Renewable Energy 94 (2016) 136e146

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Renewable Energy
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/renene

Modeling and experimental results of an Archimedes screw turbine

Julien Rohmer a, b, Dominique Knittel a, b, *, Guy Sturtzer a, Damien Flieller c, Jean Renaud a
a
Institut National des Sciences Appliqu

ees, Laboratoire de G

enie de la Conception, 24 Boulevard de la Victoire, 67000 Strasbourg, France
b
University of Strasbourg, Faculty of Physics and Engineering, 3 rue de l’Universit

e, 67000 Strasbourg, France
c
Institut National des Sciences Appliqu

ees, 24 Boulevard de la Victoire, 67000 Strasbourg, France

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: A small hydro plant using an Archimedes screw is the focused of this work. This is an alternative solution
Received 19 October 2015 to smallscale hydropower as it exploits unused resources such as small rivers or streams. Archimedes
Received in revised form screw plants reverse the pump use principle and exploit the available stream power for energy pro-
19 February 2016
duction in very low head application. Based on the previous studies, the optimal sizing of Archimedes
Accepted 9 March 2016
screws is discussed. Then, a numerical model is established to determine the mechanical efficiency ac-
cording to its geometrical parameters, its rotational speed and its degree of filling. Simulation results are
showed and validated with data from a real installation: this work reports experimental results of a 0.84-
Keywords:
Archimedes screw
m diameter Archimedes screw delivering a torque of 250-N-m. This model is an essential part of the
Small hydropower plant whole electromechanical plant modeling and therefore is useful for the estimation of efficiency, energy
Very low head hydropower production and profitability.
Modeling © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Experimental results

1. Introduction that use Archimedes screw turbines. He conducted a further study

Nowadays, renewables represent only 22.8% of global electricity
production [1]. In order to achieve a truly sustainable energy future,
it is necessary to increase the use of renewable resources in elec-
tricity generation. Hydropower, which is most often applied on a
large scale, represents the principal source of renewable energy
throughout the world. Although most of the large-scale European
hydropower opportunities have already been exhausted, a strong
potential has arisen for small-scale hydropower to exploit unused
resources, such as small rivers or streams.
Traditionally, the Archimedes screw is used to pump water from
a lower to a higher level or conveying in a horizontal or inclined
plane, liquid or solid materials [2e4]. Nowadays, Archimedes screw
plants reverse the pump use principle and exploit the available
stream power for energy production in very low head application
[5e9]. The generator receives the mechanical energy and converts
it into electrical energy which is supplied to the grid (Fig. 1). The
most common field application for Archimedes screws ranges from
1 to 6.5 m for the head and a flow rate between 0.25 and 6.5 m3/s
[7,10]. Lashofer lists over 180 plants in Europe and 400 in the world

es, Laboratoire de
* Corresponding author. Institut National des Sciences Applique

nie de la Conception, 24 boulevard de la Victoire, 67000 Strasbourg, France.
Ge
E-mail address: dominique.knittel@unistra.fr (D. Knittel).
of 14 plants located in Austria with an average overall efficiency of
69%. However, the efficiency of 6 out of these 14 plants is more than
75%. The biggest plant on which the study was conducted has an
electric power of 140 kW [11]. The power capacity of such a plant
can be estimated to be between 1.7 and 300 kW for an overall ef-
ficiency of 72%.
This kind of application is usually called ’run-of-river’ hydro-
electricity and presents the advantage of having a continuous
supply as long as the stream or river does not dry up. However, this
power system is regarded as an unstable source of production since
it has little or no capacity for energy storage and will not be able to
co-ordinate the electricity output generation with consumer de-
mand. Small-scale hydropower plants generate much more power
during high seasonal river flow and much less during drier summer
months.
Archimedes screw plants usually run at a ’constant’ rotational
speed. They mainly use induction generators running in hyper-
synchronization: a gearbox increases the speed of the Archi-
medes screw by a factor of 20e30, which allows a high-speed
commercial generator, thus reduced in size. The gearbox in-
troduces maintenance problems, mechanical oscillations and has a
variable mechanical efficiency as a function of the transmitted
power. Typically, around 97%.
It is possible to remove the gearbox in order to have a direct
drive coupling, but it requires the electric generator to rotate at the

