PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF HELICAL TURBINE

Abstract

Helical turbines are generally in wind turbine but now it has been widely used in tidal hydroelectric power plants since it starts rotating at a very low velocity ranging from 1.2 m/s to 5.5 m/s. Power from the same turbine can also be extracted out of flowing water from small river tributaries and canals. A numerical study has been done with the help of CFD on a design of a helical turbine given in the journal published by Gorlov. The same Gorlov helical turbine was modelled as well as its efficiency results are validated using CFD tool i.e. Ansys fluent 15.0. Performance analysis was also done by varying boundary conditions such as inlet velocity from 1.5 m/s to 2.5 m/s with a step size of 0.25 m/s and angular velocity from 100 rpm to 150 rpm with a step size of 10 rpm. Thereafter ten different models were designed by just varying the dimensions of the Gorlov helical turbine such as its diameter and height and their Performance analysis was done. Performance analysis was then done on the these ten models when they are installed at a spacing of 5 to 15 metres with a step size of 2.5 metres and the required spacing were found for the ten turbines and a linear regression model was developed between the turbine (taking its volume) and the desired spacing. Besides this, the variation in the flow velocity in upstream and downstream of a helical turbine in channel was also found when turbine operates.