Strategies Of Improving Turbine Efficiency In Micro-hydro Power Plants

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Most Micro Hydro Power plants, particularly in developing countries, are not delivering their best possible power output due to sub-optimal design and construction of their various components. For existing MHS plants which are not working as efficiently as desired a feasible cost effective strategy would be to improve the efficiency of the hydro- turbine with the effect of improving the overall efficiency of the system. The turbine is much more adaptable to retrofit than any other part of the Micro Hydro System while keeping the overall project cost per kilowatt produced within acceptable range.This book shows that the main factors that affect efficiency of Pelton and Cross-flow turbines, which are commonly used in Southern Africa, are the fabrication processes, material used, the control of the water jet movement and flow rate. The fabrication process and the material used determine the roughness of the turbine produced. The roughness determines the friction which in turn affects the efficiency of a turbine. These processes and the use of stainless steel resulted in the least rough finish. This gave an overall increase of 20 - 25% on the turbine efficiencies.