• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.95-104
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• 2022

Micro hydropower is a readily available renewable energy source that can be harvested utilizing hydrokinetic turbines from shallow water canals, irrigation and industrial channel flows, and run-off river stream flows. These sources generally have low head (<1 m) and low velocity which makes it difficult to harvest energy using conventional turbines. A horizontal-axis screw turbine was designed and numerically tested to extract power from such low-head water sources. The 3-bladed screw-type turbine is placed horizontally perpendicular to the incoming flow, partially submerged in a narrow water channel at no-head condition. The turbine hydraulic performances were studied using Computational Fluid Dynamics models. Turbine design parameters such as the shroud diameter, the hub-to-shroud ratios, and the submerged depths were obtained through a steady-state parametric study. The resulting turbine configuration was then tested by solving the unsteady multiphase free-surface equations mimicking an actual open channel flow scenario. The turbine performance in the shallow channel were studied for various Tip Speed Ratios (TSR). The highest power coefficient was obtained at a TSR of 0.3. The turbine was then scaled-up to test its performance on a real site condition at a head of 0.3 m. The highest power coefficient obtained was 0.18. Several losses were observed in the 3-bladed turbine design and to minimize losses, the number of blades were increased to five. The power coefficient improved by 236% for a 5-bladed screw turbine. The fluid losses were minimized by increasing the blade surface area submerged in water. The turbine performance was increased by 74.4% after dipping the turbine to a bottom wall clearance of 30 cm from 60 cm. The final output of the novel horizontal-axis screw turbine showed a 2.83 kW power output at a power coefficient of 0.63. The turbine is expected to produce 18,744 kWh/year of electricity. The design feasibility test of the turbine showed promising results to harvest energy from small hydropower sources.

• The Transactions of The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers
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• v.57 no.9
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• pp.1491-1499
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• 2008

This paper presents a study on reliability evaluation of a power system considering wind turbine generators (WTG) with multi-state. Renewable energy resources such as wind, wave, solar, micro hydro, tidal and biomass etc. are becoming importance stage by stage because of considering effect of the environment. Wind energy is one of the most successful sources of renewable energy for the production of electrical energy. But, reliability evaluation of generating system with wind energy resources is a complex process. While the wind turbine generators can not modelled as two-state model as like as conventional generators, they should be modelled as multi-state model due to wind speed random variation. The methodology for obtaining reliability evaluation index of wind turbine generators is different from it of the conventional generators. A method for making outage capacity probability table of WTG for reliability is proposed in this paper. The detail process is presented using case study of simple system.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.183-200
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• 2014

The expansivity of clayey soils is a complicated phenomenon which may affect the stability of geotechnical structures and geo-environmental projects. In all common factors for the monitoring of soil expansion, less attention is given to anion type of pore space solutions. Therefore, this paper is concerned with the impact of various concentrations of different inorganic salts including NaCl, $Na_2SO_4$, and $Na_2CO_3$ on the macro and microstructure behavior of the expandable smectite clay. Comparison of the responses of the smectite/NaCl and smectite/$Na_2SO_4$ mixtures indicates that the effect of anion valance on the soil engineering properties is not very pronounced, regardless of the electrolyte concentration. However, at presence of carbonate as potential determining ions (PDIs) the swelling power increases up to 1.5 times compared to sulfate or chloride ions. The samples with $Na_2CO_3$ are also more deformable and show lower osmotic compressibility than the other mixtures. This demonstrates that the barrier performance of smectite greatly decreases in case of anions with the non-specific adsorption (e.g., $Cl^-$ and $SO{_4}^{2-}$) as the salinity of solution increases. Based on the results of the X-ray diffraction and sedimentation tests, the high soil volumetric changes upon exposure to carbonate is attributed to an increase in the repulsive forces between smectite basic unit layers due to the PDI effect of $CO{_3}^{2-}$ and increasing the pH level which enhance the buffering capacity of smectite. The study concluded that the nature of anion through its influence on the re-arrangement of soil microstructure and osmotic phenomena governs the hydro-mechanical parameters of expansive clays. It seems not coinciding with the double layer theory of the Gouy-Chapman double layer model.

