2. Alternative Technology Product Development

3. Appropriate Day
Good Friday
Earth Day

4. Needs & Potential Needs:
2-5% of rural Sub-Saharan Africa served by electric grids
1.6 billion people in developing countries currently live without electricity
International Energy Agency (IEA) estimate that by 2020 developing countries will need to double their electrical power output
Potential:
4 million estimated micro-hydro locations worldwide
100,000 family size micro-hydro units in Vietnam

5. History
Invented by Don in Liberia
Originally a Surf Model
River Model Adaptation
EMI Involvement
Performance – 178W maximum at 60 RPM

6. Ultimate Goals Ultimate User: Poor rural household in developing World
Desired Characteristics
Affordable – for rural farmer making $400/yr
Reliable & Durable – 24 hours/day for up to 3 years. Debris protection
Simple – easy to install, maintain and replace by poor rural developing world farmer
Safe
Secure – resistant to theft and vandalism
Environmentally Friendly
Modular – for scalability
Technical Requirements:
Stream Flow of 5-20 ft3/sec
Power > 300 watts – enough for lights, cell phone, computer
Ideal Cost < $100 (production model in developing world) Purchase Plans: 3 year loan payback. Business charging cell phone batteries, etc.
Other Potential Models: Backpacker – smaller
Villager – larger or linked household models
Municipal – for North American municipalities: power or lighting for parks

7. Summer 2011 – Wedge 2.0 Refinement Goals
More efficient prototype: > 300 watts
Elegant design for future manufacturing simplicity
Cost < $500 (parts only)
Method:
EMI Design Intensive – this week
Wedge 2.0 Fabrication - till end of May
Summer testing – throughout summer Colorado Springs Utilities (CSU) graciously interested
CSU/FMDC requirements –
Household requirements especially safe and environmentally safe
Not interrupt flow, normal operations or cause erosion.
Emergency removal capability.

8. Summer 2011 – Wedge 2.0 Refinement Goals
3 potential CSU test locations:
Test Duration
Purpose
Water Width (ft)
water depth (in)
Average Flow (cu ft / sec)
Avg Vel ( m / s)
Peak Vel (m/s)
JPD WWTP Clean Water Outfall (Public)
4-8 hrs
fine-tuning 4 18
14.1
0.72
1.43
Fountain Mutual Ditch (within CSU Las Vegas WWTP)
1-2 months
durability 10 24 20
0.30
0.61
Ruxton Hydropower Plant (within CSU fence)
flow-range 6 12
0.91
1.83
Glen Eyrie
2 min
proof 15
Test
Purpose
Average Flow
Waterway
water
Avg Vel
Peak Vel
Duration
Cu Ft/sec
Width (ft)
depth (in)
(m/s)
JPD WWTP Clean Water Outfall (Public)
4-8 hrs
fine-tuning
14.1 4 18
0.72
1.43
Fountain Mutual Ditch (within CSU Las Vegas WWTP)
1-2 months
durability 20 10 24
0.30
0.61
Ruxton Hydropower Plant (within CSU fence)
flow-range 6 12
0.91
1.83
Glen Eyrie
2 min
proof 15

10. Existing Wedge

11. Proposed Wedge

12. Hydrodynamic Modelling

13. Diverter & Anchoring

14. Turbine Design – Ultimate Design
Prototype vs. Production models
Vast differences in the following 3 areas
Cost
Product Efficiency
Product quality

15. Turbine Design – Ultimate Design
Prototype Costs High due to:
High Material Costs
Buying at consumer prices vs. wholesale for both raw materials and purchased parts
High Labor Costs
Each part is made individually by hand
Manufacturing Costs reduce with volume
Material costs are reduced by volume price negotiations
Labor costs are reduced with tooling and individualized functions (making the same part many times reduces setup time)

16. Turbine Design – Ultimate Design
Product Efficiency
Prototype designs depend largely on commercially available parts and materials
Production model can introduce optimum part dimensions and material selection to enhance performance
Product Quality
Manufacturing tooling increases quality and repeatability
Utilizing mold castings
Specific repeatable tooling setups
Materials and parts
Production designs use custom materials and parts as opposed to consumer dimensioned materials

17. Goals to Lower Costs
Integrate different functions to reduce overall number of parts
Possibly integrate turbine with generator
Integrate the debris guard and anchoring device