INVESTIGTORY PROJECT

THE INNOVATIVE MICRO-HYDROELECTRIC GENERATOR

Researchers:

Karl Russel Camasis

Marimar Hollon

Mary Elaine Paler

Annablle Pido

Kryzz Aubrey Remolona

Arjolina Rollan

John Jake Tabuzo

Anne Victoria Taladtad

Frizel Villasis

GOLDEN LINK COLLEGE

Waling-waling St. along Doña Aurora St. Camarin, Brgy.177, Caloocan city

Ms. Maryann Banggos

4th Year High school

 ABSTRACT

This researchers’ machine tells about the alternative way to use a recycled materials that

can be find in your own home. This is an innovative micro-hydroelectric generator that can be

used as a machine that gives you small amount of electricity by the use of a running water or

giving an energy to move the turbines. As well as the Big Machine that used in Rivers and falls

that can produced more electricity than this Prototype machine generator, the researchers saw

this kind of small generator that can be enhanced more in the example given by them. This

machine can convert the friction of the coils and the magnets into electricity that’s why it can

produced electricity because of the magnets.

The problems that are related in this Investigatory Project are the following:

1. The machine can’t able to produce high amount of electricity.

2. The only thing that can move the turbines is just running water.
3. The magnets are too heavy ordinary sticks can’t hold it as long as it can.

Hypothesis of the following problems:

1. It’s just simple problem because when the magnets are continuously rotating in the

coils the electricity can be gain high amount but it’s will just slowly producing

electricity.
2. Actually there’s two ways to move the turbines. First by the help of water, second is

by the use of exerting effort to move the whole stick also the turbines.
3. The researchers already think an idea to prevent breaking the machine the stick

should be an aluminium or metal that can carry the disk of magnets.

 This Investigatory Project is all about a machine that can generates electricity by the help

of magnets. Actually this machine can light a small LED but there’s a limitation when this

machine is producing electricity. Electricity that the machine produces is just in low amount only

but the researcher’s main task here to prove that this own made machine can produce electricity.

Magnets and Coils are the ones who making the electricity in this kind of machine because the

researchers want a machine that can produce electricity by not using any batteries or any man-

made electronics that can give power to have electricity.

CHAPTER I
 INTRODUCTION

“Water is a source of life”. It’s true, we can live a day without food in a dessert but just

lose hope to live without water. Think about the different ways you use water. You drink water

when you are thirsty. You take a bath and wash your clothes with water. You water the grass or

other plants. You swim in water and water pouring over huge dams may even make electricity

that light up your home. Water is everywhere and we are lucky to have it. But unfortunately, too

much is bad. We experienced floods, landslides and thousands of lives were taken away because

of water. It is important to give value and to use water moderately, because we might not know,

maybe someday, our surroundings cannot produce water anymore and we know, that no living

thing in this planet can live without it. We must not abuse the use of water and we must be

intelligent in using it.

Making use of water as a source of electricity is one of the intelligent way to make water

more worthy. Hydroelectricity is referred to electricity which is generated by hydropower or

commonly known as water. They only use water to produce electricity, to use appliances and

things which can make work out of electricity. The researchers were able to produce a micro-

hydroelectric generator, which can produce electricity by water, the researchers believed that

some of them families here in the Philippines, mainly, Metro Manila have difficulties in paying

high rate of electric bills in MERALCO.

As a student, the researchers wanted to help those families and make change even we are

only at this age.

Problem Statement
 1. What are the ways to reduce your high electric bills?
2. What alternatives can we use if there is no electric supply from MERALCO?
3. Where can we found a generator at a low price?

Hypothesis

Some of us are obviously experiencing financial problems, and because of that, we cannot

fulfill the things we need to pay just like electric bills. That is why a lot of families now are

facing life without light at their home. Other families don’t need more appliances but a single

light can guide them through darkness. The researchers thought of this project to at least, help

those families without any financial involvement. This is to make their life easily as well as

happily without minding paying those things.

Objectives

The objective of this project is to produce electricity without depending on our usual

electric sources and to use this thing as an alternative way if there is no electric supply. If this

will no more be a micro-generator, if the researchers will have a chance to produce this thing for

production, we can sell it at a low price. But the most important objective of this project is to

help those families who are suffering from darkness without a light guiding them at their home.

Significance of the Study

 This innovative micro-hydroelectric generator has a lot of uses especially during

emergency matter. Like if there’s an unexpected loss of electric supply, they can use this one.

This is also an alternative solution if you planned to reduce your high rate of electric bills.

