Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) is a private university located in&nbsp;Tamil Nadu, India. Founded in 1984, as Vellore Engineering College, the institution offers 20 undergraduate, 34 postgraduate, four integrated and four research programs. It has campuses in Vellore, Amravati, Bhopal and Chennai.

VIT is one of the top ranked private universities in India according to NIRF, THE and QS Rankings.&nbsp;Govt. of India has recognized&nbsp;VIT, Vellore as an&nbsp;Institution of Eminence. This has allowed VIT to take independent quality initiatives and move up in world ranking.

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VIT University

In the present era, production of municipal solid waste (MSW) has become unrestrained due to rapid growth in population and urbanization. Therefore, people are facing various challenges such as health and environmental safety. But, this huge potential of MSW can be used as a promising source for electricity production to reduce the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Incineration is well-known technique which has been extensively used to produce economically affordable energy from MSW. The purpose of the incineration plant is to get the maximum desirable outputs (heat and power) out of waste and minimize undesirable outputs (emissions and bottom ash). The value of heat or power recovered from waste burning in incineration plant depends on the heating value of the waste. Determining this heating value of each waste sample has been considered as complex and time consuming task due to different moisture, ash, and chemical composition. Under the present study, an attempt has been made to develop a correlation to calculate efficiency of the plant using composition of waste. In order to develop this correlation, concept of deep neural network model from machine learning has been used in this paper. The developed application may be useful for plant design engineer to predict the performance of plant for given range of parameters.

World University root node

Department of Thermal and Energy Engineering

School of Mechanical Engineering

Vellore Campus

Advances in Clean Energy Technologies

<a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-16-0235-1_11">Development of Correlation for Efficiency of Incineration Plants Using Deep Neural Network Model</a>

The national biofuel policy of the Indian government support to put a great emphasis on the synthesis of biodiesel from the nonedible feedstock. A potential option in this regard is Neem oil which is found in abundance in India (~1,00,000 tonnes). The major hindrance to the commercialization of biodiesel is its shelf life due to poor oxidation and stability characteristics. The current work investigates the oxidation stability of Neem biodiesel as per EU standard (EN14214) using the Rancimat apparatus. The oxidation stability of 12.3 hours without doping any chemical antioxidant in the synthesized Neem biodiesel makes it highly suitable for commercial acceptance. The impact of pyrogallol (PY) antioxidant was also investigated on the shelf life of Neem biodiesel build on response surface methodology (RSM) in accordance with Box-Behnken Design (BBD). Moreover, the execution and excretion characteristic of the Neem biodiesel blends: B15, B25, B35, and B45 are investigated on direct injection automotive compression ignition engine. Based on this broad experimental investigation B15 blend can be used as a fuel to power the existing automotive compression ignition engine with no compromise in the execution and excretion characteristics of the engine. From the analysis of the data of life-cycle assessment of the Neem biodiesel, it was found that it possesses the global warming potential of 45.72gCO2-eq Functional Unit−1 which is six times lesser than mineral diesel. Moreover, the Neem plantation has a carbon dioxide isolation potential of around 10 t ha−1 year −1. All these factors make the Neem Biodiesel highly suitable for blending with mineral diesel to power the existing compression ignition engines. © 2021 Taylor &amp; Francis Group, LLC.

Energy Sources, Part A: Recovery, Utilization and Environmental Effects

Investigation of the shelf life of the optimized Neem biodiesel and its execution and excretion characteristics on automotive diesel engine

In the recent years, interest in hydrokinetic technology has grown extensively. Hydrokinetic energy conversion stands out as a promising technology for producing the clean energy from moving water in rivers, channels or ocean currents. The Savonius water turbine is the vertical axis turbine which is well suited for low-speed channels and rivers. This paper aims to investigate the flow field and performance of a small scale Savonius water turbine at a low water velocity of 0.5 m/s. In the present study, a two blade Savonius water turbine having aspect ratio of 1.58 was designed and modelled along with model of an open channel. Realizable k-ε turbulence model has been used to carry out Numerical study. Based on numerical study, flow distributions around the rotor has been analysed and discussed. Experimental setup was also designed and fabricated to validate the numerical results. Further, it has been found that Savonius water turbine produces a maximum value of the power coefficient (=0.23) at TSR value of 0.7 in CFD investigation which is in good agreement with experimental results.