• Proceedings of the Korean Radioactive Waste Society Conference
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• 2005.06a
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• pp.457-463
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• 2005

KHNP(Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Ltd., Co.) is developing a HIC transport package which is satisfying domestic and IAEA regulations and NETEC(Nuclear Environment Technology Institute) is conducting a conceptual design. In this study, the shielding thickness was calculated using the data from radionuclide assay program which is currently using in nuclear sites and Micro Shield code. Considering the structural safety, carbon steel was chosen as shielding material and the shielding thickness was calculated for 500 R/hr and 100 R/hr at HIC surface, respectively. Through the shielding analysis, it was evaluated that the regulation limit is satisfied when the shielding thickness is 22 cm for 500 R/hr and 17 cm for 100/hr.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Process Engineers
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.76-86
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• 2019

The cross-flow turbine is a key hydraulic power system that is widely due to low costs, high efficiency, and low maintenance. In particular, the cross-flow turbine considered as the most suitable turbine for low head situations as it is known to operate down to 5 m of water head. However, the conventional cross-flow turbine is unsuitable for ultra-low head situations with less than a 3 m water head. In this study, we propose an inverted-type cross-flow turbine to overcome the limitations of conventional cross-flow turbines under ultra-low head situations. First, we described the limitations of conventional turbines and suggested a new turbine for the ultra-low head circumstances. Second, we investigated the performance of the new turbine using CFD analysis. Results demonstrated the effects of the design parameters, such as number of blades and rotor diameter ratio, on the performance of the suggested turbine. As a result, we developed an inverted-type cross-flow turbine with up to 60% efficiency under low water head conditions.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Process Engineers
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.107-119
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• 2021

The cross-flow turbine is one of the most famous and widely used hydraulic power systems for a long time. The cross-flow turbine is especially popular in many countries and remote regions where off-grided because of its many benefits such as low cost, high efficiency at low head, simple structure, and easy maintenance. However, most modern turbines, including the cross-flow turbine, are unsuitable for the ultra-low head situation, known as less than 3m water head or zero head with over 0.5m/s flow velocity. In this study, we demonstrated a 20kW class inverted-type cross-flow turbine's performance. First, we reevaluated our previous studies and introduced how to design the inverted-type cross-flow turbine. Secondly, we fabricated the 20kW class inverted-type cross-flow turbine for the performance test. And then, we designed a testbed and installed the turbine system in the demonstration facility. In the end, we compare the demonstration with its previous CFD results. The comparing result shows that both CFD and real model fitted on guide vane angle at 10 degrees. At the demonstration, we achieved 42% turbine efficiency at runner speed 125 RPM.

• Proceedings of the Korea Water Resources Association Conference
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• 2021.06a
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• pp.432-432
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• 2021

