Months of hard work have resulted in a professor of mechanical engineering and his University of Natal students creating a novel way to generate power.
Professor Saneshan Govender, 31, of Glenwood, together with students Faiyez Shaik, Alistair Sharp, Johnathan Vadasz and Charl Joubert, have built a gas turbine engine that provides an alternative way of generating power.
According to Govender, this technology was the first of its kind in South Africa. However, similar turbine engines have been built in the United States.
Their innovation had earned the team first place at the university's Open Day, held about a month ago.
Govender said automotive components from an old truck were used to build the turbine engine, which was phase one of the project.
The building of the engine, which took eight months to complete, started at the beginning of the year. Said Govender: "The objective of the study was to use an old turbo charger unit to build a gas turbine engine that would ultimately be used to generate electricity at rural locations.
"By integrating a fuel system, an oil system, a control system, a combustion chamber and a starting mechanism, a satisfactory turbo machine has been assembled and tested."
Govender said the engine was ready for the next stage of development - the addition of a power turbine unit that would then be coupled to a generator to provide electricity.
"We are extremely pleased to have reached this stage of our project. This is quite a big project to accomplish in eight months."
Govender, who holds a PhD in mechanical engineering, was also the recipient of a fellowship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Mit) in the United States in 2000.