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2016.03.044
0960-1481/© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 J. Rohmer et al. / Renewable Energy 94 (2016) 136e146
Archimedes screw
OR
P
Inflow
IR
1
2
C o n ve rsio n
3
low
of f
ec tion
Dir
Outflow
β
Kinetic energy
Fig. 1. General principle of an Archimedes screw plant.
same speed as the turbine. Since the speed is very low, the gener-
ator must be much larger than it was designed to work, for
example, at 1500 RPM.
Archimedes screws do have the ability to vary the flow rate
through themselves which is most efficiently achieved by varying
its rotational speed. Moreover, this variation of the rotational speed
allows it to operate at maximum efficiency depending on the water
flow variations and/or to undersize the geometrical parameters of
the Archimedes screw, thus reducing manufacturing costs. The use
of variable speed drives for wind systems is common [12,13]. To the
best of the author's knowledge, no study has been conducted to
prove that variable speed drives are not effective or cannot be used
for Archimedes screws. In fact, extra benefits from variable speed
operation have to outweight the extra losses in the generator-
inverter/rectifier-inverter chain and also the additional costs of
the equipment.
The final objective of this research is to determine several plant
configurations for a specific production site using a multi-objective
optimization. It is necessary to develop a complete model of the
electromechanical system, taking into account various parameters
such as the inner radius IR, the outer radius OR, the thread pitch P,
the number of blades N and the inclination b of the Archimedes
screw. Moreover, the synchronous reactance Xs, the winding
resistance Rs, the magnet fluxes lf and the pair pole numbers Np of
the permanent magnet synchronous generator will be considered.
Thus, the power electronics will be replaced by an equivalent circuit
and load resistance changed by a duty cycle ac. Finally, a maximum
power point tracking will be elaborated as a command strategy for
maximum output power.
This paper discusses the mechanical part of the plant and in-
troduces how to optimally size an Archimedes screw from research
results found in the literature. Then, it presents the experimental
prototype that has been developed at INSA Strasbourg, France. The
Archimedes screw was built by the NSC Environment Company
(France). From this, the experimental results will be used to validate
the developed numerical model.
2. Optimal sizing of an Archimedes screw
To obtain the optimal sizing of an Archimedes screw according
to its nominal flow rate Q, its inclination b and its number of blades
N, several geometric parameters have to be determined such as the
inner radius IR, the outer radius OR and the thread pitch P.
To calculate the Archimedes screw geometric parameters
137
Converters
Generator
Gearbox 3 3
T ra n sfo rm a tio n
T ra n sfo rm a tio n
C o n v e rs io n
Mechanical energy Electrical energy
mentioned above, Rorres and Nuernbergk have developed design
charts (Fig. 2) from theoretical results [10,14,15]. These dimen-
sionless coefficients represent the pitch ratio l and the filling ratio n
which take into account the mechanical efficiency h of the Archi-
medes screw for an optimal filling rate. The maximum volume of
water that the screw may contain is equal to Vmax ¼ p$OR2$P. The
filling ratio n corresponds to the volume of water that is currently in
the screw depending on its geometrical parameters over the
maximum volume that the screw can contain. The pitch l and
radius r ratio work on the same principle as the filling ratio but uses
thread pitch and radius instead of volume.
Fig. 2 shows the mechanical efficiency relative to the geomet-
rical parameters of the screw according to the pitch l and radius r
ratio. Then it shows the values of lnh as a function of l and r. The
maximum value of lnh is equal to 0.0514. Subsequently, it is
possible to easily determine r ¼ 0.505, l ¼ 0.21 and h ¼ 0.86.
Finally, ln ¼ 0.06 is obtained. These results are optimal for a three
bladed Archimedes screw (N ¼ 3) with an inclination b of 30  and
are calculated to trap as much water as possible between two
blades.
With the previous coefficients, it is possible to determine the
optimal outer radius OR of the Archimedes screw with the
following equation [10,14,15]:

3=7
Q $tanðbÞ
OR ¼ (1)
K1 $ðlnÞ
where K1 is a constant between 10.362 and 11.606. According to
Rorres and Nuernbergk, the thread pitch P and the inner radius IR
can be calculated by equation (2) [10,14,15]:
2p$OR$l
P¼ IR ¼ r$OR (2)
tanðbÞ
The following table shows the optimal sizing of a three bladed
Archimedes screw (N ¼ 3) using a nominal flow rate Q of 0.15 m3/s
with an inclination b of 30 . These values will be used for the
experimental prototype and the next numerical turbine model of
the Archimedes screw.
Rorres is the first person to have worked on the optimal sizing of
an Archimedes screw. The parameters l, r and n were established
for an Archimedes screw pump and were optimized in order to
raise a maximum volume of water per turn of the screw. Nuerbergk
adapts these parameters to an Archimedes screw turbine and in-
cludes the mechanical efficiency in his charts. The various losses in
138 J. Rohmer et al. / Renewable Energy 94 (2016) 136e146

