Proceedings of the ASME 2017 11th International Conference on Energy Sustainability

ES2017
June 26-30, 2017, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA

ES2017-3490

EVALUATION OF A MODEL HELICAL BLADED HYDROKINETIC TURBINE

CHARACTERISTICS FROM IN-SITU EXPERIMENTS

Parag K. Talukdar Vinayak Kulkarni

PhD Student Associate Professor
Department of Mechanical Engineering Department of Mechanical Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati
Guwahati 781039, India Guwahati 781039, India

Dipankar Dehingia Ujjwal K. Saha

Assistant General Manager Professor
Assam Power Generation Corporation Limited Department of Mechanical Engineering
Bijulee Bhawan, Paltan Bazar Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati
Guwahati 781001, India Guwahati 781039, India

ABSTRACT NOMENCLATURE
Hydro power has always been a major source of electricity A swept area [m2]
generation among different renewable energy technologies. C chord length [m]
However, due to the construction of dams, the conventional AR aspect ratio
hydro energy extraction techniques cause disturbance to the CP power coefficient
ecology by diverting the natural flow of water and migrating CT torque coefficient
population from their native land. Of late, energy extraction D diameter [m]
from the natural flow of water is considered as potential source H height of turbine [m]
of renewable power since it is clean and reliable. In view of n number of blades
this, the present study deals with the development and N rotational speed [rpm]
performance characterization of a vertical-axis helical-bladed Pin power available in the water [W]
hydrokinetic turbine. Considering the various design Pout power output of the turbine [W]
parameters, a NACA 0020 bladed vertical-axis turbine of R radius [m]
solidity ratio 0.38 and aspect ratio 1.0 has been developed. In- rp radius of the pulley on the central shaft [m]
situ experiments have been carried out at an irrigation sluice S tension in slack side [kg]
having a water velocity of 1.1 m/s. Further, its performance T torque produced by the turbine [Nm]
characteristics are evaluated at different mechanical loading V free stream water velocity [m/s]
conditions with the help of a mechanical dynamometer. It has W tension in the tight side [kg]
been observed that the developed helical-bladed turbine solidity ratio
demonstrates a peak power coefficient of 0.16 at a tip-speed tip-speed ratio
ratio of 0.85. The present experimental investigation has clearly density of water [kg/m3]
demonstrated the usefulness of the hydrokinetic turbine. It has helix angle []
also been logged that the average water velocity at the rotational speed [rad/s]
concerned site has a great importance on the turbine design.
1. INTRODUCTION
Keywords: Vertical-axis hydrokinetic turbine, Helical-bladed,
Because of the rapid depletion rate of fossil fuels,
Power coefficient, Tip-speed ratio
increasing energy demand and their high emission, significant
*Corresponding author efforts are being made by the researchers towards the use of
Email: saha@iitg.ernet.in renewable energy sources. To meet the future energy demands,
Tel: 0091-361-2582663, Fax: 0091-361-2690762 renewable energy sources such as hydro energy is a very

