Numerical simulation of the flow and performance of a Savonius hydraulic turbine provided with a shield plate

Abstract

The flow and performance of a rotor of a Savonius hydraulic turbine provided with a shield plate were analyzed by the two-dimensional simulations. The rotor diameter DR is 142 mm, and the Reynolds number based on the velocity of the main flow U0, U0DR/ν, is 1.1×105. The shield plate with a length of 0.5DR is installed upstream of the rotor, perpendicular to the main flow. The comparative experimental studies have visualized the flow and clarified that the shield plate increases the power output of the rotor. The vortex in cell method combined with the volume penalization method was applied to the flow simulation, and the torque acting on the rotor was computed with a custom method by the authors. The simulated flows around the shield plate and rotor agreed with the experimentally visualized ones. The simulation successfully revealed the effect of the shield plate on the flow and power output of the rotor. These demonstrate the applicability of the present simulation method for the performance prediction of the rotor of Savonius hydraulic turbines provided with a shield plate.

Keywords

• savonius hydraulic turbine
• shield plate
• cfd
• wake
• pressure distribution