Investigating the Hydraulic Effects and Energy Harvesting of a Water-Wheel Turbine Installed in a Ski-Jump Spillway

Abstract

Recently, many countries have sought to obtain sustainable energy from different sources. This study’s primary objective is to determine ways to optimize the advantages of water structures, especially ski-jump spillways, within the hydropower sector. A ski-jump spillway is a type of energy dissipation structure that relies on projectile principles, causing scour holes in the downstream bed. To convert the flow energy into hydroelectric power, the wheel turbine is mounted in the spillway bucket. The turbine’s impact on total hydraulic energy reduction, power generation, and downstream scour was evaluated, alongside optimizing blade design (number and shape) for peak performance. To conduct this research, a numerical 3D model was created using FLOW-3D HYDRO. Adding turbines to the ski-jump spillway is a promising modification, increasing total hydraulic energy reduction by approximately 22.10% and decreasing the maximum scour depth under the investigated conditions. It was discovered that increasing the number of turbine blades from five to 10 results in a 2.77% increase in total hydraulic energy reduction under the investigated conditions. This study represents a starting point toward harvesting flow energy that would otherwise be dissipated, in contrast to most researchers in this field, who focus primarily on reducing hydraulic energy without recovering it.