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 promising concept to reduce the dependency on conventional
energy sources. In this context, the zero-head vertical-axis water
turbine or hydrokinetic turbine is suitable for small-scale energy
generation especially for decentralized locations. Hydrokinetic
turbine exploits the kinetic energy of the free flowing water and
converts it to mechanical power. This kind of turbine can be
deployed on ocean currents, rivers flows, man-made open
channels and irrigation canals to harness energy from water. The
working principle of this kind of turbine is similar to that a wind
turbine [1, 2]. The conventional turbine mostly operates at high
pressure energy, while the hydrokinetic turbine requires high
kinetic energy to generate power from the flowing water.
Further, hydrokinetic turbine needs huge mass of water at low
velocity and pressure [2-8].
Recently, the cross-flow hydrokinetic turbine has become
a suitable concept for small-scale off-grid power generation.
This type of cross-flow turbine plant needs a lesser land area for
power generation as compared to axial-flow turbine design [9].
It also does not need a yaw control mechanism. The cross-flow
hydrokinetic turbines can broadly be classified into two types
based on the direction of rotating axis: horizontal-axis and
vertical-axis turbines. In general, the vertical-axis turbine is
preferred as its maintenance is quite easy and the generator of
the turbine is located above water level. The performance of
straight-bladed hydrokinetic turbines have been investigated
over the years and it is observed that these turbines suffer from
significant torque ripple which can cause an early fatigue failure
of turbine blades [10-13].
A cross-flow helical-bladed turbine that operates at low or
zero head water level was invented by Alexander M. Gorlov in
the year 1995 for which he received the ASME Thomas A.
Edison Patent Award in 2001 [11, 12]. A series of experiments
were carried out during 1996-1998 and based on the
experimental outcomes, Gorlov published the first technical
report in 1998. Gorlov [11] conducted experiments on 3-bladed
helical turbine with solidity ratio () of 0.27 and NACA 0020
blade profile. The test indicated a maximum efficiency of 35%
at free stream water velocity of 1.5 m/s. Because of its helical
shape, the turbine blade is azimuthally swept around the height
of turbine and some portion of the blade is always at optimum
angle of attack with the incoming water. Recently, the research
in the field of helical-bladed hydrokinetic turbines has received
considerable attention due to the following advantages [11-13]:
Higher efficiency
Good self-starting at slow speed water
Performance is independent of water flow direction
High rotational speed makes it easier to integrate with
electrical generator
Fluctuation of torque is remarkably low in comparison
to straight-bladed turbines.
A tidal power plant based on vertical-axis helical-bladed
hydrokinetic turbine was installed in Uldolmok Strait, Korea in
2009. The plant was equipped with 1 MW capacity turbine
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system which generates 2.4 GWh of electricity annually. The
average velocity of the free-flowing water at the site was 2.4
m/s [14-17]. The Ocean Renewable Power Company (ORPC)
installed a similar kind plant of 25 kW capacity which supplies
power to a local microgrid in the Kvichak River, Alaska, USA.
The system consisted of two turbines mounted on a common
shaft and supported a pontoon structure [9, 18].
Shiono et al. [10] performed experimental analysis on
helical-bladed water turbines with different helix angles and
solidity ratios. At an inlet water velocity (V) of 1.2 m/s and tip-
speed ratio () of 1.2, the maximum efficiency of a 3-bladed
helical turbine (with = 0.4) was reported to be 15%. Bachant
and Wosnik [19] carried out experimental investigation with a
3-bladed helical turbine ( = 0.14) using NACA 0020 profile.
The study revealed a maximum CP of 0.36 at = 2.3. Niblick
[20] tested various NACA 0018 bladed turbine designs by
varying the number of blades (n), helix angle (), solidity ratio
(), and aspect ratio (AR). The study indicated that a 4-bladed
turbine (with = 0.3, = 60) demonstrates a better
performance in comparison to 3-bladed turbine (with = 0.30,
= 43.7). Han et al. [21] analyzed the performance
characteristics of a NACA 0020 bladed helical turbine having
= 0.132 at a narrow channel. At an average = 2.39 and V =
2.53.4 m/s, the turbine demonstrated an efficiency of 0.33. Le
et al. [22] conducted numerical analysis to compare the
performance of the NACA 0020 bladed vertical-axis straight-
bladed and helical-bladed designs both having = 0.14. At V =
3 m/s and = 2.2, the helical-bladed and the straight-bladed
turbine demonstrated a maximum CP of 0.42 and 0.33,
respectively. Pongduang et al. [23] performed experiments on a
helical turbine by varying solidity ratio and helix angle. The
turbines with = 0.134 and 0.111were tested with = 120,
135, and 150. It was reported that the helix angle influences
the efficiency of turbine, while the turbine solidity ratio affects
the tip-speed ratio only.
1.1 PRESENT OBJECTIVE
Due to the lack of sufficient experimental data, the present
study is devised to experimentally investigate the overall
performance of a helical-bladed hydrokinetic turbine. In-situ
experiments have been conducted in an irrigation sluice and the
data of free stream velocity and rotational speed of the turbine
