Testing the Effect of Variation of Deflector Shapes on the Performance of the Three Blade Vertical Axis Savonius Water Turbine

Abstract

Hydropower is energy obtained from flowing
water and can be used for mechanical energy or electrical
energy. Electrical energy is energy that is used to fulfill human
needs in life. The need for electrical energy in Indonesia
continues to increase by an average of 3.9% from year to year
until 2050. There are various water sources in Kalimantan
such as water ditches, as well as reservoirs that have low-speed
water flow and the capacity to accommodate water levels that
are not too high. The Savonius water turbine can be utilized in
these conditions because it has the advantage of a simple
turbine construction, and is suitable for relatively low velocity
water flows. This study analyzes how well the Savonius water
turbine is by applying different deflector shapes. The method
applied in this experiment is an experimental study using a
Savonius turbine. The conclusion in this study is that applying
a deflector will improve turbine performance much better than
not using a deflector. Experiments by applying deflectors,
namely convex deflectors, flat deflectors, and concave
deflectors, it was concluded that the application using a
concave deflector resulted in the highest rotational speed
produced by the turbine, the maximum value of turbine power
and the Savonius turbine coefficient of 206.3 rpm, 0.196 Watt
and Cp = 0.124.