Abstract

The energy matrix diversification has become noticed in the latest years. Energy conversion of the free flow in rivers and canals into electrical energy has been a good complementation for the conventional generation. The first application of hydrokinetic turbines, commercially, were in Mississippi’s river (Minnesota, USA), in 2008. The usage of Magnus effect in hydrokinetic turbines occurred in an innovative manner. In this project, rotational cylinders actuate as blades of an axial hydrokinetic rotor, converting kinetic energy of the flow into potency in the rotor axle. This effect was initially observed in 1853 by Henrich Magnus and, since then, few researches were carried out to its application in hydraulic generation of energy. Therefore, tests in reduced-scale prototype and numerical simulations were made for the development and executive design of a hydrokinetic rotor. At the end of this study, a hydro generator with 62% hydraulic efficiency, considering the Betz Limit, was constructed.

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