Drainage water doesn’t go waste here

School girls in Kalitheerthalkuppam village develop micro generator and produce power

Curious minds: T. Mithra and K. Sharani Priya of Government Primary School in Kalitheerthalkuppam village carry out an experiment to generate power from fast flowing drainage water in Puducherry.

When electricity could be generated from fast flowing water, why not from fast flowing drainage water? The students of the Government Primary School in Kalitheerthalkuppam village, Puducherry, have developed a micro power generator that could generate power from drainage water.

During one of their routine visits to the Puducherry Science Centre and Planetarium in September, students and teachers of this school had noticed drainage water flowing fast near the Kurunji Nagar Modern Park, adjoining St Joseph of Cluny School.

T.Mithra and K.Sharani Priya, both studying in Class V, along with their teachers S.Indra and Priyadharshini visited the same place again in October to experiment with their idea.

Humble background

Curious minds: T. Mithra and K. Sharani Priya of Government Primary School in Kalitheerthalkuppam village carrying out experiment to generate power from fast flowing drainage water in Puducherry.

 

Wearing mask and hand gloves, the girls belonging toa humble background, first measured the breadth and depth of the drainage and noted the speed of the water flow. “It was about 23 cm wide and 9 cm depth. They calculated the speed of the flowing water by throwing a piece of paper in the water and noted the seconds it travelled to cover 5 meter distance. It was found that the average speed of the water was about 30 km per hour approximately,’’ said Mithra. She added that a 3-inch radius turbine was made. “Each blade in the turbine was bent 45 degree which makes the turbine to rotate faster. The turbine was connected to a 100 rpm gear motor. When the turbine rotates one time, the copper coil inside the motor rotates for 100 times and produce electricity,” Sharani Priya said.

Adjustable stand

The students made an adjustable stand to half sink the turbine so that the stand could align the turbine for better rotation. The equipment was installed on the platform.

Curious minds: T. Mithra and K. Sharani Priya of Government Primary School in Kalitheerthalkuppam village carrying out experiment to generate power from fast flowing drainage water in Puducherry.

 

The power generated by the motor was calculated at equal interval from morning 6 a.m. to night 10 p.m. and they recorded that the power generated by the motor on an average was between 8v to 9v.

“Using this power, we can charge our cell phones, glow LED lights and even play radio,” said Ms. Priyadharshini, adding that the power generated could also be saved in battery. “We can produce power easily at a low cost even from the drainage water. Nothing is waste, unless we make a way to make it useful,” she added With their experiment succeeding, the girls are planning to instal a LED street light in Lawspet as part of their pilot study.