How Does Water Height Affect the Output of a Turbine?
Researched by Aaron E. 2001-02	PURPOSE  HYPOTHESIS  EXPERIMENT DESIGN  MATERIALS  PROCEDURES  RESULTS  CONCLUSION  RESEARCH REPORT  BIBLIOGRAPHY  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS  ABOUT THE RESEARCHER

The purpose of this experiment was to determine how the water level height affects energy a turbine creates.

I became interested in this idea when I kept seeing the differences in height on a dam. I wondered if the height made a difference in how much energy it created.

The information gained from this experiment will help engineers that build dams to choose how high to build the dam. It will also help cut down on the need for fossil fuel by creating more hydro energy.

My hypothesis was that the higher the water level is, the more volts the generator would create from the turbine.

I base my hypothesis on a graph I found online. The graph showed that the higher the water is the more energy it creates. The graph was at <http://www.tamar.com.au/turb-pw.htm>.

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The constants in this study were: 

•  The amount of time the water is released.
• The size of the PVC pipe (1.83 m x 15.24 cm).
• The turbine that is used.
• The kind of water.
• How the electrical output is measured (milli voltmeter).

The manipulated variable was what height the water level was when the water was released. There were 5 heights.

The responding variable is the amount of electricity that was created by the turbine. A turbine that spins and turns the generator creates the energy.

To measure the responding variable I used a milli-voltmeter. The generator would spin and put out electricity that was counted by the milli voltmeter.

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A: How to make the water column
1. First you need to collect your materials.
2. Attach the extender with the spout out the side to the bottom of the PVC.
3. Put the extender to the spout and then plug it with the screw.
4. Drill a hole through the top of the screw.
5. Plug that hole with a rubber stopper.
6. Measure with the yardstick 25.4 cm, 50.8 cm, 76.2 cm, 101.6 cm, and 127 cm up above the hole in the bottom.
7. Draw a line on the PVC where each of the measurements was with a permanent pen.
8. Make one circle about the size of the rubber stoppers on each of the lines. The bottom of the circle should be on the line.
9. Cut out all the circles with razor knife.
10. Plug each hole up with the rubber stoppers, except for one. 
11. Once you've finished up the PVC pipe start making the turbine.
B: How to make the turbine
1.   To make the turbine you need to collect the materials for it.
2. Run one piece of plastic along on the cork in 8 different places, going horizontal on the cork.
3. Put super glue in the creases, and then fit blades on the creases.
4. Let the blades dry on the cork.
5. Glue the turbine to the generator with rubber cement.
6. Put the ends of the wire connectors on the turbine wires.
7. Connect the alligator clips to the wires on the mill voltmeter. 
8. Put the wires on the turbine in the alligator clips. 
C: How to set-up experiment
1 Once you have finished making the PVC and turbine, put the PVC in the bathtub.
2 Make sure the holes in the PVC are plugged really well.
3 Start filling the PVC up with water, with the hose.
4 You will know when it is at the level you want when water starts coming out the hole that is opened.
5 Put the turbine in front of the bottom hole were the water would be coming out.
6 Secure the turbine by supporting it with wood blocks.
7 Tape the turbine down to it.
8 Run the wire from the generator up the bath wall.
9 Put electrical tape over the wire.
10 Put the mill voltmeter on the ground.
11 Turn the mill voltmeter on.
12 Set it on to measure volts.
13 Set the egg timer for 5 minutes.
D: How to conduct experiment
1 Keep the hose running.
2 Open the hole in front of the turbine.
3 When the egg timer goes off, plug the hole up with the rubber stopper.
4 Look at the mill voltmeter to see how many watts it has created.
5 Record the information.
6 Repeat steps D: 1-6 until you have done all the heights 4 times.

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The original purpose of this experiment was to determine how the water level affects how much energy a turbine creates. 

The results of the experiment were that at the height of 127 centimeters there was 0.022 volts created, which was, much more than all the other heights. At the lowest height of 25.4 centimeters it made an average of 0.010 volts. That was a lot less than all the other heights.

See Data and Graphs

My hypothesis was that the higher the water level is, the more volts the generator will create from the turbine.

The results indicate that this hypothesis should be accepted.

Because of the results of this experiment, I wonder if a different turbine assembly would change the outcome. I also wonder if the farther away from the water head the turbine is changes the amount of output of energy.

If I were to conduct this project again I would do more trials. I would have also tried using more heights rather than just 5. I would have also found a different way to measure the output of energy. I would have also changed the design of the turbine.

