Application of Elliptical Blade Shape to Enhance Power Generation of the Savonius Water Turbine

Abstract

Sewerage pipelines found in the buildings can be used as a mechanical energy resource for small capacity hydropower plant. The utilization of energy sources can be generated by installing the savonius hydrokinetic turbine. Conventional turbine is designed with semi-circular blades able to generates its own performance, but is still relatively low. In this research, the savonius type elliptical blades are applied to enhance the turbine performance. This experimental observation are conducted to obtain the optimal number of blades, which is determined by the maximum power generated by the rotor. The number of blades are tested for 2, 3, and 4 blades with four differences of the water discharge. A single-stage horizontal axis savonius water turbine (HAWT) was installed in a 3 inches diameter pipelines. The results of the experiment show that at four numbers of the blade, obtained the optimal power of 4.251 Watts at a discharge of 5.826 x 10 −3 m 3 /s with tip speed ratio ( λ ) 2.37 and the coefficient of power ( C P ) 0.025.