Under the supervision of Nottingham Trent university, computational fluid dynamics are to be used to analyse the use of turbines in streams with small heads, ranging from 2-10m.
Funded by a grant from the Leverhulme Trust worth just under US$200,000, the project aims to produce a set of general rules for scaling turbine size, which the university hopes will allow the development of turbine technology in the third world.
Over the next three years, work will straddle both the UK and a test site in Peru, where the local firm Intermediate Technology will help out in the development and dissemination stages.
