RRS

1.) Dr. Alexander Gorlov, PI MIME Department, “HELICAL TURBINES AS NEW TECHNOLOGY FOR
HYDRO AND WIND ENERGY”, Northeastern University Boston, MA 02115

The helical as an efficient new instrument for conversion kinetic energy of the hydro streams into electric or
other mechanical energy. A multi-megawatt conceptual project of the ocean stream power farm equipped by
number of helical turbines as considered along with a concept of a floating factory for institution production of
the hydrogen fuel by means of electrolysis of ocean waters. Besides mega hydro power farms, mini power
stations with helical turbines of a few kilowatts each are discussed for small communities or even individual
households located near tidal shorelines or river banks with strong water currents. No construction of hydro
dams is necessary for such an application. As well as in hydro power plants, compact helical turbines can be
used in Wind Farms instead of conventional propeller-type machines of huge diameter.

Source: https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/666280

2.) Adam L. Niblick, “Experimental and Analytical Study of Helical Cross-Flow Turbines for a Tidal
Micropower Generation System,” University of Washington 2012

This study investigates the feasibility of a micro-scale tidal hydrokinetic generator to power autonomous
oceanographic instrumentation, with emphasis on turbine design and performance. This type of “micropower”
system is intended to provide continuous power on the order of 20 Watts. System components are reviewed and
include turbine, electrical generator, gearbox, controller, converter, and battery bank. A steady-state model
predicts system energy storage and power output in a mixed, mainly semidiurnal tidal regime with peak currents
of 1.5 m/s. Among several turbine designs reviewed, a helical cross-flow turbine is selected, due to its self-start
capability, ability to accept inflow from any direction, and power performance. Parameters impacting helical
turbine design include radius, blade profile and pitch, aspect ratio, helical pitch, number of blades, solidity ratio,
blade wrap ratio, strut design, and shaft diameter. The performance trade-offs of each are compared. A set of
three prototype-scale turbines (two three-bladed designs, with 15% and 30% solidity, and a four-bladed design
with 30% solidity and higher helical pitch) and several strut and shaft configurations were fabricated and tested
in a water flume capable of flow rates up to 0.8 m/s. Tests included performance characterization of the rotating
turbines from freewheel to stall, static torque characterization as a function of azimuthal angle, performance
degradation associated with inclination angles up to 10° from vertical, and stream-wise wake velocity profiles.
A four-bladed turbine with 60° helical pitch, 30% solidity, and circular plate “end cap” provided the best
performance; this design attained efficiency of 24% in 0.8 m/s flow and experienced smaller performance
reductions for tilted orientations relative to other variants. Maximum turbine efficiency increased with increased
flume velocity. A free-vortex model was modified to simulate the helical turbine performance. Model results
were compared to experimental data for various strut design and inflow velocities, and performance was
extrapolated to higher flume velocities and a full-scale turbine (0.7 m2 relative to 0.04 m2 in flume tests). The
model predicts experimental trends correctly but deviates from experimental values for some conditions,
indicating the need for further study of secondary effects for a high chord-to-radius ratio turbine.

Source: http://depts.washington.edu/pmec/docs/20120315_NiblickA_thesis_Micropower.pdf

3.) Ratchaphon Suntivarakorna, Sujate Wanchat and Wiroon Monatrakul, “An Experimental Study of
Electricity Generation Using a Horizontal Spiral Turbine”, September 2016, Kitakyushu, Japan

This study aimed to develop horizontal spiral turbines for generating electricity by designing spiral turbines
using the Golden Ratio function. The study analyzed the impact of the diameter-length ratio and the number of
the turbine’s blades (2 – 6 blades) on the torque of turbine. Then the prototype of the spiral turbine with a 0.6
meter diameter and 0.9 meter blade was designed to generate electricity with a water velocity of 1, 1.5 and 2
m/s in order to compare to the propeller turbine which had an identical diameter size. The results indicated that
a 3-bladed spiral turbine with a 2/3 of diameter-length ratio of turbine had maximum torque at 1 m/s of water
velocity. The spiral turbine produced an optimal efficiency of 48% which was 15% higher than that of the
propeller turbine.

