CFD Analysis of Micro Hydro Turbine used In a Rural Drinking W.T.P.: A Case Study

Hydro turbine is the most critical component in small or micro hydropower plants as it affects the cost as well as overall performance. Hence, for the cost effective design of any new small or micro hydro project or for energy recovery plant from existing water infrastructure, it is very important to predict the hydraulic behaviour and efficiency of hydro turbine. Experimental approach of predicting the performance of hydro turbine is costly and time consuming compared to CFD approach that saves time-cost-effort. The aim of the paper is to predict the performance of a micro hydro turbine (MHT) using Solidworks-FloXpress (CFD analysis) and to validate the same with model testing results. To the best of the author's knowledge this novel approach for CFD analysis of micro hydro turbine for energy recovery from drinking water pipeline is absent in renewable energy or fluid mechanics literature due to its assessment complexity.