Investigation the Performance of Stream Water Wheel Turbines using CFD Techniques

Abstract

A stream water wheel is a machine for converting the energy of moving water into power. It consists of a large metal wheel, with a number blades arranged on the outer rim which allows the wheel to be rotated by the water striking the blades. Water wheels were used since ancient as a primary source of power. It was used for irrigation, grain milling and supplying villages with water. In the present study, a stream water wheel turbine of 5 m in diameter is numerically simulated using ANSYS-CFX package under different flow conditions. The wake region behind the turbine is monitored where it influences on other turbines next to it. The simulation results have shown that in case of constructing a farm of wheel turbines, the streamwise span should not be less than 6 m. The stream wheel turbines works normally at a tip speed ratio TSR less than unity.

Keywords

• Hydrokinetic turbines,Stream-water wheel turbine,Efficiency,CFD

References

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