Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

It is planned for the Water Turbine Design and Testing Center to have the most powerful turbine test power in the world with 2 MWs of power. The most powerful known one in the world at the moment is at a capacity of 1.6 MW.

The foundation of the Technology Center will be laid on Thursday, July 12th. There will be laboratories, studios and design workshops as well as energy research centers working in the fields of engineering set up in the TOBB ETU Technology Center.

TOBB President and TOBB ETU Board of Trustees Chairman M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu’s assessments regarding the subject are:

- Why is a water turbine research center needed?

“Turkey’s most plentiful and most used renewable energy resource, hydroelectric energy, was opened up to the private sector in 2001 through new legislation. Hundreds of power plants started construction along with that new legislation. Although advanced knowledge regarding dam building was available, the know-how for the design and production of electromagnetic equipment needed to eliminate energy dependency to foreign sources was not present in Turkey. In order to create the know-how and the domestic design, production and testing of the crucial components of the power plants, the water turbines will be conducted at the Water Turbine Design and Test Center established at the TOBB University of Economics and Technology University.”

- Scope and the cost of the project

“The work to be undertaken at the testing center will cover computer assisted model turbine production and testing. A grant of 10 million TL has been secured from the Development Ministry for 3 years for the purpose of the acquisition of machinery and equipment. TOBB will supply 10 million TL for the construction and staffing of the project center. Turkey Electro Mechanics Industry Board Office (TEMSAN) also supports the project as they already have some personnel already trained and with an accumulation of knowledge in the field. It is planned that support will be taken from TEMSAN during the construction of the experiment equipment. Working actively at the Water Turbine Research Center will be Associate Professor Selin Aradağ. Dr. Kutay Çelebioğlu and Assistant Professor Özgür Ünver, 13 graduate and doctorate students, 2 engineers and 4 technicians. In order to produce testable models, an Advanced Production Laboratory will also be constructed.”

- We are constructing a different building

“The Water Turbine Design and Test Center will have a unique building. The test center will have a 12 meter high, 7 meter wide water reservoir holding 650 cubic meters of water, constructed on a plot of 600 square meters. This way, the water turbine model designed and produced here can be tested according to the properties of the specific watercourse and the results observed.”

- Contribution to lowering the current deficit by 6 billion Dollars in years

“The resources we must every year on testing the turbines used in our dams in facilities abroad will, by using domestic facilities for much less, be resources saved. The center will serve in both design and testing capacity. In the next 5 years, it is estimated that 6 billion Dollars would be spent abroad for the newly licensed 1500 hydroelectric power plants. We will prevent this money from leaving the country. As an example, the weeklong testing of the water turbines from the Keban Dam in 2009 cost 800,000 Euros. The center established as part of TOBB ETU will undertake both the design and testing of water turbines.”

- It will be the largest turbine test center in the world

“It is planned that the Water Turbine Design and Test Center at TOBB ETU will have the biggest turbine test power in the world with 2 MW power. The highest know capacity for water turbine testing is at 1.6 MW… We expect the center to lower costs for not just design and testing but also for production once it is established. It is possible that even though domestic companies have the power and expertise to produce water turbines they are unable to enter the field due to being unable to design and test products in Turkey. Two to three turbines are necessary for a mid-size dam, each of which cost 2 million Euros.”

- How the water turbine test center compete internationally

“But won’t the design and test centers abroad compete with us by lowering prices? We don’t expect it as the models being tested are a tenth of the size of the turbines and when transport costs are taken into account as well TOBB ETU will always have the advantage. Tests are still being conducted in China and Europe. It is estimated that transport costs will always increase costs. A price for the services provided at the Water Turbine Design and Testing Center at TOBB ETU has yet to be decided, however considering the costs a price which is lower than those of the facilities abroad without making a loss will most likely be set.”

- What else will be available at the technology center?

From the day it was established, TOBB ETU has placed great importance on practical training and with its trimester education year has made Joint Training mandatory in all departments. Many subjects are divided into theoretical and practical classes. Our university has adopted the policy of setting up the necessary facilities for any given course before accepting students for said course.

The Technology Center building we’ve laid the foundations for will gather all of our present laboratories under one roof as well as those we plan on establishing in the future. Accordingly a total of 71 laboratories will be constructed on an area of 6646 sq. meters for the Engineering Departments.

The goal of constructing the technology center is to ensure the complete and active participation of the students in the added value generation of the university and to find solutions to industrial problems with all due haste. With this goal, Education and Research laboratories will be consolidated under one roof and opened to the Turkish industry.

Significant consideration has been made for bio and nanotech. Tissue engineering, bionanotech, nano materials, advanced communication technologies, biomechanics, super conductors and datamining laboratories are being planned.”
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