Single arm, centrifugal, water turbine for low head and low flow application : Part 2 – Performance Evaluation

Abstract

This paper presents performance analysis of the single arm centrifugal reaction water turbine described in Part 1 of our research. Experimental tests were conducted to assess the power output and efficiency of the turbine by varying the head, orifice diameter and the arm radius. The results obtained show that; the radial arm length affects the operating angular velocity, output torque as well as the overall turbine efficiency. The turbine exhibited maximum efficiency of 83% and 40% at heads of 1.85m and 11.5m respectively. The corresponding ratio of cross-sectional area of nozzle to main conduit was in the range of 0.18 to 0.24. It is concluded that the semi-circular centrifugal reaction water turbine is a fairly suitable type of turbine for low head and low-medium flow application. Based on the results obtained, an arm conduit with a larger cross-sectional area would be recommendable to achieve higher discharge. But further research is still needed on how best the water from the reservoir would get into the turbine and exit.