Effects of Inclination Angle on Archimedes Screw Generator Power Production with Constant Head

Abstract

Three laboratory-scale Archimedes screw generators were tested for their power production. They were tested at different inclination angles corresponding to their lengths in order to maintain a constant head for each screw. Experimentation was used to develop initial insight into the effect of inclination angle on Archimedes screw power production. Computational fluid dynamic simulations were then compared to the experimental data and evaluated for their accuracy. The model was found to be acceptable and was then used to extend the data set to a total of seven inclination angles across the range of β=10°–40°. It was found that Archimedes screw generators with shallower inclination angles produced more power. It was also noted that shallower inclination angles correspond to longer screws and, thus, more civil infrastructure costs. The authors suggest that the ideal inclination angle for an Archimedes screw generator installation is between β=20° and 25° based on this laboratory-scale testing.