Another is, this project is very affordable, it is made out of things which we can see at home or

simply, this project is made out of recycled materials.

Scope and Limitation

Our project cannot further make high electricity to supply our home appliances. It can only

be used to those things that has only small amount of electricity required to make it work. That is

why it is only called micro-hydroelectric generator, but at least, we can prove that we can

produce small amount of electricity. The reason is, we can’t produce more expensive materials to

make this project bigger. But, the researchers believed that, as time goes by, we will be able to

produce and to make a generator as a source of electricity at your home.

Definition of Terms

Generator – a device for producing electricity

Hydroelectric – generated by water power

MERALCO – a company which supplies electricity

Alternative – possibility of choosing

CHAPTER 2
 REVIEW OF LITERATURE

These are the following articles and some knowledge about the machine that the

researchers made:

Magnet

A Magnet is a material or object that produces a magnetic field. This magnetic field is

invisible but is responsible for the most notable property of a magnet: a force that pulls on

other ferromagnetic materials, such as iron, and attracts or repels other magnets. A permanent

magnet is an object made from a material that is magnetized and creates its own persistent

magnetic field. An everyday example is a refrigerator magnet used to hold notes on a refrigerator

door. Materials that can be magnetized, which are also the ones that are strongly attracted to a

magnet, are called ferromagnetic (or ferrimagnetic). These include iron, nickel, cobalt, some

alloys of rare earth metals, and some naturally occurring minerals such as lodestone. Although

ferromagnetic (and ferrimagnetic) materials are the only ones attracted to a magnet strongly

enough to be commonly considered magnetic, all other substances respond weakly to a magnetic

field, by one of several other types of magnetism.

Ferromagnetic materials can be divided into magnetically "soft" materials

like annealed iron, which can be magnetized but do not tend to stay magnetized, and

magnetically "hard" materials, which do. Permanent magnets are made from "hard"

ferromagnetic materials such as alnico and ferrite that are subjected to special processing in a

powerful magnetic field during manufacture, to align their internal microcrystalline structure,

making them very hard to demagnetize. To demagnetize a saturated magnet, a certain magnetic
field must be applied, and this threshold depends on coercivity of the respective material. "Hard"

materials have high coercivity, whereas "soft" materials have low coercivity.

An electromagnet is made from a coil of wire that acts as a magnet when an electric

current passes through it but stops being a magnet when the current stops. Often, the coil is

wrapped around a core of "soft" ferromagnetic material such as steel, which greatly enhances the

magnetic field produced by the coil.

Electromagnetism
The electromagnetic force is one of the four fundamental interactions in nature, the other three

being the strong interaction, the weak interaction, and gravitation. This force is described

by electromagnetic fields, and has innumerable physical instances including the interaction

of electrically charged particles and the interaction of uncharged magnetic force fields with

electrical conductors.

The word electromagnetism is a compound form "amber", and, "magnet". The science of

electromagnetic phenomena is defined in terms of the electromagnetic force, sometimes called

the Lorentz force, which includes both electricity and magnetism as elements of one

phenomenon.

The electromagnetic force is the interaction responsible for almost all the phenomena

encountered in daily life, with the exception of gravity. Ordinary matter takes its form as a result

of intermolecular forces between individual molecules in matter. Electrons are bound by

electromagnetic wave mechanics into orbitals around atomic nuclei to form atoms, which are the

building blocks of molecules. This governs the processes involved in chemistry, which arise

from interactions between the electrons of neighboring atoms, which are in turn determined by

the interaction between electromagnetic force and the momentum of the electrons.

There are numerous mathematical descriptions of the electromagnetic field. In classical

electrodynamics, electric fields are described as electric potential and electric current in Ohm's

law, magnetic fields are associated with electromagnetic induction and magnetism,

and Maxwell's equations describe how electric and magnetic fields are generated and altered by

each other and by charges and currents.

The theoretical implications of electromagnetism, in particular the establishment of the speed of

light based on properties of the "medium" of propagation (permeability and permittivity), led to

the development of special relativity by Albert Einstein in 1905.

Magnetic field

A magnetic field is a mathematical description of the magnetic influence of electric

currents and magnetic materials. The magnetic field at any given point is specified by both

a direction and a magnitude (or strength); as such it is a vector field. The term is used for two

distinct but closely related fields denoted by the symbols B and H. B refer to magnetic flux

density, and H to magnetic field strength. Magnetic flux density is most commonly defined in

terms of the Lorentz force it exerts on moving electric charges.

