Wind tunnel experiments of a newly developed two-bladed Savonius-style wind turbine

Apparently, most hydrokinetic literatures mainly concentrate on large-scale technologies such as waves, tides and ocean current applications. This could be one of the reasons delaying the utilization of small-scale hydrokinetic river technology in rural areas. This paper therefore critically reviews the current status of micro-hydrokinetic river (MHR) technology for rural applications. Relevant research literatures based on developments, applications, design, operation as well as different MHR technologies involved in rural electrification projects have been reviewed. After conducting these reviews it has become clear that one of the key barriers hindering the employment of MHR technology in rural areas with access to flowing water is the lack of research demonstrating the technical, economic and environmental benefits of this technology compared to other rural electrification techniques. Studies that look towards the long-term perspective of techno-economic analysis inclusive of capital, maintenance and running costs computations need to be carried out promoting the interest in utilizing this technology. This paper will aid researchers to identify areas that need to improve as well as encourage public bodies to implement proper energy policies regarding the MHR technology usage in rural areas. It will also create awareness among site owners, investors, project developers and decision makers regarding the potential benefits of using this technology in rural areas especially in countries with little or no elevation.

Status of micro-hydrokinetic river technology in rural applications: A review of literature

Darrieus vertical axis wind turbine for power generation I: Assessment of Darrieus VAWT configurations

Vortex-induced motions are generally known as destructive phenomena for engineering structures. Nevertheless, they have a positive effect which is their great potential to extract renewable energy from the fluid flow. The phenomenology of vortex-induced motions has been studied and several energy harvesting technologies based on these motions have been reported, separately through literature. However, a comprehensive study that bonds together the phenomenology and the energy extraction technologies does not exist yet. Now that this area has become well established, classification of the relevant phenomena and technologies has become necessary as well. The present paper has two main objectives; The first objective is to classify the whole vortex-induced motion phenomena into several groups which include Flutter, Transverse and Torsional Galloping, Buffeting, Vortex-Induced Vibration (VIV), and Fluttering-Autorotation. The second objective is to review the literature, with the aim of classifying different technologies of renewable energy harvesting based on vortex-induced motion. Also, the performance characteristics and economical costs of these technologies are benchmarked.

Renewable energy harvesting by vortex-induced motions: Review and benchmarking of technologies

Blade Shape Optimization of the Savonius Wind Turbine Using a Genetic Algorithm

Influence of the deflector plate on the performance of modified Savonius water turbine

Savonius turbine is simple in design and easy to fabricate at a lower cost. The drag is the basic driving force for Savonius turbine. Savonius turbines are mainly used for the small-scale electricity generation in remote areas. In real life, multiple Savonius turbines are to be arranged to form a farm to scale up the electricity generation. So, it is important to study the interaction among them to avoid the power loss due to negative interaction between turbines. The purpose of this investigation is to examine closely the effect of interaction between two Savonius turbines arranged in line. Experimental investigations are carried out to study the mutual interaction between turbines with water as the working medium at a Reynolds number of 1.2×105 based on the diameter of the turbine. Influence of separation gap between the two Savonius turbines is studied by varying the separation gap ratio (𝑋/𝑅) from 3 to 8. As the separation gap ratio increases from 3 to 8, becomes lesser the mutual interaction between the turbines. Results conclude that two turbines placed at a separation gap ratio of 8 performed independently without affecting the performance of each other.

https://downloads.hindawi.com/journals/ijrm/2012/581658.pdf

Study on the Interaction between Two Hydrokinetic Savonius Turbines

Wind machines convert kinetic energy of the wind into usable form of mechanical energy or electrical energy. The Savonius rotor is a vertical axis wind machine which is simple in design. High starting torque characteristics make it suitable for standalone power generation as well as water pumping applications. This paper reviews the literature on the performance characteristics of the Savonius rotor. Multi-bladed rotor, multistage rotor, shape of the blade, use of deflecting plate, guide vanes and nozzle augmentation are several ways to enhance the performance characteristics. This review would help an engineer in building an improved Savonius rotor for a given application.

Kailash Golecha

Papers

Influence of the deflector plate on the performance of modified Savonius water turbine

Study on the Interaction between Two Hydrokinetic Savonius Turbines

Review on Savonius Rotor for Harnessing Wind Energy