Ravi Koirala

Implementation of Computer Aided Engineering for Francis TurbineDevelopment in Nepal

The expansion of the existing industries involved in the production of components of hydropower to the Francis turbine manufacturer up to 5 MW unit size has been recognized as one of the most promising business models in Nepal. Given the current fact that the development of Francis turbines with the manufacturers of Nepal has not been done yet, due to lack of designing expertise and limitations in the available technology, this paper presents the use of different available manufacturing technologies, which is suitable in the Nepalese hydropower market. This is an experience based paper, in which the advanced manufacturing process implementing Computer Aided Simulation (CAS), Computer Aided Design (CAD), and Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM) is introduced for turbine manufacturing. Moreover, CAD from Solidworks, 3D printing from Rapid Prototyping Machine (RPM), and manufacturing of three designs by three different methods, dye casting, lost wax casting, and forging in a local workshop, have been described. The outcome of this work is the identification of suitable Francis turbine development methodologies in context of Nepal, incorporating industrial revolution through research based products.

Selection of Optimal Number of Francis Runner Blades for a Sediment Laden Micro Hydropower Plant in Nepal

The present study is conducted to identify a better design and optimal number of Francis runner blades for sediment laden high head micro hydropower site, Tara Khola in the Baglung district of Nepa ...

Computational Design of Bifurcation: A Case Study of Darundi Khola Hydropower Project

Bifurcation refers to wye division of penstock to divide the flow symmetrically or unsymmetrically into two units of turbine for maintaining economical, technical and geological substrates. Particularly, water shows irrelevant behavior when there is a sudden change in flow direction, which results into the transition of the static and dynamic behavior of the flow. Hence, special care and design considerations are required both hydraulically and structurally. The transition induced losses and extra stresses are major features to be examined. The research on design and analysis of bifurcation is one of the oldest topics related to R&D of hydro-mechanical components for hydropower plants. As far as the earlier approaches are concerned, the hydraulic designs were performed based on graphical data sheet, head loss considerations and the mechanical analysis through simplified beam approach. In this paper, the multi prospect approach for design of Bifurcation, incorporating the modern day’s tools and technology is identified. The hydraulic design of bifurcation is a major function of dynamic characteristics of the flow, which is performed with CFD analysis for minimum losses and better hydraulic performances. Additionally, for the mechanical design, a simplified conventional design method as pre-estimation and Finite Element Method for a relevant result projections were used.

Strategic rehabilitation of the earthquake affected microhydropower plants in Nepal

Most people in the rural areas of Nepal rely on Micro-hydro Power Plants (MHPs) for their energy sources. With around four decade experiences in design and development of MHPs, Nepalese techno-entr ...