A Rationalised CFD Design Methodology for Turgo Turbines to Enable Local Manufacture in the Global South

Joe Butchers, Shaun Benzon, Sam Williamson, Julian Booker and George Aggidis
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Joe Butchers: Electrical Energy Management Group, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TR, UK
Shaun Benzon: Tidal Development, Liverpool City Authority, Liverpool L3 1BP, UK
Sam Williamson: Electrical Energy Management Group, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TR, UK
Julian Booker: Electrical Energy Management Group, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TR, UK
George Aggidis: Lancaster University Renewable Energy Group & Fluid Machinery Group, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YW, UK

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 19, 1-23

Abstract: In the Global South, pico- and micro-hydropower turbines are often made by local workshops. Despite several advantageous features, e.g., a high power density and capacity to handle silt, there is no commonly available Turgo turbine design appropriate for local manufacture. Technological developments including the internet, CAD, and additive manufacturing increase the opportunity to precisely transfer designs around the world. Consequently, design improvements can be shared digitally and used by manufacturers in their local context. In this paper, a rationalised CFD approach was used to guide simple design changes that improve the efficiency of a Turgo turbine blade. The typical manufacturing capacity of the micro-hydropower industry in Nepal was used to rationalise the variation of potential design changes. Using the geometry and operational parameters from an existing design as a benchmark, a two-blade, homogenous, multiphase model was developed and run using the commercial code ANSYS CFX. Initially, it was identified that the jet aim position had a significant effect on the efficiency. A design of experiments’ approach and subsequent analysis of numerical and visual results were used to make design changes that resulted in an improvement in efficiency from 69% to 81%. The design changes maintained the simple profile of the blade, ensuring that the resulting design was appropriate for manufacture in a local workshop.

Keywords: Turgo; CFD; hydropower; optimisation; parametric; manufacture (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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