Abstract
Over the past five years, Canadian small and medium hydro turbines manufacturer Norcan Hydraulic Turbines Inc. lead the team members, as in co-authors above, in the development of an “Innovative Ultra-Low Head (ULH) Mini-Hydro Turbine-Generator System”. International Science and Technology Partnerships Canada (ISTPCanada) and Brazilian partners, together with the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), supported this R&D project. This industry-led collaborative R&D project has been carried out from 2013 to 2015.
The proposed ULH Hydro-Turbine technology will bridge the gap between low-head hydro and marine hydrokinetic technologies by developing a cost-effective innovative “pit” type ULH hydro-turbine system to allow head application range extended to less than 2 meter and capture kinetic energy at free-stream zero-head.
Detailed test results explained. Pre-commercialization demonstration has been planned in Canada. Recommend this ULH Turbine system can be applied effectively at coastal river mouth, sea-lock gates, and tidal estuary where there is about 2 meter or more water-head available and further allow operation during river-current or tidal-current periods.