banda is a remote village in the southwest corner of rwanda.  in the summer of 2011, dartmouth humanitarian engineering (DHE) installed a hydroelectric turbine in the village to replace a previously broken turbine.  the turbine provides residents with electricity to charge car batteries, which then power phone chargers, DC lightbulbs, and electric razors.

my involvement in this project was twofold.  first, my engineering capstone team project was sponsored by DHE, who commissioned us to optimize the geometry of the turbine and prototype a new design from september 2010 to march 2011.  when the course was finished, i then joined the DHE team as the mechanical lead to fabricate the turbine and implement the installation in rwanda during the summer of 2011.

turbine testing and optimization:
water circulates from the bucket below through a .75hp centrifugal pump to the nozzle.
a window on the side of the turbine housing provides access for high-speed video analysis of the water flow from the nozzle to the turbine buckets.

part ii: rwanda implementation

specific contributions to the rwanda implementation included taking on the role of mechanical lead for the project, collaborating with a local vendor in NH to design and sand cast the turbine buckets, post-machining the buckets after casting, creating a schedule for implementation in rwanda, directing in-country fabrication of turbine housing, and leading the installation, testing, and troubleshooting of the turbine in the village of banda, rwanda.

preparing for rwanda:
bucket CAD modeling and design optimization; 
sand casting and post-machining, in collaboration with local vendors and DHE teammates

rwanda implementation:
the DHE team worked with students from Kigali Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) and ETO Muhima mechanic school to source materials and fabricate the turbine case for the first two weeks of the trip