In this article, I will discuss Crossflow Turbine. Crossflow turbine comes under the category of impulse turbines. I also explained the working principle and components of a crossflow turbine through diagrams.
Crossflow turbines are specifically designed for micro and small hydroelectric power projects with a high flow rate. This is a low-pressure turbine.
Hydropower is one of the ideal energy sources because of its environmental protection. In the past few years, more and more research has been done in the field of small hydropower plants. Different types of hydro turbines for mini-hydropower plants include propeller turbines, axial turbines, and radial turbines. There are several good places for low turbines.
The efficiency of a cross-flow turbine depends on a number of parameters or design factors. These factors include impeller length, impeller diameter, blade bend radius, turbine power, impeller speed, number of blades, blade pitch, angle of attack, pitch angle, and a pitch angle of the blades. A cross-flow turbine is a high-flow, low-head turbine. Therefore, this is a special low-speed turbine.
Kaplan turbines are low-head turbines with an axial outlet and an axial inlet. A cross-flow turbine is also a low-head turbine with a radial inlet and outlet. These are the main areas of interest. At present, cross-flow hydro turbines are becoming more and more popular because of their simple design and ease of local fabrication in low-head and low-flow areas.
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Working Principle of Crossflow Turbine
Crossflow turbines have a drum-shaped rotor with fixed disks at either end, and trough blades connect the two disks. Water is supplied to the rotor from the inlet pipe. The inlet guide first directs pressurized water to the rotor and transmits the impact force into the drum interior. After this process, the water passes through the rotor and exits the turbine at atmospheric pressure.
The cross-flow turbine then changes the water pressure and converts it into mechanical energy. This effect only slightly reduces the pressure drop across the turbine blades and improves efficiency. Most of the energy is extracted from the upper ladle (about 75%) and the remaining 25% is extracted from the lower ladle.
The angular momentum of water flowing through the turbine rotor blades converts the kinetic energy of the water into torque on the output shaft, which can drive generators in small hydropower plants. The cross-flow water turbine then turns a generator coil connected to an electrical load. Depending on the building, the generator supplies electricity to the building or industrial area.
Parts of Crossflow Turbine
The below figure shows the key components of a cross-flow turbine. The main parts of cross-flow turbines are Runner, Nozzle, Buckets, and Housing.
Benefits of Crossflow Turbine
- It has a very affordable price.
- These turbines are well regulated.
- It doesn’t require too much maintenance.
- Transverse turbines are more reliable than other types.
- Efficiency is high when water passes through the impeller twice.
- They are mainly used in micro hydropower plants.
- It also has the advantage of removing fine dust and debris from the impeller as the water leaves the impeller.
- annual efficiency provided by a flat efficiency curve is superior to other turbine systems, especially for small hydropower plants.
Drawbacks
Self-starting problems Reduced effectiveness. The maximum efficiency of the cross-flow turbine is somewhat lower than that of the Pelton, Francis, and Kaplan turbines.