Magnetic fields are produced by moving electric charges and the intrinsic magnetic moments

of elementary particles associated with a fundamental quantum property, their spin. In special

relativity, electric and magnetic fields are two interrelated aspects of a single object, called

the electromagnetic tensor; the split of this tensor into electric and magnetic fields depends on

the relative velocity of the observer and charge. In quantum physics, the electromagnetic field is

quantized and electromagnetic interactions result from the exchange of photons.

In everyday life, magnetic fields are most often encountered as an invisible force created

by permanent magnets which pulls on iron objects and attracts or repels other magnets. Magnetic

fields are very widely used throughout modern technology, particularly in electrical

engineering and electro-mechanics. The Earth produces its own magnetic field, which is

important in navigation. Rotating magnetic fields are used in both electric motors and generators.
Magnetic forces give information about the charge carriers in a material through the Hall Effect.

The interaction of magnetic fields in electric devices such as transformers is studied in the

discipline of magnetic circuits.

Rotating magnets create energy

Keith Welch, Radiological Controls Group

The first law of thermodynamics is that matter/energy cannot be "created" or destroyed.

We can convert energy from one form to another. For instance, in a car, we convert chemical

energy (actually the binding energy of electrons) to heat, which in turn is converted to kinetic

energy (motion).

Your question has a similar answer. When you rotate a magnet, you are using kinetic energy to

move it. This kinetic energy can be converted to electrical energy by taking advantage of the

properties of electromagnetism. Since you can't "create" energy, the amount of electrical energy

produced will always be the same or less than the amount of energy you put in. Actually, it can't

be exactly the same, because there is always at least some energy converted to heat by friction.

This wasted energy results in an energy conversion "efficiency" which is less than 100%. The

classic application of your example is the electric generator.

One of the most useful and beautifully symmetric principles in physics is the connection between

electricity and magnetism. This connection can be described like this. Electrons feel the force

exerted by a magnetic field. This is because electrons behave like tiny magnets, with North and

South poles. So a magnetic field will have an effect on electrons in that field. If the field moves,

the electrons in it will try to move. Conversely, if we have electrons in motion (electric current in
a wire, for instance), these moving charges exert a magnetic force (because of their magnet-like

property). So, if you glue a magnet onto an axle, and turn the axle, you create a spinning

magnetic field. Place a length of wire around the spinning magnet, and an electric current

(moving electrons) will occur in the wire. This is called induction. If you wrap the wire multiple

times around, you increase the amount of current induced. You can verify this if you have a very

sensitive ammeter to measure the current with. Now we can also take a length of wire and coil it

up, then run electric current through it. Because of the magnetic properties of electrons, this coil

becomes an electromagnet. And we could go even further. Take that electromagnet, and spin it

(we'll use something called 'slip rings' to keep our wires from twisting up), and you have another

spinning magnetic field from which you can induce electricity.

The next thing we'd have to talk about is the idea of direct and alternating current, which we

don't have room for here. But there are plenty of good web sites where you can get more

information on this topic. Here are some I've come across: AC Alternator, Generators and

Magnetism.
Magnetism

Tanya Lewis, Live Science Staff Writer

Magnetism refers to physical phenomena arising from the force between magnets, objects that

produce fields that attract or repel other objects.

All materials experience magnetism, some more strongly than others. Permanent magnets, made

from materials such as iron, experience the strongest effects, known as ferromagnetism. This is

the only form of magnetism strong enough to be felt by people.

Then there's paramagnetism, in which certain materials are attracted by a magnetic field, and

diamagnetism, in which materials are repelled by a magnetic field. Other, more complex, forms

include antiferromagnetism, in which the magnetic properties of atoms or molecules align next to

each other; and spin glass behavior, which involve both ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic

interactions.

Some materials are called non-magnetic, because their magnetic effects are so small. Magnetism

can also vary depending on temperature and other factors.

Magnetic fields

A magnetic field is a way of mathematically describing how magnetic materials and electric

currents interact. Magnetic fields have both a direction and a magnitude, or strength. Magnets

have a "north" pole and a "south" pole. Opposite poles attract each other and alike poles repel

each other. These poles are referred to as a magnetic dipole. Magnetic dipoles and electric

currents both give rise to magnetic fields.

Magnetic force

Magnetic fields exert a force on particles in the field, called the Lorentz force. The motion of

electrically charged particles gives rise to magnetism. The magnetic force acting on a single

electric charge depends on the size of the charge, its speed, and the strengths of the electric and

magnetic fields.