Fig. 2. Mechanical efficiency and optimal geometric parameters for a three bladed Archimedes screw (N ¼ 3) with an inclination b of 30 as a function of the pitch l and radius r
ratio [10,14,15].

the Archimedes screw are identified such as leakage losses QLS and given as follows [10,14,15]:
friction losses. Overfilling losses QLZR are not taken into account
since these charts (Fig. 2) are made for an optimal filling rate.  
Pði  1Þ
However, these losses are calculated from empirical equations WLevel ðx; iÞ ¼ tanb x  x0  þ y0 (4)
N
based on Lashofer data [11]. Nuernbergk uses for his calculation of
friction losses the Darcy-Weisbach friction factor fD which depends
where x0 and y0 are the starting coordinates and have to be
on the flow regime (laminar or turbulent) and the fluid properties.
calculated directly from equation (5) and correspond to P111 in
In his study, fD ¼ 0.035 [10]. This coefficient varies depending on the
Fig. 3 [10,14,15].
geometrical parameters of the Archimedes screw. In other words,
for small screws this coefficient becomes significant and impacts on


the mechanical efficiency of the Archimedes screw. P tanðbÞ$P
x0 ¼ $arcos
These sizing charts give good results for an Archimedes screw 2p 2p$IR
 x  (5)
whose parameters are similar to Lashoffer data (OR ¼ 1 m and
HydroHead ¼ 2.5 m). However, for Archimedes screw having y0 ¼ IR$sin 2p 0
P
different geometrical parameters to Lashoffer data, these co-
efficients no longer ensure optimum sizing. Nevertheless, these Fig. 3 shows in continuous green and blue lines, the internal and
sizing charts remain the most suitable for our application, since external Archimedes screw blade for the first blade according to the
Nuernbergk is the only person to have taken into account the optimal parameters calculated in Table 1. Dotted lines shifted by P/N
functioning of an Archimedes screw turbine and different losses represent the second blade. The water level for an optimal filling
within the latter. rate is given by equation (4) represented by Y0(1) in Fig. 3.
To calculate the water volume between two blades, only the
starting and the ending coordinates has to be known. Then, the
3. Numerical model of the Archimedes screw
water bucket have to be equally divide between P111 and P122 into
a large number of units. In fact, the problem of determining the
The purpose of the numerical model is to determine the me-
water volume is reduced to determining the individual sub-area A1
chanical efficiency h of the Archimedes screw according to the river
… AN [10]. In our case, the bucket has been divided into 20 sub-
flow rate Q and the rotational speed U of the turbine for a given
parts.
sizing.
For each cutting surface Ai (blue surface in Fig. 4), the area
To determine the mechanical efficiency h of the Archimedes
covered between the outer radius, the water level and the central
screw, several steps have to be performed such as: the calculation
tube has to be determined in order to use the Simpson method [10].
of the water volume trapped between two blades (water bucket)
In numerical analysis, the Simpson method is a technique for nu-
subject to the geometrical parameters calculated in section 1 (inner
merical computation of an integral. Volume with the Simpson
radius, outer radius and thread pitch) including the water level
method is calculated with equations (6) and (7).
according to the inclination and the flow rate. Moreover, the
leakage losses QLS between the trough, the blades and the shaft
have to be determined as well as the frictional losses. h
VBucket ¼ ðA þ 4A1 þ 2A2 þ … þ 2An2 þ 4An1 þ An Þ (6)
3 0
3.1. Water volume calculation
x122  x111
The first step is to determine the intersection coordinates be- h¼ (7)
20
tween the blades and the water level by using the Newton method.
According Rorres and Nuernbergk, the perimeter of the inner and In Fig. 4, the initial polar angle f111 indicates the start of the
outer screw blades can be calculated by a sine function with the division into sub-parts. The blue curve that goes from the green
following equation [10,14,15]: inner circle to the blue outer circle represents the first blade that is
currently under the water level. The green curve shifted by 2p/N is


x ði  1Þ the second blade. Blades move counterclockwise with a pitch angle
YRadius ðx; iÞ ¼ Radius$sin 2p  (3)
P N (f122f111)/20. A(9) shows the 8th cut, in which, the first and
second blades have moved the pitch angle 8 times. The process has
where i is the nth blade of the screw, P the thread pitch and N the to be repeated until the second blade starts to chase water to the
number of blades. The water level according to the inclination is end polar angle f122 (A(21)) which corresponds to the 20th cut.
 J. Rohmer et al. / Renewable Energy 94 (2016) 136e146 139

Fig. 3. Coordinates determination using Newton method.

