Discussion of simple model of Darrieus type hydraulic turbine in open channel with actuator disk approximation

Small hydroelectric power generation using a Darrieus-type hydraulic turbine in agricultural channels etc can be mentioned as one of the expected utilizations of renewable energy. Channel conditions are different from place to place and also are dependent upon the seasons. A performance of Darrieus-type hydroturbine is strongly influenced by the channel and flow condition, and it is not clear how much electric power can be extracted from the turbine for each condition. In the present study, we propose a one-dimensional flow tube model and verify it’s validity through the comparisons with experiment. It is shown that the model can qualitatively predict in the high rotational speed range but not well in the low speed range.