• Journal of Advanced Marine Engineering and Technology
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.698-706
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• 2008

Performance improvement of Small hydro turbine is a very important subject to solve in the stage of introduction and development of the turbine. Cross-flow hydro turbine should be also studied more in detail for the turbine performance in order to extend the sites of application. In order to improve the turbine performance, the effect of the turbine shape on the turbine performance should be examined. Therefore, the effect of runner blade number on the turbine performance is investigated by use of a commercial CFD code. The results show that runner blade number gives remarkable effect on the efficiency and output power of the turbine. Pressure on the surface of the runner blade changes considerably by the blade number at Stage 1, but relatively small change of velocity distribution occurs in the flow passage.

• The KSFM Journal of Fluid Machinery
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.19-29
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• 2014

In addition to the development of micro hydro turbine, the challenge in micro hydro turbine design as sustainable hydro devices is focused on the optimization of turbine runner blade which have decisive effect on the turbine performance to reach higher efficiency. A multi-objective optimization method to optimize the performance of runner blade of propeller turbine for micro turbine has been studied. For the initial design of planar blade cascade, singularity distribution method and the combination of the Bezier curve parametric technology is used. A non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II(NSGA II) is developed based on the multi-objective optimization design method. The comparision with model test show that the blade charachteristics is optimized by NSGA-II has a good efficiency and load distribution. From model test and scale up calculation, the maximum prototype efficiency of the runner blade reaches as high as 90.87%.

• The KSFM Journal of Fluid Machinery
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.5-10
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• 2016

As a key component of a Francis turbine facility, the runner performance plays a vital role in the performance of the turbine. It is effective and successful to design a Francis turbine runner blade with good performance by one dimensional hydraulic design method. On the basis of one dimensional hydraulic analysis, there are a lot of parameters of the internal flow passage shapes determined by experience. Among those parameters, the effect of port area of blade on the performance of a Francis turbine is investigated in this study. A given Francis turbine model was selected for investigating the port area of blade on the performance. The result shows that the effect of port area of runner blade on the outflow angle from runner passage on the performance is quite significant. A correct exit flow angle reduces the energy loss at draft tube, which has the best efficiency of the turbine model.

• Journal of Advanced Marine Engineering and Technology
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.413-420
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• 2008

In order to improve the performance of cross-flow hydro turbine, detailed examination of the effect of the turbine configuration on the performance is needed necessarily. Therefore, this study is aimed to investigate the effect of blade angle on the performance of the cross-flow hydro turbine. Analysis of the turbine performance with the variation of the blade angle has been made by using a commercial CFD code. The results show that inlet and outlet angles of runner blade give considerable effect on the performance of the turbine. Pressure on the surface of the runner blade changes remarkably by the blade angle both at the Stages 1 and 2. Moreover, relatively small blade inlet angle is effective to produce higher value of output power. Recirculating flow in the runner passage causes remarkable hydraulic loss.

• International Journal of Fluid Machinery and Systems
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• v.2 no.4
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• pp.392-399
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• 2009

The paper concerns the description of the step by step development process of the new fixed blade runner called "Mixer" suitable for the uprating of the Francis turbines units installed at the older low head hydropower plants. In the paper the details of hydraulic and mechanical design are presented. Since the rotational speed of the new runner is significantly higher then the rotational speed of the original Francis one, the direct coupling of the turbine to the generator can be applied. The maximum efficiency at prescribed operational point was reached by the geometry optimization of two most important components. In the first step the optimization of the draft tube geometry was carried out. The condition for the draft tube geometry optimization was to design the new geometry of the draft tube within the original bad draft tube shape without any extensive civil works. The runner blade geometry optimization was carried out on the runner coupled with the draft tube domain. The blade geometry of the runner was optimized using automatic direct search optimization procedure. The method used for the objective function minimum search is a kind of the Nelder-Mead simplex method. The objective function concerns efficiency, required net head and cavitation features. After successful hydraulic design the modal and stress analysis was carried out on the prototype scale runner. The static pressure distribution from flow simulation was used as a load condition. The modal analysis in air and in water was carried out and the results were compared. The final runner was manufactured in model scale and it is going to be tested in hydraulic laboratory. Since the turbine with the fixed blade runner does not allow double regulation like in case of full Kaplan turbine, it can be profitably used mainly at power plants with smaller changes of operational conditions or in case with more units installed. The advantages are simple manufacturing, installation and therefore lower expenses and short delivery time for turbine uprating.

