The researchers generated more than 900 data sets and published a paper in the Journal of Hydraulic Engineering before selecting the best design for a larger prototype. The research team evaluated four optimized composite turbine designs developed and 3D printed by Percheron Power. Producing the turbines from composite materials, however, offers an attractive alternative on several fronts. This means a turbine assembly up to 16 feet in diameter and up to 80 feet long must be shipped fully constructed to the installation site, which is both costly and logistically challenging. The current Archimedes hydrodynamic screw manufacturing process requires bending of large steel plates that must be welded together, ground smooth and prepped for painting, then completely finished at a factory. Though reliable, efficient, and fish-friendly, the technology has faced barriers to production, transportation, and installation that have resulted in higher project costs and slowed industry adoption of the design in the United States. The project explored a new approach to manufacturing with potential to lower costs and increase efficiencies of future turbine blade development across the industry and demonstrated record efficiency for an Archimedes hydrodynamic screw turbine to date. While the Archimedes screw has been primarily used as an irrigation tool for several millennia, the past 15 years have seen exciting new applications of the device in the form of hydroelectric power.
In July 2019, Percheron Power, with support from PNNL and Utah State University’s Water Research Lab, developed and tested a next-generation Archimedes hydrodynamic screw turbine constructed from composite materials and leveraging advanced manufacturing methods.
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