Biraj Singh Thapa

Fully coupled FSI analysis of Francis turbines exposed to sediment erosion

Sediment erosion is one of the key challenges in hydraulic turbines from a design and maintenanceperspective in Himalayas and Andes. Past research works have shown that the optimization of theFrancis turbine runner blade shapes can decrease erosion by a signicant amount. This study conductedas a Masters Thesis has taken the proposed designs from past works and conducted a CFDanalysis on a single passage of a Francis runner blade to choose an optimized design in terms of erosionand eciency. Structural analyses have been performed on the selected design through one-way andtwo-way FSI to compare the structural integrity of the designs.Two types of cases have been considered in this thesis work to dene the boundary condition of thestructural model. In the rst case, a runner blade is considered to have no in uence of the joint andother stier components. In the second case, a sector of the whole runner has been modeled withnecessary boundary conditions. Both one-way and two-way FSI have been performed on the casesfor the designs. Mesh independent studies have been performed for the designs, but only for the rstcase, whereas in the second case, a ne mesh has been used to make the analysis appropriate.The loads have been imported into the structural domain from the uid on the interfaces for one-wayFSI. In the case of two-way FSI, the Multi-Field Solver (MFX) supported by ANSYS has been usedto solve the coupled eld analysis. A fully coupled FSI in ANSYS works by writing an input le inthe structural solver containing the information about the interfaces in the structural domain, whichis imported in the uid solver. The interaction between the two domains is dened in ANSYS-CFX,including the mesh deformation and solver setups. The results have been post-processed in CFX-Post,where the results from both the elds are included. It has been found that the structural integrity ofthe optimized design is better than the reference design in terms of the maximum stress induced inthe runner. The two-way FSI analysis has been found as an inevitable part of the numerical analysis.However, with the advancement of the computational capability in the future, there could be a greatscope in the research eld to carry out a fully-coupled transient simulation for the whole runner toget a more accurate solution.

Design and development of guide vane cascade for a low speed number Francis turbine

Guide vane cascade of a low speed number Francis turbine is developed for the experimental investigations. The test setup is able to produce similar velocity distributions at the runner inlet as that of a reference prototype turbine. Standard analytical methods are used to design the reference turbine. Periodic walls of flow channel between guide vanes are identified as the starting profile for the boundary of the cascade. Two alternative designs with three guide vanes and two guide vanes, without runner, are studied. A new approach, for the hydraulic design and optimization of the cascade test setup layout, is proposed and investigated in details. CFD based optimization methods are used to define the final layout of the test setup. The optimum design is developed as a test setup and experimental validation is done with PIV methods. The optimized design of cascade with one guide vane between two flow channels is found to produce similar flow conditions to that in the runner inlet of a low speed number Francis turbine.

Numerical and experimental study of the leakage flow in guide vanes with different hydrofoils

Abstract Clearance gaps between guide vanes and cover plates of Francis turbines tend to increase in size due to simultaneous effect of secondary flow and erosion in sediment affected hydropower plants. The pressure difference between the two sides of the guide vane induces leakage flow through the gap. This flow enters into the suction side with high acceleration, disturbing the primary flow and causing more erosion and losses in downstream turbine components. A cascade rig containing a single guide vane passage has been built to study the effect of the clearance gap using pressure sensors and PIV (Particle Image Velocimetry) technique. This study focuses on developing a numerical model of the test rig, validating the results with experiments and investigating the behavior of leakage flow numerically. It was observed from both CFD and experiment that the leakage flow forms a passage vortex, which shifts away from the wall while travelling downstream. The streamlines contributing to the formation of this vortex have been discussed. Furthermore, the reference guide vane with symmetrical hydrofoil has been compared with four cambered profiles, in terms of the guide vane loading and the consequent effect on the leakage flow. A dimensionless term called Leakage Flow Factor ( L ff ) has been introduced to compare the performances of hydrofoils. It is shown that the leakage flow and its effect on increasing losses and erosion can be minimized by changing the pressure distribution over the guide vane.

