Recent Progress in Research on Design and Use of Archimedes Screw Turbine: A Review

Due to the ever-increasing demand for clean energy derived from renewable sources, new options for obtaining it are being sought. The energy of water streams, compared to wind energy or solar energy, has the advantage that it can be supplied continuously. A relatively new solution used in hydropower is the AST (Archimedes Screw Turbine), which perfectly complements the possibilities of energy use of water courses. This solution can be used at lower heads and lower flows than is the case with power plants using Kaplan, Francis or similar turbines. An AST power plant is cheaper to build, operate, and has less negative environmental impact than traditional solutions. Accordingly, research is being conducted to improve the efficiency of the AST in terms of its environmental impact, efficiency, length, angle of inclination and others. These studies revealed sources of losses, optimal operating conditions, and turbine design methods. They also showed a much lower environmental impact of Archimedes turbines compared to the others. In the course of compiling this review, the authors noticed some differences regarding the description by different authors of the characteristic geometric dimensions of turbines and other quantities.