Sediment-laden flow and erosion modeling in a Pelton turbine injector

Abstract

Abstract A major challenge in the operation and development of the high-head water resources, especially in the mountains with high sediment yield, is the erosion of Pelton turbine components. In this work, a numerical study was carried out based on sediment properties measured in field conditions, such as particle distributions and concentrations, to analyze the erosion mechanism of a prototype Pelton turbine injector. The Volume of Fluid (VOF) method was combined with a Lagrangian particle tracking approach to simulate the air-water-sediment flow, followed by the application of Mansouri’s model to estimate the erosion. The predicted erosion patterns were in good agreement with field observations, especially in physically reproducing the asymmetrical erosion distribution on the needle surface. To elucidate this asymmetry, fundamental analysis of the flow patterns including the vortex structures and the secondary flow on the particle behaviors was carried out. Interestingly results were found about the secondary flow induced by the von Karman vortex shedding, which increased the particle separations, and consequently, enhanced the erosion in shedding areas. The current work may provide important engineering insights to reduce erosion of components with inner obstructions.