scholarly journals CFD Analysis on Francis Turbine to Analyse Erosion Wear Due to Sediment Flow

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Uttam Singh Yadav ◽  
Shravan Vishwakarma ◽  
Jitendra Mishra

In present work Computational fluid dynamics analysis based erosion wear prediction is performed for Francis turbine components, especially the runner. For the geometrical parameters, Francis turbine model with steady state condition and viscous flow turbulence SST model using ANSYS Fluent. The erosion effect on all the three component such as spiral casing, runner & draft tube has been studied for different concentration of sand particles from 1% - 6%. For each of those concentration the effect of variation in size has been studied for different sizes 10 ?m - 80 ?m. Further the effect of total erosion was also analyzed for different particle size. Erosion damage is found close to the upper and lower portions of the leading edge of the stay vane. some erosion spots at guide vane on the blade pressure side where suction side has minimum erosion. Maximum erosion damage observed on runner especially at the middle of the blade. The draft tube situated closer to runner having highest velocity due to high absolute velocity of water coming out from the runner does not produce any serious erosion effect. Results shows that erosion rate is maximum on runner at particle size 80 ?m for all sand concentration 1% to 6%  and minimum at 30 ?m. Thus, 30 ?m is the optimum size of sand particles for the erosion.

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (13) ◽  
pp. 3894
Author(s):  
Arthur Favrel ◽  
Nak-Joong Lee ◽  
Tatsuya Irie ◽  
Kazuyoshi Miyagawa

This paper proposes an original approach to investigate the influence of the geometry of Francis turbines draft tube on pressure fluctuations and energy losses in off-design conditions. It is based on Design of Experiments (DOE) of the draft tube geometry and steady/unsteady Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations of the draft tube internal flow. The test case is a Francis turbine unit of specific speed Ns=120 m-kW which is required to operate continuously in off-design conditions, either with 45% (part-load) or 110% (full-load) of the design flow rate. Nine different draft tube geometries featuring a different set of geometrical parameters are first defined by an orthogonal array-based DOE approach. For each of them, unsteady and steady CFD simulations of the internal flow from guide vane to draft tube outlet are performed at part-load and full-load conditions, respectively. The influence of each geometrical parameter on both the flow instability and resulting pressure pulsations, as well as on energy losses in the draft tube, are investigated by applying an Analysis of Means (ANOM) to the numerical results. The whole methodology enables the identification of a set of geometrical parameters minimizing the pressure fluctuations occurring in part-load conditions as well as the energy losses in both full-load and part-load conditions while maintaining the requested pressure recovery. Finally, the results of the CFD simulations with the final draft tube geometry are compared with the results estimated by the ANOM, which demonstrates that the proposed methodology also enables a rough preliminary estimation of the draft tube losses and pressure fluctuations amplitude.


Author(s):  
Chol Nam Mun ◽  
De Chun Ba ◽  
Xiang Ji Yue ◽  
Myong Il Kim

In order to improve the performance of the draft tube in hydraulic turbine, a multi–objective optimization method for the draft tube is developed by combining the design of experiment (DOE), the radial basis function (RBF) and the non–dominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA–II) in this paper. The geometrical design variables of the median section in the draft tube and the cross section in its exit diffuser are considered as design parameters in this optimization, which objective function is to maximize the pressure recovery factor (Cp) and minimize the energy loss coefficient (ζ). The limited numbers of design matrix required for the shape optimization of the draft tube is generated by optimal Latin hypercube (OLH) method of the DOE technique, of which performances are evaluated through computational fluid dynamic (CFD) numerical simulation. For reducing of the computational consumption, the approximate model is used based on the RBF. The Pareto optimal solutions are finally performed using the NSGA–II for obtaining the best geometrical parameters of the draft tube. The optimization result of the draft tube shows a marked performance improvement over the original, which verifies the theoretical validity and feasibility of the proposed method in this paper.


