Tangential velocity and water vortex structure behaviour based on cylindrical-shaped basin’s design parameters for gravitational vortex power plants

Abstract

The gravitational water vortex power plants (GWVPPs) have established in hydropower systems as a capable approach, generating micro-scale environment friendly electricity. In this system, energy is produced as a result of the interaction of water coming from an inlet canal with the turbine by creating a vortex in circular/conical-shaped structures. This interaction is based on an assumption that the water flow rate in a basin coincides with the tangential velocity on the turbine propeller. In this case, it is essential to investigate numerous geometric design parameters of the cylinder basin and their effects on vortex formation with the help of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). Here, based on the CFD principles, the behaviour of various geometrical parameters on the vortex and tangential velocities in the basin are investigated separately with the help of Ansys Fluent, without using any turbine propeller. For a certain inlet flow velocity and head, different tunable geometric parameters for the gravitational water vortex plant with a cylindrical basin are inlet canal length, basin diameter, basin height and outlet diameter, respectively. The objective is to achieve an improved design configuration concerning factors such as tangential velocity, vortex arrangement, and the optimal placement of turbine propellers within this vortex.