Abstract Gravitational water vortex turbine (GWVT) is one of the emerging micro-hydro power plants because it requires less expertise, low head and reduced setup space for installation. A detailed performance evaluation of the GWVT based on turbine performance curves is yet to be explored. With the help of mathematical expressions along with the experimentation, the present study presents different performance parameters (PPs) such as; rotational speed, torque, brake power and mechanical efficiency of single-stage GWVT under various flow and design conditions. The effect of vortex height, runner position, percentage submergence of blades, notch angle, blades aspect ratio, blades curvature, blades inclination, hub diameter, straight and conical edged blades on the PPs has been investigated. The analytical and experimental results are in a good agreement both qualitatively and quantitatively. The experimental results show that the vortex height and a good vortex shape with fully developed air core are the major parameters in deciding the performance of GWVT. Better performance of GWVT can be achieved at middle of the rotational speed range i.e. between the minimum and maximum load conditions with minimum possible notch angle and hub diameter, using inclined blades of zero curvature fixed near the bottom of the basin.

中文翻译：

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圆柱盆单级重力式水涡流涡轮机参数研究

摘要 重力水涡流涡轮机（GWVT）是新兴的微型水力发电厂之一，因为它需要较少的专业知识、低水头和较小的安装空间。基于涡轮机性能曲线的 GWVT 的详细性能评估尚待探索。在数学表达式和实验的帮助下，本研究提出了不同的性能参数（PP），例如：单级GWVT在各种流量和设计条件下的转速、扭矩、制动力和机械效率。研究了涡流高度、转轮位置、叶片浸没百分比、槽口角、叶片纵横比、叶片曲率、叶片倾角、轮毂直径、直刃和锥形刃对 PP 的影响。分析和实验结果在定性和定量上都非常吻合。实验结果表明，涡旋高度和气芯完全发达的良好涡旋形状是决定GWVT性能的主要参数。GWVT 的更好性能可以在转速范围的中间实现，即在最小和最大负载条件之间，使用最小可能的缺口角和轮毂直径，使用固定在盆底部附近的零曲率倾斜叶片。