Abstract
The aim of this work was to estimate the efficiency of CFD software in calculating flow velocity magnitude in natural water streams. These kinds of estimations are essential for setting the locations of water stream micro turbines. These devices can be useful to provide electricity in areas remote from power generating facilities or as backup power supply in case of power grid failure. The analysed water stream has length of 100 m and its average slope was approximately 10%. Water velocity varies in the range from 0.5 m3 *s−1 to 5 m3 *s−1 . Additionally, the influence of ground roughness on the stream velocity was also an important factor. Results proved to be satisfactory. In the analysed stream, velocities were in a range which allows the proposed micro turbine to be effective. Calculation grid created by CFD software did not have many areas which may raise doubts. Also, the influence of changes in the ground roughness factor was noticeable. Preliminary CFD simulations allow to estimate where in the stream the micro turbine will be most efficient. On the other hand, despite these calculations, profitability and return on the investment still can be questionable.
Highlights
The aim of this work was to estimate the efficiency of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software in calculating flow velocity magnitude in natural water streams
This task is complicated because the river bed is not the only factor that should be taken into consideration
Ground roughness coefficient and yearly changes in river flow are very important factors in such estimations. This type of calculation can be used as a support for decisions concerning the placement of water stream micro turbines
Summary
The aim of this work was to estimate the efficiency of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software in calculating flow velocity magnitude in natural water streams. This task is complicated because the river bed is not the only factor that should be taken into consideration. Ground roughness coefficient and yearly changes in river flow are very important factors in such estimations. This type of calculation can be used as a support for decisions concerning the placement of water stream micro turbines. As the optimal placement of the turbine determines how much power that turbine can generate, it is possible to approximate potential benefits from the investment
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