Table 1
Optimal parameters of the screw for N ¼ 3, b ¼ 30 and Q ¼ 0.15 m3/s.

Parameters Values Units Description

OR 0.42 [m] Outer radius

IR 0.21 [m] Inner radius
P 0.96 [m] Thread pitch

Fig. 4. Determination of the individual sub-area A1 … AN.

sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
3.2. Leakage losses calculation

2

Ssp P 2
QLS ¼ mA $Ssp $OR 1 þ $ 1þ $ $a3 þ a4
2$OR 2p$OR 3
The leakage losses QLS between the blades and the trough are
 sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi


the second most detrimental losses after friction losses and are 2 P
measured by more than 5%. They are shown by the following þ $a5 $ 2g$ $sinðbÞ
3 N
empirical equation [10,14]:
(8)

where mA is between 0 and 1 and corresponds to the rounded edges

of the blades and g to the acceleration of gravity. In our case, mA ¼ 1.
According to Muysken [10,14,16], there are three different regions
in which a leakage current occurs for a 3 bladed Archimedes screw:
a3, a4 and a5 (Fig. 5). Ssp corresponds to the gap width between the
blades and the trough. The gap width is given by equation (9)
140 J. Rohmer et al. / Renewable Energy 94 (2016) 136e146
Fig. 5. a3, a4 and a5 determination.
[10,14,16,17].
pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
Ssp ¼ 0:0045 2OR (9)
Fig. 5 shows P111, P121, P222, P211, P221 and P122 in the polar
coordinate system. The region a3 corresponds to the difference
between angles f222 and f121, the region a4 between angles f122
and f222 and the region a5 between angles f221 and f122.
3.3. Overfilling losses calculation
According to Nuernbergk, the overfilling rate can be calculated
from equations used to calculate the flow rate of a triangular
crested weir [10,14,18]. This approach is very accurate for flow
measurements and is ideal for our application because the flow
which passes above the Archimedes screw is similar to the flow of a
triangular crested weir. It is possible to calculate the overfilling
from equations (10) and (11) [10,14,18].
4 pffiffiffiffiffiffi
QLZR ¼ $m$ 2g $ðm1 þ m2 Þ$h5=2 (10)
15
1 be taking into account for the determination of mechanical effi-
m1 ¼ m2 ¼ tanðbÞ (11)
tanðbÞ
where m represent the discharge coefficient. This is a correction
value which indicates the difference between the theoretical
equation and the drainage made experimentally. Individual factors
that influence the discharge flow coefficient must be considered
separately as expressed in equation (12) [18].
X pitch P, friction losses are less as long as the thread pitch is not too
m ¼ m0 $m1 $m2 $m3 $m4 …$m6 ¼ mi (12)
Nuernbergk neglects the kinetic energy and the surface velocity
distribution to calculate m. Usually m ¼ 0.537 [10,14]. In order to
have a more realistic model, we decided to include these two pa-
rameters for the calculation of m [18]. In our case m ¼ 1.0633. In
equation (10), h corresponds to the height of the upstream liquid
surface relative to the lowest point of the indentation. This
parameter is represented on Fig. 6.
3.4. Archimedes screw efficiency calculation
The flow rate Q, which flows into the Archimedes screw (also
known as absorption capacity) is determined by the following
components [10,14]:
Q ¼ QW þ QLS þ QLZR (13)
where QW is the effective water flow, QLS the leakage losses through
the gaps between the screw blades and the trough and QLZR the
overfilling flow rate. QW can be calculated by using the following
equation [10,14]:
n$N$VBucket
QW ¼ (14)
60
where N$VBucket is the transported water volume for a full rotation
of the screw. This value is multiplied by the number of revolutions
per second n/60; the speed must be expressed in revolutions per
minute. In addition, the influence of leakage losses on the Archi-
medes screw efficiency is given by Refs. [10,14]:
QLS QLZR
hleakage ¼ 1   (15)
Q Q
Friction losses at the blades, at the trough and the shaft have to
ciency. Nuernbergk calculates friction losses for an Archimedes
screw located in Ho € xter (Germany) with the parameters
Q ¼ 0.53 m3/s, N ¼ 3, b ¼ 30 , OR ¼ 0.7 m, IR ¼ 0.36 m and P ¼ 1.4 m
[10]. According to Nuernbergk's loss calculations, the friction losses
at the blades, at the trough and the shaft all together are less than
7% of global efficiency as long as the rotation speed of the Archi-
medes screw is low [10]. Nuernbergk notes that for smaller thread
small otherwise the friction losses at the blades increase consid-
erably [10].
Generally, friction losses are associated with the velocity
squared. However, the velocity itself depends on the water flow
passing through the Archimedes screw. Given the system
complexity, it was decided to express the characteristic function
from experimental data. The influence of friction losses on the
Archimedes screw is modeled from equation (16).
Flosses ðU; Q Þ ¼ 0:05646 þ 0:0003231U  1:086Q
þ 8:199$105 U2  0:05541UQ þ 20:81Q 2
(16)
 J. Rohmer et al. / Renewable Energy 94 (2016) 136e146
Fig. 6. Adapting the theory of the triangular crested weir on the Archimedes screw.
Equation (16) has to be deduced from Archimedes screw effi-
ciency (equation (15)) where U is expressed in RPM and Q in m3/s
and are represented in Fig. 7.
Once the frictional losses deduced, the efficiency of the Archi-
medes screw can be determined. h ¼ f(U,Q) in Fig. 7, represents the
blueprint of a contour plot of the efficiency, where the efficiency is
interpreted as height in respect to the flow rate and rotational
speed. The maximum mechanical efficiency is obtained for a rota-
tion speed of 40 RPM with a flow rate of 0.09 m3/s with a value of
84%.
3.5. Hydrostatic head calculation
The available hydraulic power from falling water can be calcu-
lated from the flow rate and the hydrostatic head which corre-
sponds to the elevation difference between the upstream and
downstream water levels of the plant (Fig. 8). It takes into account
pressure losses which appear due to water friction against the
riverbed and due to singularities such as the protective grid. In our
case, the hydrostatic head has been calculated with equations (17)
Fig. 7. Influence of friction losses on the Archimedes screw efficiency.
141
and (18):where HSUS and HSDS show in meters the distance from
sensors to the liquid surface at the upstream and downstream
stage. The value ‘0.984’ represents a dimension of the Archimedes
screw's prototype. Equation (17) is used for experimental mea-
surements on our prototype where HSUS can be directly taken from
the upstream sensor. In order to determine the hydrostatic head
numerically, HSUS has been expressed in equation (18). HModel
models the height of the Archimedes screw's inflow [14].
HModel is calculated by using the previously described model,
which allows us to determine the volume of water between two
blades for a given rotational speed and flow rate. It is then possible
to determine for any volume of water the corresponding bucket's
surface at the inlet of the Archimedes screw by dividing VBucket/P.
The idea is to determine the height of the bucket's surface (HModel)
by interpolation method. To determine the HModel as a function of
the bucket's surface, the Archimedes screw must be divided into
three distinct zones.
As an example, the equation (19) is used for a partially filled
circular trough when water level is below the central tube:
142 J. Rohmer et al. / Renewable Energy 94 (2016) 136e146

