CFD design and analysis in investigating the effect of turbine blade outlet angle variations on Micro-hydro turbine performance

Putri, Syisy Arnellsa and Indrayani, Indrayani and Yerizam, H. M. (2025) CFD design and analysis in investigating the effect of turbine blade outlet angle variations on Micro-hydro turbine performance. International Journal of Science and Research Archive, 15 (3). pp. 1476-1483. ISSN 2582-8185

South Sumatra has natural landscapes in the form of rivers, hills, lakes, and varied regional contour, storing the potential for the utilization of quite large water resources, however, many rural areas in this province still have difficulty getting access to electricity and are highly dependent on water sources. Micro Hydro Power Plants (PLTMH) are an efficient alternative solution, especially with the use of impulse turbine technology. This study aims to design and analyze a Pelton turbine using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulation in order to determine the effect of change in the turbine blade output angle on the performance of the micro hydro turbine. The reasearch precess was conducted in three main phases starting from the preparation stage, design stage, and implementation stage where the results showed a flow velocity of 0.14 m/s and a discharge of 0.0054 m³/s, with a maximum pressure of 103313.23 Pa and a minimum of 101877.77 Pa. The concave blade design proved to be optimal, and the highest torque on the Z axis of 0.01150 Nm was achieved in 0.011 seconds, indicating efficient and stable system performance.