at different mechanical loading conditions have been recorded.
Subsequently, the important performance indices such as power
and torque coefficients over a range of tip-speed ratios are
calculated and analyzed.
2. DESIGN AND PERFORMANCE CALCULATION
The performance of the helical hydrokinetic turbine is
affected by many design parameters. These include solidity
ratio (), aspect ratio (AR), helix angle (), blade profile and
number of blades (n). The solidity ratio signifies the amount of
total circumference that is solid compared to the total
circumference of the turbine and is given by
 nC
(1)
D
where, C is the chord length and D is the diameter of turbine.
Similarly, the aspect ratio (AR) of a turbine is defined as the
ratio of the height (H) of the turbine by its diameter (D).
H
AR (2)
D
For structural stability, often the low aspect ratio is
desired. The helix angle () of a blade, on the other hand, is a
vital parameter for designing a helical turbine, and is defined by
the angle between the blade and the horizontal plane.
Further, in order to achieve an improved hydrodynamic
performance, the selection of turbine blade profile is very
important. Since the hydro turbine blades are subjected to high
amount of thrust from water, the blades of the turbine therefore
be strong enough to avoid fatigue failure. Due to ease of
manufacturing, the symmetrical and thicker blade profiles with
good lift-drag characteristics are usually preferred over
cambered profile. The performance of these turbines is more
often articulated in terms of the power coefficient (CP), torque
coefficient (CT) and tip-speed ratio (). To calculate these
performance indices, the torque and rotational speed of the
turbine are to be measured.
The power available in the incoming water flow depends
up density of water (), water velocity (V) and projected turbine
area (A) and it is given by
1
Pin AV 3 (3)
2 mounted on bearings at the top and bottom of the shaft
Further, the output shaft power is calculated from the
brake torque and rotational speed and is expressed as
2 NT
Pout (4)
60
where, T is the torque produced by the turbine and N is the
rotational speed of the turbine.
The effective torque is calculated from the readings shown
in the digital spring balances. This is expressed as:
T 9.81 (W - S ) rp (5)
where, rp is the radius of the braking pulley attached to the
turbine central shaft, W is the tension in the tight side, S is the
tension in the slack side.
The ratio of the output shaft power (Pout) to the power
available in the free stream water (Pin) is known as the power
coefficient (CP), and this indicates the efficiency of conversion.
Thus, the power coefficient of a helical-bladed hydrokinetic
turbine is given by
Pout
CP (6)
Pin
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The torque coefficient (CT) signifies the power producing
ability of a turbine and is derived by dividing the effective
torque by the available torque.
T
CT =
1 (7)
AV 2 R
2
where, R is the radius of the turbine.
The tip-speed ratio is related to efficiency. Higher tip-
speed ratio results in higher noise levels and requires stronger
blades due to large centrifugal forces. The tip speed ratio () for
a turbine signifies the ratio of speed at the tip of a blade relative
to the actual velocity of water, and is given by
R
(8)
V
where, denotes rotational speed of the turbine.
3. EXPERIMENTAL FACILITY
For designing the helical-bladed hydrokinetic turbine, the
various parameters as listed in Table 1 have been used. A
helical-bladed turbine having a frontal area 0.09 m2 has been
developed. The helical blades have been constructed using
NACA 0020 profile having a chord length of 120 mm. This is
because, this type of blade profile provides high durability and
ease of manufacturability unlike the thinner and cambered
profile. In order to fabricate the blades, fibre-glass resin
composite material has been used that offers high resistance to
wear and indentation. The central shaft of 0.025 mm diameter is
supported by bearing housings. In order to secure the blades in
position, the spoke arms are used at the top and bottom of
blades as shown in Fig. 1. The complete experimental set-up
consisting of the developed turbine coupled to the rope brake
dynamometer is shown in Fig. 2.
Table 1: Turbine parameters
Parameter Specifications
Diameter (D) 0.30 m
Height (H) 0.30 m
No. of blades (n) 3
Helix angle () 60
Solidity ratio () 0.38
Aspect ratio (AR) 1
The rotational speed of the turbine is measured for each
mechanical load applied by using a contact-type tachometer
having an operating range of 0.5 to 19,999 RPM (Model:
Lutron DT-2235B). The in-situ experiments of the turbine have
been conducted in an irrigation sluice located at Mandakata
(Lattitude: 26.34 N, Longitude: 91.78 E), located in the
district of Kamrup, Assam, India (Fig. 3).
 Figure 1: CAD model of the helical-bladed hydro turbine
(a) Zoomed view of the mounted turbine set-up
Figure 3: Helical-bladed model turbine on the testing site.
The water velocity at the site is measured with the help of
a velocity meter (Make: Global Water, model: FP111) having an
operating range of 0.16.1 m/s and a least count of 0.1. A
photograph of the velocity meter is shown in Fig. 4. The water
velocity is measured at the inlet of the turbine at three different
vertical positions across the turbine and the arithmetic mean of
the readings is taken for further calculations. The average
velocity at the site is found to be 1.1 m/s
Figure 4: Water velocity meter
