A hydrokinetic power converter for supercritical flow

Abstract

Hydrokinetic Power Converters (HKPCs) are a class of hydrokinetic machines that convert the kinetic energy of incoming water flow into useful energy such as electricity. This research pioneers the development of a device to harness the relatively high-power density of supercritical flow, an abundant renewable energy resource currently wasted in energy-dissipating structures such as ramps, stilling basins and other drop structures found in most irrigation systems. The development of such innovative and sustainable technology could have widespread implications in global clean energy transitions to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. This thesis describes the design concept development, construction, and testing of a first-of-its-kind HKPC designed to operate in very-low head sites with supercritical flow. The observations and results of performance tests are then studied and analysed to shed light on the working principle of the new technology. A new theoretical framework is developed to quantify the power generation of a straight-bladed stream wheel in supercritical flow on steeply sloping channels, which is found to be in very good agreement with performance measurements obtained from scale model tests. Observations of the hydrodynamics around different blade geometries during model operation have increased our understanding of the energy transfer mechanism that occurs between the blade and the working fluid within the machine. HKPCs performance increased significantly from about 40% to a range of 44.9% to 86.9%. By fundamentally changing the curvature and angle of the blade, the way the water acts within the machine and its performance have altered remarkably. The new technology will offer multiple solutions to enable clean energy production without any greenhouse gas emissions. Distinctive features, including compact size, comparatively high rotational speeds, retrofitting capabilities and low cost, will enable the exploitation of a so far untapped renewable energy source.

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Identifiers

ORCID for Magali Rodriguez: orcid.org/0000-0001-8015-0364

ORCID for Gerald Muller: orcid.org/0000-0003-1631-7777

ORCID for Gustavo De Almeida: orcid.org/0000-0002-3291-3985

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