Electricity and magnetism

Both electric and magnetic interactions are elements of a single phenomenon called

electromagnetism. There are four fundamental forces: the strong force, the weak

force, gravitation and the electromagnetic force. The field of electromagnetism deals with how

electrically charged particles interact with each other and with magnetic fields.

James Clerk Maxwell developed a unified theory of electromagnetism in 1873. There are four

main electromagnetic interactions:

 The force of attraction or repulsion between electric charges is inversely proportional to

the square of the distance between them.

 A magnetic pole comes in pairs that attract and repel each other much as electric charges

do.

 An electric current in a wire produces a magnetic field whose direction depends on the

direction of the current.

 A moving electric field produces a magnetic field, and vice versa.

Maxwell developed a set of formulas, called Maxwell's equations, to describe these phenomena.
Electric current
An electric current is a flow of electric charge. Electric charge flows when there

is voltage present across a conductor.

In electric circuits this charge is often carried by moving electrons in a wire. It can also be

carried by ions in an electrolyte, or by both ions and electrons such as in plasma.

The SI unit for measuring an electric current is the ampere, which is the flow of electric charges

through a surface at the rate of one coulomb per second. Electric current can be measured using

an ammeter.

Electric currents cause many effects, notably heating, but also induce magnetic fields, which are

widely used for motors, inductors and generators.

A flow of positive charges gives the same electric current, and has the same effect in a circuit, as

an equal flow of negative charges in the opposite direction. Since current can be the flow of

either positive or negative charges, or both, a convention for the direction of current which is

independent of the type of charge carriers is needed. The direction of conventional current is

defined arbitrarily to be the direction of the flow of positive charges.

In metals, which make up the wires and other conductors in most electrical circuits, the positive

charges are immobile, and the charge carriers are electrons. Because the electron carries negative

charge, the electron motion in a metal conductor is in the direction opposite to that of

conventional (or electric) current.

When analyzing electrical circuits, the actual direction of current through a specific circuit

element is usually unknown. Consequently, each circuit element is assigned a current variable

with an arbitrarily chosen reference direction. This is usually indicated on the circuit diagram
with an arrow next to the current variable. When the circuit is solved, the circuit element currents

may have positive or negative values. A negative value means that the actual direction of current

through that circuit element is opposite that of the chosen reference direction. In electronic

circuits, the reference current directions are often chosen so that all currents are toward ground.

This often matches conventional current direction, because in many circuits the power

supply voltage is positive with respect to ground.

 CHAPTER 3

METHODOLOGY

These chapter consist of step by step procedure how to make the Micro-Hydroelectric

generator and you can make it using some recycled materials that can be seen everywhere.

Things that are needed in this kind of project:

 4 Neodymium magnets  Coils or Electrical wires

 Illustration board  Super Glue
 CD’s  LED
 Stainless tube  Aluminium vessel
 Drilling with bit  Cork
 Sand Paper  Stainless spoon

Procedure:

Look up the small-scale hydroelectric generator on Re-energy, and download the

templates for the electrical generator. Glue them to a piece of stiff cardboard, and cut them out

with the utility knife so they're precise. Cut a hole 1/2 inch in diameter in the exact center of the

rotor disk.

Wrap your coils by winding the wires about 1000 times and secure them to the template

with a piece of electrical tape on each side. The template shows how they should be laid out.
Leave leads on each coil of about 5 inches. Sandpaper 1/2 inch of the end of each lead until the

enamel comes off and the wire is bared. Twist the bare ends together as shown on the template,

and cover the connections with electrical tape. Leave the indicated wires loose.

Connect your loose lead wires to your multi-meter to check the connections. If they're

connected properly, the reading is 10 ohms or lower. If it's any higher, repeat Steps 2 and 3. Hot

glue the coils to the template. Cut four slits on it, and make sure the slits penetrate the cardboard.

This is your stator disk.

Find the north and south sides of four magnets using a compass, and mark them with a

felt-tipped pen. Put a hot glue and their washers to the rotor disk according to the template.

Drill a hole through the center of the cork. Use a bit the same size as your dowel. Mark

the cork with the marking guide on the template. Cut slits in the cork on each of the marks with

the utility knife. Cut the handles off each spoon, leaving about 1/2 inch on the bowl of each. Push

the handle remaining on each of the spoons into the cork so each of the bowls faces the same

direction. Glue them in place with the hot glue gun.

6
 Cut the bottom off a 1-gallon oil jug, and remove any labels from it. Drill a hole through

the plastic at the center of both broad sides of the jug. Make four slits that correspond with the

slits on the stator disk. Fasten the stator disk to the side of the jug with the paper fasteners. Cut

the vinyl tubing, which has an inside diameter the same as the dowel, in half.

