Edessa, Dribssa (PhD)Tilahun, Nigussie2020-12-012023-11-182020-12-012023-11-182018-12http://etd.aau.edu.et/handle/12345678/23756In areas where the supply of grid power is very difficult, utilisation of Micro hydro-power as renewable energy source is of great concern now a-days to eliminat extreme poverty around the world. These schemes can provide environmentally sustainable electricity and mechanical power to rural communities. For this purpose, selected types of micro hydro turbines need to be designed and developed depending up on the site locations. Thus, considering the potential of hydropower generation in Ethiopia, this research addresses the design, optimization, local manufacturing, and experimental test of a model of micro hydro Pelton turbine for one of the selected potential site (Indris River) in South West Shewa of Ethiopia to meet the requirements of the energy demands of the nearby village as a case study. Initially, the geometries to be compared (baseline design of the turbine) were done with the design guide lines and tested by developing numerical model using commercial CFD. Considerations are taken in designing the turbine with an effective post life recycling scheme in mind so that there will be minimum wastage of resources once the turbine is made redundant. CFD simulations using ANSYS-CFX were conducted, to optimize further the bucket shape in order to get a cost effective runner design. Additionally, consequences of variation in each design parameter were evaluated from the baseline design. The result of the study proposes some modifications in the baseline design. Through the analysis, a weight reduction of around 7.6% is achieved due to the modified runner design. Moreover, CFD was predicting a 3.9 % improvement of hydraulic efficiency. The optimization of number of buckets, length, depth and shape of the lip curve are the main design parameters for the achieved improvement in efficiency. It is then checked for structural safety with a more accurate method using ANSYS. At a later stage, the model was experimentally tested at the AAIT Lab to have a tangible confirmation of efficiency at variable operational conditions. The experimental results confirmed a 2.8% improvement in efficiency. This prediction was validated for the modified runner design used in the simulation using the same head and flow rate conditions as for the baseline design. Overall, the comparative results with CFD were satisfactory and in line with the theory, and verifying the turbine model design effectiveness which will be useful for implementation of rural electrification projects.en-USRural Electrificationbucket geometryhydro turbinePelton TurbineNumerical ModelingComputational Fluid DynamicsoptimizedExperimental TestingThesis