Source:https://pdf.sciencedirectassets.com/277910/1-s2.0-S1876610216X00161/1-s2.0-S1876610216311766/
main.pdf?X-Amz-Security-Token=IQoJb3JpZ2luX2VjEAwaCXVzLWVhc3QtMSJHMEUCIBlze
%2FL1cSqx6ny78CWo2OsckXAZFvar4BxwvHOB%2BggIAiEAnfPqtfl2g1sIhyg3ro9uvdQfY9%2BLwlEd
%2BPSBw%2FTANBQq1QQIpf%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F
%2FARAFGgwwNTkwMDM1NDY4NjUiDOFi8R7YYvlIoMQD8iqpBAd0OyEtLhkhDzqt4S4tnuksrb
%2F1a9zK9aBHcjFt9nq2lIe88z7nibAZoNhx0nBOHMzC
%2Fv3rJlrcFtA3yvtKFKJLr3iiJhU9eVyKQNqrHS6R5h5k7RQHkXfTZBJZJ8RywWYmDy
%2BwT6mu3xIQDhEDmqLhkTSHxTHMspfGGVmeq
%2FTnGBUnPCS4vu20KGwCy6dX42DxTN84eF8zIuUOqbo6ZbYSxWnqgrFuJKMPO%2FT
%2F5e1nlenvt2O9FkM3gASQvJQNuaDRRvGU99vcWfqksYSJP7BzlDruW2SlbvXM97JFKe8u4WU2DXfZj
U3qHZQPu0nkFU5Ie5OQS6bwnGQN9zRja8kkAQi6K%2FO6Xm6YMSlSF3tjD5Acy
%2F4ek9b6U1%2BaEUdPHvMVan%2FHz6%2Fyz%2FaX2VldKBG%2F
%2F4%2F548FiTZhYfRCm2dqlc4l9uzwaYaA0VaxhveKbdw0nxXTKY9eVRdfsDRVav7VfjO06z5kpUUxPr8
zhRvyFOMyHsgvCzA773jswkxNSehn14gGUxBJc1qmjrWv7nR%2BTIc%2BUK8u6NI21nawMowpnutgqLs
%2FYaMNBX7XxGpnJtGxwe1crbRhnO5h%2FN1um2mII2utHWRn6vRIRxlUqnu5Zrdm0lw9RZ76g9k
%2FTm8qFLfHuoWnBhv0XfoBci
%2BpuNpMUGbwKRXDKtGqpfZBJcOZYhZYZdwGgKRMsedJuxeCUc7%2F
%2BifCNlW1QK9clRtsKSKCuWj6XXt0PNtAw%2FbLNnwY6qQE7VFA8jjOUinFTawn%2B5HlSgy
%2BesdXckmO4V9GLXSP96by4Kd7mXOhvkK%2FxMbm%2FwB%2FPcEt3X
%2FgyT0B59rKv4bAl9ONjNQ3x3CklUx6KTfCKzrYsKnE%2FrAzr2gPFOeo4ClcPqUvy7f3y7BaifAfg
%2F0lXhA9jJeR1ke8hzlGHU
%2BoUM5ucMDb2fF9sfVZqBHxjMVydBC5vV89I15QRKxiB5Vv1Wm3KSaefmhMS&X-Amz-
Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Date=20230220T114300Z&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-
Amz-Expires=300&X-Amz-Credential=ASIAQ3PHCVTYV7DODL7C%2F20230220%2Fus-east-
1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-
Signature=e12f2aac3607639aa65350509c93a228ecc952d4351beb865ef4463674b1ce34&hash=865c63d47b430
95aea49ab6602e3e533b245cef191dc870be4ec335b55c151cf&host=68042c943591013ac2b2430a89b270f6af2c
76d8dfd086a07176afe7c76c2c61&pii=S1876610216311766&tid=spdf-dbda73f7-c655-492b-a3c9-
1ba8589e5cb1&sid=4b0c6bf93bf97047b3686906808aa8f4ee09gxrqa&type=client&tsoh=d3d3LnNjaWVuY2V
kaXJlY3QuY29t&ua=1e0d585f0d58090752&rr=79c6fb683f6b10c9&cc=ph

4.) Ei Ei Nwe, Dr. Aung Ko Latt, “Design and Performance of Vertical Axis Helical Cross-Flow Turbine Blade
for Micropower Generation”, June 2018 Pages 108-112

