Experimental study on a hydraulic power generator with floating turbine

A novel hydraulic power generator is proposed, in which a waterwheel turbine is floated partially on the water surface. The water stream profile in waterway is analyzed using ANSYS. Two small test machines are designed and made. One is equipped with a belt-driven dynamo and other is with a built-in dynamo. Their running performance is examined in a river test. The test result proves that both test machines operate well. The maximum output power of 2~3[W] was generated and three LEDs of 1[W] succeeded in simultaneous lighting. The running performance was not good contrary to expectation for the built-in dynamo test machine. It has to be improved to make the proposed power generator practical useful machine.