Author(s): Giuseppe Lo Cicero; Calogero Picone; Marco Sinagra And Tullio Tucciarelli
Linked Author(s): Calogero Picone
Keywords: Cross-Flow turbines PRS turbines Energy harvesting Mini-hydropower
Abstract: Hydropower production covers a very large power range, going from few watt in energy harvesting technologies to hundreds of MW in big rivers or dams. The lowest power sector is aimed not to energy trading but to the support of electric powered devices when public network is temporally or permanently missing. In these cases, especially when the pressure inside the rotor of the reaction turbine is of the order of several bars, a significant amount of energy is dissipated by the seal around the power transmission shaft. This seal is necessary because the connected electric generator is external to the turbine and occupies with it a relatively big amount of space. In the contest of the SWAMM project a new hydropower generator device has been conceived, where the mechanic rotor of a PRS turbine and the electric rotor of the generator are unified in a single rigid body. PRS is a Cross-Flow type reaction turbine, with a diffuser leading the outlet flow to the same direction of the inlet flow. The stator windings of the brushless generator, with permanent magnets, and the generator control electronics, incorporated in the hydraulic rotor, are separated from the water inside the turbine case by means of a dielectric resin.
Year: 2025