Impulse Turbine with Self-Pitch-Controlled Guide Vanes for Wave Power Generator. Improvement of Performance by the Use of Tandem Guide Vanes.

Abstract

Experimental investigations directed towards improving the performance of the impulse turbine with self-pitch-controlled guide vanes are reported. Two types of tandem guide vanes are presented and tested : those with variable-pitch flat-plate and those with variable-pitch splitter. The results show that a high-efficiency impulse turbine can be developed through the use of the splitter. It is found that, in this case, the upstream guide vanes act as a slotted nozzle blade row and the downstream vanes as a tandem diffuser blade row by changing the pitch angle of the splitter automatically in a reciprocating flow. It is also found that the running and starting characteristics of this turbine in the reciprocating flow can be evaluated from the performance of the turbine with fixed nozzle and diffuser vanes in a unidirectional steady flow.