Development of an Experiential Humanitarian Engineering Pilot Program Henry Louie, PhD * Steve Szablya, PE ** * Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering ** Facilities Services Seattle University Spring/Summer 2011

Funding Sources SU Global Grant: $9,524 SU Endowed Mission Fund: $6,000 Community Solutions Initiative: $3,000 Professionals without Boundaries: $3,000 Total Funding: $21,524 Dr. Henry Louie 2

Program Goals 1.Develop a humanitarian engineering curriculum and supporting educational materials 2.Increase Seattle University faculty experience and capability in humanitarian engineering projects and in experiential teaching techniques Dr. Henry Louie 3

Program Goals 3.Expose students through immersion to global humanitarian challenges, and empower them to work toward solutions, culminating in an experiential service experience 4.Strengthen bonds with local and international organizations and communities Dr. Henry Louie 4

Approach Discussion Sessions Workshop Sessions Immersion Dr. Henry Louie 5

Discussion Session Details Held Weekly 45 minutes in duration Developed slides Recommended reading Dr. Henry Louie 6

Discussion Session Topics Session 0: Information Session Session 1: Introduction to Humanitarian Engineering Session 2: Fundamentals of Wind Energy Session 3: Energy Poverty Session 4: Opportunities and Roles of Engineers in Developing Self-Sustainable Communities * Session 5: Micro Credit * Session 6: Generator Basics Session 7: Trivia Dr. Henry Louie 7 *Guest Speaker(s)

Discussion Session Participation Number of Attendees Session 0: 23 Session 1: 22 Session 2: 17 Session 3: 19 Session 4: 8 (evening meeting) Session 5: 16 Session 6: 16 Session 7: 8 (last week of quarter) Dr. Henry Louie 8 Average Attendance: 16

Workshop Session Details Held Weekly Saturday Mornings +4 hours in duration SU Carpentry Shop Supervised work Included professionals Dr. Henry Louie 9

Workshop Session Dr. Henry Louie10

Workshop Session Special Topics:  Shop Orientation  Aerodynamics  Welding Dr. Henry Louie 11

Immersion Trip Participants Dr. Henry Louie (Faculty) Steve Szablya (Staff) Vincent Van Acker (Volunteer) Ayesha Pirbhai (Student) Josh Peavler (Student) Karim Farraj (Student) Dr. Henry Louie 12

13 Case Study: Zambia  +12 million people 25% have electricity per capital energy use: 3.3% of USA  +8 million live in rural communities  50% of rural population have electronic devices 4% have access to electricity Average income: US$5.30/day

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What we Brought Rotors Stator Hub assembly Tools Misc. Electronic Components Dr. Henry Louie 16

Our Goals Determine feasibility of building generator Make blades, tower Field test Dr. Henry Louie 17

Packing Dr. Henry Louie 18

Immersion Itinerary Seattle-Lusaka Lusaka-Livingstone Livingstone Chobe (Botswana) Chikuni Monze/Lusaka Chikuni Lusaka Lusaka-Seattle Dr. Henry Louie 19

ZAMBIA

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Dr. Henry Louie 24 XChikuni Lusaka Livingstone 230 miles

Dr. Livingstone I presume? Dr. Henry Louie25

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Sunset on the Zambezi Dr. Henry Louie28

Safari in Botswana Dr. Henry Louie29

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Getting Around Dr. Henry Louie43

Our Workshop No power tools No lighting Dr. Henry Louie 44

Fr. Bert’s Wind Turbine Dr. Henry Louie45

Where the Wind Blows… Dr. Henry Louie 46

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Wind Speed Measurements Used local knowledge to screen locations Near continuous readings from 8am to 6pm for 2 days Did not record during evening  Safety  Generally low wind speed Dr. Henry Louie 49 anemometer 100 inches

And the winner is… Dr. Henry Louie 50

Dr. Henry Louie 51 X 450 ft Wind turbine location Prevailing Wind

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Wind Speed Measurements (Monday/Tuesday) Dr. Henry Louie 53 Maximum ValuesAverage Values

Wind Speed Measurements (Friday/Saturday) Dr. Henry Louie 54 Instantaneous Values

Blades Obtained two 100” boards Designed for three 60” blades Dr. Henry Louie inches

4 foot blades vs. 5 foot blades Perceived Advantages  Available  Easier to construct  Cheaper  Less weight  Faster rotation?  Less structural stress Disadvantages  Reduction of power by 36% Dr. Henry Louie 56 Difference in swept area 5 ft 4 ft

Blades About 15 person-hours per blade Dr. Henry Louie 57

Blades Dr. Henry Louie 58

Blades Dr. Henry Louie 59

Blades Completed blades Dr. Henry Louie 60

Generator Assembly Parts premade in Seattle Assembled in Chikuni, Zambia Dr. Henry Louie 61

