Study on Performance and Flow Field of an Undershot Cross-Flow Water Turbine Comprising Different Number of Blades

Recently, small hydroelectric generators have gained attention as a further development in water turbine technology for ultra low head drops in open channels. The authors have evaluated the application of cross-flow water turbines in open channels as an undershot type after removing the casings and guide vanes to substantially simplify these water turbines. However, because undershot cross-flow water turbines are designed on the basis of cross-flow water turbine runners used in typical pipelines, it remains unclear whether the number of blades has an effect on the performance or flow fields. Thus, in this research, experiments and numerical analyses are employed to study the performance and flow fields of undershot cross-flow water turbines with varying number of blades. The findings show that the turbine output and torque are lower, the fluctuation is significantly higher, and the turbine efficiency is higher for runners with 8 blades as opposed to those with 24 blades.

Study on an Undershot Cross-Flow Water Turbine

This study aims to develop a water turbine suitable for ultra-low heads in open channels, with the end goal being the effective utilization of unutilized hydroelectric energy in agricultural water channels. We performed tests by applying a cross-flow runner to an open channel as an undershot water turbine while attempting to simplify the structure and eliminate the casing. We experimentally investigated the flow fields and performance of water turbines in states where the flow rate was constant for the undershot cross-flow water turbine mentioned above. In addition, we compared existing undershot water turbines with our undershot cross-flow water turbine after attaching a bottom plate to the runner. From the results, we were able to clarify the following. Although the effective head for cross-flow runners with no bottom plate was lower than those found in existing runners equipped with a bottom plate, the power output is greater in the high rotational speed range because of the high turbine efficiency. Also, the runner with no bottom plate differed from runners that had a bottom plate in that no water was being wound up by the blades or retained between the blades, and the former received twice the flow due to the flow-through effect. As a result, the turbine efficiency was greater for runners with no bottom plate in the full rotational speed range compared with that found in runners that had a bottom plate.

Study on the Rotor Design Method for a Small Propeller-Type Wind Turbine

Small propeller-type wind turbines have a low Reynolds number,limiting the number of usable airfoil materials.Thus,their design method is not sufBciently established,and their performance is often low.The ultimate goal of this research is to establish high-performance design guidelines and design methods for small propeller-type wind turbines.To that end,we designed two rotors:Rotor A,based on the rotor optimum design method from the blade element momentum theory,and Rotor B,in which the chord length of the tip is extended and the chord length distribution is linearized.We examined performance characteristics and flow fields of the two rotors through wind tunnel experiments and numerical analysis.Our results revealed that the maximum output tip speed ratio of Rotor B shifted lower than that of Rotor A,but the maximum output coefficient increased by approximately 38.7%.Rotors A and B experienced a large-scale separation on the hub side,which extended to the mean in Rotor A.This difference in separation had an impact on the significant decrease in Rotor A's output compared to the design value and the increase in Rotor B's output compared to Rotor A.

Unsteady Flow Analysis of an Axial Flow Hydraulic Turbine with Collection Devices Comprising a Different Number of Blades

We previously devised a new type of portable hydraulic turbine that uses the kinetic energy of an open-channel flow to improve output power by catching and accelerating the flow. The turbine contains an axial flow runner with an appended collection device and a diffuser section that is not axisymmetric. The objective of this study is to determine how interference between the collection device and the runner influences performance characteristics of the turbine. We investigated the performance characteristics of the turbine and flow field for different numbers of blades during both unsteady and steady flow. During an unsteady flow, the maximum values of power coefficients for three and two blades increased by approximately 8.8% and 21.4%, respectively, compared to those during a steady flow. For the three-blade runner, the power coefficient showed small fluctuations, but for the two-blade runner, the power coefficient showed large fluctuations. These fluctuations in the power coefficient are attributed to fluctuations in the loading coefficient, which were generated by interference between the runner and the diffuser section of the collection device.