Materials Today: Proceedings

<a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=view_citation&amp;hl=en&amp;user=dYk6R9kAAAAJ&amp;citation_for_view=dYk6R9kAAAAJ:ufrVoPGSRksC">Flow field and performance study of Savonius water turbine</a>

With the exploitation of most of the conventional hydropower sites, novel and innovative technologies are being developed to harness the hydropower. In this era, hydrokinetic technologies have emerged as the promising solutions to tap the vast hydrokinetic energy available in riverine system. Various studies on the hydrokinetic technology are being carried out. The main issue regarding the hydrokinetic energy is the assessment of hydrokinetic potential of the vast network of rivers and canals. Under the present paper, a methodology is presented to assess the hydrokinetic potential of eastern Yamuna main canal. Based on the analysis, it has been observed that eastern Yamuna canal has the maximum potential of 26.48 MW. Further, for maximum flow velocity, 904 arrays are required with two units per array to tap the hydrokinetic potential of Yamuna canal. The requirement of array increases with the reduction in flow velocity.

<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214785320364774">Assessment of hydrokinetic energy–A case study of eastern Yamuna canal</a>

Savonius hydrokinetic turbine is considered as an environmentally friendly and cost effective turbine to extract hydrokinetic potential available in flowing streams. However, this turbine has not been fully explored, as the solution for the main problem of low efficiency of Savonius turbine is still being investigated around the globe. In order to study the effect of number of stages, this study aims to analyze the performance of modified Savonius hydrokinetic turbine having twisted blade under different values of number of stages. A commercial unsteady Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (URANS) solver in conjunction with realizable k-ε turbulence model has been used for the numerical analysis. Pressure and velocity distribution found around the rotor have also been analyzed and discussed. Based on the present investigation, the maximum power coefficient value of 0.44 is obtained for double stage turbine corresponding to tip speed ratio (TSR) value of 0.9 at Reynolds number of 37.53 × 104. Using numerical data obtained, correlation has been developed for power coefficient as a function of number of stages Reynolds number and tip speed ratio. © 2020 Elsevier Ltd

Ocean Engineering

Effect of number of stages on the performance characteristics of modified Savonius hydrokinetic turbine

VIT Unitversity

Materials Research Foundations Industrial Applications of Green Solvents - Volume II

Ionic Liquids as Green Bio-Lubricant Additives

Savonius hydrokinetic turbine is one of the prominent vertical axis turbines for tapping hydro potential available in flowing streams in rivers or canals. In spite of their simple design, Savonius turbines have the problem of poor performance. This study aims to enhance the performance of turbine through modification in the blade shape. Under the present study, geometrical parameters namely blade arc angle and blade shape factor are considered to modify the blade shape of Savonius hydrokinetic turbine. A commercial unsteady Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (URANS) solver in conjunction with realizable k-ε turbulence model has been used for numerical analysis. Using CFD analysis, blade arc angle and blade shape factor are optimized on the basis of coefficient of power. Fluid flow distributions found around the rotor has also been analyzed and discussed. Based on the present investigation, the maximum power coefficient value of 0.426 is obtained for blade arc angle of 150° and blade shape factor of 0.6 corresponding to TSR value of 0.9 at flow velocity of 2 m/s. © 2017 Elsevier Ltd

Renewable Energy

Performance analysis of a single stage modified Savonius hydrokinetic turbine having twisted blades

