Effective Basin–Blade Configurations of a Gravitational Water Vortex Turbine for Microhydropower Generation
Publication: Journal of Energy Engineering
Volume 144, Issue 4
Abstract
Among various microhydropower plants, gravitational water vortex power plants are emerging because of their simple installation, reduced setup time, and minimal maintenance cost. The methodology and the selection of a suitable basin and turbine blade combinations are yet to be explained by researchers. This study attempts to investigate the parameters that affect the formation and strength of a vortex for efficient power generation using an artificially induced air-core vortex. Computational fluid dynamics based on a two-phase flow analysis of the vortex formation at different basin parameters resulted in the selection of a suitable configuration of the basin. The basin was then used in the blade analysis with different blade shapes at various load conditions. An experimental setup was also fabricated for the validation of the numerical results, in which a close agreement was observed. The proposed methodology could be used to determine the plant specifications and the blade size and shape for various flow rates and heads. The role of vortex height in determining the performance of the gravitational water vortex turbine was explored. Among the four types of blades used in the study, cross-flow blades have shown the best efficiency for the same discharge and head conditions.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
This study was supported by a National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (MSIP) (No. 2017R1A2B2005515) and a grant from the Priority Research Centers Program through the NRF, as funded by the MEST (No. 2010-0020089). The authors also acknowledge the support from the Pakistan Science Foundation (PSF) for this study under Research Project No. PSF/ILP/KPK-GIKI/Engg(073).
References
Andrade, J. D., C. Curiel, F. Kenyery, O. Aguill, A. Vasquez, and M. Asuaje. 2011. “Numerical investigation of the internal flow in a Banki turbine.” Int. J. Rotating Mach. 2011: 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1155/2011/841214.
Ansys. 2015. ANSYS CFX-solver modeling guide Release 15.0. Canonsburg, PA: Ansys.
Chattha, J. A., T. A. Cheema, and N. H. Khan. 2017. “Numerical investigation of basin geometries for vortex generation in a gravitational water vortex power plant.” In Proc., 8th Int. Renewable Energy Congress (IREC). Amman, Jordan: IEEE.
Chen, Y., C. Wu, B. Wang, and M. Du. 2012. “Three-dimensional numerical simulation of vertical vortex at hydraulic intake.” Proc. Eng. 28: 55–60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2012.01.682.
Dhakal, S., S. Nakarmi, P. Pun, A. B. Thapa, and T. R. Bajracharya. 2014. “Development and testing of runner and conical basin for gravitational water vortex pool.” J. Inst. Eng. 10 (1): 140–148. https://doi.org/10.3126/jie.v10i1.10895.
Dhakal, S., A. B. Timilsina, R. Dhakal, D. Fuyal, T. R. Bajracharya, H. P. Pandit, N. Amatya, and A. M. Nakarmi. 2015. “Comparison of cylindrical and conical basins with optimum position of runner: Gravitational water vortex power plant.” Renewable Sustainable Energy Rev. 48 (8): 662–669. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2015.04.030.
Dixon, S. L., and C. A. Hall. 2014. Fluid mechanics and thermodynamics of turbomachinery. 7th ed. 367–369. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier.
Elbatran, H., O. B. Yaakob, Y. M. Ahmed, and H. M. Shabara. 2015. “Operation, performance and economic analysis of low head micro-hydropower turbines for rural and remote areas: A review.” Renewable Sustainable Energy Rev. 43 (3): 40–50. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2014.11.045.
Khan, M. J., M. T. Iqbal, and J E. Quaicoe. 2008. “River current energy conversion systems: Progress, prospects and challenges.” Renewable Sustainable Energy Rev. 12 (8): 2177–2193. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2007.04.016.
Khosrowpanah, S., A. A. Fiuzat, and M. L. Albertson. 1988. “Experimental study of cross flow turbine.” J. Hydraul. Eng. 114 (3): 299–314. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9429(1988)114:3(299).
Kueh, T. C., S. L. Beh, D. Rilling, and Y. Ooi. 2014. “Numerical analysis of water vortex formation for the water vortex power plant.” Int. J. Innovation Manage. Technol. 5 (2): 111–115. https://doi.org/10.7763/IJIMT.2014.V5.496.
Li, H., H. Chen, M. A. Zheng, and Z. Yi. 2008. “Experimental and numerical investigation of free surface vortex.” J. Hydrodyn. Ser. B. 20 (4): 485–491. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1001-6058(08)60084-0.
Mohanan, A. 2016. “Power generation with simultaneous aeration using a gravity vortex turbine.” Int. J. Sci. Eng. Res. 7 (2): 19–23.
Odgaard, J. 1986. “Free-surface air core vortex.” J. Hydraul. Eng. 112 (7): 610–620. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9429(1986)112:7(610).
Power, C., A. McNabola, and P. Coughlan. 2015. “A parametric experimental investigation of the operating conditions of gravitational vortex hydropower.” J. Clean Energy Tech. 4 (2): 112–119. https://doi.org/10.7763/JOCET.2016.V4.263.
Sammartano, V., C. Aricò, A. Carravetta, O. Fecarotta, and T. Tucciarelli. 2013. “Banki-Michell optimal design by computational fluid dynamics testing and hydrodynamic analysis.” Energies 6 (5): 2362–2385. https://doi.org/10.3390/en6052362.
Shabara, H. M., O. B. Yaakob, Y. M. Ahmed, A. H. Elbatran, and M. S. M. Faddir. 2015. “CFD validation for efficient gravitational vortex pool system.” J. Teknol. (Sci. Eng.) 74 (5): 97–100. https://doi.org/10.11113/jt.v74.4648.
Singh, P., and F. Nestmann. 2009. “Experimental optimization of a free vortex propeller runner for micro hydro application.” Exp. Ther. Fluid Sci. 33 (6): 991–1002. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.expthermflusci.2009.04.007.
Singh, P., and F. Nestmann. 2011. “Experimental investigation of the influence of blade height and blade number on the performance of low head axial flow turbines.” Renewable Energy 36 (1): 272–281. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2010.06.033.
Venukumar, A. 2013. “Artificial vortex (ArVo) power generation: An innovative micro hydroelectric power generation scheme.” In Proc., Global Humanitarian Technology Conf.: South Asia Satellite (GHTC-SAS), 53–57. New York: IEEE.
Wanchat, S., and R. Suntivarakorn. 2012. “Preliminary design of vortex pool for electrical generation.” Adv. Sci. Lett. 13 (1): 173–177. https://doi.org/10.1166/asl.2012.3855.
Wanchat, S., R. Suntivarakorn, S. Wanchat, K. Tonmit, and P. Kayanyiem. 2013. “A parametric study of gravitational water vortex power plant.” Adv. Mater. Res. 805 (9): 811–817. https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.805-806.811.
Wang, Y., C. Jiang, and D. Liang. 2010. “Investigation of air-core vortex at hydraulic intakes.” J. Hydrodyn. Ser. B. 22 (5): 696–701. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1001-6058(10)60017-0.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Energy Engineering
Volume 144 • Issue 4 • August 2018
Copyright
©2018 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Oct 11, 2017
Accepted: Feb 12, 2018
Published online: May 19, 2018
Published in print: Aug 1, 2018
Discussion open until: Oct 19, 2018
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.