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electricity
May 2009 
In a fairly radical departure from the principles that normally govern hydroelectric power generation, Austrian engineer Franz Zotlöterer has constructed a low-head power plant that makes use of the kinetic energy inherent in an artificially induced vortex. The water's vortex energy is collected by a slow moving, large-surface water wheel, making the power station transparent to fish - there are no large pressure differences built up, as happens in normal turbines.
Special turbine collecting vortex energy - Image: gravitationswirbel.
The aspect of the power plant reminds a bit of an upside-down snail - through a large, straight inlet the water enters tangentially into a round basin, forming a powerful vortex, which finds its outlet at the center bottom of the shallow basin. The turbine does not work on pressure differential but on the dynamic force of the vortex. Not only does this power plant produce a useful output of electricity, it also aerates the water in a gentle way. Indeed, the inventor was looking for an efficient way to aerate the water of a small stream as he hit upon this smart idea of a plant that not only gives air to the medium but also takes from it some of the kinetic energy that is always inherent in a stream.
Of course the use of water vortices has been pioneered by another Austrian - Viktor Schauberger, who was also known as the "water wizard". He floated hard-to transport heavy logs from remote regions of the Austrian forests, not accessible at the time by streets, to where they would be milled and processed. The feat was accomplished by carefully regulating the water's temperature and by inducing a rolling, longitudinal vortex motion in the water.
At one point, Schauberger took out a patent on a turbine he invented, that made use of vortex dynamics. An article about that turbine of Schauberger's which I wrote way back in the 90s can be found here. The turbine wheel was designed in the form of a cone with a cork screw pattern, and it was fast running. Quite different from the turbine of Zotlöterer which is optimized for aerating the water, rather than for production of power.
Still, Zotlöterer's results are quite respectable. The cost of construction for his plant was half that of a conventional hydroelectric installation of similar yield and the environmental impact is positive, instead of negative.
Inlet with overflow and vortex basin during construction - Image: gravitationswirbel.
The diameter of the vortex basin is 5 meters.
The head - difference between the two water levels - is 1.6 meters.
The turbine produced 50.000 kw/h in its first year of operation.
Construction cost was 57.000 Euro
The complete installation - Image: gravitationswirbel.
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More information in this article on the treehugger site:
Gravitational Vortex Power Plant is Safe for Fish
and for those who speak German, here the original site:
Neue Wege im Wasserbau - Wasserwirbeltechnik
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I have long been partial to vortex-based technology. Here are two of my early articles on use of this technology in a hydroelectric power context.
Understanding Water Power
Herbrand, an electrical engineer in Germany, relates a story from his youth about a turbine installed at the Rheinfelden power plant (on the Rhine river, not far downstream from Lake Konstanz) that was much more efficient than other equipment before and even after it. The article explores a possible solution to the riddle.
Dynamic Hydropower
Another article on water power, analysing the principle of the use of the dynamic forces inherent in flowing water, which is an important component of the total energy obtainable from the downstream flow of water. An important recognition expressed in the article is the fact that vortices are able to give direction to normally chaotic thermal energy and thus convert it into motion, into a dynamic force, a concept pioneered by Viktor Schauberger.
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