The gravitational water vortex turbine: A review and application development

The increasing rate of population growth in Indonesia has resulted in an increase in the rate of energy demand each year. Indonesia has the potential for quite abundant energy sources, one of which is the potential for water energy. The po-tential of water energy is one of the most widely used renewable energy sources and provides a sizeable contribution in the world. Micro hydro and picohydro power plants are quite popular in various countries and are considered suitable for application in remote areas that have a potential source of water energy. The Gravitational Water Vortex Power Plant (GWVPP) is a micro-hydro power plant for low-head and low-flow applications. GWVPP was first developed by Franz Zotlöterer since 2006 to produce surface runoff created in an open space with an orifice located at the bottom of the basin resulting in a water vortex. This paper presents a theoretical review, performance evaluation, and findings of previous research on GWVPP. GWVPP is a relatively new technology in micro hydro power generation. GWVPP works by means of a water vortex induced by a gravitational force which is then absorbed by a Gravitational Water Vortex Turbine (GWVT) which is connected to a generator to produce electricity. In GWVT the water energy hits the blade at the same time, so the active area of the blade is relatively larger. The average efficiency of this GWVT is 53%. Various experimental studies as well as numerical simulations on turbine design and parameters have been carried out to improve their efficiency. Further research is still being carried out by researchers to get the most optimal efficiency. Below, various parameters that affect the per-formance of GWVT are described which are expected to meet the electricity needs of regions in Indonesia.