Chapter 1

Introduction
Project Background

This project was creative and highly recommended idea of our respected advisor Engr. Zahid Suleman
Butt who has a clear vision and perception in his mind regarding this exquisite piece of work. He
assigned us this task to work on this VAWT based unit “Aqua-Sphere” where the drinking water is
produced by the natural condensation of atmospheric humidity along with the electricity generation. To
accomplish this task, we designed this vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) based unit.

Problem Statement

The shortage of drinking water is a major problem in the world now-a-days. Due to global warming, this
problem is more commonly found in third-world countries like Pakistan, Uzbekistan etc. and also in
many countries of Africa and Middle East. For many years the underground water was used to cope with
this problem but due to low levels of underground water for the past few years in Pakistan, tube-wells
and others sources are overcoming the scarcity of water. Also, the electricity generation is very big
problem in Pakistan. However, we needed more efficient and economical method for this purpose.
Therefore, we started to work on this renewable wind energy unit which is the cheapest solution of this
problem.

Project Aims/Objectives

The aim of this project was to design and build the vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) based unit which
can produce the drinking water from the condensation of atmospheric humidity and also can generate
the electricity.

The main objectives of the project are as follow;

 Carry out the research into the area of wind energy and develop an understanding for the
fundamental of wind power and water generation.
 Manufacture the turbine blades and condensation unit to a high standard.
 Design a testing methodology to obtain performance curves for this turbine unit.
 Fabrication of the whole unit.
 Carry out the testing on unit and gather results.
 Analyze the results obtained from testing of this unit.
 Simulate this whole unit theoretically using ANSYS 17.0.
 Asses the total water condensation rate and unit efficiency.
 Compare the experimental and theoretical findings of the unit.
 Present the findings from testing in final report form.

Methodology

Our methodology was to investigate the existing technologies in the market and to select the best one
after looking into pros and cons of each. Also, to look for the innovations we can bring by keeping the
cost low. For that reason, we divided our work into four major parts, as follows;
  Literature Review
 Unit Design
 Unit Prototype
 Experimentations and results

There are different combinations of water generating unit using wind power but we have decided that
our final design would consist of the vertical axis wind turbine whose shaft is coupled to another shaft
which is rotating a suction fan via gear box. The suction fan is boxed into dome-shaped porous mesh to
allow air flow which is prolonged to connect with condensation coils following collecting tank. The whole
unit is supported onto the external supporting stands. The condensation process is shown in Fig 1.1.

Wind energy will

drive the rotor of the
vertical axis wind
turbine

VAWT in turn rotates

at this temperature
the suction fan boxed
the humidity inside
inside the mesh
the air condenses
providing humid air
into water and
flowinto
collected into the
mesh/collector
collection tank

humid air then enters

the heat exchange condensation coils
between the air and where the
soil will lower the temperature gradient
temperature of between the humid
humidity below dew air and outside soil
point temperature air will cool the
humid air

Fig 1.1: System Working Process

Through keen research and calculations, we decided the components and the dimensions of the
components. After assembling the components into an absolute elegant unit, we carried out simulations
and experimentations to check its performance during variant levels of activity and different weather
conditions.

Chapter 4

Geology of Earth

Layers of Earth

Earth is composed of many layers depending upon its chemical composition and physical properties.

Layers based on chemical composition

During Earth’s early formation, the planet underwent a period of differentiation that allowed the
heaviest elements to sink to the center and lighter ones to rise to the surface. Earth’s internal layering
can be defined by this resulting chemical composition. The three main layers of Earth include the crust
(1 percent of Earth’s volume), the mantle (84 percent), and the core (inner and outer combined, 15
percent).

