Design, Fabrication & Analysis of a Gravitational Water Vortex Based Energy Harvester

ABSTRACT Gravitational Water Vortex Power Plant (GWVPP) is one of the micro-scale hydropower system that is capable to convert rotational moving fluid to usable energy. It is preferred over other such systems because of its ultra-low operating heads and the system’s ability to work with low flow rate to generate electricity. The ease of setup, low maintenance, and operating cost make it suitable for portable energy source applications. The novelty of this study is the dome-shaped basin GWVPP system; the design was inspired from the Brachistochrone curve theory. A Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis study was used to investigate the formation of vortex, and determine and optimize the curve radii parameter for fabrication of the system basin. Two different dome basins were fabricated in this study; wide version and narrow version. A total of 30 experimental tests were made for the dome basin GWVPP system. The maximum efficiency of the system setup was recorded at 31.77%, obtained at the bottom of the dome-basin using angled-curved blades profile from narrow dome basin with smallest outlet diameter. This study shows that there is a possible alternative basin design for GWVPP system.