Study on Contra-Rotating Small-Sized Axial Flow Hydro Turbine

Ryosuke Sonohata, Junichiro Fukutomi, Toru Toru Shigemitsu

Graduate School of Advanced Technology and Science, The University of Tokushima, Tokushima, Japan.
Institute of Technology and Science, The University of Tokushima, Tokushima, Japan.

DOI: 10.4236/ojfd.2012.24A039                

Abstract

It is thought that small hydropower generation is alternative energy, and the energy potential of small hydropower is large. The efficiency of small hydro turbines is lower than that of large one, and these small hydro turbine’s common problems are out of operation by foreign materials. Then, there are demands for small hydro turbines to keep high per- formance and wide flow passage. Therefore, we adopted contra-rotating rotors which can be expected to achieve high performance and low-solidity rotors with wide flow passage in order to accomplish high performance and stable opera- tion. Final goal on this study is development of an electric appliance type small hydro turbine which has high portability and makes an effective use of the unused small hydro power energy source. In the present paper, the performance and the internal flow conditions in detail of contra-rotating small-sized axial flow hydro turbine are shown as a first step of the research with the numerical flow analysis. Then, a capability adopting contra-rotating rotors to an electric appliance type small hydro turbine was discussed. Furthermore, the high performance design for it was considered by the numeri- cal analysis results.

Keywords

Small-Sized Axial Turbine; Contra-Rotating Rotor; Electric Appliance; Renewable Energy; Internal Flow

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1]	A. Furukawa, K. Okuma and A. Tagaki, “Basic Study of Low Head Water Power Utilization by Using DarrieusType Turbine,” Transactions on JSME, Vol. 64, No. 624, 1998, pp. 2534-2540. (in Japanese) doi:10.1299/kikaib.64.2534
[2]	T. Kanemoto, A. Inagaki, H. Misumi and H. Kinoshita, “Development of Gyro-Type Hydraulic Turbine Suitable for Shallow Stream (1st Report, Rotor Works and Hydroelectric Power Generation),” Transactions on JSME, Vol. 70, No. 690, 2004, pp.413-418. (in Japanese)
[3]	J. Matsui, ‘‘Internal Flow and Performance of the Spiral Water Turbine,’’ Turbomachinery, Vol. 38, No. 6, 2010, pp. 358-364. (in Japanese)
[4]	T. Ikeda, S. Iio and K. Tatsuno, “Performance of NanoHydraulic Turbine Utilizing Waterfalls,” Renewable Energy, Vol. 35, No. 1, 2010, pp. 293-300. doi:10.1016/j.renene.2009.07.004
[5]	M. Nakajima, S. Iio and T. Ikeda, “Performance of Savonius Rotor for Environmentally Friendly Hydraulic Turbine,” Journal of Fluid Science and Technology, Vol. 3, No. 3, 2008, pp. 420-429. doi:10.1299/jfst.3.420
[6]	S. Iio, F. Uchiyama, C. Sonoda and T. Ikeda, “Performance Improvement of Savonius Hydraulic Turbine by Using a Shield Plate,” Turbomachinery, Vol. 37, No. 12, 2009, pp. 743-748. (in Japanese)
[7]	S. Iio, S. Oike, E. Sato and T. Ikeda, “Failure Events in the Field Test of Environmentally Friendly Nano-Hydraulic Turbines,” Turbomachinery, Vol. 39, No. 3, 2011, pp. 162-168. (in Japanese)