 Crust

The solid crust is the outermost and thinnest layer of our planet. The crust averages 25 miles (40
kilometers) in thickness and is divided in to fifteen major tectonic plates that are rigid in the center and
have geologic activity at the boundaries, such as earthquakes and volcanism. The most abundant
elements in the Earth’s crust include (listed here by weight percent) oxygen, silicon, aluminum, iron, and
calcium. These elements combine to form the most abundant minerals in the Earth’s crust, members of
the silicate family – plagioclase and alkali feldspars, quartz, pyroxenes, amphiboles, micas, and clay
minerals. All three rock types (igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic) can be found in Earth’s crust.
Crustal material is classified as oceanic crust or continental crust. Oceanic crust underlies our ocean
basins, is thin, approximately 4 miles (7 kilometers) in thickness, and is composed of dense rocks,
primarily the igneous rock basalt. Continental crust is thicker, ranging from 6 to 47 miles (10 to 75
kilometers), and has a high abundance of the less dense igneous rock granite. The oldest rocks on our
planet are part of the continental crust and date back approximately 4 billion years in age. Ocean crust is
constantly recycled through our planet’s system of plate tectonics and only dates back to approximately
200 million years ago. The Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) has drilled deep in to the ocean
crust (4,644 feet below the seafloor) but has not yet broken through to the next layer, the mantle. The
boundary between the crust and underlying mantle is termed the Mohorovicic discontinuity, often
referred to as the Moho.

 Mantle

Mantle material is hot (932 to 1,652 degrees Fahrenheit, 500 to 900 degrees Celsius) and dense and
moves as semi-solid rock. The mantle is 1,802 miles (2,900 km) thick and is composed of silicate minerals
that are similar to ones found in the crust, except with more magnesium and iron and less silicon and
aluminum. The base of the mantle, at the boundary with the outer core, is termed the Gutenberg
discontinuity. It is at this depth (1,802 miles, 2,900 km) where secondary earthquake waves, or S waves,
disappear, as S waves cannot travel through liquid.
  Outer Core

The outer core is composed mostly of iron and nickel, with these metals found in liquid form. The outer
core reaches between 7,200 and 9,000 degrees Fahrenheit (4,000 and 5,000 degrees Celsius) and is
estimated to be 1,430 miles (2,300 km) thick. It is the movement of the liquid within the outer core that
generates Earth’s magnetic field.

 Inner Core

The inner core is the hottest part of our planet, at temperatures between 9,000 and 13,000 degrees
Fahrenheit (5,000 and 7,000 degrees Celsius). This solid layer is smaller than our Moon at 750 miles
(1,200 km) thick and is composed mostly of iron. The iron is under so much pressure from the overlying
planet that it cannot melt and stays in a solid state.

Fig 4.1: Earth Layers Distribution

Layers based on physical properties

The Earth is separated into layers based on mechanical properties in addition to the composition layers
described above.

 Lithosphere
The lithosphere is the outermost layer of the Earth ~100 km thick and is defined by its mechanical
properties. This rigid layer includes the brittle upper portion of the mantle and the crust. The lithosphere
is divided into 15 major tectonic plates, and it is at the boundary of these plates where major tectonic
occurs, such as earthquakes and volcanoes. The lithosphere contains oceanic and continental crust that
varies in age and thickness across locations and geologic time. The lithosphere is the coolest layer of the
Earth in terms of temperature, with the heat from the lower layers generating the plate movements.
The term "lithosphere" should not be confused with the use of "geosphere," which is used to indicate all
of Earth's systems, including the atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere.

 Asthenosphere

The asthenosphere includes the upper part of the mantle that is highly viscous and mechanically weak.
The lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary (LAB) is where geophysicists mark the difference in ductility (a
measures a solid material’s ability to deform or stretch under stress) between the two layers. This
boundary in the upper mantle is marked at the 1300oC isotherm. Above the isotherm marks where the
mantle behaves in a rigid fashion and below which it behaves in a ductile fashion. It is the ductile rocks
in the upper part of the asthenosphere that are believed to be in the zone upon which the great rigid
and brittle lithospheric plates of the Earth's crust move about. Seismic waves travel relatively slowly
through the asthenosphere.

 Mesosphere

The mesosphere refers to the mantle in the region under the lithosphere and the asthenosphere, but
above the outer core. The upper boundary is defined as the sharp increase in seismic wave velocities
and density at a depth of 660 kilometers (410 mi). This layer should not be confused with the
atmospheric mesosphere.

Geothermal Gradient

Geothermal gradient is the rate of changing temperature with respect to changing depths in the Earth's
interior. Away from tectonic plate boundaries, it is about 25–30 °C/km (28–34 °F/mi) of depth near the
surface in most of the world.

