Utilizing Simulation-Driven Finite Element Analysis for Optimal Propeller Design of a 1kW Pico- Hydroelectric Turbine

More than 1 billion people worldwide do not have access to electricity, mostly from rural areas. The rural people are mostly poor and depend highly on agriculture for their livelihood. The pico-hydroelectric turbine is one of the best solutions for rural electrification, as it is the smallest and cheapest type of turbine. However, this research found that Pico-hydroelectric turbines can be improved in weight, structural integrity, and cost to benefit the rural community further. This research aims to improve the propeller design of the lkW Pico-hydroelectric turbine using Finite Element Analysis (FEA). Several modifications were made to the propeller's blade and hub before a Computer Aided Drawing (CAD) model was developed using Solidworks software. An analytical solution was employed to derive load and boundary conditions required as inputs for simulation. A Finite Element (FE) model was then developed from the CAD model using ANSYS mech software before FEA was conducted to analyze the effect of geometry on structural integrity. In the structural analysis, the result of the improved propeller design shows a considerable reduction in the overall weight, total deformation, and stress compared with the original design of the propeller by 34%, 68.7%, and 53%, respectively.