FYP2 - Week 13

Full view of the complete project

Inside view of the project

Output from the thermoelectric generator (TEG)

Output from the battery

Output from the transformer (Socket outlet)

FYP2 - Week 12

The major problem of this project was finding a method on how to generate high output voltage. At the early stage, study on thermoelectric power generator shows that the thermoelectric converts heat to electricity. In this project, the thermoelectric generator will be stick to the aluminium foil to absorb the heat from hot water. It will use a lot of thermoelectric generator in order to generate a larger voltage, as all the thermoelectric generator will connect in series connection.

FYP2 - Week 11

Title - flow chart

This is the flow chart of Development of Thermoelectric Power System for Renewable Energy project. Firstly, the heat from the hot water will flow into the aluminium foil (system) and straightly generate the electricity. Then, the voltage that produced will directly flow to the charging circuit. Next, the battery voltage is being detected to determine the status of the battery whether it is full or not. If not, the voltage that produced by the system will flow to battery charger hence charge the battery. There are only two conditions needed to be understood for this project. If the battery is less than 12V, the red LED is on and the green LED is off. The battery keeps on charging if the battery voltage is less than 12V and if battery voltage is over than 12V, then the battery will stop charging thus changing red LED to off and green LED to on condiotion. After that, if switch for the inverter circuit is turned ON, the battery energy will flow into the inverter circuit hence converting the voltage from DC voltage to AC voltage. Next, the transformer will step up the output voltage from 12V AC to 240V AC. After that, the socket outlet is ready to be used. 

FYP2 - Week 10

Title - Hardware testing

The project will be conducted for testing and experimental in order to testing the preformance and the ability of the charging circuit, inverter circuit, and thermoelectric generator to do it routine.

Charging circuit

Inverter circuit

Output from thermoelectric generator (TEG)

For the hardware testing, all circuit such as charging circuit, inverter circuit and thermoelectric generator (TEG) are perfectly functioning. The outputs of the circuit follow the design output before the hardware development

FYP2 - Week 9

Circuit 2 - Inverter circuit

Converting direct current (DC) to the more useful alternating current (AC) requires what is called an inverter. There are a few types of inverters but they are mainly broken down into two categories: electrical and mechanical. The electrical inverter, which is more commonly used today is also known as electronic oscillator and it does not utilize any mechanical switches or dynamos.

FYP2 - Week 8

Circuit 1 - Battery Charging Circuit

The circuit to recharge the batteries in a protable product is an important part of any power supply design. The complexity of the charging system is primarily dependent on the type of battery and the recharge time. Slow charge is usually defined as a charging current that can be applied to the battery indefinitely without damaging the cell (trickle charging)

FYP2 - Week 7

Title: Hardware Development

The hardware part is basically related with circuit and the final design of the prototype. The main circuit being used in this project is charging circuit and inverter circuit. All the circuit needed to be designed from scratch which covers the designing of PCB layout, etching until the circuit is functioning well.

FYP2 - Week 6

In every project, there must be an input and an output. For Development of Thermoelectric Power System for Renewable Energy, the heat from hot water acts as the input. The heat will then be convert into electricity by the thermoelectric generator. The converted electricity will be store at battery charger circuit and the stored electricity will go to the inverter that will change the direct current (DC) to alternating current (AC). Next, the AC voltage will go through the transformer that will step up the voltage form 12V AC to 240V AC. The output voltage will then be ready to be use at the power outlet.

FYP2 - Week 5

For this project, there are 2 main circuit that need to be focused on which is the battery charging circuit and the inverter circuit. the battery charging circuit as the name implied is use to charge the battery and protect the battery from overload. the charging circuit also control the input use to charge the battery as it will use slow charging cycle to protect the battery. The inverter circuit needed to invert the DC voltage to AC voltage.

FYP2 - Week 4

For this project the main component is the Thermoelectric Generator (TEG) that will be use to convert heat to electricity. Thermoelectric generator systems are one promising option to face the needs for reducing energy consumption and environmental protection. The efficiency for this system is depends on the  temperature difference between the hot and cold parts in the thermocouples. The hot part of the generator located on a suspended plate for reducing the heat-sink. 

FYP2 - Week 3

A research regarding new title need to be prepared as the time have been shorten from 1 year to half year. A lot of study has been reported on the thermoelectric power generator. Thermoelectric power generator will directly convert of waste heat energy into electrical power where it is unnecessary to consider the cost of the thermal energy input thus showing it potential to be alternative green technology.

FYP2 - Week 2

In this proposal paper, a thermoelectric generator device is used to introduce a way for humans to create renewable energy by using a natural heat from hot water (hot spring) to generate the electricity. Renewable energy such as solar energy, wind energy, or hydropower is preferred but it has limited use and is dependent on weather and topography making them insufficient for wider usage. The reason for choosing this title for the project is because this project has more use compare than previous title.

FYP2 - Week 1

Beginning of semester 7. There's some changing regarding the fyp. Firstly, supervisor have been change from Madam Noor Hidayah to Dr Zuhanis. This changing occur because Madam Noor Hidayah no longer staying at bmi as she further her studies. The other change is the title of the final year project. The new title for final year project is Development of Thermoelectric Power System for Renewable Energy.