Performance enhancement of an inline cross-flow hydro turbine for power supply to water leakage monitoring system.

Water leakage monitoring system is essential for the urban water supply, but it is a great challenge to ensure stable and reliable power supply for this system. In this study, an inline cross-flow turbine was proposed to harvest hydropower from the water pipes. A numerical investigation was conducted to study the effects of blocks on the turbine performance. The simulation results indicated that the proposed upstream and downstream blocks can act as nozzle and diffuser in traditional cross-flow turbine to enhance the flow velocity and pressure difference through the impeller, so the turbine performance can be improved. The maximum output power of the turbine can research 136W when the TSR is 1.2 and the water head loss through the water turbine is in the range of 3.45m-3.75m water head, which has little negative impact on the normal water supply. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]