Hydrodynamic analysis of a low head prototype Francis turbine for establishing an optimum operating regime using CFD

G. Tiwari; V. Prasad; S.N. Shukla; V. K. Patel

doi:10.15282/jmes.14.2.2020.07.0519

Authors

G. Tiwari Department of Applied Mechanics, MNNIT Allahabad, Prayagraj, 211004, India Phone: +919793258887, +919479957497.
V. Prasad Department of Civil Engineering, MANIT, Bhopal, 462003, India.
S.N. Shukla Research and Development, Kirloskar Brothers Ltd., Pune, 411045, India
V. K. Patel Research and Development, Kirloskar Brothers Ltd., Pune, 411045, India.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15282/jmes.14.2.2020.07.0519

Keywords:

Hydro projects, Francis turbine, performance characteristics, head loss, CFD

Abstract

Hydraulic turbines need to operate at regimes other than designed ones. Off-design functioning of these turbines yields an inefficient and uneconomical operation of hydro projects. Performance and energy losses at different possible operating conditions need to be evaluated before finalizing the design of water turbines for satisfactory operations. Moreover, hydraulic turbines are unique machines designed for unique set of operating conditions and cost a huge percentage of the overall cost of the project. This work is compiled with twofold objectives; derivation of complete performance characteristics of a 48m head prototype Francis turbine in order to establish an optimum operating regime and, determination and analyses of head loss at different components of the turbine. Steady state flow simulations for four different load operations (60%, 80%, 100% and 120%) have been carried out using computational fluid dynamics. It is found that the optimum regime of operation lies within the speed factor range of 0.412-0.48 along with discharge factor range of 0.27-0.329 and maximum efficiency is obtained as 90.64% at full load operation. Maximum head loss in critical components of the turbine such as runner and draft tube is found as 12.7% at speed factor of 0.568 and 26.31% at 0.202 speed factor respectively. Also, the maximum total head loss in all the components is found as 47.8% at 60% load and 0.609 speed factor. It is concluded that the functioning of the turbine at higher speed factors is more detrimental than that at lower speed factors. Requirement of performance improvement at off-design conditions (especially at 60% load operation) is also suggested in order to widen the range of optimum operating regime. Obtained computational results are validated with experimental results and a strong agreement is found between the two.

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