• New & Renewable Energy
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.116-125
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• 2024

Ultra-low-head is an unexplored classification among the sites in which hydroelectric power can be produced. This is typically owing to the low power output and the economic value of the turbines available in this segment. A turbine capable of operating in an ultra-low-head condition without the need of a dam to produce electricity is developed in this study. A gate structure installed at a shallow water channel acting as a weir generates artificial head for the turbine mounted on the gate to produce power. The turbine and generator are designed to be compact and submersible for an efficient and silent operation. The gate angle is adjustable to operate the turbine at varying flow rates. The turbine is designed and tested using computational fluid dynamics tools prior to manufacturing and experimental studies. A parametric study of the runner blade parameters is conducted to obtain the most efficient blade design with minimal hydraulic losses. These parameters include the runner stagger and runner leading edge flow angles. The selected runner design showed improved hydraulic characteristics of the turbine to operate in an ultra-low-head site with minimal losses.

• 한국전산유체공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2011.05a
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• pp.561-566
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• 2011

In this paper, 1-D design of axial flow hydraulic turbine including runner blades, spiral casing with distributors(guide vanes and stay vane), and draft tube was conducted and then 3-D flow analysis was carried out using CFX-12.1. The results of 3 runners showed that with an increase in the number of blades, the flow rate and the power of the turbine system increased. On the other hand. the runner loss was not directly connected with the number of blades. As a result, proper blade number could be selected and more than 100kW small hydraulic turbine could be designed.

• The KSFM Journal of Fluid Machinery
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.45-56
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• 2015

This paper aims to develop a submerged propeller turbine for micro hydropower plant which allows to sustain high values of efficiency in a broad range of hydrological conditions (H=2~6 m, $Q=0.15{\sim}0.39m^3/s$). The two aspects to be considered in this development are mechanical simplicity and high-efficiency operation. Unlike conventional turbines that have spiral casing and gear box, this is directing driving and no spiral casing. A 10 kW class turbine which has the most high potential of the power generation has been developed. The most important element in the design of turbine is the runner blade. The initial blade is designed using inverse design method and then the runner geometry is modified by classical hydraulic method. The design process is carried out in two steps. First, the blade shape is fix and then other components of submerged propeller turbine are designed. Computational fluid dynamics analyses based on the Navier-Stokes equations have been used to obtain overall performance data for the blade and the full turbine, respectively. The results generated by performance parameters(head, guide vane opening angle and rotational speed) variations are theoretically analysed. The evaluation criteria for the blade and the turbine performances are the pressure distribution and flow's behavior on the runner blades and turbine. The results of simulation reveals an efficiency of 91.5% and power generation of 10.5kW at the best efficiency point at the head of 4m and a discharge of $0.3m^3/s$.

• New & Renewable Energy
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.44-51
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• 2012

The aim of this paper is to examine the hydraulically optimized camber of a blade. Prior studies have tried to determine the sound method of design on small-hydro turbines. These have appeared to realize a reasonably efficient small-hydro turbine. Nonetheless, specific and accurate design data have not as yet been established for the shape of the runner blade. Hence, this study examines the performance characteristic of an axial propeller turbine with 0~8% camber variations. The results of output power, efficiency, and pressure distribution of the turbine are graphically depicted. The definition of camber refers to the NACA airfoil. The commercial finite element analysis (FEA) packages, ANSYS, and CFX are used in this study. The results revealed the performance characteristics on small-hydro turbine and suggested a highly efficient section shape of the runner.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.373-380
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• 2019

In this paper, a pico hydro turbine employing low head circulation water at fish farms is designed and evaluated. Due to the advantages of simple structures, small head requirements, and low-cost investment, the constant thickness propeller turbine is considered as a feasible solution. The design process based on the free vortex method is presented in full detail, and a 4-blade runner is built using BladeGen. The turbine performance is analyzed both numerically and via experimental methods. Despite slight differences, the results show similar trends between CFD simulations and experiments carried out on factory test-rigs in a wide range of working conditions. At the design flow rate, the turbine achieves the best efficiency of 70 %, generating 3.5 kW power when rotating at 420 rpm. The internal flow field, as well as the turbine's behavior, are investigated through the distribution of blade streamlines, pressure, and velocity around the runner. Moreover, the pressure coefficient on the blade surface at 3 span positions is plotted while the head loss for each simulation domain is calculated and displayed by charts.