2nd International Conference on Energy Systems and Technologies

18 21 Feb. 2013, Cairo, Egypt

THE PERFORMANCE OF 0.6M IMPULSE TURBINE

OPERATING UNDER BI-DIRECTIONAL AIRFLOW
Rehil.O. Abdulhadi
Engineering Departments, Sebha University, Libya
This paper presents the performance analysis of 0.6m Impulse turbine operating under
unsteady bi-directional airflow conditions. In the study, two different turbines with 0.6 and
0.7 hub to tip ratio (H/T) were tested. In addition, the effect of guide vanes shape 3D and 2D
on the performance of 0.6 H/T ratio turbine was carried out. The experiments have been
carried out under irregular unsteady flow conditions based on Irish waves (site2). As a result,
it was found that the maximum mean efficiency achieved by 0.6 H/T ratio was higher as
compared to 0.7 H/T ratio by a magnitude of 3 % under random conditions. In addition, the
maximum mean efficiency achieved by 3D guide vanes was higher as compared to 2D guide
vanes by a magnitude of 1.1 %. The hysteretic characteristic has been noticed from the
experimental results of 0.6 and 0.7 H/T ratio Impulse turbine. Furthermore, the steady
efficiency curve fails to present the rapid rise in efficiency during deceleration, which occurs
at low flow coefficient for unsteady bi-directional flow. In addition, a comparative analysis
between Impulse turbine and Wells turbine operating under similar condition was reported in
this paper.
Keywords: Fluid machinery; Impulse turbine; airfoil; Real sea condition; Wave power
conversion.

INTRODUCTION
For the last two decades, scientists have been investigating and defining different
method for power extraction from wave motion. The most successful and most extensively
studied device for power extraction energy from ocean waves is the oscillating water column
device (OWC). The OWC based wave energy power plants convert wave energy into lowpressure pneumatic power in the form of bi-directional airflow. Self-rectifying air turbines are
used to extract mechanical shift power. Two different turbines are currently in use around the
world for wave energy power generation, the Wells turbine, introduced by Dr A.A Wells [4]
in1976 and Impulse turbine by some authors Kim [2]; Setoguchi [5] . Both these turbines are
currently in operation in different power plants in Europe. The research around the world is
focused on improving the performance of both these turbines under different operating
conditions.
The present investigation deals with the Impulse turbine. The Impulse turbine was
initially designed to operate with self-pitch controlled guide vanes, this type of Impulse
turbine has disadvantage of maintenance of pivots on which the guide vanes are rotated
automatically in a bi-directional air flow. In order to overcome this drawback, an Impulse

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turbine with fixed guide vanes has been proposed by Setoguchi [6]. There are many reports
which describe the performance of Impulse turbine both at starting and running conditions
[3], [5], [7], [8], [9], [10], [11], [12] and [13]. However, up to this point, all the experimental
analysis was carried out under unidirectional flow conditions. These unidirectional flow
conditions are not the flow conditions that the turbine will be operating under the real sea
conditions. In the real sea conditions the flow will be bi-directional and of a random nature.
The objective of this paper is to present the performance of Impulse turbine operating
under bi-directional unsteady flow condition. In the study, A comparative analysis of the
Impulse turbine with different hub to tip ratio was carried out to confirm a better value of H/T
ratio when the turbine operating under bi-directional unsteady flow conditions. In addition,
the effect of guide vane shape 3D and 2D on the performance of 0.6 H/T ratio Impulse turbine
operating under unsteady bi-directional flow was carried out. Furthermore, the behaviour of
the Impulse turbine operating under bi-directional airflow was investigated. Therefore, a
comparison could be made between unidirectional and bi-directional unsteady flow. The
Comparative analysis between the self-rectifying turbine Impulse turbine and Wells turbine is
part of this study.
EXPERIMENTAL SET-UP
A schematic layout of the experimental set-up of Wave Energy Research Team at
University of Limerick is shown in Fig 1. It consists of a 0.6m turbine test section, bidirectional valve, a plenum chamber with honeycomb section, a calibrated nozzle joining fan
to plenum chamber, ductwork, centrifugal fan and two automated actuators (1), (2). The first
actuator (1) controls the flow rate while the second actuator (2) controls the direction of flow.
Air is drawn in through the bi-directional valve either through side A or B depending on the
position of automated valve. More details drawing of this bi-directional valve are shown in
Fig 2. It then passes through the test section and into the plenum chamber. In the chamber the
flow is conditioned through a calibrated nozzle and finally exhausting at the fan outlet. The
flow rate is controlled using the automated valve.