In the quest for renewable energy sources, kinetic energy available in small water streams, river streams or human-made canals may provide new avenue which can be harnessed by using hydrokinetic turbines. Savonius hydrokinetic turbine is vertical axis turbine having drag based rotor and suitable for a lower flow velocity of the water stream. In order to enhance the efficiency of the turbine, this paper aims to analyze the performance of twisted blade Savonius hydrokinetic turbine. Using CFD analysis, an attempt has been made to optimize blade twist angle of Savonius hydrokinetic turbine. The simulation of a twisted Savonius hydrokinetic turbine having two blades has been carried out to investigate the performance. Commercial unsteady Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (URANS) solver in conjunction with realizable k-ε turbulence model has been used for numerical analysis. Fluid flow distributions around the rotor have been analyzed and discussed. It has been found that Savonius hydrokinetic turbine having a twist angle of 12.5° yields a maximum coefficient of power as 0.39 corresponding to a TSR value of 0.9 for a given water velocity of 2 m/s. © 2017 Elsevier Ltd

Performance analysis of a Savonius hydrokinetic turbine having twisted blades

Energy crisis and high emission of fossil fuels are major driving forces for developing renewable energy based technologies. In order to meet growing demand for energy, hydropower can be one of the sustainable alternatives. Further, the hydrokinetic turbine is considered as one of the most emerging technologies which harness energy from flowing water. In this paper, an attempt has been made to review hydrokinetic energy theory for energy conversion system from water currents analogous to wind power system. The most widespread classes of hydrokinetic turbines are discussed in detail with respect to their benefits, drawbacks and desirable conditions for applications. It has been found that in spite of some prevailing downsides of vertical axis turbine like of self-starting and lower efficiency, vertical axis turbines are appealing for many riverine applications. One of the prominent turbines of its kind is the Savonius hydrokinetic turbine that has the capacity to self-start at a very low fluid velocity in the river, canal etc. However, Savonius type hydrokinetic turbine inherently has poor efficiency. A number of experimental and numerical studies with a large number of physical designs and parameters have been carried out in the area of Savonius rotor to enhance its efficiency. Under this study, review of different parameters affecting the performance of Savonius hydrokinetic turbine has been carried out and presented in this paper which may be useful for future studies to improve the efficiency of such turbines. © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

Performance parameters of Savonius type hydrokinetic turbine - A Review

Rivers Water currents or flow in canals are considered as reliable source of power generation. Savonius rotors are considered suitable for power generation from water current. In this paper, an attempt has been made to develop a multi stage rotor with variable diameter of Savonius turbine in order to enhance the performance of Savonius rotor. This innovative multi stage Savonius rotor has been numerically investigated using commercially available ANSYS FLUENT code. A three stage Savonius hydrokinetic turbine with variable diameter in each stage has been designed and developed. SST k - ω turbulence model in addition with VOF-open channel flow model has been applied in order to simulate the performance of Savonius hydrokinetic turbine in open channel flow. Based on simulation results, power coefficient has been found to be maximum as 0.32 at TSR of 0.8.

2015 Annual IEEE India Conference (INDICON)

<a href="https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/7443835/">Numerical investigation and novel designing of multi-stage savonius rotor for harnessing hydro power</a>

Savonius type wind turbine is considered suitable for power generation from low speed fluid flows i.e. canal and river systems. However it suffers from a poor efficiency. Lot of hydro potential in canal and rivers exists in India where Savonius type rotor as hydrokinetic turbine may be used. In order to minimize the static torque deviation and to enhance the performance of Savonius Rotor, continual efforts were made to improve the geometry of its blade profiles. Under various studies, Savonius turbine blade profiles were investigated by modifying the shape of the blade and by designing new shapes of blades. This paper presents an overview of Savonius turbine blade profile designs and performance of different blade profiles investigated under the various studies. As per the twist angle, helical rotor with α = 180° is found as the best in terms of coefficient of power. Among the different blade profiles, two bladed Savonius style wind turbine (SSWT) yields 0.31 as maximum coefficient of power.

2015 International Conference on Recent Developments in Control, Automation and Power Engineering (RDCAPE)

<a href="https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/7281386/">Investigation on performance of improved savonius rotor: An overview</a>