Grade 11 learners at Rand Park High School, Gabriella Adolphe and Robyn Clark, represented South Africa at the start of the recent school holidays at the Milset International Science Expo in Abu Dhabi where they showcased their innovative Pipe Power project.
Their water engineering project produces electricity and is suitable for urban and rural households that have a piped water source.
The project started with an investigation into how much energy can be harnessed when installing a special turbine device into water pipes and then connecting that turbine to an electrical generator.
The final design of the turbine was 3-D printed into a casing and connected to the water pipe. The turbine was connected to an AC motor and then to a transformer to set up the voltage produced. This was tested repeatedly in order to obtain fair and accurate results.
The engineering goals were met in the final design and the energy harnessed from this small device was enough to power a light bulb.
The project proved that electricity can be conducted by installing turbines into water pipes and has the potential to be implemented on a larger scale.
The project won a gold medal at the Regional Eskom Expo held at the University of Witwatersrand last year. After a few refinements to the project, the learners re-entered this year’s Regional Eskom Expo and won first place in the energy category. Their win qualified them for the International Eskom Expo where they won a gold medal as well as a special award from the South African Institute of Civil Engineering in the water engineering category.
Subsequent participation in the SAYESS expo held at the University of Pretoria resulted in another gold award as well as the invitation to attend the Milset Expo in Abu Dhabi.
Alan Wilke, principal of Rand Park High School, complimented the learners on their achievement, “An innovative concept has been acknowledged on an international stage and we are extremely proud of Gabriella and Robyn for their hard work.”
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