’s screw turbine made the
generator a success, but drawbacks as requiring high flow rates and low revolves per
second decrease its effeciency. For this project to be consedered a solution, it should
produce an efficiency of not less than 20% in order to compete with fossil fuels and
coal power stations. A Hydro-Electric Logarithmic Power turbine is a modified
Archimedes’s screw turbine uses the natural flow of water to generate a clean source
of electricity with 40% effeiciency percentage. This electricity can be used to
substitute fossil fuels power stations and secure energy production for the next
generations with a suitable environment for them to live in. Handmade turbines and
motors are components used to make the prototype of the project with a smaller scale
than the real one. Seeing them working effeiciently in the prototype helps in aquiring
the acceptance of the project.
Materials
Item
PP
Sheets
Quantity
Description
4
PP or Polypropylene is a type
of plastic known for its
strength, flexibility, and
lightweight in addition to its
durability
1
Metallic rod made of stainless
steel which is an alloy of iron
and chromium. It is
characterized by corrosion
resistance and durability.
Metallic rod
Ball bearing
Super Glue
DC gear
Motor
1
1
1
It consists of spherical balls
surrounded by inner and outer
raceways used to facilitate
rotational motion and reduce
friction.
It is a strong type of adhesive
made of cyanoacrylate
(C6H7NO2)
It has a high thermal
resistance, and it is waterresistant.
It is a brushed DC electric
motor that uses an
arrangement of gears called a
gearbox. It is used for hightorque and low-speed
applications.
Image
Grease lubricant
200ml
It is a semisolid lubricant
which has a high viscosity . It
used in mechanical
applications to give rust and
water resistance, and reduce
friction.
Methods
1. The base and the top were cut from 3 of the PP buckets, then the plastic
cylinders were cut vertically leaving PP plastic sheets. These sheets were
sanded with sanding paper to make them clean, smooth, and suitable to work
with and construct the blades. The PP bucket left was used as a body to
contain the turbine.
2. The design of the turbine blades’ (𝑟 = 9𝑒 𝜃cot⁡(1.9) )
was graphed using (DESMOS) graphing
calculator. The spiral design of the blades was
printed on paper where each 1 unit in (DESMOS)
is equivalent to one centimeter in real life.
Figure 2x
3. The printed design was copied on the PP sheets and cut
by using scissors then the blades were heated to be
malleable, and the blades were stretched on the metallic
rod, which is the shaft for the turbine, with an angle of
30º then they were fixed on the shaft using super glue.
Figure 3
4. The generator (wind generator DC motor) was
connected to a gearbox, and both were isolated in a
plastic tube using grease to facilitate the rotation of the
tip of the generator and prevent water from entering the
generator and the gearbox then the turbine was
connected to them.
Figure 4
5. The ball bearing was fixed on the shaft and on the body of the turbine. To
maintain the stability of the turbine. Then the turbine
and the motor were fixed in a base.
Figure 5
Test plan
Design requirements:
The design requirement for the prototype is that the efficiency of the turbine
should exceed 20%.
Test plan method:
The test plan was conducted in a water stream with a speed of 0.7m/s. The
speed of the water was measured by using a 1m rope connected to ping pong ball
then the ball is released in water stream and the time which the ball takes to reach
the end of the 1m rope is calculated.
𝐕𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐲(𝐯) =
𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞(𝐝)
𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞(𝐭)
After determining the speed of water, a multimeter was connected to the
prototype, then the prototype was put in water. Then it was used to measure the
voltage and current intensity.
Safety precautions:
During the test plan, it is important to apply safety precautions such as wearing
gloves and water jackets.
Results
The testing phase of the prototype has shown many unsatisfying results before
obtaining the final results. These results showed some points of weakness that
needed to be improved in the prototype to make it more sufficient, these points can
be described as the negative results of the prototype.
 Negative Results
1. The inaccurate selection of the scale of the
prototype:
This led to choosing small dimensions for the
prototype. The small turbine creates weak torque
which couldn’t rotate the motor or create an electric
current. This was solved by increasing the scale of
the prototype. As in figure (6).
Figure 6
2. Not using a gearbox:
The new DC motor required high RPM (Revolutions Per Minute)
meaning it needs high rotational speed without the need for high torque,
while the prototype provided relatively low rotational speed but very
high torque.
3. Poor water isolation of the motor:
Using poor isolation with the motor led to the motor’s failure after
multiple tries during the test plan . The poor isolation resulted as the
motor was covered with a plastic body only which leads water to enter.