Author(s):  
Zhenmu Chen ◽  
Young-Do Choi

Cavitation is recognized as a phenomenon that can cause serious damage to a hydro turbine and can reduce its performance when operating at off-design point. This is an undesired phenomenon, which needs to be improved. In order to suppress the cavitation in the Francis turbine draft tube, a technology with grooved draft tube named J-Groove is introduced in the Francis turbine. The Francis turbine performance and the internal flow characteristic are investigated both with and without J-Groove installation by the experimental method and numerical simulation. Visualization was used to capture the cavitation rope in the Francis turbine draft tube to compare with the computational fluid dynamics analysis result. The results show that the turbine performance both with and without J-Groove installation is quite similar. Regardless of impact on performance of Francis turbine by J-Groove, it suppresses the cavitation vortex rope and pressure fluctuation in the Francis turbine draft tube efficiently.


2015 ◽  
Vol 137 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
A. E. Lyutov ◽  
D. V. Chirkov ◽  
V. A. Skorospelov ◽  
P. A. Turuk ◽  
S. G. Cherny

This paper suggests a method of simultaneous multi-objective shape optimization of hydraulic turbine runner and draft tube (DT) with the objective to increase turbine efficiency in wide range of operating points (OPs). Runner and DT are the main sources of energy losses in hydraulic turbines. Coupling runner and DT in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis enables correct statement of boundary conditions for efficiency evaluation, while simultaneous variation of these components allows more flexible adjustment of flow passage geometry. Detailed runner parameterization with 28 free geometrical parameters and DT parameterization with nine free parameters are given. Optimization problem is solved using multi-objective genetic algorithm (MOGA). For each variation of runner and DT shapes, flow field in wicket gate (WG), runner, and DT is simulated using steady-state Reynolds-Averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) equations with k-e turbulence model. Energy-based boundary conditions are used for the calculations, allowing determination of efficiency of the whole turbine in correspondence with International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standard. Formulations of multiple OP efficiency objective functions and constraints are discussed in detail. To demonstrate the advantages of simultaneous runner and DT variation, two optimization problems are solved for a medium specific speed Francis turbine. Namely, single runner and coupled “runner–DT” optimizations are carried out. It is shown that optimized runner–DT geometry outperforms the result of single runner optimization by about 0.3% in terms of average efficiency, showing the potential of the developed approach to improve multiregime turbine characteristics in practical design optimization problems.


Processes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 1182
Author(s):  
Seung-Jun Kim ◽  
Yong Cho ◽  
Jin-Hyuk Kim

Under low flow-rate conditions, a Francis turbine exhibits precession of a vortex rope with pressure fluctuations in the draft tube. These undesirable flow phenomena can lead to deterioration of the turbine performance as manifested by torque and power output fluctuations. In order to suppress the rope with precession and a swirl component in the tube, the use of anti-swirl fins was investigated in a previous study. However, vortex rope generation still occurred near the cone of the tube. In this study, unsteady-state Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes analyses were conducted with a scale-adaptive simulation shear stress transport turbulence model. This model was used to observe the effects of the injection in the draft tube on the unsteady internal flow and pressure phenomena considering both active and passive suppression methods. The air injection affected the generation and suppression of the vortex rope and swirl component depending on the flow rate of the air. In addition, an injection level of 0.5%Q led to a reduction in the maximum unsteady pressure characteristics.