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Research Report Intro Energy is a need for humans in their every day life, because it is used for almost everything they do. Across the globe humans use an enormous amount of electricity. If we can find a more efficient way of creating energy we wouldn't have to worry about shortages for a long time. We also wouldn't have to worry about depletion and pollution from fossil fuels. Energy can keep us warm and cook our food. Energy is a key thing in our lives. What Energy from Water is Energy from water is called hydroelectric energy. A water turbine that spins a generator usually creates the energy. The fall of the water usually spins a turbine, which powers a generator. There are not very many places where water power plants can create energy from water. This is because if people build dams, the land behind the dam is flooded and can no longer be used for animals or farming. Also dams block salmon runs. The dams sometimes kill the fish even though they have fish runways on the dam. Water Energy There are very many ways to use water to make electricity, you could use a dam, or use ocean waves to create the energy. Hydropower is a good way because 70% of our earth is made up of water, and it keeps regenerating itself. It is also non-polluting. Water is very easy to access. Ocean Thermal Energy The ocean is the largest solar collector in the world. We can construct devices that can take the heat from ocean to create energy. Scientists say that ocean thermal energy is the biggest source to create energy from. One way they use this method is by pumping hot water through a tube that is sprayed with liquid ammonia. When the water evaporates, the ammonia goes with it. The steam mixed with ammonia goes through a turbine. The steam is heavy enough to spin the turbine because it is much heavier. Once the steam spins the turbine, the turbine powers a generator. The steam then goes into a pool of cold water that was pumped up from about 50 to 100 ft below sea level. The steam is then turned back to water and cooled. Then pumped back out to the ocean.  Tidal Power Tidal power is a way to generate power by taking advantage of the rising and falling of the waves. It is probably one of the easiest of all ways to create energy from water. To do this, sometimes they could make a reservoir on an ocean shore. Then they can put a dam in front of it with a gate that opens. When the tide comes up to high tide they open the gates and let the reservoir fill up. When the water level is starting to go down to low tide they close the gates. When the water is all the way down at low tide they open a gate that has a turbine in it. The water goes through the gate with the turbine. The turbine is spun by the water and powers a generator.     Water Column A water column is something that has water in an upright structure. The water can be filled up as high as the structure is. The water can be let out through the bottom of the structure. The higher the water surface is above the outlet, the more pressure the water has. Problems and Benefits of Water Energy Energy created by water costs a lot to produce because of the price to build dams and build generators. The outstanding prices would last for 10-20 years, and then the prices would start going down. It would also be hard to create strong enough structures that could withstand the ocean waves, wind, and weather without paying outrageous prices to create them. A good thing is it would slow down the need for fossil fuels to generate power.  Definition of Energy The definition of energy is " The ability to do work." Energy can be in light, electricity, thermal, nuclear.  There are two types of energy, kinetic, and potential. Kinetic energy is moving or active energy. Kinetic energy is like a speeding bullet. Potential energy is when a thing has stored up energy but is not being used up. Potential energy is turned to kinetic when the energy from the potential energy is released.  A Human Need Energy is a human need; it keeps our lives going. It can keep us cool and warm when we need. Energy also can get us from place to place in little time. It can store our food in freezers, or cook it to eat. Energy can help us do almost anything we want. Steam Power One way to make energy is by using steam. Most of the steam engines were used in trains. They were usually used in the early 1900’s. The engine could be run by steam from coal or anything else that could create steam. Another way to create steam and electricity is to use fossil fuel. Fossil fuel is coal, oil, and gasoline. You can take fossil fuels from the earth by pumping it, or mining it out of the earth. There is a very limited supply of fossil fuels. Fossil fuels will run out some day because of over-use. Fossil fuel is our main source of energy today, but it creates lots of pollution. Wind Power Energy is made from the wind by spinning propellers. The blade spinning in the wind turns a turbine that creates electricity through a generator. Wind power is a very productive way to make electricity. It also doesn't pollute the air. Unfortunately you would need an area where there is a lot of wind all the time. Summary A turning hydro turbine makes energy from water. The turbine has water running over it, which powers a generator that creates energy. There are other ways of making energy from water without water running over it. You could use steam from evaporated water to run through a turbine, which creates energy by turning a generator. Energy from water can be a very productive, and non-polluting, but expensive way of making energy. Top of page

BIBLIOGRAPHY Benford, Gregory."Energy." World Book Encyclopedia. 1999  Davidson, Bonny, and Meuler, Rita Vander. " Energy, Work, and Power." World Book Encyclopedia of Science, Physics 1997 Liu, Phillip, "Waves." World Book Encyclopedia. 1999   "Ocean Energy Basics." < www.eren.doe.gov/re/ocean_basics.html> Melia, Suzanne. Energy. New York, NY: 21st Century Books 1994 "Ocean Energy." < www.energy.ca.gov/education/story/chapter8.html> "Ocean Thermal Energy." < www.nrel.gov/lab/pao/ocean_energy. html> "Power from Water." < www.tamar.com.au/turb-pw.html> Rennka, Lance.  " Ocean Thermal Energy Conservation." Academic American Encyclopedia 1998  Smith, Miranda. Machines and How They Work. New York, NY: Dorling Kindersley Inc 1991 Pg. 14-15 "Wave Energy." < www.acre.murdoch.edu.au/refiles/wave/text.html>

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to thank the following people. Without their help my project would not have been possible.

• My Mom and Dad for getting wherever I needed to go and getting me all my supplies.
• Mrs. Helms for showing me how to do things on my board that I did not know how to do and helping me with my research
• Mr. Newkirk for giving me ideas of how to do my experiment and helping me with everything I did, and for supplying me with the volt meter.
• Everyone that has graded my presentation and listen to my presentation.

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