We worked on developing a variable pitch rotor to maintain the direction of rotation and maximize efficiency over both the inlet and exhaust strokes of the system.ДЄnd there are still a lot of untapped (pun intended) opportunities out there. Below is a diagrammatic representation of an oscillating water column power generation system. From rivers to oceans, the worldвЂ™s water presents us with tremendous opportunities for clean energy. I am endlessly fascinated by waterвЂ™s potential. It utilized the velocity of the flow in a conventional hydroturbineвЂ™s tailrace to provide up to an additional 7% power generation capacity to the existing facility. A particularly memorable job that I worked on was designing and developing a 70 kW hydrokineticВ turbine, that was installed at the Army Corps of Engineers Lock and Dam 2 on the upper Mississippi River. The design that Concepts NREC developed involved extensive use of CFD that included the inlet volute, gates, runner, and downstream diffuser to optimize the overall system to deliver low fish mortality and high-power extraction.ДЄ lot of turbomachinery designed with water as the working fluid is big.

This observation was the inspiration for a turbine designed specifically to minimize the rate of pressure change. Contrary to what you might expect, research showed that fish passing downstream through a hydraulic turbine tend to die more from the pressure shock, rather then the impact of the blades. For example, Alden Research Laboratories needed a вЂњfish-friendlyвЂќ turbine, designed to minimize the pressure gradients through the turbine to avoid fish mortality (which is caused by sudden pressure changes). Working with water sometimes includes consideration for the animals that live in it. Today, more advanced turbomachinery is used for both hydroelectric and hydrokinetic applications. MankindвЂ™s fascination with manipulating the movement of water goes way back read Mark AndersonвЂ™s blog on Early Water Handling to see just how far back it goes. Water is frequently the fluid that flows through various types of rotating equipment we design to either release or store energy. I work with water a lot here at Concepts NREC.

Hydro turbine design software