With  a  majority  of  earth’s  surface  covered  in  water,  sub-­‐surface  power  generation  is  an  incredible  and  yet  almost  completely  untapped  renewable  resource.  The  fact  of  the  matter  is  that  fossil  fuels  are  an  unsustainable  model  for  electrical  power  generation.  As  the  United  States  continues  to  depend  on  fossil  fuels  we  get  closer  and  closer  to  a  scenario  where  the  consequences  of  Climate  Change,  resource  depletion  and  O-­‐zone  deterioration  become  severe  and  irreversible.  Thus  we  propose  the  research  and  development  of  a  vertical  axis  sub-­‐surface  hydrokinetic  turbine  that  will  harness  the  power  of  oceanic  currents  to  generate  electricity.  

 

The  University  of  Central  Florida  College  of  Computer  Science  and  Engineering  for  providing  this  

experience  to  innovate,  design,  and  build  our  projects,  bettering  ourselves  

as  up-­‐and-­‐coming  Engineers.    

Dr.  Ramesh  Bhavsar  and  Tracy  Omdahl    as  being  our  Faculty  Advisor  and  Technical  Advisor,  respectively,  

providing  guidance  on  our  project  over  the  past  year.  

GermFree  and  the  UCF  Engineering  Manufacturing  Lab  for  providing  

feedback  on  the  design  for  this  project,  as  well  as  ultimately  machining  the  parts  needed  for  final  assembly.  

The  Hydro-­‐Knights    

Sub-­‐Surface  Hydrokinetics  

We  would  like  to  extend  our  greatest  gratitude  to…  

Why  Go  to  the  Big  Blue?  

Sub-­‐Surface  Hydrokinetics  Green,  Clean,  Renewable  Energy  

from  our  Oceans  

         

 

 

 

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Currently,  the  reason  why  underwater  power  generation  isn’t  as  widely  used  is  due  to  several  factors:  

• not  competitive  with  fossil  fuels  • low  operating  costs  but  high  installation  

costs  with  long  payback  periods  • site  selection  to  reduce  environmental  

effects  is  difficult    

The  purpose  of  this  project  was  to  do  the  research  to  determine  whether  a  viable  option  could  be  made  that  was  scalable  for  large  and  small  applications,  be  economical  on  both  the  implementation  and  prolonged  use,  and  whether  it  could  provide  power  on  a  more  grand  scale  to  mainland  consumers.  

Research  on  the  topic  involved  contact  with  national  and  local  EPA  offices,  online  research  on  power  generation  techniques  and  their  

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measures,  and  eventually  our  own  testing  on  our  apparatus.    Tidal  energy  is  measured  in  Terrawatt-­‐hours  per  year  (TWh/yr),  and  just  1  TWh/yr  can  power  93,850  U.S.  homes—along  the  U.S.  Continental  Shelf,  it  has  been  estimated  that  a  total  recoverable  amount  of  1,170  TWh/yr  can  be  harnessed,  keeping  in  mind  that  amount  is  what  the  U.S.  uses  in  a  third  of  the  year.    This  design  allows  for  either  bottom  attachment  or  top  floating  for  position  placement  to  reduce  impact  on  the  environment.    The  reduced  drag  of  the  blade  deactivation  method  allows  for  increased  efficiency  as  well  as  decreased  wildlife  impact.    Keeping  in  mind  that  future  models  would  use  lighter  materials  with  required  strength  properties,  this  design  becomes  a  competitive  option  for  the  future  of  our  planet.  

What  We’d  Like  to  Utilize  and  How…  

What’s  on  the  Market?  

The  most  prevalent  options  on  the  market  for  both  commercial  and  private  use  include  Solar,  Wind,  and  Underwater  Power  Generation.    All  have  their  advantages  for  implementation;  however,  as  of  now,  most  systems  are  area-­‐based  depending  on  the  environmental  conditions—no  one  specific  system  helps  to  contribute  on  a  larger,  regional  level.      

Many  wind  power  systems  are  placed  in  either  open  plains  or  areas  where  beginning  ridge-­‐lift  occurs,  and  solar  systems  seem  to  stay  in  open  spans  of  land  and  require  a  large  amount  of  real  estate.    Largely,  the  underwater  units  supply  power  to  small,  coastal  areas  because  they  aren’t  installed  in  similar  numbers  to  wind  and  solar  units.