[( (

) ]

CA = Pr Q / va + U R blr zva / 2

= va / U R

Figure. 1. Schematic diagram of test rig

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In the study, the turbine test section had an internal diameter of 600mm and two
fabricated rotor with a diameter of 598 mm, leaving tip clearance of 1mm. The hubs diameter
selected as 358.8 mm and 418.6 mm, providing hub to tip ratio of 0.6 and 0.7 respectively.
The chord length of 0.6 and 0.7 H/T ratio turbine were 100 mm and 106 mm respectively. The
guide vanes were mounted on the up-stream and down-stream hubs of the test rig.
Exit Path of
Flow

Figure 2. Bi-directional valve (Top removed for clarity)

2.1- Experimental Procedure

The random (Irish Sea Climate) wave inlet conditions to the turbine have been generated
by controlling the opening area of centrifugal fan outlet of test rig using an actuator valve.
Initially, the actuator valve was calibrated to find the correlation between the open area of fan
outlet and pressure drop across the nozzle (Pn) located at inlet to the fan. The relationship
between the valve displacement and flow rate through the test section was arrived using the
nozzle calibration curve. In order to generate a given regular or random wave, time history of
valve displacement was calculated using the above mentioned method. The actuator valve
controller was utilized to operate the valve according to the time history. For this purpose, a
computer program has been written Ryan, [1] and controller was interfaced with a computer.
In order to create a bi-directional airflow, one controller controls the two actuators and a limit
switch. The limit switch is positioned such that it closes when the valve that controls airflow
rate closes. When this flow control valve closes it passes the limit switch, causing the actuator
(2) to move in reverse direction, thus reversing the direction of airflow through the turbine.
The experimental procedure involves fixing the rotor at a set speed and generating the
required flow pattern. Performance parameters were recorder using a high-speed logger that is
part of the Data Acquisition System Ryan, [1]. The overall performance of the turbine was
evaluated by the turbine angular velocity , torque generated T, flow rate Q and total pressure
drop across the rotor Pr. The results are expressed in the form of torque coefficient CT, input
power coefficient CA, efficiency and mean efficiency . The definitions are given below
[5]:
T
=
(1)
Pr Q

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[( (
CA = Pr Q / [( (v
2

) ]
)bl zv )/ 2]

CT = T / va + U R bl r zrR / 2
2
a

+UR

(2)
(3)

= va / U R
T

(4)

1
1
= ( T dt ) /( Pr Q dt )
T 0
T 0

(5)

where,
a : Axial flow velocity
: Density
UR : Circumferential velocity at rR
rR : Mid span radius
b : Blade height
lr : Chord length of impulse turbine rotor blade
z : Number of impulse turbine blades
RESULTS AND DISCUTION
1- Effect of Hub to Tip ratio
The effect of H/T ration on the mean efficiency of Impulse turbine operating under bidirectional irregular unsteady flow is shown in Figure (3). The curves of mean efficiency for
0.6 and 0.7 H/T ratio are quite similar in trend, but the turbine with 0.6 H/T is giving higher
mean efficiency in the range of flow coefficient greater than 0.96. The peak efficiency of 0.6
H/T was 41.9 % as compared to 38.97 % achieved for 0.7 H/T ratio turbine.

