Status report on the development of a dynamic pressure machine – “Staudruckmaschine”

Austria could in fact meet a major part of the countries demand for energy by means of hydro power as e.g. the development of LHP– Large Hydro Power – is already rather advanced. In this area there is only little more paying potential. Unlike this fact, the domains SHP – Small Hydro Power – and MHP – Micro Hydro Power – have been rather neglected. The reasons are partly modest profitability, partly concerns for nature protection and in part also the lack of technical realisation concepts. In Micro Hydro Power, i.e. a performance range of less than 0.1 MW, the limits of conventional Kaplan, Francis and Pelton turbines with good efficiencies are reached.  

For this reason, in 2010 a request was placed with the Institute for Hydraulic Fluid Machinery for the further development of a dynamic pressure machine. In compliance with the Water Framework Directive, economically sensible and exploitable machinery should be developed for streaming waters with low heads and fluctuating water volumes. Furthermore, it had to be taken into account that ram pressure machines do not require separate power houses or inlet structures.

The operational mode of dynamic pressure machines – which remind of conventional water wheels – builds on the hydrostatic principle. With this as a basis, geometrical relationships are derived which allow for efficiencies levels as high as possible.