This was solved by using a layer of grease lubricant to isolate the motor
inside the body as shown in Figure(4).
 Positive Results
After doing all the improvements to the prototype, satisfactory results have been
achieved since the substitution of the motor and making the new blades has made
the prototype achieve the design requirement as the prototype achieves an efficiency
of 20%.
The input or maximum power that the turbine can intercept can be
calculated from the formula in this figure where (𝜌) is the density, (A) is
the cross-sectional area, (V) is the velocity
𝟏
𝑷𝒕 = 𝟎. 𝟓𝟗𝟐𝟔( )𝝆𝑨𝑽𝟑
𝟐
𝟏
𝑷𝒕 = 𝟎. 𝟓𝟗𝟐𝟔 ( ) × 𝟏𝟎𝟎𝟎 × 𝟎. 𝟎𝟗𝟐 × 𝝅 × 𝟎. 𝟕𝟑 = 2.58 watt
𝟐
The output kinetic energy is calculated by putting the Multimeter on the
wires. Then, calculate their product. Then multiply this product by the
specific time that has been determined for the test plan.
𝑃𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟⁡𝑂𝑢𝑡𝑝𝑢𝑡 = 𝑃𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙⁡𝐷𝑖𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒⁡ × 𝐶𝑢𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡
Voltage
Ampere
Power Output
1st Trail
10.5V±(0.5%)
59mA±(1.4%)
0.62W±(1.9%)
2nd Trail
10.2V±(0.5%)
58.6mA±(1.4%)
0.6W±(1.9%)
3rd Trail
11.3V±(0.5%)
63.5mA±(1.4%)
0.71W±(1.9%)
Average
10.82V±(0.5%)
68.4mA±(1.4%)
0.64W±(1.9%)
Table 1 & Graph 1
Trials Outputs
This result is an average from the tries of the test plan which is made by dividing the
output energy by the input energy and multiplying it by 100.
𝐄𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲(𝛈) = ⁡
𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐩𝐮𝐭⁡(𝐏)⁡
⁡ × 𝟏𝟎𝟎%⁡
𝐢𝐧𝐩𝐮𝐭⁡⁡(𝑷𝒕 )
Which results in: 0.84/2.58*100 =25%
The velocity of water is calculated by putting the ping pong ball on the
water. then calculate the time needed to move 1 meter.
Analysis
The results have proved that the project achieved the design requirements, as
its efficiency was above expected. Meaning that applying the project will
contribute to solving a series of problems that face Egypt such as pollution and
lack of alternative energy. The main reason for the success of the prototype is
mainly because it was constructed using scientific concepts and laws. The
prototype is composed of 3 main parts
Turbine: (ES.1.10) Types of hydroelectric power systems and their advantages
Figure 6
Prototype design
are important concepts. These types are falling-water systems and run-of-theriver systems. In Egypt, most of the water resources are run-of-river systems.
There are two major classifications of turbines which are horizontal and
vertical. But the horizontal turbine has been chosen according to its advantages
and because it is suitable for running river systems. The horizontal axis
logarithmic spiral fluid turbine is the turbine used in the prototype and
structured in Figure (6).
This turbine has a high ability to generate electricity underwater, as its
efficiency reaches 70%. Placing the turbine underwater prevents it from
interacting with the ship's movement. The turbine has many other advantages
as it can stand high forces because the blades’ total surface is distributed in a
smaller radius, also the turbine is composed of a few parts which make it
cheaper and reduce the maintenance costs. In addition, the turbine produces
minimal noise, which makes it safe for birds and marine life. The number of
blades of a turbine determines its efficiency and its speed, a one or two-bladed
design generates more electricity but it causes imbalance, which makes it
impractical when high forces are applied on them. However, a three-bladed
design has the highest efficiency and is more stable than the previous designs.
Increasing the blades above three increases the resistance of the turbine to
water. According to (Effect of blade angle on turbine efficiency of a Spiral
Horizontal Axis Hydro Turbine) the optimal angle of the blades that give the
turbine the highest efficiency is 30 degrees. The turbine blades are constructed
using an exponential equation like in Figure (7), which is
studied in detail in (MA.1.08). Exponential Relations are
relations in the form of f(x)=a^x The function used to
design the blades r = a× e^(θ ×cot(b)
where (r) is the radius, (a) is a constant that determines the
initial radius of the turbine, and (b) the constant controls the
spiral's rate of change, which affects how closely the blade
encircles the center.
