DESIGN OF CROSS FLOW TURBINE

Design of cross flow turbine...................................................................................1

..............................................................................................................................1
1 Introduction.........................................................................................................1
2 Design Method.....................................................................................................3
2.1 Selection of turbine type................................................................................3
2.1.1 Estimated Power Output..........................................................................3
2.1.2 Specific speed..........................................................................................4
2.1.3 Comparison of Turgo and Crossflow turbines...........................................4
2.2 Design of a Crossflow turbine........................................................................5
2.2.1 Method 1- SKAT generic T3 model...........................................................5
2.2.2 Method 2- Self design from classical Crossflow theory............................5
2.2.3 Method 3- Hybrid design..........................................................................5
2.3 Materials........................................................................................................6
3 Appendix 1...........................................................................................................8
3.1 Design from Classical theory.........................................................................8
3.2 Design from SKAT .........................................................................................8
3.2.1 Design variables......................................................................................8
3.3 Number of Intermediate disks:.......................................................................9
4 Appendix 2- Construction and Drawings............................................................10
4.1 Construction guidelines...............................................................................10
4.2 Drawings......................................................................................................10
.........................................................................................................................10
5 References.........................................................................................................11

1 INTRODUCTION
The following design proposal is a requirement of a project initiated by the Malawi
Industrial research and Technology Development Centre (MIRTDC). The project
demands the refurbishment of a Micro-hydro power scheme in rural Malawi in
order to supply electricity to a community. The turbine is expected to provide in
an annual average of 25kW of electrical power.
2 DESIGN METHOD

2.1 Selection of turbine type

The location in Matandani already has substantial civil works for the hydropower
scheme. Known design data is available for average annual Flowrate and available
hydraulic head, and these are presented in Table 2-1

Design Factor
Q Flowrate (m3/s) 0.14
H Hydraulic head 29.7
(m)
Table 2-1 Design factors for turbine location

Using these design factors a decision can be made on the type of turbine to be
installed.

2.1.1 Estimated Power Output

Using the design constants in Table 2-2 an estimate of power available can be
determined using Equation 2-1

ηtot ⋅ g ⋅ γ ⋅ Q ⋅ H
P= Equation 2-1
1000

Constant
ηtot Turbine efficiencyi 0.6
g Gravitational acceleration 9.81
(m/s2)
γ Specific gravity of water 1000
(kgm ) 3

Table 2-2 Design constants

Thus the expected power P in kilowatts is:

0.6 ⋅ 9.81 ⋅1000 ⋅ 0.14 ⋅ 29.7

P= = 24.5 kW
1000
i
Efficiency values for turbines have been calculated empirically and can vary from
60% (0.6) for a poorly constructed turbine to 75% (0.75) for a well designed and
manufactured turbine. For a worst-case situation 0.6 has been chosen.
2.1.2 Specific speed
To determine the type of turbine a value of specific speed (Ns) is required. The
turbine for this project should ideally match the generator with an assumed rated
speed of 500rpm., i.e: N=500

Equation 2-2 deals with the calculation of specific speed.

P
Ns = N Equation 2-2
H 5/4

24.474
Ns = 500 = 35 .67
29.7 5/4

Referring to standard specific speed boundaries, Table 2-3, the options for turbine
type were reduced to Turgo and Crossflow.

Turbine type Ns
Pelton 12-30
Turgo 20-70
Crossflow 20-80
Francis 80-400
Propeller and 340-
Kaplan 1000
Table 2-3 Specific speed values for alternative turbine types

2.1.3 Comparison of Turgo and Crossflow turbines

Analysis of design parameters in 2.1.2 determined the potential development of a
Turgo or a Crossflow turbine. A comparison is given in Table 2-4.

Turgo Crossflow
30-300m head 2.5-100m head
Impulse turbine Impulse turbine
Good flow rate Will operate on light
load
High running speed Easy servicing
No seals to maintain Cheap
Tolerant to debris No need for flow
regulation
Easy servicing
Axial force on runner
shaft
 Table 2-4 Comparison of Turgo and Crossflow turbines

Obviously there are benefits to both but the ease of design and low cost of the
Crossflow turbine meant it was the chosen type for this project.

2.2 Design of a Crossflow turbine

By reviewing the literature of theory available there were three methods that had
the potential for development.

2.2.1 Method 1- SKAT generic T3 model

The Swiss Center for Appropriate Technology has over the years produced an
increasingly more efficient generic design for a Crossflow turbine. The T2 and T3
designs are free issue on the internet, but commercial licenses are available for
purchase to produce model T14.
The T3 design is considered “generic” because it contains all the design drawings
for manufacture, with all the variations in size and shape formed from varying
head and flowrate.
This design will give a good basis for the actual design proposal.

2.2.2 Method 2- Self design from classical Crossflow theory

There are numerous publications available for the theoretical design of the main
components of a Crossflow turbine. The original theory work developed by Banki
and Michell, and further more recent developments have been neatly condensed
into a publication1 aimed specifically at being designer-friendly. This step-by-step
procedure will be shown in the following section.

