A Numerical Investigation of Flow Profile and Performance of a Low Cost Crossflow Turbine
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Date
2014
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
www.IJEE.IEEFoundation.org
Abstract
Low efficiency is the main drawback of a Crossflow turbine, despite the turbine being an important low cost technology for micro hydropower generation. Poor flow profile has been mentioned by other Crossflow turbine performance investigators as one of the reasons for the underperformance. This paper has investigated, using numerical method, the flow profile in the turbine at best efficiency point and at operating conditions that are away from best efficiency point. Numerical method has also been used to calculate and predict the efficiency of the turbine. The flow physics in a Crossflow turbine runner is a two-phase with a movable free surface. Such flow physics is difficult to analyse even numerically. A procedure for numerical analysis was followed and ANSYS CFX® was used to solve the governing equations and to process the simulation results. Actual pictures of the flow were taken so as to compare the actual flow with the numerically determined flow profile. Turbine efficiency results from the previous performance evaluation experiment conducted on the model Crossflow turbine were compared with the numerically obtained efficiency results. It has been observed that the numerically obtained flow profile compare favorably with the actual flow pictures. The numerical analysis over-predicts the efficiency, especially for runner speeds that were more than the best efficiency point speed. Pockets of negative pressures and flow circulation have been observed in the flow profile. At constant head and valve opening, the velocity profile was found to vary more with runner speed than the pressure profile. The numerically obtained flow pattern showed positions where the flow gives maximum efficiency. Therefore, the study has shown that numerical method is a superior design tool for Crossflow turbines.
Description
Full text available at http://www.ijee.ieefoundation.org/vol5/issue3/IJEE_01_v5n3.pdf
Keywords
Micro hydropower, Crossflow turbine, Turbine performance, Numerical analysis, Flow analysis
Citation
Kaunda, C. S., Kimambo, C. Z. and Nielsen, T. K. “A Numerical Investigation of Flow Profile and Performance of a Low Cost Crossflow Turbine”, International Journal of Energy and Environment, ISSN 2076-2895 (Print), ISSN 2076-2909 (Online), Journal homepage: www.IJEE.IEEFoundation.org, Volume 5, Issue 3, 2014 pp. 275 - 296, 2014.