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Performance of modified gravitational water vortex turbine through CFD for hydro power generation on micro-scale

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Abstract

Gravitational water vortex turbine takes advantage of the formation of an artificially induced gravitational vortex in a free surface tank, known as basin, for the generation of electrical power with low values of hydraulic head and flow rate. Since this emerging and low-cost technology is still evaluated as a viable alternative to produce hydroelectric energy on the micro-scale, the present work determines its performance with modified geometric parameters using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) techniques. CFD analysis was based on a two-phase flow model covering the vortex formation and the vortex–blade interaction to select an efficient geometric configuration of turbine. The results allowed us to visualize the dynamics of the device, as well as to estimate the vortex height and the production of energy, elements that influence, mainly, the tangential and radial components of velocity. The values of efficiency, torque, and revolutions per minute indicate that a radius coefficient \({C}_{r}=0.8\) generates better energy absorption. This radius affects the structure of the vortex, mainly in the loss of symmetry of air core, but increases the mechanical efficiency of the turbine based on torque generated. Overall, geometric configuration with a pulse radius of 0.2 m and 8 blades showed the best performance with an efficiency of up to 64.23%. Additionally, analysis showed that blade submergence between 90 and 95% induces a braking effect on the rear surfaces of the blades and reduces the level of efficiency.

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the support received from Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologia (CONACyT). Translation certified by Prof. Edgar Diz CTP 64500 (+ 52 722 901 0675).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Facultad de Ingeniería Civil, Instituto de Ingeniería Civil, Centro Internacional del Agua, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Nuevo León, Av. Universidad s/n, Ciudad Universitaria, 66455, San Nicolás de los Garza, Mexico

    Miguel Angel Zamora-Juárez, Víctor Hugo Guerra-Cobián, Adrián Leonardo Ferriño Fierro & José Luis Bruster Flores

  2. Instituto Interamericano de Tecnología y Ciencias del Agua, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, Carretera Toluca-Atlacomulco km. 14.5 Toluca, 50200, Estado de México, Mexico

    Carlos Roberto Fonseca Ortiz & Boris Miguel López-Rebollar

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  1. Miguel Angel Zamora-Juárez
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  3. Carlos Roberto Fonseca Ortiz
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  4. Boris Miguel López-Rebollar
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Contributions

MAZJ took part in conceptualization, methodology, validation, formal analysis, investigation, writing—original draft. VHGC involved in conceptualization, methodology, supervision, resources, and writing—review and editing. CRFO involved in formal analysis, supervision, investigation, and writing—review and editing. BMLR took part in software, methodology, and visualization. ALFF took part in supervision, funding acquisition, and writing—review and editing. JLBF involved in methodology, validation, and review and editing.

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Correspondence to Víctor Hugo Guerra-Cobián.

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Technical Editor: Erick Franklin.

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Zamora-Juárez, M.A., Guerra-Cobián, V.H., Fonseca Ortiz, C.R. et al. Performance of modified gravitational water vortex turbine through CFD for hydro power generation on micro-scale. J Braz. Soc. Mech. Sci. Eng. 44, 545 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40430-022-03834-y

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