A hydrokinetic river turbine is used to generate electricity from the flow of a river.
At a particular river flow speed, a volume of 26.5 m3 of water passes the blades each second. The density of freshwater is 1.0 × 103 kg/m3. Calculate the mass of water passing the blades per second.
The power output of the turbine is directly proportional to the kinetic energy of the water passing the blades each second. Describe and explain the effect on the power output when the river flow speed is tripled.
At a different river flow speed, the turbine has a power output of 360 kW. The mass of water passing the turbine blades each second is 5,000 kg5,000 \text{ kg}5,000 kg. Calculate the speed of the water passing the blades. Assume that the energy conversion process is 100% efficient.