Numerical investigation of the flow phenomena around a low specific speed Francis turbine's guide vane cascade

Guide vanes of Francis turbines convey a significant influence on the flow field at the inlet of the runner. This influence is in the form of pressure pulsation, caused due to rotor-stator-interaction. A guide vane cascade containing a single blade passage was developed to predict the flow field experimentally. Firstly, this paper investigates flow phenomena around the guide vane cascade through computational techniques. A numerical model is prepared with three different turbulence models. The velocity distribution obtained from these models are compared with experimental results at two circumferential midspan locations. Secondly, the influence of increasing the clearance gap on the flow is studied. Such gaps are expected to increase when the flow containing eroding particles passes through the turbine. This paper also shows that the pressure difference between the pressure and the suction side of guide vane influences the leakage flow through the gap. Hence, reduction of the pressure gradient will reduce leakages through clearance gaps, hereby condensing the subsequent effect of pressure pulsations and erosion. This study also shows that the effect of the gap is prominent in the near wall regions which are close to the gap, whereas it dissipates gradually towards the midspan.

Velocity and pressure measurements in guide vane clearance gap of a low specific speed Francis turbine

In Francis turbine, a small clearance gap between the guide vanes and the cover plates is usually required to pivot guide vanes as a part of governing system. Deflection of cover plates and erosion of mating surfaces causes this gap to increase from its design value. The clearance gap induces the secondary flow in the distributor system. This effects the main flow at the runner inlet, which causes losses in efficiency and instability. A guide vane cascade of a low specific speed Francis turbine has been developed for experimental investigations. The test setup is able to produce similar velocity distributions at the runner inlet as that of a reference prototype turbine. The setup is designed for particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements from the position of stay vane outlet to the position of runner inlet. In this study, velocity and pressure measurements are conducted with 2 mm clearance gap on one side of guide vane. Leakage flow is observed and measured together with pressure measurements. It is concluded that the leakage flow behaves as a jet and mixes with the main flow in cross-wise direction and forms a vortex filament. This causes non-uniform inlet flow conditions at runner blades.

Computational and experimental study of effects of sediment shape on erosion of hydraulic turbines

Hard particles as Quartz and Feldspar are present in large amount in most of the rivers across the Himalayan basins. In run-off-river hydro power plants these particles find way to turbine and cause its components to erode. Loss of turbine material due to the erosion and subsequent change in flow pattern induce several operational and maintenance problems in the power plants. Reduction in overall efficiency, vibrations and reduced life of turbine components are the major effects of sediment erosion of hydraulic turbines. Sediment erosion of hydraulic turbines is a complex phenomenon and depends upon several factors. One of the most influencing parameter is the characteristics of sediment particles. Quantity of sediment particles, which are harder than the turbine material, is one of the bases to indicate erosion potential of a particular site. Research findings have indicated that shape and size of the hard particles together with velocity of impact play a major role to decide the mode and rate of erosion in turbine components. It is not a common practice in Himalayan basins to conduct a detail study of sediment characteristics as a part of feasibility study for hydropower projects. Lack of scientifically verified procedures and guidelines to conduct the sediment analysis to estimate its erosion potential is one of the reasons to overlook this important part of feasibility study. Present study has been conducted by implementing computational tools to characterize the sediment particles with respect to their shape and size. Experimental studies have also been done to analyze the effects of different combinations of shape and size of hard particles on turbine material. Efforts have also been given to develop standard procedures to conduct similar study to compare erosion potential between different hydropower sites. Digital image processing software and sieve analyzer have been utilized to extract shape and size of sediment particles from the erosion sensitive power plants. The experimental studies of impact of different shapes and sizes of sediment particles on hydraulic turbine material have been conducted on two different test rigs method at Kathmandu University, High velocity test rig method and Rotating Disc apparatus (RDA) at Kathmandu University. Twenty one different sediment shape samples and four different sand size range were studied to correlate the effects of sediment shape and size with the erosion of turbine material. It was observed that the shape of sediment particles have considerable effect on erosion of turbine material. In general Irregular shapes have more erosion potential than regular shapes. It was also observed that the particles with the irregular shape of smaller size induce higher erosion rates than that of the larger size with the same shape. These findings will help to select the proper site of a power plant in erosion prone basins and would also help to design suitable settling basins to trap sediment particles having higher erosion potentials.

Comparative study of sediment erosion on alternative designs of Francis runner blade

The aim of this study was comparative analysis of sediment-induced erosion on optimized design and traditional design of Francis runner blade. The analysis was conducted through laboratory experiments in a test rig called Rotating Disc Apparatus. The results showed that the extent of erosion was significantly less in the optimized design when compared based on the material loss. It was observed that the optimized design could reduce sediment erosion by about 14.4% if it was used in place of the reference design for entire duration of the experiment. Based on the observations and results obtained, it has been concluded that the optimization of hydraulic design of blade profile of Francis runner can significantly reduce the effect of sediment-induced erosion.