Kutay Celebioglu

Hydroturbine Runner Design and Manufacturing

This research describes a methodology for the parametric design, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) aided analysis and manufacturing of a Francis type hydro turbine runner. A Francis type hydro turbine consists of five components which are volute, stay vanes, guide vanes, runner and draft tube. The hydraulic performance of the turbine depends on the shape of the components; especially on the shape of the runner blades. The design parameters for the other components are affected by the runner parameters directly. Runner geometry is more complex than the other parts of the turbine. Therefore; to obtain accurate results and meet hydraulic expectations, CFD analyses and advanced manufacturing tools are necessary for the design and manufacturing of the hydro turbine runner. The turbine runner design methodology developed is presented using an actual potential hydraulic power plant in Turkey. Index Terms—CFD, francis turbine, runner, design and manufacturing.

Simulation-based design and optimization of Francis turbine runners by using multiple types of metamodels

In recent years, optimization started to become popular in several engineering disciplines such as aerospace, automotive and turbomachinery. Optimization is also a powerful tool in hydraulic turbine industry to find the best performance of turbines and their sub-elements. However, direct application of the optimization techniques in design of hydraulic turbines is impractical due to the requirement of performing computationally expensive analysis of turbines many times during optimization. Metamodels (or surrogate models) that can provide fast response predictions and mimic the behavior of nonlinear simulation models provide a remedy. In this study, simulation-based design of Francis type turbine runner is performed by following a metamodel-based optimization approach that uses multiple types of metamodels. A previously developed computational fluid dynamics-based methodology is integrated to the optimization process, and the results are compared to the results obtained from on-going computational fluid dynamics studies. The results show that, compared to the conventional methods such as computational fluid dynamics-based methods, metamodel-based optimization can shorten the design process time by a factor of 9.2. In addition, with the help of optimization, turbine performance is increased while cavitation on the turbine blades, which can be harmful for the turbine and reduce its lifespan, is reduced.

Model Testing of Francis-Type Hydraulic Turbines

Every single turbine is custom-designed specifically to meet the requirements of a hydroelectric power plant. Performance of a designed turbine is validated, to some extent, by computational fluid dynamics simulations; however, experimental testing according to International Electrotechnical Commission standards is necessary to ensure performance and reliability. Model tests are performed on similar, small-scale models at test facilities that are specifically designed for this purpose. This article features one such facility, which is capable of testing the performance and cavitation of Francis-type turbines. Test procedures, measured parameters, measuring instruments, and calibration techniques are explained in detail.

CFD Analysis of 3D Flow for 1.4 MW Francis Turbine and Model Turbine Manufacturing

Hydroenergy is one of the most useful renewable energy sources. Hydropower is a vital source as it is clean, sustainable and cost effective. Francis type hydroturbines are applicable to a wide range of head and flow rate values. Spiral case, stay vane, guide vane, runner and draft tube are the basic components of a Francis turbine. In this paper, CFD based 3D numerical simulations of steady turbulent flow in a Francis turbine for an actual power plant, BUSKI HES in Turkey, is presented.Copyright

Speed control of hydraulic turbines for grid synchronization using simple adaptive add-ons

Background: Parameters of the hydroelectric power plant controllers are typically tuned at the nominal operating conditions such as nominal head and single unit operation. Water level variations in reservoir and/or tailwater, and the presence of other active units sharing the penstock are common disturbances to the nominal assumption. Methods: This article proposes two adaptive add-ons, namely gain scheduling and model reference adaptive control, to the existing speed controllers to improve grid synchronization performance when the site conditions are not nominal. The add-ons were designed and tested on a validated dynamic model of a power plant unit by using a software-in-the-loop simulation setup. An off-season scenario is simulated, in which the original controller of the unit cannot bring the turbine to synchronize with the grid due to low gross head. Then, the add-ons were implemented on-site and experiments were performed under similar conditions. The parameter sets used in gain scheduling for different operation bands are determined off-line with the help of operational experience. The model reference adaptive control add-on requires a reference model and a learning rate. A description of the turbine speed-up profile at nominal operating conditions is sufficient to be used as the reference model. The proposed piecewise linear reference model favors stability over speed in settling to the nominal speed. Results: It is experimentally shown that the proposed add-ons compensate the negative effect of head loss in grid synchronization, and perform similar to the ideal performance at the nominal head. Conclusion: Both add-ons can be implemented on the available off-the-shelf speed governor controllers. They are suitable for use in all hydroelectric power plants, especially in unmanned ones, for automatic synchronization with less waste water.

Design of a Flow Diverter Mechanism and a Nozzle for a Hydro Turbine Experimental Test Rig

Hydro turbines used in hydroelectric power plants need to be designed and tested according to the specifications of the specific power plant, mainly the head and flow rate. Their models also need to be tested according to the standards provided by International Electrical Commission (IEC) before manufacturing the actual turbines. A Hydro turbine test rig at TOBB University of Economics and Technology is currently under construction to provide standardized tests for model turbines. A typical calibration system for a flow meter has four components; nozzle, flow diverter mechanism, weighing tank and load cells. The nozzle provides the regulation of water speed and supplies water to flow as a thin-sectioned profile. The flow diverter mechanism diverts the flow either to the weighing tank or to the reservoir. The flow rate is calculated from the collected mass and total time for the process. Calculated flow rate value is compared with the digitally measured values during the experiments, since the IEC standards require a real-time calibration for the flow rate. In this study, the flow diverter mechanism and the nozzle for this test rig is designed in order to meet several internationally acceptable standards.© 2014 ASME

DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF AN EXPERIMENTAL TEST RIG FOR HYDRAULIC TURBINES

ABSTRACT Dynamics) is widely usedEvery turbine for every hydroelectric power plant is unique; therefore its model has to be designed using state of the art design techniques and tested before the actual prototype which is costly, is manufactured. In this study, the details of the design and construction of a hydroturbine test facility at TOBB University of Economics and Technology are explained. The facility will be used to test hydroturbine models up 2MWs of power simulating turbine prototypes. The performance and cavitation tests of the turbines will be performed utilizing this facility according to International Electrical Commission (IEC) standards. Thetest facility is 19 meters long with a base area of around 600 meter squares. The hydraulic analysis of the designed set-up is performed using a system where valves, pipes, structures, water records and connections form an intelligent system, same with the experimental facility. According to the results, system performance is checked, alternative designs are evaluated and operating strategies are defined by minimizing the losses.

Design and simulation of a SCADA system using SysML and Simulink

This paper describes a methodology and a case study through which system architecture and dynamic models of related system components are gathered in order to design and simulate the SCADA system of a new hydro turbine test laboratory. System architecture model is prepared in System Modeling Language, a system modeling language based on Unified Modeling Language, while the dynamic model of the laboratory is formed in Matlab/Simulink. Some simulations are performed in order to verify the preliminary system design studies and system requirements.