Abstract
This study proposes an innovative turbine that consists of a vertical flat plate, which is allowed to rotate freely about a vertical axis of symmetry and exploits the autorotation phenomenon to harvest the energy from the current. This system is called here Vertical Axis Autorotation Current Turbine (VAACT). The VAACT utilizes the extra mass moment of inertia to improve the rotational quality which is state of the art in this turbine. This paper covers the principle behind the VAACT and outlines procedures and results for experiments proving the basic feasibility. Also, the operation of the turbine will be discussed by experimental results of the torque coefficient, performance and kinematic parameters. Tests were conducted in LOC (Laboratory of Wave and Current) at COPPE/Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (COPPE/UFRJ).
Utilizing the extra mass moment of inertia on the VAACT causes to extract the energy as an efficient turbine in very low head current. The maximum VAACT efficiency has been obtained experimentally in optimum non-dimensional moment of inertia in range of 0.5 and 0.6.