Place the turbine in the jug with the spoons facing the neck. Push the 8-inch dowel

through one side of the jug and then the cork. Push it through one length of the vinyl tubing and

out the other side of the jug through the hole in the stator disk. Slide the other length of vinyl

tube onto the dowel on the outside of the stator disk. Place the rotor disk on the dowel with the

magnets facing the coils. Make sure the magnets don't hit the coils when the disk spins. Hot glue

the dowel to the outside of the rotor disk. Run water through the neck of the jug and watch the

amount of power production on the multi-meter.

CHAPTER 4

DATA AND RESULTS

 This chapter will present you the data that the researchers have been collected ever since

they planned this kind of machine and until they finished the main product that presented in front

of you.

The plan and the time have been accomplished:

DATE, PLANS & PLACES ACCOMPLISHED DATE

 Planning the concept of the

 It have been accomplished when the
Investigatory Project.
researchers told it to their Physics
 Frizel’s House
 It’s on Sept. 08 2013 Teacher when Monday comes.
(Sept. 09, 2013)
(Afternoon)

 Discussing the Investigatory project

 It have been accomplished on the end
inside the classroom (Sept. 09 2013,
of that discussion.
Break-time)

 Giving the Money must be used in this

 It have been accomplished when the
project. Date announced in our group-
Friday comes. (Sept. 13, 2013)
mates. (Sept. 10, 2013)

 Making the written report of our

 It have been accomplished when it is
Investigatory Project. (Sept. 13, 2013,
Sunday. (Sept. 15, 2013)
Afternoon)

DATE, PLANS & PLACES ACCOMPLISHED DATE

  The first trial have been gone to failure
 Making the product. First trial
the loop of coils didn’t follow
(November 04-07, 2013)
accurately. (November 08, 2013)

 Planned the materials needed and the

 nd
Planning the 2 trial in the house of
date must do it. (November 11, 2013)
Frizel (November 08, 2013) afternoon

 Making the product. Second trial  Making the product as a group and Jake
(November 21, 2013) afternoon to continue it until midnight in their
midnight (House of frizel) house. (November 22, 2013)

 Planned that we will up build for an

aluminium vessel in a store of
 It have been received exactly
aluminium. Then contribution, went to
(November 25, 2013) lunch.
the store up build the vessel.
(November 23-24, 2013)

 It have been accomplished at the time

 Finished the final product.
(November 26, 2013)
of 12 midnight.

This is the contributions of the members in this Project:

 Name Contributions

Karl Camasis Contributed money only

One of the person who made the written report,

Marimar Hollon attending in events that we planned and
contributed money.

One of the person who attends the planned

Mary Elaine Paler
events

One of the person who attends the planned

Annabelle Pido
events

Kryzz Aubrey Remolona Have been effort too much in this project

One of the person who made the written report,

Arjolina Rollan attending in events that we planned and
contributed money.
One of the person who made the written report,
attending in events that we planned,
John Jake Tabuzo
contributed money and make an effort to finish
this Project regards on machine.

One of the person who attends the planned

Anne Victoria Taladtad
events and contributed money

One of the person who made the written report,

Frizel Villasis
and attending in events that we planned.
EXPENSES

Materials Price

Aluminium Vessel Php. 350

Neodymium Magnets 4 pcs. Php. 40

Cork 6 pcs. Php. 60

Stainless Spoons 6 pcs. Php. FREE

Compass 2 pcs. Php. 20

Illustration Board ¼ Php. FREE

TOTAL AMOUNT: = Php. 470

CHAPTER 5

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

Conclusion

The researchers therefore conclude that this project can be a better way to use not just an

alternative but to use as a source of electricity at your home. This project was just made out of

recycled materials, but recycled materials can produce a new product which can help our

community by making this project happen. But, as what the researchers have said, this project

can only produce small amount of electricity for this time.

Recommendation

The researchers recommend this project to those people who are willing to support this

project and who are willing to produce this one to help our community. This is not a usual

generator, the researchers make it more different and it is cheaper than the usual generator. This

project is effective. To those people who are experiencing financial problem I paying electric

bills, we recommend this to you. Whenever we are experiencing floods and of course whenever

there is a flood, we also don’t have electric supply. We can use this generator for the evacuation

centers to make their life more easily. Maybe someday, we are not already depending on our

electric supply from different companies.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
These are the following web-sites have been used:

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnets
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetism
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_field
 http://education.jlab.org/qa/createenergy_02.html
 http://www.livescience.com/38059-magnetism.html
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_current