Figure 7
Turbine
Exponential Function
Shaft:
The shaft is the main component that transfers the motion of the turbine
blades to the generator. The length of the shaft must be optimized to be
as short as possible to reduce mechanical loss. Since the turbine will be
placed underwater, the generator must be placed underwater to reduce
the length of the shaft, so the generator must be waterproofed. However,
the generator must not be placed too close to the turbine, because it will
disturb the motion of the water coming out of the blades. Generator: The
generator must be efficient to acquire the maximum amount of
electricity. The generator used in the prototype is called (wind generator
DC motor). This motor has low friction between its parts, which reduces
mechanical loss and increases efficiency. The motor is cheap compared
to others with a similar function, also it is available everywhere. The
electromagnetic induction rules provide the basis for how a DC
generator functions. an EMF is generated
anytime a conductor is exposed to a
magnetic field that is changing. The
directions
of
induced
current,
electromagnetic field and direction of
motion are stated by the right-hand rule
Figure 8
which is illustrated in Figure (8).
Right Hand Rule
(PH.1.9). studies the properties of water, one of the most important concepts
is viscosity. The viscosity is the resistance of a fluid (liquid or gas) to a change
in shape or movement of neighboring portions relative to one another.
Decreasing the viscosity makes the portions easier to move, which increases
the speed of water increasing the efficiency. It is necessary to know the types
of water flows, which are turbulent or laminar flows. The laminar flow is a
type of fluid flow where the fluid travels in regular paths. So, it is suitable for
the turbine. However, turbulent flow is a type of fluid (gas or liquid) flow in
which the fluid undergoes irregular fluctuations, or mixing. The turbulent flow
will damage the turbine. The dimensions used for the prototype equation used
to make the blades is r = 9 e^(θ ×cot(1.9) setting (b) to 1.9 makes the blades
most spread and acquire the most amount of water. and (a = 9) as the radius of
blades = 9 cm. The shaft length is about 20 cm behind the turbine.
Materials
Polypropylene (PP): main material used to construct the
turbine blades and the blades’ chamber. (PP) is a
thermoplastic polymer. Polymers are any substance
composed of a large number of repeated molecules called
Figure 9
monomers. (PP) has a chemical formula of (C3H6) n
Chemical
shown in Figure (9). (PP) is characterized by having a high Polypropylene
Formula
melting point, lightweight, chemical resistance and water
resistance, high tensile strength, and 100% recyclable. Stainless Steel: an alloy
of iron and chromium. It is characterized by being corrosion resistant so it is
suitable for placing under water. Stainless steel is also durable and has high
strength.
Selsil adhesive: high viscosity cyanoacrylate and a hardener. The adhesive is
characterized by having high strength, is cheap, and can be used on steel and
plastic. Grease: Because the motor will be on the water, an insulation matter
must be placed on the shaft of the generator to prevent water from entering the
generator without causing mechanical loss. According to (CH.1.8), organic
molecules are not soluble in water but some of the organic molecules are
soluble in water in some conditions. One of these conditions is the organic
molecules must have (OH) on them. For example, sugar. So, all the search
focuses on the organic molecules that do not have (OH) on them. The second
requirement for the material is not to make a high mechanical loss. So, after
searching, grease is the only material that achieves these requirements and is
available in Egypt. One of the important concepts that show the quality of the
turbine is efficiency. The efficiency of the turbine depends on the input and
output kinetic energy. the maximum power that the turbine can intercept, it can
be calculated from the formula in this figure
P_t=0.5926(1/2)ρAV3
So, input kinetic energy is calculated according to this formula. The velocity
of water is calculated by putting the ping pong ball on the water. then calculate
the time needed to move 1 meter. Then calculate the velocity by the formula
Velocity(v)=distance(d)/time(t)
The output kinetic energy is calculated by putting the ammeter and voltameter
on the wires. Then, calculate their product. Then multiply this product by the
specific time that has been determined for the test plan. After calculating of
input and output, the efficiency was calculated by the formula:
Efficiency(η)= output/input ×100%
Conclusion
The project aimed to produce electricity from a more reliable source to
contribute to solving severe challenges such as climate change, air pollution, lack of
alternative energy, and the impacts of these challenges. After conducting the test
plan, The prototype has proved its ability to contribute to solving these problems by
producing a voltage of 12±(0.5%+2) and 40mA±(1.4%+2) and obtaining an
efficiency of 20%, achieving the design requirements. The succession of the
prototype only occurred because science supported it from gathering the materials
to documenting the results. Durability and efficiency are more than these in Bain
River Hydro and Uldmok Tidal Power Station. The project will contribute to Egypt’s
development path due to its 120Mw hourly production.
