Water turbine
For the functional design of their water turbines, Turbulent turned to Actiflow
Turbulent is a young innovative company in the clean tech industry, based in Belgium. They develop water turbines specifically for low head sites. For the functional design of their water turbines, Turbulent turned to Actiflow.
Being involved in a development project right from the start, Actiflow first helped Turbulent to determine a realistic list of requirements. Afterwards, the main dimensions of the water turbine were determined based on guidelines from literature, empirical relations and initial flow simulations.
As a second part of the project, a detailed rotor design was made and optimized for high efficiency at low heads and low rotational speeds. Complex flow simulations were used to calculate power production and efficiency, and to visualize possible ventilation and undesirable pressure peaks. Furthermore, Actiflow advised Turbulent about the practical built-up of the turbine.
The result of the project is a water turbine which is highly efficient at various water flows, and which is also fish friendly due to its low rotational speed and its favorabel pressure gradients.
