| This thesis develops an experimental facility for kinetic turbines. The facility can allow various design parameters to be investigated, such as blade performance, flow separation and loss analysis with entropy generation contours. A novel method of transmitting power through a magnetic coupling is developed. The flow energy is converted to electrical energy by a DC generator. Measured data is presented for rotational rpm at varying flow velocities. The experimental facility is considered to provide a useful basis from which other turbine data can be studied. This data includes calculations of the rotational speed of the turbine runners, maximum power that the turbines can extract from the water flow and mechanical efficiency of the equipment.; Also, turbine models are developed for testing of performance in a water tunnel. These efforts involve building test equipment, as well as constructing a turbine runner for a kinetic turbine hydro application. Another turbine with a 2-D NACA 4412 airfoil on its blade section is designed and manufactured, for purposes of conducting PIV experiment in a water tunnel and investigating the performance of the kinetic turbines.; Moreover, the thesis is concerned with the design of effective testing equipment as well as the representation of blade profiles in terms of NURBS functions and traditional NACA airfoils, which implicitly satisfy the design parameters and provide flexibility and accuracy to develop turbine blade shapes. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)... |