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Figure 2: Test set-up of helical-bladed turbine
(b) The model turbine installation at the irrigation sluice
3.1 EXPERIMENTAL METHODOLOGY
The torque measurement procedure is followed according to
the methodology reported by Talukdar et al. [2] and Roy and
Saha [24].
A rope brake type dynamometer is used for the measurement
of torque, and subsequently, the power developed by the
helical-bladed turbine. The brake dynamometer is designed with
two digital spring balances, which is connected to the turbine
shaft by means of two supporting pulleys, and a nylon string to
measure the torque produced by the turbine. Initially, the
turbine is allowed to rotate at no-load condition, and thereafter,
the braking loads are gradually applied on the turbine shaft with
the help of load control mechanism. As the load increases, the
rotational speed of the turbine starts reducing and at one
particular value of load, the turbine stalls. This particular value
of braking load at which the turbine stalls is the maximum
braking load. Using this technique, several combinations of
torque and tip-speed ratios are measured at various loading
conditions.
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 4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The helical-bladed hydrokinetic turbine seems to be an
attractive proposition for small-scale power generation
especially for rural areas. In view of this, a 3-helical-bladed
hydrokinetic turbine model has been developed and its
performance is evaluated from in-situ experiments at
Mandakata, Guwahati, Assam. In order to obtain maximum
power output, the turbine needs to be operated at an optimum
tip-speed ratio. Therefore, the experiments have been carried
out to evaluate the performance of the turbine at various
mechanical loading conditions. The variation of CP with is
calculated and discussed in the following section.
From Fig. 5, it is observed that an initial increment of
from 0.50 to 0.77, there is an increase of CP by 54%. The
turbine demonstrates peak CP of 0.16 at = 0.85. With further
increase in from 0.91 to 1.08, the turbine shows 50%
increment in CP value. From the investigation, it is evident that
initially CP of the turbine increases with the increase in till an
inversion point, beyond which the performance starts
decreasing with the increase of . It is worth mentioning here
that almost similar kind of experiments were carried out by
Bachant and Wosnick [9] and Shiono et al. [10] with value of
0.14 and 0.40, respectively. The maximum CP reported by
Bachant and Wosnick [9] is 0.33 at = 2.30 and at V = 1.11.4
m/s, while, Shiono et al. [10] a indicated a maximum CP = 0.16
at = 1.23 and at V = 1.2 m/s.
Figure 5: Variation of power coefficient versus tip-speed
ratio (V = 1.1 m/s)
Figure 6: Variation of torque coefficient versus tip-speed
ratio (V = 1.1 m/s)
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The variation of CT with is shown in Fig 6. As the load
on the turbine shaft increases, the rotational speed of the turbine
gradually reduces, and thus, the trend of CT curve decreases
with increase in . The in-situ testing also reveals that the
turbine stalls at a braking load of 1.80 Nm.
It is expected from the experimental results that the stream
of water encounters lesser resistance when the turbine runs at
very low speed (Fig. 7a). Therefore, it can easily find a passage
through the turbine blades with lesser diversion to the
streamlines. Besides, at high speeds, turbine is expected to
undergo a solid body rotation and thus it would lead to very
small mass flow rate through the turbine blades (Fig. 7b). In this
regard, a lesser mass flux of main stream would interact and
exchange energy with the turbine due to larger diversion in
streamlines. Therefore, the turbine produces lesser power at the
extreme tip speed ratios viz. low speed and high speed
situations. Moreover, the interaction and energy exchange is
predicted to be optimum at the tip speed ratio which is noted to
be around 0.85 in the present study.
Figure 7: Proposed flowfield for (a) very low and
(b) very high tip speed ratio conditions
5. CONCLUSIONS
Motivated by the scarcity of data in open literature, the
present investigation attempts to evaluate a model helical-
bladed hydrokinetic turbine characteristics from in-situ
experiments carried out in an irrigation sluice located at
Mandakata, Assam. The data of water velocity and rotational
speed of turbine are recorded for the cases with and without
mechanical loading conditions. The present investigation
reveals that at an inlet water velocity of 1.1 m/s, the maximum
power coefficient of the turbine is found to be 0.16 at a tip-
speed ratio of 0.85. The power output of a hydro kinetic turbine
largely depends on free stream water velocity as the inlet power
is a cubic function of velocity. Therefore, in order to obtain the
utmost benefit out of this kind of technology, the turbine needs
be deployed at a site with high water velocities.
 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The work reported here forms a part of the Assam Power
Generation Corporation Limited (APGCL), Guwahati, Assam,
India sponsored research project Feasibility Studies of
Generating Electric Power using Helical Water Turbine. The
financial support extended is gratefully acknowledged. The
authors also wish to thank Dr. Amarendra K. Das, Professor,
Department of Design, Indian Institute of Technology
Guwahati, India, for providing some technical assistance.
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