Low-Head Hydropower Energy Resource Harvesting: Design and Manufacturing of the (HyPER) Harvester

Abstract

The design and manufacturing of a revolutionary hydropower harvester with characteristics that embrace the ecology and the environment is described. Guided by NEPA standards for environmental protection, the design concept incorporates a modular and self-supporting structure with a vertical-axis turbine-generator system that is: a) fabricated using Fiberglass and Carbon-composites and is light weight, and b) is easy to manufacture and assemble utilizing off-the-shelf electromechanical components and deploy to produce the desired power. A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software, ANSYS®, is used to optimize the flow characteristics of the harvester. A fully-scalable, modular and easily deployable hydropower generating system prototype of a 10kW low-head hydropower harvester with 4-blade fixed-pitch impeller is presented. The technology is adaptable for low-head drops along irrigation canals with existing structures and as modular weirs across small rivers and streams worldwide.