sensor
sensor

HSUS
β

Hmodel
1050 mm
HydrostaticHead
1301 mm

HSDS

138
mm 1235 mm
β

Fig. 8. Elevation difference between the upstream and downstream water levels: hydrostatic head.

HydroHead ¼ 0:984 þ HSDS  HSUS (17)

HSUS ¼ cosðbÞ$HModel þ 1:373 (18)

Fig. 9 shows the height of the water bucket at the inlet of the
 qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi

D Archimedes screw (HModel) as a function of the water bucket's
Surface ¼ OR2 $acos $D H2Model (19) surface. This function has been interpolated to the previous
OR
described model in order to calculate HSUS as a function of the
where OR represents the outer radius of the Archimedes screw and rotational speed and the flow rate.
D the distance from the central tube to the liquid surface. HModel is
equal to ORD. 4. Prototype of an Archimedes screw plant
Once HModel interpolated, singularities have to be taken into
account such as the protection grid, bifurcations, elbows, and other The development of the traditional Archimedes screw requires
constrictions. Generally, they are associated with the velocity skills such as milling, cutting and soldering which are difficult to
squared and depend on the geometry of the plant. Singularities are acquire. The production of a screw blade is difficult to manufacture
calculated by the following equation: from an industrial point of view and the procedure itself is
extremely expensive. Furthermore, to guarantee effective resis-
v2 tance of the whole system and ensure long life, the solder of the
HSing ¼ z$ (20)
2g blade on the core must be without any defect. In return using a
welding technique changes the properties of the materials used in
where z represents a dimensionless loss factor, v the flow rate ve- building the Archimedes screw and makes them more susceptible
locity and g the acceleration of gravity. to corrosion near the weld zones. To overcome these drawbacks,

