Enhancing Performance Evaluation of Archimedes Screw Turbines under Optimal Conditions: A Focus on Flow Rate Analysis, Empirical Equations, and Comparative Scaling Methods

Due to the necessity of utilizing renewable energies, the Archimedes screw turbine can be used as a power generation converter for the use of hydropower energy from river flows. A laboratory-scale model of this turbine with a scale of 1:6 has been designed and constructed. In the experimental tests, the performance characteristics of the turbine were investigated based on variations in the flow rate and electrical resistance. The optimal flow rate for the turbine was determined with the aim of achieving maximum efficiency. The performance characteistics of the turbine at this flow rate were evaluated using empirical equations derived from the experimental tests for various parameters. These equations indicated higher values for these parameters at this flow rate. Furthermore, for the scaling of the Archimedes screw turbine, dimensionless numbers such as Froude number and flow rates ratio were introduced. The experimental results were extrapolated to the prototype scale at the optimal flow rate of 2.6 (lit/s), where the maximum turbine efficiency occurs. The results showed that the use of Froude scaling led to approximately 25% higher values for the performance characteristics of the turbine compared to scaling based on flow rates ratio.