Ready for Assembly Dr. Henry Louie 62 Generator Blades Hub

Assembled Wind Turbine Dr. Henry Louie 63

Tower 2.5” diameter steel borehole pipe Allowed generator to rotate (yaw) Used in water boreholes Commonly available Length: 6m Dr. Henry Louie 64 Generator assembly

Tower Raising 3-4 people can lift Without blades: 60 lbs With blades: 75 lbs Lowering is difficult Dr. Henry Louie 65

Tower Support Dr. Henry Louie 66 Before After Removed section

Tower Raising Dr. Henry Louie 67 cows

Tower Raising Dr. Henry Louie 68

Tower Support Two motorcycle tie downs Nylon rope Dr. Henry Louie 69

Yaw/Furl Wind turbine naturally furls in high wind Used ropes to yaw wind turbine Dr. Henry Louie 70

Yaw/Furl Dr. Henry Louie 71 Furled Position Facing into the Wind

Charging Circuit Dr. Henry Louie 72 VaVa VbVb VcVc n Generator short to stop turbine V battery switch 3-phase rectifier

Charging Circuit Dr. Henry Louie 73

Wind Speed vs. RPM Dr. Henry Louie 74 Large variation due to inertia of blades

Wind Speed vs. TSR Dr. Henry Louie 75 Very low TSR, efficiency

Reshaping the Blades Dr. Henry Louie 76 Inefficient Leading Edge Reshaped Leading Edge

Wind Speed vs. RPM Dr. Henry Louie 77

Wind Speed vs. TSR Dr. Henry Louie 78 Improved TSR, efficiency

Simulated vs. Actual Volts per Hz  Simulated: 1.06  Measured: 1.07 Cut-in RPM  Simulated: 85 RPM  Measured: 85 RPM Dr. Henry Louie 79

Performance Data Idle: 11 mph Cut-in (battery charging): 15 mph Max RPM tested: 330 rpm Maximum instantaneous power output: 75 W Continuous power output: 5 W Dr. Henry Louie 80

Lessons Learned Feasibility of in-country blade and tower construction proved  Balancing blades is difficult Matching blades and generator is critical  High starting torque needed  Very low TSR caused very low efficiency Generator as built is too powerful Security is a challenge Dr. Henry Louie 81

The Market for Electricity Cell Phone Charging:  With charger: 1000 Kwacha (US$ 0.20)  With shop charger: 1500 Kwacha (US$ 0.30) Car Battery Charging:  2500 Kwacha (US$ 0.50)  Charged overnight LI cellular phone battery capacity: 5 Wh  Cost per Wh: US$

Back-of-envelope calculation: Village size: 1000 people Percent with cellular phones: 15 Charge Frequency: 1/week Charges per day: 21 Energy required: 105 Wh per day Wind turbine capacity factor: 15% Wind turbine size: 30 W Income: US$4.20/day Payback time on $500 investment: 120 days 83

700W Wind Turbine Costs Pipe: $78 Wood: $13 Wire: $0.32/m x 250m = $80 Magnets * : 24 x $15 = $360 Resin * : $80 Hardware * : $130 Rectifier * : $7 Battery: $125 Metal Parts * : $450 Electrical * : $20 84 * Price in the U.S. Total: US $1343

Cost Considerations Does not include tools, labor Price of rare earth magnets increasing and volatile Resins, magnets not easy to find Too big, expensive Micro loans generally are $500 or less 85

Next Steps Design 100 Watt wind turbine Test deploy Engineer tower structure Continue to work with local community Promote as a business opportunity Dr. Henry Louie 86

Speaking at the Boy’s School Dr. Henry Louie 87

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Dr. Louie Doing What He Does Best Dr. Henry Louie 89

A Physics Lesson at the Girl’s School Dr. Henry Louie90

National University of Zambia Dr. Henry Louie 91

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Acknowledgements Seattle University Office of Global Engagement Seattle University Endowed Mission Fund IEEE Power & Energy Society Community Solutions Initiative Engineers without Borders Puget Sound Professional Chapter Dr. Henry Louie 94

Videos Raising The Turbine in Chikuni, Zambia(255.5M) Wind Turbine and Electrical Setup in Chikuni, Zambia(27.1M) The Wind Turbine Spinning in Chikuni, Zambia(57.87M) Electric Braking During High Speed Operation in Chikuni, Zambia(59.45M) Alternate View of the Turbine Configuration from the bottom of Dam in Chikuni, Zambia(53.72M) Dr. Henry Louie 95

SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING Henry Louie, PhD Assistant Professor Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering th Avenue, Bannan 219 P.O. Box Seattle, WA Tel: (206) Fax: (206) COLLEGE OF