HModel=f(Surface) HSUS =f(Ω,Q)

0.9 0.4
1.82m
0.8 0.35

0.7
0.3
Flow rate [m3/s]

0.6 1.73m
0.25
)S
SU
HModel [m]

0.5
(H
el

0.2
lev

0.4 1.64m
m
ea

0.15
str

0.3
Up

0.1 1.55m
0.2

0.1 0.05
1.46m

0 0
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4 0.45 0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Surface [m2] Speed [RPM]

Fig. 9. Height of water at the inlet of the Archimedes screw as a function of the water bucket's surface.
 J. Rohmer et al. / Renewable Energy 94 (2016) 136e146 143

the screw used for our prototype includes a tubular core having at
least one blade around the core. The blades are composed of pad-
dles which are juxtaposed. This manufacturing method gives us
modular and removable blades of the Archimedes screw allowing
us to change geometric parameters of the screw [19].
The geometric parameters of the screw correspond to
Table settings 1. The electric machine is a permanent magnet
generator with an output power of 3 kW. The machine is a 30-pole
(15-pole-pair) operating at an AC supply frequency of 30 Hz
(120 RPM). The stator resistance was measured with a value of
2.8925 Ohm. The mutual inductance (line to line) was measured for
6.8 mH. The Kc torque coefficient corresponds to 33.35 Nm/Apeak.
The permanent magnets fluxes have a value of 1.0438 Vs and the
generator has an output voltage of 220 V (line to line). The proto-
type is equipped with two pumps capable of delivering 100 L per
second each. Measurement will mainly be taken on a flow range
between 35 and 190 L per second. It is possible to go below 35 L per
second but some modifications are needed to the prototype to work
under the same flow conditions. The flow is measured by an elec-
tromagnetic flowmeter. A lift table fixes the inclination of the
Archimedes screw between 20 and 32 . The height of the upstream
basin depends on the inclination of the Archimedes screw and
Fig. 11. Measurements and control of the prototype, INSA Strasbourg.
these parameters cannot be separated. The upstream and down-
stream water levels are measured by ultrasonic sensors. To increase
the measurement accuracy of the upstream stage and to not have a currents of rank 3, 7 and 9 causing overheating (generator, trans-
turbulent flow which could influence the performances of the former, cables, etc.), additional losses, large voltage drops, over-
turbine, a metalic grid is installed at the inlet of the Archimedes loads in transformers and decreased power factor (PF). To
screw. A deflector is used on the Archimedes screw to minimize overcome this problem, capacitors have to be used to supply
leakage losses along the trough as well as to extend the water reactive power to inductive receivers, often called ’reactive power
bucket between two blades. All these devices are represented on compensation’. The objective of the reactive power compensation
Fig. 10. is to reduce the current flow on the generator, thus the effect of
The static frequency converter consists of an indirect ACeAC Joule losses.
converters (rectifier, DC link and inverter). The mechanical power The purpose of the dump load is to dump excessive generated
from the Archimedes screw is converted into direct current by the power if the grid connection is lost or for emergency stops. The
generator and injected into the rectifier which supplies the DC link. static frequency converter contains everything needed for turbine
The DC link carries the mechanical power that is converted into power conversion, control and monitoring, external equipment
three-phase power from the inverter before being fed into the grid interfacing and power feed into the grid according to European
[12,13,20]. Most of the time, the two converters use the pulse width legislation. The speed variation is made by controlling the boost
modulation technique (PWM) to produce a sinusoidal AC voltage, converter using a computer. The boost converter acts on the current
while minimizing the harmonic currents injected into the grid. located at the output of the generator, which increases the elec-
For low power (our case), the PWM rectifier is often replaced by tromechanical torque.
a 3-phase diode rectifier plus a boost converter [12,13]. Using a Two boxes (Fig. 11) were installed to ensure equipment pro-
static frequency converter of this technology generates harmonic tection and to improve efficiency of the electrical installation by

Fig. 10. Prototype of the Archimedes screw plant, INSA Strasbourg.

