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Journal of applied research and technology
On-line version ISSN 2448-6736Print version ISSN 1665-6423
Abstract
BETANCUR GOMEZ, J. D.; ARDILA MARIN, J. G. and CHICA ARRIETA, E. L.. Numerical and experimental performance analysis of a horizontal axis hydrokinetic turbine. J. appl. res. technol [online]. 2023, vol.21, n.6, pp.965-974. Epub Aug 13, 2024. ISSN 2448-6736. https://doi.org/10.22201/icat.24486736e.2023.21.6.1996.
Alternative technologies such as hydrokinetic turbines can improve electric energy conditions in rural or non-interconnected areas with a low environmental impact. However, as they are an emergent device, they must be studied further to better understand their phenomenology and the ways to improve their performance. The numerical and experimental evaluation of rotors under specific operation conditions, depending on their hydrodynamic profiles, result in efficiency curves for evaluated prototypes, so that devices are proposed which take full advantage of the flow conditions of a specific place. Considering the above, the main objective of this work was to evaluate a horizontal-axis hydrokinetic turbine rotor prototype numerically and experimentally with an EPPLER E817 hydrodynamic profile for a flow velocity of 1,4 m s-1. The simulations were conducted by means of computational fluid dynamics; the k-ω SST turbulence model was used, and the torque was monitored. Then, the grid convergence index (GCI) was calculated to establish the results’ numerical uncertainty. For experimentation, the rotor was additively manufactured and evaluated in a test bench, where tests at velocity of 1,4 m s-1 were performed and the braking voltage was varied to measure torque at different tip speed ratio (TSR). Finally, the experimental and numerical curves of power coefficient (Cp) versus TSR were compared. Both the simulation and experimental results show that a TSR of about 4 represents the best operating conditions, but, due to mechanical losses in the experimental setup, the reported Cp values differ between a numerical 0,434 and an experimental 0,267. The power generated by the evaluated rotor could achieve 117,0 W, thus showing the potential of this technology for electrical power supply with low environmental impact.
Keywords : Turbomachine; hydrofoil; computational fluid dynamics; numerical uncertainty.
