Design and Performance of Vertical Axis Helical Cross-Flow Turbine Blade for Micropower Generation

Ei Ei Nwe, Dr. Aung Ko Latt

This paper is intended to generate the optimum helical cross-flow turbine blade for generating the electricity. As the helical blade shape sweeps along the circumference of rotation of the turbine, some portion of the blade profile is located at the optimum angle of attack even in static or slowly rotating conditions, which allows for a more uniform starting torque that less dependent upon turbine azimuthal position. The forces acting on the blade are different by designing the blade profile. And then the pressure and velocity flow through the turbine are differing. In this paper, Hydrofoil NACA0018 and NACA 0020 are compared by using Profili Software. And then, NACA0018 is chosen based on max C_L/C_D ratio at angle of attack 9 ͦ. Blade design is made of wood with length (0.476m) and chord (0.1m). Steel shaft diameter and length are (0.012m) and (0.775m).Turbine test is performed in canal in front of Mandalay Technological University. According to the experimental results, it can produce 370 Watts at water velocity 2.5m/s. Finally, the pressure and velocity distribution of water on the blade are simulated by ANSYS Fluent software.