Optimization of input elements of flow part of small axial hydroturbines

A large area of Russia’s territories, where consumers are not connected to the centralized energy system, leads to the need to use autonomous energy sources. Most often, these are built on the basis of diesel power plants and have a number of logistical and operational problems. These factors lead to a high cost of electricity with low indicators of environmental friendliness and equipment reliability. As a result, renewable energy sources are becoming more and more popular. An important advantage of RES in comparison with fossil fuel energy sources is that these resources are virtually inexhaustible, and many of them are ubiquitous.

A significant place in terms of reserves and scale of use is occupied by the energy of water flows. It is important to note that small hydropower is the most stable energy source among RES. High reliability and efficiency, as well as wide possibilities for regulating the energy of the water flow, make it possible to use simpler and cheaper systems for generating and stabilizing the parameters of the produced electricity. As a result, hydroelectric power plants produce cheaper electricity compared to power plants operating on other resources.

Small hydraulic turbines operate with small hydraulic capacities; therefore, it is possible to increase the efficiency of electricity generation supplied to the final consumer by reducing losses in the flow path in front of the hydraulic turbine impeller by changing its shape. To do this, when developing microhydroturbines, it is necessary to create the most streamlined structures: both the working bodies of the hydroturbine and the supply channels, as well as the impeller fairing. The results of a study of the influence of a change in the shape of the latter on the magnitude of pressure losses are presented using the results of computational and theoretical studies, on the basis of which a further direction for the development of this topic is proposed.

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