This study is intended to generate the optimum helical cross-flow turbine blade for generating the electricity. As
the helical blade shape sweeps along the circumference of rotation of the turbine, some portion of the blade
profile is located at the optimum angle of attack even in static or slowly rotating conditions, which allows for a
more uniform starting torque that less dependent upon turbine azimuthal position. The forces acting on the
blade are different by designing the blade profile. And then the pressure and velocity flow through the turbine
are differing. In this paper, Hydrofoil NACA0018 and NACA 0020 are compared by using Profili Software.
And then, NACA0018 is chosen based on max CL/CD ratio at angle of attack 9 ͦ. Blade design is made of wood
with length (0.476m) and chord (0.1m). Steel shaft diameter and length are (0.012m) and (0.775m). Turbine test
is performed in canal in front of Mandalay Technological University. According to the experimental results, it
can produce 370 Watts at water velocity 2.5m/s. Finally, the pressure and velocity distribution of water on the
blade are simulated by ANSYS Fluent software.

Source: https://www.ijntr.org/download_data/IJNTR04060036.pdf

5.) Willis Awandu 1,2, Robin Ruff 1 , Jens-Uwe Wiesemann 1 and Boris Lehmann, “Status of Micro-
Hydrokinetic River Technology Turbines Application for Rural Electrification in Africa”, Department of
Hydraulics Engineering, Technical University of Darmstadt, Franziska-Braun-Straße 7, 64287 Darmstadt,
Germany

Energy accessibility, reliability and availability are key components of improved quality of life and human
development in all spheres. As the United Nations’ SDG 7 calls for access to electricity for all by 2030, Africa
still has a wide gap to fill as the statistics show that 85% of the population that will not have access to electricity
is in Africa. As the world tries to wean itself off non-renewable energy and transition to green through use of
renewable energy sources, hydropower energy remains at the heart of Africa for this venture. With majority of
the rural population in Africa lacking electricity, there is need for a low-tech system that utilizes river flow to
generate just enough energy for normal operation in these regions. Micro-hydrokinetic river turbine technology
(µ-HRT), which offers less intermittency, can potentially contribute to sustainably electrifying Africa rural
areas. The technology has been adopted by few countries worldwide, with limited comprehensive study in
Africa even though the technology seems viable for use in African rivers. This paper reviewed the status of the
µ-HRT applications in Africa and some of the barriers to its development. The study found out that the
technology has not been vastly developed in Africa. Despite numerous barriers, the technology is simply a low-
tech technology that requires the use of local resources and capacity building for its sustainability in terms of
construction, operation and maintenance requirements. It is therefore recommended that R&D and field trials be
conducted for its possible adoption.

Source: file:///C:/Users/aldub%20maiden/Downloads/energies-15-09004-v2%20(1).pdf

RRL

1.) Nikolay Belyakov, “Sustainable Power Generation”, 2019

A hydroturbine is a rotating machine that transform the energy of the water flow into the energy of the rotating
shaft. Simply put, it consists of a wheel-type structure mounted on the shaft: impacted by water flow, the wheel
starts to rotate. Water can be guided to the turbine in two ways. Through the nozzles, passing through which it
hits the buckets of the turbine and rotates the wheel. Such turbines, also called active or impulse, use only
kinetic energy of the water (basically, the faster the flow, the higher the energy) that strikes the buckets to cause
rotation. Through special inlet guide vanes that direct water to the turbine wheel. While the inlet pressure before
the turbine is higher (due to the water head pressure), water has both potential energy (the weight of the water)
and kinetic energy (speed of flow) and it therefore pushes the water through the wheel. A special form of the
buckets transfers pressure to the wheel and therefore pushes it to rotate. Such machines are called reaction
turbines. The choice of a proper turbine technology depends on the characteristics and the configuration of
the hydropower plant, mostly the available water head and water flow.
Source: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/water-turbine

2.) Ersan Kabalci and Yasin Kabalci, “Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems and Microgrids”, 2021

