Design and simulation of a pico-hydro system for the generation of electrical energy in rural areas, through a computational fluid mechanics software

In this article is present the procedure for the design of all components of a pico-hydro system, is designed a pico hydraulic propeller turbine according to the specific condition of water potential to an estimated site of operation based on a theoretical and technical analysis. For this purpose, the main characteristics of the runner are determined for medium of statistics correlations of different designs of turbine around the world, and defining restrictions for the design such as turbine head, nominal rate flow and power required, from the data mentioned above, the value of all the variables related to the behavior of the fluid in its passage through the impeller is established and from the value of said variables and the geometry established for the impeller, the geometry is determined and the specifications of the other components of the pico-hydro system such as the spiral chamber, the suction tube, the generator and the distributor, for which two types were studied, which are a distributor of axial input of the fluid and another radial input of the fluid with respect to the axis of rotation of the turbine. For the verification of the design and expected results, a modern engineering tool is used, such as computational fluid dynamics (CFD), especially the component (CFX) to predict the flow and performance that the designed system can produce. Finally, a technical-economic analysis is carried out to study the feasibility of implementing this type of systems in a rural area.   The design of the present pico-hydro system and the contribution of computational fluid dynamics CFD, can be a viable alternative to meet the demands of electricity in a rural area that does not have this service by the supply networks responsible for this function.En este artículo se presenta un procedimiento para el diseño de todos los componentes de un sistema pico-hydro, a partir de una turbina hidráulica tipo hélice de acuerdo a las condiciones específicas del potencial del agua para un sitio estimado de operación basado en un análisis teórico y técnico. Para este fin, las principales características del rodete se determinan por medio de correlaciones estadísticas de diferentes autores que han estudiado turbinas instaladas alrededor del mundo, y definiendo restricciones para el diseño tales como el salto de la turbina, el caudal nominal y la potencia requerida, a partir de los datos mencionados anteriormente, se establece el valor de todas las variables relacionadas con el comportamiento del fluido en su paso por el rodete y a partir del valor de dichas variables y de la geometría establecida para el rodete, se procede a determinar la geometría y las especificaciones de los demás componentes del sistema pico-hydro tales como la cámara espiral, el tubo de aspiración, el generador y el distribuidor, para el cual se estudiaron dos tipos que son un distribuidor de entrada axial del fluido y otro de entrada radial del fluido con respecto al eje de rotación de la turbina. Para la verificación del diseño y de los resultados esperados, se utiliza una herramienta moderna de ingeniería como lo es la dinámica de fluidos computacional (CFD), en especial el componente (CFX) para predecir el flujo y el rendimiento que puede arrojar el sistema diseñado. Por último se procede a realizar un análisis técnico-económico para estudiar la viabilidad de implementar este tipo de sistemas en una zona rural

Analysis of labour market needs for engineers with enhanced knowledge in renewable energy in some European and Latin-American Countries

One of the main challenges related to the renewable energy labour market is that of human capital and as a consequence the educational profile of future employees is of paramount importance. Unfortunately, the skill level gained at University does not always fit with the practical needs of industry thus reducing the benefit-cost ratio of new employees and slowing down the transition to a green economy. Within this context, ‘The Crux’ project co-funded by EU under the framework of the Erasmus + programme aims at improving the renewable energy engineering curriculum at different university levels in several Universities of Latin America and Europe. In order to better appreciate the potential impact of the project, a survey on the labour market need for specialists with enhanced knowledge and skills in renewable and sustainable energy technologies has been conducted in the related EU and Latin America countries. More precisely, 60 organizations have been interviewed and almost 70% of them are interested in employing engineers with enhanced knowledge on renewable energy in the next three years. The analysis has shown significant discrepancies between EU and Latin American organizations. In fact, while future employees in EU countries will be mainly related to solar energy and management, the former together with wind and biomass will represent the main renewable energy working sector in Latin American countries. Moreover, MSc level will be the most demanded in EU while bachelor education seems to satisfy the future industry requirements in Latin America. Despite each country having its own needs, the research carried out under this EU project confirms the potential of renewable energy education on the global labour market in the near future