Design and Development of a Small-Scale Mechanical Energy Conversion Device

This study aims to design and construct a small-scale mechanical energy conversion device. It is designed to produce electrical power by harnessing the available mechanical energy from renewable resources. This study started off with literature review for the predominant principles and laws on how the machine shall be fabricated in order to function. The process is followed by the material selection and analysis before proceeding to the final design and construction. The constructed machine is then being tested through series of experiments. It was found that the small-scale device was able to produce 6V of maximum voltage with rotor rotation speed up to 3000 RPM. The outcome from the experimentation shows that the small-scale device is useful for power generation from renewable sources, such as stream energy with a micro hydro turbine. For future study, the machine shall consider a few improvements, such as rebuilding it using laminated iron as rotor core and increase the number of poles to enhance the performance of the machine in term of energy conversion and extraction. The design and built of this machine would definitely contribute to the environmental sustainability and development of rural area.