Design, Implementation and Analysis of the Overall Performance of a Micro Hydro Turgo Turbine

Abstract

The increasing demand for energy and the concerns regarding environmental protection have been driving forces toward the exploitation of renewable energy sources as a better alternative compared to conventional energy sources. Furthermore, renewable energy sources enable an independent energy supply for isolated locations or communities that lack access to the main electricity grid, and additionally, they offer the possibility to use available energy sources for beneficial individual purposes. Considering these statements, the use of micro hydropower plants represents a convenient and advantageous option to implement. A micro hydro Turgo turbine is used for analysis in this paper, due to its simple design, structure, easy production and low installation cost.In this manner, this paper deals with the use of Euler equations in detailed analysis in designing and implementation of a micro hydro Turgo turbine. The presented methodology will be based on numerical calculations of micro hydro Turgo turbine characteristic parameters in various operating regimes. The obtained results from numerical calculation will be compared to the current performance of the real existing Turgo turbine. Accordingly, based on obtained results, recommendations for improving the performance of micro hydro Turgo turbines will be presented.

Effect of the Number of Splined Blades of a Locally-Fabricated Turbine on the Performance of a Simplified Pico Hydropower System

“…It shows that the shaft power increased with number of blades deriving from the patterns observed with the other parameters. Also, it was highest for the largest nozzle diameter and least for the smallest diameter, affirming that higher number of blades and larger nozzle diameters [49,56]. The variation of the shaft power was highly significant statistically at 0.05 level along the columns (nozzle diameter) confirming the relevance of the effect of the parameter in generating the shaft power required to produce the necessary torques [62,79,87].…”

“…Although many innovations on Pico hydro schemes have been done several studies are still continually being carried out to improve the efficiency of the systems. Achieving an increase in efficiency in the order of 0.1% would lead to a large increase in electrical power output, hence providing energy independence while mitigating climate change and curbing the energy crisis [53][54][55][56]. Although Pico hydro has enormous social and environmental benefits, it still harbors some disadvantages among which are its site specific nature, high capital costs and lack of support from government institutions which all serve as barriers for adopting the scheme [57][58][59][60].…”

The optimal order configuration of turbines in a small hydropower plant: A case study of the Lepenci River in Kosovo

“…The working hours of the turbines (𝑊 𝑡𝑦 ) were calculated with the assumption that the turbines operate all day, except when there is a lack of water flow. Hence, the yearly working hours are calculated using expression (6) whereas the relative working time using (7):…”

“…Therefore, the implementation of small hydropower plants has gained momentum in recent years due to the affordable costs of installation, sustainable operation, increasing awareness on the energy consumption mitigation and utilization of available energy, electricity grid independence, and incentives to promote the use of RES [3]. Some of the reported installations and performance evaluations of operating small-scale hydropower plants in Kosovo are presented in [4]- [7]. Other installed hydropower plants were listed in research [8], where the overall potential of renewable energies in Kosovo was discussed.…”