144 J. Rohmer et al. / Renewable Energy 94 (2016) 136e146

Upstream=f(Ω) Upstream=f(Q)

experiment, Ω=40 RPM

experiment, Q=0.05m3/s 1.95
1.95 numerical, Ω=40 RPM
numerical, Q=0.05m3/s
1.9 experiment, Ω=70 RPM
1.9 experiment, Q=0.11m3/s
numerical, Ω=70 RPM
numerical, Q=0.11m3/s 1.85 experiment, Ω=100 RPM
1.85
experiment, Q=0.17m3/s numerical, Ω=100 RPM

Upstream level [m]

1.8 numerical, Q=0.17m3/s 1.8
Upstream [m]

1.75 1.75

1.7 1.7

1.65 1.65

1.6 1.6

1.55 1.55

1.5 1.5

1.45 1.45
40 50 60 70 80 90 100 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.1 0.12 0.14 0.16 0.18
Speed [RPM] Flow rate [m3/s]

Fig. 12. Upstream level as a function of the rotational speed and of the flow rate.

adding harmonic filters. An improvement of 8.83% for the electrical The model has been calibrated to the experimental results acting on
generator has been achieved by using smoothing inductors. This the dimensionless loss factor z in equation (20). In our case, z ¼ 0.4.
has enabled us to increase the overall efficiency of the installation It can be noted that the height of the water in the numerical model
of 6.48% for a total of 59.54%. Moreover, terminals have been is 3 cm lower than in the experimental results. This is mainly due to
specially placed at the upstream and downstream of the frequency the neglection of friction losses in the upstream basin. In fact, the
converter to take the measurement with electronic devices water supply channel comprises fixed geometrical parameters
regardless of the power stage. This is an important point: our having a certain roughness, reducing the water velocity, thus
prototype is not equipped with a torque-meter for reasons of cost, increasing the water level. Nevertheless, an error of 3% is a good
fragility and installation. To determine the mechanical torque, the agreement between the two.
output current of the generator is measured and multiplied by the h ¼ f(U) in Fig. 13 represents the mechanical efficiency of the
Kc coefficient. The speed of the Archimedes screw corresponds to Archimedes screw as a function of the rotation speed. The me-
the measured frequency at the output of the generator. It is possible chanical efficiency is optimal when the filling ratio in the Archi-
to determine different amounts such as the mechanical efficiency medes screw is optimal. For example, for a flow rate of 170 L per
of the turbine, the electrical efficiency of the generator and the second (red curve), the screw is optimally filled for a speed of 60
electrical efficiency of the frequency converter. RPM and reaches 72% of mechanical efficiency. The factor that will
mainly influence the efficiency of the Archimedes screw with
respect to its rotational speed are friction losses. In fact, frictional
5. Experimental results and comparison with theoretical
losses are usually estimated at velocity squared. This means that
model
the higher the rotation speed of the Archimedes screw, the more
the efficiency will decrease (even for maximum fill rate).
This section compares the experimental results (dotted line) to
However, for a constant rotational speed, the factor that affects
the results of the numerical model (continuous line). Each curve is
the efficiency of the Archimedes screw is the filling rate. Note that
plotted as a function of the rotational speed of the turbine and the
on h ¼ f(Q), blue curve for example, the screw is optimally filled for
flow rate for several operating points (Q ¼ 0.05 m3/s, 0.11 m3/s,
a flow rate of about 80 L per second. Thus, above this value, the
0.17 m3/s and U ¼ 40 RPM, 70 RPM, 100 RPM).
water bucket in the Archimedes screw is overflowing and water
Fig. 12 represents the upstream water level HSUS as a function of
begins to flow into the next water bucket, decreasing considerably
the rotational speed of the Archimedes screw and of the flow rate.

η=f(Ω) η=f(Q)
0.9
0.8

0.8
0.7
Mechanical efficiency [1]

Mechanical efficiency [1]

0.7
0.6

0.6
0.5
3
experiment, Q=0.05m /s
0.5 experiment, Ω = 40RPM
numerical, Q=0.05m3/s 0.4
numerical, Ω = 40RPM
experiment, Q=0.11m3/s
experiment, Ω = 70RPM
numerical, Q=0.11m3/s
0.4 0.3 numerical, Ω = 70RPM
experiment, Q=0.17m3/s experiment, Ω = 100RPM
numerical, Q=0.17m3/s numerical, Ω = 100RPM
0.3 0.2
40 50 60 70 80 90 100 0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2
Speed [RPM] Flow rate [m3/s]

Fig. 13. Mechanical efficiency of the Archimedes screw as a function of the rotational speed and of the flow rate.
 J. Rohmer et al. / Renewable Energy 94 (2016) 136e146 145

Mechanical torque=f(Ω) Mechanical torque=f(Q)