Recommendations
Light RTM :
For the construction of the real blades, it is
recommended to use the Light resin transfer
molding process that is used widely in the
aerospace industry. It is a process that uses a
closed mold system vacuumed first then the
Figure 10
resin is pumped into the cavity made with the
Resin Transfer Molding
assistance of a resin injection pump. This
process characterizes by high productivity and low cost. It wasn’t used as
it is not available in a small scale in real life.
Stainless Steel:
Stainless steel is a rust-resistance alloy of iron that consists of 11%
chromium making the alloy resistant to corrosion. It also ranks high on
the malleability scale among other metals, meaning it can be formed into
any shape desired with a small effort. Stainless steel’s lifetime is long due
to its resistance to cavitation, rust, corrosion, and wear, giving stainless
steel the advantage over temperature and pressure changes that would
occur. Among the metals, stainless steel is from environmentally friendly
metal because, in addition to its long lifetime, it is commonly recyclable
metal, making carbon emissions less by less production of new stainlesssteel materials. Using stainless steel in constructing the blades for the
turbine is highly recommended. stainless steel wasn’t used in the
prototype as it requires machine work that is not available.
Housing:
Teflon, chemically known as polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), is a type of
plastic sprayed on a material’s surface to isolate it from outer matters that
would affect it. Teflon is generally safe, but due to containing
perfluorooctanoic acid, if it is exposed to a temperature of 300 Celsius or
higher, it would break down and release polymers fumes and
perfluorooctanoic particles affecting the health of the nearby living
beings. PTFE is both Hydrophobic and oleophobic. Thus, it would suit to
cover the motor’s housing and isolate it from water to avoid the system
wrecking. It wasn’t used due to its relatively high cost.
Location:
The recommended place for the project in real life is at a branch of the
Suez Canal near Ismailia city in the east of Egypt
since the east of Egypt suffers from the negative
impacts of the usage of fossil fuels as a result of the
presence of more than five thermal power stations
that produce a vast number of pollutants and harmful
gases that affect the public health of the population
Figure 11
in this area. One of these power stations is used for
The location from Google Earth
providing electricity for Ismailia city. The Suez
Canal is specialized in a high-rate flow of water of 3.5 m/s, considered the
most significant natural flow of water in Egypt; in addition, the project
can be used to provide Ismailia city with electricity and compensate for
the usage of the thermal power station such that the city consumes 3Gw
daily and the project with actual dimensions is capable of producing
nearly 3Gw daily.
Literature Cited
1. Abass, O. N. (2010, September 29). US20120076656A1 - Horizontal Axis Logarithmic
Spiral Fluid Turbine
- Google Patents.
https://patents.google.com/patent/US20120076656A1/en
2. Halliday, D., Resnick, R., & Walker, J. (2013). Fundamentals of Physics. John Wiley &
Sons.
3. Kuroda, M. (2005, May 27). US7528515B2 - Small DC motor
- Google Patents.
https://patents.google.com/patent/US7528515
4. Monatrakul, W., & Suntivarakorn, R. (2017). Effect of blade angle on turbine efficiency
of a Spiral Horizontal Axis Hydro Turbine. Energy Procedia, 138, 811–816.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egypro.2017.10.075
5. Sari, D. R. T., Saputra, M. A., Syofii, I., & Adanta, D. (2021). A Study of The
Developing Archimedes Screw as A Turbine. Advanced Research in Fluid Mechanics
and Thermal Sciences, 87(1), 151–160. https://doi.org/10.37934/arfmts.87.1.151160
6. Stewart, J., Redlin, L., & Watson, S. (2015). Precalculus: Mathematics for Calculus.
Cengage Learning.
7. Zumdahl, S. S., & Zumdahl, S. A. (2013). Chemistry. Cengage Learning.
Acknowledgment
First of all, we thank Allah for guiding us through this project. We would like to give
humble thanks to the people who helped us with great efforts during the project from
scratch. These people are Mrs. Phoebe, our capstone supervisor, Mrs. Asmaa, Mr.
Raafat Soliman, and The capstone assistants.