2.2.3 Method 3- Hybrid design

Using the generic design available for the SKAT T3 model there was some scope
for alteration. Alterations to [1], explained in its follow-up document 2
suggest that
the optimum number of blades differs from those proposed by SKAT.
Using the procedure in [1] Appendix 1 was formulated, a summary of which is
given in Table 2-5
 SKAT Design Hybrid
Item design dimens
ion
Outside blade diameter D1 200 421 200
(mm)
Inside blade diameter D2 133 295 133
(mm)
Blade chord length (mm) L - 73
Number of blades Z 32 16 15
Outside Blade spacing t 19 83 42
(mm)
Rotor axial length (mm) B 220 67 220
Table 2-5 Summary of design data

The SKAT design and construction notes can therefore be followed and altered
accordingly.

2.3 Materials
There is a vast selection of materials available for the construction of the hydro
turbine. Historically turbines have been fabricated out of materials available e.g.
wood, simple bolts, scrap sheet metal etc. The choice of material ultimately
determines the following:
• Longevity of the installation (rusting, rotting, seizing, fatigue)
• Cost of fabrication (including manufacturing techniques)
• Maintainability (access to spare parts e.g. bearings)
• Efficiency (smooth internal surfaces increase efficiency)

If the design is well built, to a good tolerance with maintenance in mind the long
term running and upkeep by a semi-skilled individual will be made more simple
and less prone to damage. This in turn results in less down-time of the turbine and
a better average performance.
The manufacturing facilities available lend themselves to the use of mild steel in
block and sheet form, welding, drilling and riveting, and the purchasing of
specialist parts such as the shaft bearings and drive belt.

Table 2-6 details the construction materials of the specific components of the
design.

Table 2-6 Materials selection

Componen
Material Detail
t
Housing Mild steel sheet
Rotor shaft 2” Mild steel rod
Rotor Steel tube cut into strips Inside of steel tube is often used for low
blades or cost productions- but has a high surface
Steel plate rolled to roughness reducing efficiencies
correct curvature considerably. Achieving an accurate roll
with sheet metal is difficult.
Spacers Mild steel rod, various
diameters
Bushes Brass rod, various
diameters
3 APPENDIX 1

3.1 Design from Classical theory

To produce the geometry of the rotor the following relationships are used:
Jet inlet angle is usually set at 16°. Hydraulic efficiency of the nozzle (ηh ) is
considered to be 0.95. Work coefficient of the turbine (Ψ) is set at 2.
Therefore:

nozzle velocity: V1 = ηh 2gh = 0.95 2 ×9.8 × 29.7 = 22.9 m/s

Inlet velocity : Vu = V1cos16 = 22 m/s

Vu 22
Tangential flow velocity: U = = = 11 m/s
ψ 2

60 U 60 ×11
Rotor Outer diameter D1 = = = 0.42m
N π 500 × π
Diameter ratio = D2/D1 = 0.7
Inner diameter D2 = 0.7 x D1 = 0.7 x 0.21 = 0.295m

D1 − D2 0.21 − 0.147
Annulus width a= = = 0.063m
2 2
a 0.032
Blade spacing t= = = 0.083m
0.764 0.764
π × D1 π × 0.21
Number of blades Z= = = 16 blades
t 0.041
Z 1
Rotor length B = Q × × = 0.067m
4 π × D1 × V1sin16

3.2 Design from SKAT

3.2.1 Design variables

We already know from the calculations in 2.1.1 and 2.1.2 that the expected power
output and specific speed are 24.5kW and 71.3rpm respectively. The SKAT design
therefore allows the calculation of the rotor length bo from the following (where Qs
is the specific speed of the design, Qs= 0.15, and η=0.6)

102 × P 102 × 24 .7
bo = = =172 .95 mm
η × H × Qs × H 0.6 × 29 .7 × 0.15 × 29 .7
Taking the nearest design value bo becomes 220mm
Substituting this value into the values for bo in the SKAT design, the new hybrid
design can be produced for construction and testing

3.3 Number of Intermediate disks:

From a stress consideration, when the rotor length (B, bo) reaches certain values
the inlet force on the blade would produce bending. This bending over time would
produce fatigue and therefore permanent damage. This can be avoided by the
inclusion of intermediate disks along the rotor length. Table 3-7 has been
formulated from design data in Scheurer et. al3 in order to determine the
appropriate number of intermediate disks. Design flow for this location is 140 l/s.

Flow No. Intermediate

rate disks
> 85 l/s 1
> 125 2
l/s
> 155 3
l/s
> 180 4
l/s
Table 3-7 Calculation of number of intermediate disks on runner shaft

The SKAT design allows for 2 intermediate disks.

4 APPENDIX 2- CONSTRUCTION AND DRAWINGS

4.1 Construction guidelines

The SKAT publication contains comprehensive design guidelines. In addition to
this a useful document to consult is the Compendium In Small Hydro (2002)4
which contains many of the referenced documents and further approaches to
Crossflow fabrication techniques.

4.2 Drawings
To be completed.
5 REFERENCES
1
Crossflow Turbine Design, Soft Technology Number 35, ATA Melbourne Australia, Ian Scales, p33-
39
2
Crossflow Turbine Design, Soft Technology Number 37, ATA Melbourne Australia, Ian Scales, p16-
17
3
Scheurer, H., Metzler, R., and Yoder, B., 1980. Small water turbine; instruction manual for the
construction of a Crossflow turbine. German Appropriate Technology Exchange (GATE), Eschbom,
Germany.
4
Compendium in Small Hydro, Furze. J., University of Aarhus, 2002