45

mean efficiency (%)

40
35
30
25
20
15

0.6 H/T

10

0.7 H/T

5
0
0

0.5

1.5

2.5

1/
Figure 3. Effect of H/T ratio on the mean efficiency of impulse turbine under site 2 conditions

In order to analysis the difference in behavior of Impulse turbine with 0.6 and 0.7 H/T
ratio operating under unsteady bi-directional flow, instantaneous efficiency, torque coefficient
and input coefficient have been plotted for a number of periods of site2 conditions at flow
coefficient of 1/ = 1.54. The non-dimensional term 1/ represents the flow coefficient

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for ordinary fluid machines. The parameter includes characteristic parameters of the
irregular waves (Hs and Ts), turbine speed () and dimensions of the turbine and air chamber
(rt and m). Figures (4a, b and c) show the variations of instantaneous efficiency, torque
coefficient and input coefficient at flow coefficient 1/=1.54. The turbine characteristics of
0.7 H/T ratio under steady flow conditions have been plotted for comparison. The Figures
show the instantaneous efficiency, torque coefficient and input coefficient for 0.6 H/T and 0.7
H/T follow two different paths during acceleration of inlet flow from zero to maximum
velocity and deceleration from maximum to zero velocity. Also it forms a counter clockwise
hysteretic loop per half period of wave.
(a)

100

0.7-steady
0.7-site2
0.6-site2

Inst Efficicncy(%)

50

0
0

0.5

1.5

2.5

-50

-100

-150

(b)

2.5
2

CT

1.5
1
0.7-site2

0.5

0.6-site2

0
0

0.5

1.5

-0.5

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2.5

(c)

3.5
3

CA

2.5
2
1.5
1

0.7-site2

0.5

0.6-site2

0
0

0.5

1.5

2.5

Figure 4. Variation 0.6 H/T and 0.7 H/T ratio of impulse turbine at value KK=1.54: (a) Efficiency,
(b) Torque coefficient, (c) Input coefficient

Furthermore, during the acceleration the efficiency curve 0.7 H/T ratio obtained from
unsteady flow follow a similar trend to those obtained during steady flow conditions.
However, the steady efficiency curve fails to present the rapid rise in efficiency during
deceleration, which occurs at low flow coefficient for unsteady bi-directional flow. In
addition, It can be observed from Figure (4a) that during the acceleration and deceleration of
the inlet flow, the instantaneous efficiency of 0.6 H/T ratio is higher as compared to 0.7 H/T
ratio in the range of flow coefficient greater than 0.71. In the lower flow coefficient range <
0.71, the turbine efficiency of both 0.6 and 0.7 H/T ratio are almost the same during the
acceleration, but the efficiency of 0.7 H/T ratio is higher during the deceleration. One could
see from Figure (4b) that the during the acceleration of the inlet flow the torque developed by
the 0.6 H/T ratio turbine are more than the turbine with 0.7 H/t ratio. During the deceleration
the torque developed by the turbines with 0.6 and 0.7 H/t ratio seems almost constant though
the torque developed by 0.7 H/T ratio are higher than 0.6 H/T ratio turbine in the range of
flow coefficient <0.804. The variation of the input coefficient of 0.6 and 0.7 H/T ratio with
respect to the flow coefficient is shown in Figure (4c). During the acceleration process the
input coefficient of 0.6 H/T ratio turbine is higher as compared to 0.7 H/T ratio; however,
during the deceleration the input coefficient of 0.6 is lower than 0.7 H/T ratio. In addition, it
can be noted that the hysteretic characteristics of Impulse turbine is less sensitive to H/T ratio.
2- Effect of Guide Vane Shape (3D and 2D)
Figure (5) shows the comparison of mean efficiency vs. flow coefficient for Impulse
turbine with 2D and 3D guide vanes operating under bi-directional irregular unsteady inlet
flow conditions. It can be observed from the figure that there is a considerable increase in the
mean efficiency of the turbine with 3D guide vanes in the range of flow coefficient greater
than 0.96 as compared to 2D guide vanes. A maximum mean efficiency of 43 %
at1/ = 1.5 was found with the 3D guide vanes and this presents an improvement of 1.1 %
in maximum mean efficiency when compared to the 2D guide vanes. However, it can be
noted that the difference between the mean efficiency of 2D and 3D guide vanes increase as
the flow coefficient increase.

