Portable Power Generator

Team: Chandler Wilson, Kendall Draxler, and Garrett Springer

Project

Power has become essential to every aspect of life. Sometimes the comfort of power being is not easily accessible. A portable power generation system can resolve the accessibility issue. This was our teams design challenge.

Objectives:

  • Power system can take input from two energy sources
  • Power system will have both AC and DC power outputs
  • Test power conversion circuits and confirm outputs

Methods

Input Power Sources

Solar Panels. The system uses monocrystalline solar panels designed to produce 12V DC and 9.6W of power.

Hydro-Electric Turbine. The hydro turbine outputs 24VAC at peak speed and generates 10W of power.

Battery Management

Battery. The system uses a lithium iron phosphate battery supplying 12.8V at 100Ah.

Battery Charge Monitoring. A microcontroller monitors battery voltage and controls an LED display to show charge status.

Battery Charge/Discharge Control. A bidirectional buck-boost converter manages battery charge and discharge control.

System Diagram

System Diagram

Methods Power Converters

Input Bidirectional Buck-Boost Converter. The converter controls battery charge/discharge, maintaining 15V/100A output and protecting charging at 12.8V/50A max by monitoring voltage and current.

DC/DC Buck-Boost Converter. The buck-boost converter regulates solar input, ensuring a steady 15V output despite sunlight variation.

Output DC/DC Flyback Converter. The Flyback converter steps down bus voltage to 5V for USB output, maintaining low current to protect devices. AC/DC Inverter. The inverter converts bus voltage to 120V AC at up to 10A, enabling use of small AC devices.