Mr. Anup KC, Lecturer at Department of Mechanical Engineering, present a paper in 4th Asia-Pacific Forum on Renewable Energy (AFORE2014)

Mr. Anup KC, Lecturer at department of mechanical engineering and activity leader at TTL, presented a paper in 4th Asia-Pacific Forum on Renewable Energy (AFORE2014), held in Yeosu, South Korea from 17-20 November, 2014. The title of the paper is “Establishment of turbine test rigs at turbine Testing Lab (TTL) for capacity and competence development to uplift the micro hydro status of Nepal” and a full paper regarding the same was also submitted in the conference. Dr. Hari Prasad Neopanea, Mr. Sailesh Chitrakara, and Prof. Bhola Thapa are also additional authors of  this paper.

The oral presentation highlighted the current status of Micro hydropower (MH) in Nepal and the role of TTL so far in contributing to the development of micro hydro power sector. The presentation was based on the current project of AEPC undertaken by the Lab regarding the establishment of rig to test and standardize the micro hydro turbines, Pleton, Cross-flow and Francis type, up to 100 kW, its role in uplifting the MH sector of Nepal and flourishing TTL as a pioneer water power lab and centre of excellence for the same. The presentation was received with great interest by many audiences as it discussed the challenges in design and fabrication of Francis Hydro-turbine in Nepalese hydropower market.

The paper covers the micro-hydropower status in Nepal and its contribution in electrifying rural Nepal and the effort of TTL to develop itself as a hub of designing/testing of micro hydro turbines and standardizing them to uplift the overall status of micro hydropower in Nepal. Moreover, the competence developed by TTL, in designing and fabricating of Francis Hydro Turbine and the challenges faced are also presented in detail.