Heat Sources

The Earth's internal heat comes from a combination of residual heat from planetary accretion, heat
produced through radioactive decay, and possibly heat from other sources. At the center of the planet,
the temperature may be up to 7,000 K and the pressure could reach 360 GPa (3.6 million atm). Heat
production was twice that of present-day at approximately 3 billion years ago, resulting in larger
temperature gradients within the Earth, larger rates of mantle convection and plate tectonics, allowing
the production of igneous rocks such as komatiites that are no longer formed.

 Much of the heat is created by decay of naturally radioactive elements. An estimated 45 to 90

percent of the heat escaping from the Earth originates from radioactive decay of elements
mainly located in the mantle.
 Heat of impact and compression released during the original formation of the Earth by accretion
of in-falling meteorites.
 Heat released as abundant heavy metals (iron, nickel, copper) descended to the Earth's core.
  Latent heat released as the liquid outer core crystallizes at the inner core boundary.
 Heat may be generated by tidal force on the Earth as it rotates; since rock cannot flow as readily
as water it compresses and distorts, generating heat.

Fig 4.2: Temperature profile of the inner Earth

Soil Temperature

Soil temperature varies from month to month as a function of incident solar radiation, rainfall, seasonal
swings in overlying air temperature, local vegetation cover, type of soil, and depth in the earth. Due to
the much higher heat capacity of soil relative to air and the thermal insulation provided by vegetation
and surface soil layers, seasonal changes in soil temperature deep in the ground are much less than and
lag significantly behind seasonal changes in overlying air temperature. Thus, in spring, the soil naturally
warms more slowly and to a lesser extent than the air, and by summer, it has become cooler than the
overlying air and is a natural sink for removing heat from a building. Likewise, in autumn, the soil cools
more slowly and to a lesser extent than the air, and by winter it is warmer than the overlying air and a
natural source for adding heat to a building.

At soil depths greater than 30 feet below the surface, the soil temperature is relatively constant, and
corresponds roughly to the water temperature measured in groundwater wells 30 to 50 feet deep. This
is referred to as the “mean earth temperature. The amplitude of seasonal changes in soil temperature
on either side of the mean earth temperature depends on the type of soil and depth below the ground
surface. At depths greater than about 30 feet below the surface, however, the soil temperature remains
relatively constant throughout the year, as shown in Figure 4.3, below.
 Fig 4.3: Amplitude of seasonal soil temperature change as a function of depth below ground surface.

Deeper soils not only experience less extreme seasonal variations in temperature, but the changes that
do occur lag farther behind those of shallower soils. This shifts the soil temperature profile later in the
year, such that it more closely matches the demand for heating and cooling. Referring to Figure 4.4 for
example, the maximum soil temperature occurs in late August (when cooling demand is high) at a depth
of 5 feet below the ground surface, but occurs in late October (after the heating season has begun) at a
depth of 12 feet below the surface. Thus, a deeper ground loop installation would lower the annual
operating cost for electrical energy to run the heat pumps, and over the life of a GHP system, these
accumulated savings may more than offset the higher capital cost of burying the ground loop more
deeply. In order to determine the optimal depth of burial, it is important to accurately know how the
seasonal change in soil temperature varies with depth, which is mainly determined by the soil's thermal
properties.

Figure 4.4: Seasonal soil temperature change as a function of depth below ground surface for an
average moist soil.

Required Soil Thermal Properties

 Thermal conductivity

Thermal conductivity is another soil property that must be known in order to design a closed-loop or
direct expansion GHP system. This indicates the rate at which heat will be transferred between the
ground loop and the surrounding soil for a given temperature gradient. The thermal conductivity of the
soil and rock is the critical value that determines the length of pipe required, which in turn affects the
installation cost as well as the energy requirements for pumping working fluid through the ground loop.
 Figure 4.5: Thermal conductivity of different soil types.

 Heat capacity

Heat capacity (also known as specific heat) indicates the ability of a substance to store heat energy; the
greater its heat capacity, the more heat it can gain (or loss) per unit rise (or fall) in temperature. The
heat capacity of dry soil is about 0.20 BTU per pound per ºF of temperature change, which is only one-
fifth the heat capacity of water. Therefore, moist or saturated soils have greater heat capacities,
typically in the range of 0.23 to 0.25 BTU/lb./ºF. Light dry soils experience greater seasonal temperature
swings at a given depth than wet soils. This is because their lower heat capacity causes their
temperature to rise or fall more than wet soils for a given amount of heat energy gained in the spring or
lost in the fall.