Paper Title
Performance of Pump As Turbine in Pico Hydro Power Generation
Abstract
This paper presents the performance of a radial discharge centrifugal pump operated in turbine mode. Increasing
environmental concerns and depleting fossil fuel reserves has shifted the focus of the world to explore various possible
renewable energy alternatives for energy generation. There are many villages in developing countries which are still
deprived of electricity. The quality of life in these villages definitely suffers. Hydro power is the cheapest and clean
renewable energy source. The electricity generated at large hydro power projects is transmitted through the grid system. The
high terrain remote villages where grid supply is not feasible due to economical reasons remain deprived of electricity. Many
of these high terrain remote village populations cannot afford expensive technology for standalone power generation.
Amongst these villages, those which are blessed with natural streams of water and rivers, standalone hydro power generation
is the best option. The cost of conventional hydro turbine for micro and Pico hydro scale can be high as 35-40% of the total
project cost. Centrifugal pumps are similar in construction to Francis turbine accept that pumps do not have guide vanes.
Reverse operation of centrifugal pump as hydro turbine is a worth option to lower the cost of turbine machinery for micro
and Pico hydro scale power generation. Induction motors which are most widely used as prime movers for pumps can be
used as induction generators and allow for further cost savings in small scale hydro power projects. This paper presents
numerical and experimental analysis of centrifugal pump performance in turbine mode. The paper also presents use of
induction motors as generators in Pico hydro power generation.
Keywords - Pump As Turbine (PAT), Pico Hydro, Renewable Energy.