1. Coupled hydraulic and electronic regulation of cross-flow turbines in hydraulic plants
- Author
-
Vincenzo Sammartano, Marco Sinagra, Giacomo Scelba, Pasquale Filianoti, Gabriele Morreale, Tullio Tucciarelli, Sammartano V., Filianoti P., Sinagra M., Tucciarelli T., Scelba G., and Morreale G.
- Subjects
Engineering ,020209 energy ,0208 environmental biotechnology ,Flow (psychology) ,Mechanical engineering ,02 engineering and technology ,Turbine ,Settore ICAR/01 - Idraulica ,Hydraulic head ,Impeller ,0202 electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering ,Mean flow ,Water Science and Technology ,Civil and Structural Engineering ,business.industry ,Mechanical Engineering ,Distributed generation units ,Rotational speed ,Cross-flow turbines ,Potential energy ,020801 environmental engineering ,Electrical drives ,Banki-Michell ,Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis ,business ,Energy (signal processing) ,Marine engineering - Abstract
The potential benefit of coupling hydraulic and electronic regulation to maximize the energy production of a cross-flow turbine in hydraulic plants is analyzed and computed with reference to a specific case. Design criteria of the cross-flow turbine inside hydraulic plants are first summarized, along with the use of hydraulic regulation in the case of constant water head and variable discharge. Optimal turbine impeller rotational speed is derived, and traditional as well as innovative systems for electrical regulation are presented. A case study is analyzed to evaluate the potential energy production according to the expected monthly mean flow distribution and two possible choices: CFT1 with the hydraulic regulation, and CFT2 with coupled hydraulic and electric regulations. The return time of capital investment (RCI), computed for both the solutions, showed that the CFT2 solution provides an increment of the total produced energy, along with an increment of approximately 30% of the corresponding RCI. The sensitivity of the results to water head variability and to possible different pipe design criteria in future scenarios is finally discussed.
- Published
- 2017