3D-printed hydraulic turbine ‘SETUR’ generates electricity without using blades

Bladeless hydropower turbine SETUR

The portable hydraulic turbine SETUR from Vortex Hydrokinetics acts as a power source by generating energy from water without using any blades. The water source might come from ocean currents, tidal streams, rivers, and even canals.

The atomic bomb-shaped turbine uses the vortex phenomenon to generate energy, that is creating obstacles to force the stream to form a vortex which can then be used as a source of current. The cost-effective SETUR, as the design team puts it, can be used either as a standalone system or within a multi-unit hydropower farm. 

The bladeless hydraulic turbine is also 3D-printed, which adds up to the portable equipment being lightweight. While SETUR can be used in dams, irrigation canals, and industrial outflows, it caters well to urban and isolated areas where electricity is needed and there is an abundant water source to place the device in. 

images courtesy of Vortex Hydrokinetics

How does it work?

The design team behind SETUR explains that what matters in the process of electricity generation is the diffusion angle of the gap between the rotor and the stator. One tip of the rotor’s stick is fixed, so that the rotor can roll along the inner side of the container. When the fluid flows along the rotor, then due to the flow field instability, the fluid starts to rotate and vorticity is generated. 

The design of SETUR follows this principle. The box container is hollow enough to provide space for the globe which is attached to a shaft by the handle. When the bladeless hydraulic turbine is placed in a water source, the globe goes in a loop, and depending on the water’s current, it picks up the speed and generates more electricity. As of publishing this story, SETUR is being offered as a 5kW or 500W turbine.

SETUR

portable hydraulic turbine

project info:

name: SETUR

company: Vortex Hydrokinetics