Experimental analysis of the hydrodynamic performance in four configurations of gravitational vortex turbines

In this study, an experimental evaluation of four geometric configurations of gravitational vortex turbines was conducted. The configurations result from the combination of two types of inlet channels: a tangential and a spiral, and two types of discharge chambers: a cylindrical and a conical one. The models were fabricated at laboratory scale and tested in a hydraulic test bench under controlled conditions. The configuration combining a spiral inlet channel and a cylindrical discharge chamber exhibited the highest hydraulic efficiency of 60.85%. These tested geometric configurations can be used for distributed generation. Key words. Gravitational vortex turbines, distributed generation, renewable energy, hydraulic efficiency.