Numerical simulation of the flow in a Pelton turbine using the meshless method smoothed particle hydrodynamics: A new simple solid boundary treatment

Abstract

Meshless methods are getting more and more popular in order to numerically simulate physical phenomena where an interface appears and plays an important role. Thanks to its fully Lagrangian formalism, the smoothed particle hydrodynamics method (SPH) is hence well suited to simulate free surface flows. The Pelton turbine is an hydraulic turbomachinery whose flow is challenging to simulate because of the complex rotating geometry, the free surface and the interaction between the runner and the casing. The work presented here aims at adapting SPH to simulate such a flow. The standard SPH model has first been successfully used to prove the capacity of the method in order to simulate flows in Pelton turbines. As the prediction of the pressure field on the bucket's surface is a key issue, a new simple model for the treatment of solid boundary conditions is proposed. Simulations of industrial test cases, including a complete rotating runner, are finally shown.