우리나라는 대부분의 에너지 공급을 해외에 의존하고 있는 실정이다. 산업통상자원부와 에너지경제연구원에서 발간하는 2018년 에너지통계연보(에너지경제연구원과 산업통상자원부, 2018)에 실린 2010년부터 2017년까지의 에너지수급 균형을 보면 원유, 천연가스, 석탄, 우라늄 등 평균 95.4%의 에너지를 수입하고 있는 실정이다. 수력 및 신재생에너지의 경우 기후변화에 대응하는 수단 그리고 정부의 저탄소에너지 전환 정책으로 인정받아 상대적으로 낮은 에너지 경제성에도 불구하고 꾸준히 보급되고 있다. 우리나라뿐만 아니라 독일, 프랑스, 영국, 중국 그리고 인도와 같은 세계 주요 국가들이 친환경 에너지 정책을 주도함에 따라 향후 신재생에너지의 공급 규모는 크게 확대될 것으로 전망된다. 중력 물 보텍스 마이크로 수력 발전 시스템은 시스템의 상하류부의 수두(hydraulic head) 차에 의해 저류조(basin)에서 발생되는 물의 보텍스 즉 소용돌이(whirlpool)를 이용하여 임펠러(impeller)를 회전시켜 전기에너지를 생산하는 친환경적 재생에너지의 일종이다. 또한, 시스템으로 유입되는 물은 전기에너지 생산을 위한 임펠러를 통과한 후 다시 하천으로 방류되므로 하천 수의 손실 그리고 하천의 물길도 거의 교란 시키지 않는다. 4가구 정도의 연간 가정용 전기 요구량인 12와 15kW 사이의 전기에너지를 생산하기 위해서는 발전시스템의 상류와 하류의 수두차가 단지 1.5에서 1.7m 이하이면 충분한 것으로 알려져 있다. 본 연구에서는 중력 물 보텍스 친환경 마이크로 발전 시스템을 구성하는 저류조(basin)에 대해 최대 발전효율을 발생시키기에 최적인 기하학적 형태를 도출하는 것이며, 이를 위해 저류조의 cone angle에 따른 다양한 저류조 직경 및 물 보텍스 생성을 위한 저류조 형태의 변화, 유입수로와 저류조와의 각도인 notch angle의 변화, 유입부 폭과 유출부 직경, 유입수로의 길이 그리고 유입수로에서의 초기수심과 같은 기하학적 매개변수를 변화시켜 모의를 수행하였다.

• Proceedings of the Korea Water Resources Association Conference
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• 2022.05a
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• pp.122-122
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• 2022

기후변화 대응 및 탄소 저감 노력의 일환으로 신재생에너지의 개발 및 활용이 전 세계적으로 활발하며, 우리나라에서도 2050년 탄소중립 달성을 위하여 친환경 에너지 시스템 구축에 많은 노력을 기울이고 있다. 전통적인 재생에너지인 수력은 발전의 효율성, 안정성과 발전 제어의 용이함 때문에 널리 사용되고 있으나, 경제성을 확보하기 위한 댐, 보의 설치 및 대규모 발전설비가 필요하여, 생태계, 환경 파괴 등의 문제점 등을 수반하여, 최근 들어 대규모 사업이 이루어지지 못하고 있다. 이러한 흐름에 따라 최근에는 유럽을 중심으로 친환경 소수력 발전으로 회전 나선형 아르키메데스 수차를 활용한 소수력 발전의 적용이 이루어지고 있으며, 특히 2000년대 이후 독일을 중심으로 활발히 개발되고 있다. 또한 휴대용 초소수력 발전은 새로운 산업분야로 민간용 초소수력 발전기의 개발 및 판매가 국내외에서 증가하고 있으며, 우리나라에서도 자연 하천 환경에 활용 가능한 초소수력 발전의 필요성이 꾸준히 제기되고 있다. 본 연구에서는 저유량 및 저낙차에 적용 가능한 '초소형 회전 나선형 아르키메데스 수차', 초소형 발전에 적합한 '발전기 및 발전시스템', 자연환경을 훼손하지 않는 친환경 '유도수로'로 구성되어, 원하는 하천이나 수로 등에 손쉽게 설치 가능한 초소형 소수력 발전시스템을 개발하였다. 회전 나선형 아르키메데스 수차는 3D프린터로 제작한 후, 강화 코팅제를 도포하여 내구성을 확보하였다. 상용 AC발전기, 소형 발전기용 '발전기 및 발전시스템'을 적용하고, 콘트롤 보드를 맞춤형으로 제작하여 경제성을 확보하였다. 이러한 발전 시스템은 개발 테스트 중에 있으며 향후 방류수로, 하수구 등 현장 적용을 준비 중에 있다.