Experimental and Numerical Study on Conical Gravitational Water Vortex Turbine with 3D Runner

Abstract

The gravitational water vortex turbine (GWVT) is a promising solution to exploit the potential of low-head hydro energy. Previous research has shown that a 3D runner performs better than a runner with a flat blade and a 2D curved blade. This research investigates the performance of a conical gravitational water vortex turbine (CGWVT) with a 3D runner using numerical simulations and experiments. The numerical simulations were carried out with Fluent V 6.1, a 2-phase transient incompressible solver, at various torque loads. Furthermore, experiments were conducted to validate the numerical simulations by varying the torque load and water flow rate. The experiment revealed that the maximum power was achieved at a rotational speed of around 100 to 110 rpm. The maximum efficiency was 0.28 at a flow rate of 0.00477 m³/s. The developed simulation closely matched the experimental results, making it useful for design and prediction for further development.