1. Final Year Project
Optimization and Design of
Micro Hydro Power Plant
Introduction
Recent concerns over global warming and an over reliance on fossil
fuels have led to an increased political, academic and public interest in
renewable energy. Three viable areas of renewable energy have emerged-
solar power, wind power and hydropower. Because of small energy extraction
from wind and high cost of solar cells using as a renewable energy source,
it’s the hydro-power energy which can be a most effective renewable source
in coming future.
Hydro-power production can be carried out using Turbines and
waterwheels. Turbines need extensive potential energy which means an
appreciable head is needed to produce power while using turbines. On the
other hand waterwheels don’t need any head requirement and it’s the
flowing water kinetic energy used by waterwheels to produce power, low head
and flow requirements, ease in fabrication and relatively low cost which
excels them from turbines. These are especially advantageous relevant to
small residential projects where the long payback period of turbines is
prohibitive and that is the reason why hydropower production using
waterwheel has become an important source of renewable energy these days.
A water wheel is a machine for converting the energy of free-flowing
or falling water into useful forms of power. A water wheel consists of a
large wooden or metal wheel, with a number of blades or buckets arranged on
the outside rim forming the driving surface. Most commonly, the wheel is
mounted vertically on a horizontal axle, but the tub or Norse wheel is
mounted horizontally on a vertical shaft. Vertical wheels can transmit
power either through the axle or via a ring gear and typically drive belts
or gears; horizontal wheels usually directly drive their load.
Waterwheel is a sort of Pelton wheel turbine equipped with blades and
operated by the flowing water. The wheel is to be seated on an open small
river where there is no head difference and the flow velocity is
approximately 1ms-1.
There are different types of water wheel which are being used
throughout the world.
Types of water wheel:
Horizontal wheel
Undershot wheel
Breastshot wheel

2. Final Year Project
Overshot wheel
Backshot wheel
Hydraulic wheel
Historical Perspective
In the 1970 the ministry of water and power installed several MHP systems cost
ranging from US$5000-6000/kW along conventional lines. The appropriate technology
development organization (ATDO) has installed MHP systems in the villages in the
mountains areas of Swat, Dir, and Kaghan district in KhyberPakhtunKhawa, Gilgit and in
northern areas of Pakistan. The very first plants of power of 3kW and 12.5kW respectively
were installed in 1975 inQadirnagar, Buner and LioniShangla. After that 58 MHP plant were
installed with technical and machinery support of PCAT to different communities. All
installed MHP plants were runoff river type that mean that in these plants the water is used
at a rate no greater than that which run downs the river. Till 1999 the project electrified
11,550 household due to the installed 228 MHP plants of 3MW total power. In 1982 on the
base of Aga khan rural support program (AKRSP) for village organizations 28 micro-hydro
power systems were installed, 6 micro-hydro power plant were designed and installed in the
northern Pakistan i.e. Gilgit.
During the last years Pakistan council of appropriate technology (PCAT) installed
more than 200 systems with a total power of around 3MW. The turbine were designed and
manufactured in Pakistan whereas the generators were imported from China.
Following figures depict some of the previous Work on Micro-hydro Power plant:

3. Final Year Project
Need Analysis
Energy is considered to be life line of any economy and most vital instrument of
socioeconomic development of a country. Energy is pivotal in running machinery in factories
and industrial units, for lighting our cities and powering our vehicles etc. There has been an
enormous increase in the demand of energy as a result of industrial development and
population growth, in comparison to enhancement in energy production. Supply of energy is,
therefore, far less than the actual demand, resultantly crisis has emerged. An energy crisis can
be defined as any great bottleneck (or price rise) in the supply of energy resources to an
economy.
Conclusion:
Energy Crisis has, more or less, plagued all sectors of Pakistan’s machinery ranging
from economy to industry, agriculture to social life, inflation to poverty and it is hampering
national progress in a drastic manner. Nonetheless, menace of energy crisis can be
overwhelmed by government through making effective policies and its proactive
implementation. Simultaneously, it is the responsibility of us, the people of Pakistan, to
utilize the available energy astutely and wisely to play our due role for progress of the
country.
Project Objectives
 To study the literature of micro-hydro power plant.
 To study the literature of water wheels.
 Analytical calculations of power generated from water flow.

4. Final Year Project
 To design and optimize water wheel and catamaran.
 To check the strength of structure using ANSYS.