Hydraulic or water turbine is accepted as the core of any HPP since it converts the mechanical power obtained
from water into rotation on the shaft of a generator and accomplishes electricity generation. The kinetic energy
of water in the reservoir is transferred to the turbine over the penstock, and the efficiency of the generation
process is closely related to turbine type and features. Although turbines of HPP can be classified according to
several ways, the most commonly accepted classifications are based on three major criteria as the direction of
flow, pressure of water, shape, and orientation of the turbine.
The hydraulic turbines are classified into three groups—axial, radial, and mixed flow turbines—where the most
widely known axial turbine types are Kaplan as in Fig. 2.4 and Propellor turbines, while the Pelton is a well-
known radial flow turbine. On the other hand, Francis turbines are listed under the mixed flow turbines category
owing to its feature meeting requirements of axial and radial flow turbines. Francis overcomes the flow
direction that is neither axial nor radial with its radial water inlet and axial water outlet configuration. Another
group of turbines is described as cross-flow turbines that of widely known models are Banki turbine or
Ossberger turbine. The flow of water is supplied to the blade ring which delivers rotational energy to upper and
lower blades, and a sliding valve controls the flow rate.

Source: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/water-turbine

3.) Yen-Hsiung Kiang, in Fuel Property Estimation and Combustion Process Characterization, 2018

Water turbine is used to convert energy contained in water, potential energy or kinetic energy, into mechanical
or electrical energy.
There are two types of water turbine, the reaction water turbine and the impulse water turbine.
Reaction water turbines generate power from the combined action of pressure and moving water. Water flows
through the turbine, changes pressure, velocity, and direction. The water flow generates pressure between the
front and back of the blades, develops a reverse reaction force on the runner, and thus, forms rotation torque to
rotate the runner. With these actions, energy contained in piped water is then converted into mechanical energy
or electrical energy. The reaction turbine must be completely enclosed to contain the water pressure and the
turbine must be fully submerged in the water flow. Reaction turbines are generally used for applications with
lower head and higher flows than impulse turbines. There are four types of reaction turbines: The mixed flow
type, the axial flow type, the oblique type, and the flow through type. The reaction turbines have an expansion
section (the draft tube) at the exit. The function of the draft tube is to recover the kinetic energy of the flow at
the exit of the runner and convert the kinetic energy into pressure to recover it. The kinetic energy recovery of
the draft tube has a significant effect on the efficiency of the turbine.

Source: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/water-turbine

4.) S.C. Bhatia, in Advanced Renewable Energy Systems, 2014

When water flows through a waterwheel, the water between the blades is almost stationary. Hence the force
exerted on a blade is essentially due to the difference in pressure across the blade. In a water turbine, however,
the water is fast moving and the turbine extracts kinetic energy from the water. There are two basic designs of
water turbines: impulse turbines and reaction turbines.
In an impulse turbine, the blades are fixed to a rotating wheel and each blade rotates in air, apart from when the
blade is in line with a high-speed jet of water. In a reaction turbine, however, the blades are fully immersed in
water and the thrust on the moving blades is due to a combination of reaction and impulse forces. An impulse
turbine called a Pelton wheel is shown in Fig. 10.5. In this example there are two symmetrical jets, and each jet
imparts an impulse to the blade equal to the rate of change of momentum of the jet. The speed of the jet is
controlled by varying the area of the nozzle using a spear valve. Thomas Pelton went to seek his fortune in the
Californian Gold Rush
Source: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/water-turbine

5.) Thamer Mohamed, in Distributed Renewable Energies for Off-Grid Communities (Second Edition), 2021

A water turbine running at a certain speed will draw a particular flow. If there is insufficient flow in the river to
meet this demand, the turbine could start to drain the river and its performance rapidly degrades. Therefore, it
has to shut down or to change its internal geometry, a process known as regulation. Regulated turbines can
move their inlet guide vanes and/or runner blades to increase or reduce the amount of flow they draw. The
efficiency of the different turbines will inevitably reduce as they draw less flow. The typical variation is shown
subsequently. Therefore, a significant factor in comparing different turbine types is their relative efficiencies at
both their design point and reduced flows. For example, Pelton and Kaplan turbines retain high efficiencies
when running below design flow, whereas the efficiency of Cross-flow and Francis turbines falls away more
rapidly when run at below half their normal flow (GEI, 2020).

Source: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/water-turbine