Author(s):  
Yongli Zhang ◽  
Brenton S. McLaury ◽  
Siamack A. Shirzai

Erosion equations are usually obtained from experiments by impacting solid particles entrained in a gas or liquid on a target material. The erosion equations are utilized in CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) models to predict erosion damage caused by solid particle impingements. Many erosion equations are provided in terms of an erosion ratio. By definition, the erosion ratio is the mass loss of target material divided by the mass of impacting particles. The mass of impacting particles is the summation of (particle mass × number of impacts) of each particle. In erosion experiments conducted to determine erosion equations, some particles may impact the target wall many times and some other particles may not impact the target at all. Therefore, the experimental data may not reflect the actual erosion ratio because the mass of the sand that is used to run the experiments is assumed to be the mass of the impacting particles. CFD and particle trajectory simulations are applied in the present work to study effects of multiple impacts on developing erosion ratio equations. The erosion equation as well as the CFD-based erosion modeling procedure is validated against a variety of experimental data. The results show that the effect of multiple impacts is negligible in air cases. In water cases, however, this effect needs to be accounted for especially for small particles. This makes it impractical to develop erosion ratio equations from experimental data obtained for tests with sand in water or dense gases. Many factors affecting erosion damage are accounted for in various erosion equations. In addition to some well-studied parameters such as particle impacting speed and impacting angle, particle size also plays a significant role in the erosion process. An average particle size is usually used in analyzing experimental data or estimating erosion damage cases of practical interest. In petroleum production applications, however, the size of sand particles that are entrained in produced fluids can vary over a fairly broad range. CFD simulations are also performed to study the effect of particle size distribution. In CFD simulations, particle sizes are normally distributed with the mean equaling the average size of interest and the standard deviation varying over a wide range. Based on CFD simulations, an equation is developed and can be applied to account for the effect of the particle size distribution on erosion prediction for gases and liquids.


Wear ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 338-339 ◽  
pp. 339-350 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amir Mansouri ◽  
Hadi Arabnejad ◽  
Soroor Karimi ◽  
Siamack A. Shirazi ◽  
Brenton S. McLaury

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (16) ◽  
pp. 4732
Author(s):  
Jing Yang ◽  
Yue Lv ◽  
Dianhai Liu ◽  
Zhengwei Wang

Pumped-storage power stations play a regulatory role in the power grid through frequent transition processes. The pressure pulsation in the draft tube of the pump-turbine under transient processes is important for safe operation, which is more intense than that in the steady-state condition. However, there is no effective method to obtain the exact pressure in the draft tube in the transient flow field. In this paper, the pressure in the draft tube of a pump-turbine under steady-state and transient conditions are studied by means of CFD. The reliability of the simulation method is verified by comparing the real pressure pulsation data with the test results. Due to the distribution of the pressure pulsation in the draft tube being complex and uneven, the location of the pressure monitoring points directly affects the accurate judgement of cavitation. Eight monitoring surfaces were set in the straight cone of the draft tube and nine monitoring points were set on each monitoring surface to analyze the pressure differences on the wall and inside the center of the draft tube. The relationships between the pressure pulsation value inside the center of the draft tube and on the wall are studied. The “critical” wall pressure pulsation value when cavitation occurs is obtained. This study provides references for judging cavitation occurrences by using the wall pressure pulsation value in practical engineering.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (22) ◽  
pp. 7626
Author(s):  
Tao Guo ◽  
Lihui Xu ◽  
Wenquan Wang

The inter-blade passage vortex, the vortex rope of the draft tube, and the vortex in the guide apparatus are the characteristics of flow instability of the Francis turbine, which may lead to fatigue failure in serious cases. In the current study, in order to accurately capture the transient turbulent characteristics of flow under different conditions and fully understand the flow field and vortex structure, we conduct a simulation that adopts sliding grid technology and the large-eddy simulation (LES) method based on the wall-adapting local eddy viscosity (WALE) model. Using the pressure iso-surface method, the Q criterion, and the latest third-generation Liutex vortex identification method, this study analyzes and compares the inter-blade passage vortex, the vortex rope of the draft tube, and the outflow and vortex in the guide apparatus, focusing on the capture ability of flow field information by various vortex identification methods and the unique vortex structure under the condition of a small opening. The results indicate that the dependence of Liutex on the threshold is small, and the scale range of the flow direction vortex captured by Liutex is wider, but the ability of the spanwise vortex is relatively weak. The smaller the opening, the more disorderly the vortexes generated in each component and the more unstable the flow field. In the draft tube, the original shape of the vortex rope is destroyed due to the interaction between vortexes. Under the condition of a small opening, an inter-blade passage vortex is generated, affecting the efficient and stable operation of the turbine.


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