Abstract
Small hydropower has received a great interest in recent years as a source of renewable energy with low investment costs for providing electricity worldwide. Small hydropower does not require construction of large dams compared to the large hydropower stations. The aim of the present study is to provide: (1) detailed performance measurements on a micro Pelton turbine model, (2) detailed measurements on a modified small scale ram pump system based on the principle of water hammer phenomenon, and (3) propose a new hydraulic system to operate the micro Pelton turbine model at the best efficiency point, but at a very low static pressure head of water. A simplified mathematical model was developed and its results were satisfactory and in line with the theory of the Pelton turbine, verifying similarity and repeatability of the model for estimating the turbine performance. The operating conditions (net head and flowrate) of the experimental 10W micro Pelton turbine model with a single nozzle are 20 m of water and 33.01 l/min. Integrating the proposed hydraulic system with the base Pelton turbine model shows that the best efficiency point is reached at a total flow rate of 33 l/min and at only 2.5 m pressure head.
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