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50

mean efficiency (%)

45
40
35
30
25
20
15

2D g.v

10

3D g.v

5
0
0

0.5

1.5

2.5

1/
Figure 5. Effect of guide vanes shape on the mean efficiency of impulse turbine
under site 2 conditions

70
60
mean efficiency (%)

Wells
50

Impulse

40
30
20
10
0
0

0.5

1.5

2.5

1/
Figure 6. Comparison between impulse turbine and wells turbine

3- Comparison between the Performance of Impulse Turbine and Wells Turbine

under Unsteady Bi-directional Flow.
For the comparative analysis, 0.6 H/T ratio Impulse turbine with 3D guide vanes is
considered as it was proved from the above section that it is superior to 0.6 and 0.7 H/T ratio
with 2D guide vanes. On the other hand, the Wells turbine with NACA0020 blade profile
equipped with circular-arc guide vanes was chosen for the comparative study [14]. The
performance of the two turbines was compared based on the experimental results, carried out
under bi-directional unsteady irregular flow conditions (Site2).
Figure (6) shows the variation of the mean efficiency with respect to flow coefficient for
Impulse turbine and Wells turbine under Site2 conditions. The Figure shows the peak mean
efficiency of 61.28 % for the case of Wells turbine at flow coefficient of 0.25 while the peak
mean efficiency of 43% at the flow coefficient of 1.54 observed for the case of Impulse

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turbine. It can also be observed that the Wells turbine stalls after the flow coefficient of 0.35
where as in the case of Impulse turbine gives stable efficiency for wide range of flow
coefficients without stall. As the peak efficiency of Wells turbine is higher at low flow
coefficient, it seems that the turbine can extract more power in the wave climate with low
intensity. The area under the efficiency curve of Impulse turbine is higher than the Wells
turbine suggests the Impulse turbine has the flexibility in design for various sea wave climates
with different intensities.
CONCLUSIONS
The performance of 0.6m Impulse turbine with fixed guide vanes has been clarified by a
model testing under bi-directional unsteady flow conditions. The conclusions are summarized
as follows:
- The maximum mean efficiency achieved by 0.6 H/T ratio was higher as compared to 0.7
H/T ratio by a magnitude of 3 % under random conditions.
- The mean efficiency of the turbine with 3D guide vanes is superior to the 2D guide vanes
at flow coefficient greater than 0.8. The maximum mean efficiency achieved by 3D guide
vanes was higher as compared to 2D guide vanes by a magnitude of 1.1 % under random
conditions.
- Hysteretic characteristics of Impulse turbine with 0.6 and 0.7 H/T ratios have been
analyzed and fond that the instantaneous efficiency of 0.6 H/T ratio turbine was higher
than 0.7 H/T ratio during the acceleration and deceleration of inlet flow. Moreover, less
effect was seen on the size loop of the input coefficient. The steady efficiency curve fails
to present the rapid rise in efficiency during deceleration, which occurs at low flow
coefficient for unsteady bi-directional flow.
- The comparative analysis between the mean efficiency of Impulse and Wells turbine
operating under bi-directional unsteady irregular inlet flow conditions has shown that the
maximum mean efficiency of Wells turbine and Impulse turbine are about 61.28% and
43% respectively. Furthermore, it was observed that the Wells turbine might be more
suitable for smaller wave sites. Where as, the Impulse turbine might suit the high intensity
wave sites.
ACKNOWLEGEMENT
I would like to acknowledge the support given by Dr. A. Thakker (University of
Limerick) for his support. Also I would like to take this opportunity to thank wave energy
team at university of Limerick for their support and friendship.

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