400 400
3
experiment, Q=0.05m /s experiment, Ω = 40RPM
350 numerical, Q=0.05m3/s 350 numerical, Ω = 40RPM
3
experiment, Q=0.11m /s experiment, Ω = 70RPM
numerical, Q=0.11m3/s numerical, Ω = 70RPM
300 300
experiment, Ω = 100RPM
experiment, Q=0.17m3/s

Mechanical torque [Nm]

Mechanical torque [Nm]

numerical, Ω = 100RPM
numerical, Q=0.17m3/s
250 250

200 200

150 150

100 100

50 50

0 0
40 50 60 70 80 90 100 0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2
Speed [RPM] Flow rate [m3/s]

Fig. 14. Mechanical torque of the Archimedes screw as a function of the rotational speed and of the flow rate.

the mechanical efficiency by increasing leakage losses. The
maximum error between the numerical model and the experi-
mental results is between 4 and 7% for some operating points. This
is mainly due to the coefficient m used in the empirical equation
(12) modeling the phenomenon of overfilling. A multi-criteria
optimization could be considered to better calibrate the model
with experimental results.
Fig. 14 illustrates the mechanical torque of the Archimedes
screw as a function of the rotational speed or the flow of water
through it. The torque depends mainly on the degree that the
Archimedes screw is filled. In fact, all the forces consisting of water
bodies in the various buckets of the Archimedes screw enable the
development of the mechanical torque. For some operating points,
the maximum error between the numerical model and the exper-
imental results can reach 12%. This is mainly due to the previous
errors, and to the particular form of our Archimedes screw, which
instead of having a circular core, is composed of a folded sheet
metal core which adds support surfaces creating a resisting addi-
tional torque. Moreover, the downstream water level also plays an
important role in the mechanical torque: a resistant torque output
of the Archimedes screw is created if the water level is well above
the end of the Archimedes screw. Additional experimental tests
have to be made in order to quantify theses drawbacks.
The reliability of such modeling is based primarily on the quality
of the experimental data on which the model is calibrated. The
errors are mainly due to the various hydraulic factors, which appear
in equations (8) and (10), and the neglection of the friction losses in
the upstream basin. Moreover, the influence of friction losses on the
Archimedes screw is modeled from experimental data and the
interpolation of this function contains errors of ±3%. It would be
interesting to calibrate the whole model using optimization
procedures.
In order to extend the use of our model to any Archimedes
screw, the equation modeling the influence of friction losses has to
be replaced by a model taking into account Darcy-Weisbach's factor
fD, which has to be calibrated from Moody's chart.
Nevertheless, the simulation results are sufficiently accurate
since the final objective is to compare different structures in terms
of efficiency, profitability, sensitivity and parametric robustness.
The established numerical model will depend on hydrological input
data and different technical solutions (fixed speed, variable speed).
For the next step, a multi-objective optimization will permit to
select the optimum solutions (Pareto Front) according to multi-
criteria specifications.
Acknowledgment

6. Conclusion This work is supported by the French Government (Fonds

The most common field application for Archimedes screw tur-
bines ranges from 1 to 6.5 m for the head and a flow rate between
0.25 and 6.5 m3/s. The power capacity of such a plant can be esti-
mated to be between 1.7 and 300 kW for an overall efficiency of
72%.
The optimal geometric parameters of an Archimedes screw
were calculated using sizing charts. These charts include mechan-
ical efficiency for an Archimedes screw turbine operation. These
calculated parameters were then used for the manufacturing of the
Archimedes screw prototype elaborated at INSA Strasbourg, France.
A numerical model was developed to determine the mechanical
efficiency of the Archimedes screw according to the river flow rate
Q and the rotational speed U for the prototype's sizing. The various
losses were included such as leakage losses QLS, overfilling losses
QLZR and friction losses expressed from experimental data.
A second numerical model was developed to determine the
inflow level as a function of the rotational speed and the flow rate.
Singularities were taken into account such as the protection grid
and bifurcations. For this model, the friction losses in the upstream
were neglected.
unique interministe
riel, FUI-MCH 12), the NSC Environment Com-
pany (France), OSEO (France), FEDER (EU), Conseil Ge
ne
ral du Haut-
Rhin (France), Re
gion Alsace (France), the Innovation and Tech-
nology Transfer Center (CITT, Faculty of Physics and Engineering,
University of Strasbourg, France) and the Laboratoire du Ge
nie de la
Conception (LGe
Co, Institut National des Sciences Applique
es,
Strasbourg, France). The Archimedes screw was built by the NSC
Environment Company.
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