Francis Turbine Runner Research Articles

Study on the influence of sediment erosion of Francis turbine runner under different water heads

Abstract The average measured sediment concentration of the river section where Wanjiazhai Hydropower Station is located over the years is 5.7kg/m 3, The maximum measured sediment concentration reaches 37.6kg/m 3, The erosion of the flow components of hydraulic turbines caused by sand containing water flow is becoming increasingly severe, coupled with the frequent impact of load changes during peak shaving operation, the problems exposed during the operation of hydraulic turbines are becoming more prominent, which affects the stable operation of the units. This article uses numerical simulation and experimental testing to study the sediment wear characteristics and hydraulic performance of the water turbine at Wanjiazhai Hydropower Station. Research has revealed the effects of working head on impeller wear. The increase in working head will exacerbate the impact wear on the main channel wall of the unit. The surface of water turbine blades is the main wear area, and the high-speed impact of particles causes an increase in the wall wear rate. The probability of particles coming into contact with the wall at the outlet increases, resulting in rapid wear at this point. The increase in head will intensify the wear intensity of the unit surface, and the flow velocity in the gap indicates that the local high-speed jet in the gap is the main cause of gap wear. Therefore, in order to ensure the efficient anti-wear performance of the water turbine, multiple factors need to be comprehensively considered to cope with sediment wear of the water turbine, including regular cleaning, optimized structural design, use of wear-resistant materials, replacement of worn parts, and optimization of operating parameters. These measures help to reduce the damage of sediment wear to water turbines and extend their service life.

Influence of tungsten carbide spray treatment on anti-wear performance of Francis turbine runner blades surface

Based on the velocity similarity theory, a test system for sediment wear flow around Francis turbine runner blades was established. The sediment wear test was carried out on the surface of Francis turbine runner blades with severe sediment wear before and after tungsten carbide spraying. The wear rate prediction model was established, and the effect of tungsten carbide spraying on the wear resistance of runner blades was analyzed. The results show that the serious wear position of Francis turbine runner blade by sediment appears in the head and tail, and the greater the load, the more serious the wear; after tungsten carbide spraying treatment, the sediment wear of runner blades is reduced by more than 90%, and the wear life is greatly improved. The sprayed tungsten carbide coating treatment is effective in reducing the effects of sediment wear.

Determination of the effects of size parameters and lean angle on Bovet-based Francis turbine runner performance

Abstract In global hydropower generation, the Francis turbine is widely used because of its ability to work efficiently in a wide range of conditions like varying head and flow rates. Turbine’s meridional profile can be developed using traditional design approaches, like the Bovet method which uses empirical relations based on hydrological factors, that can be refined through optimization. Runner performance evaluation considers factors such as efficiency, erosion resistance, resistance to cavitation, and many more. Adjusting design parameters can enhance a turbine’s performance at a particular site. In this paper, a Bovet-based Francis runner design was obtained for Damile Micro Hydro located at Pharping, Nepal and the effect of variation of size parameters and lean angle on the runner performance was investigated. Initially, In-house MATLAB codes were used to design 99 meridional profile of different sizes by changing the size parameters as indicated by Bovet method and numerical simulation was performed to select the best meridional profile based on efficiency. After obtaining best meridional profile, the effect of lean angle was studied by varying it from -10° to 10°. Among the 99 designs based on different sizes, the simulation results indicate that the maximum efficiency was found to be 92.3% whereas the minimum efficiency was found to be 87.84%. The corrected lean angle of -5° showed the maximum efficiency and better pressure distribution along the blade.

The Measured Flow at the Inlet of a Francis Turbine Runner Operating in Speed No-Load Condition

Abstract For Francis turbines, speed-no-load (SNL) represents one of the most detrimental operating conditions, marked by significant pressure and strain fluctuations on the runner. Mitigating these fluctuations necessitates a comprehensive understanding and characterization of the flow phenomena responsible for their generation. This paper presents an experimental investigation of the flow at the inlet of a Francis turbine runner model operating in speed-no-load condition using high-speed stereoscopic and endoscopic particle image velocimetry (PIV). The measurements are made in a radial-azimuthal plane that covers the vaneless space and a large region in the interblade channel. This study marks the first-time measurement of critical flow phenomena at this operating point, performed in the runner. Instantaneous and average velocity fields are analyzed, along with other statistical data. The results not only confirm the stochastic nature of the flow at speed-no-load but also highlight the general structure of the flow observed in other studies. The high velocity fluctuations on the suction side are associated with a backflow extending into the vaneless space and a circulation zone occasionally generated by this backflow. Both phenomena are frequently present, but fluctuate stochastically. Additionally, two other circulation zones intermittently form on the pressure side of the blades. The presence of vortices, smaller than the circulation zones, near the blade's leading edge correlates with the backflow intensity.

Research on Modal Behavior of Large Francis Turbine Runner

The water-added-mass can affect the modal behavior of the Francis turbine runner largely. The sealing rings in the band-chamber and the crown-chamber outside of the runner are utilized to prevent leakage of water around the Francis turbine. The sealing rings and the chambers filled with water can also affect the modal behavior of the turbine. When the turbine runner operates in the power plant at various operating conditions, the seal clearances of the band-chamber and the crown-chamber filled with water may change the modal behavior of the large Francis turbine runner. Firstly, the 3D geometrical structure of the studied large-scale Francis turbine runner was constructed, and then the CAD model was meshed to establish the finite-element model for numerical analysis. Next, the modal shapes and the natural-frequencies of runners in the air were calculated, which is the traditional method used for the structural modal behavior analysis of the turbine runners. Finally, this paper investigates the modal behavior of a large-scale Francis runner prototype with the combined effects of sealing rings and water added-mass by direct water-structure coupled analysis via the finite element method (FEM) to obtain more realistic results. The results reveal that the effects of water-added-mass and sealing rings cause a significant decrease in the natural-frequency of the large Francis turbine runner, which may lead to an increase in the amplitude of vibrations and even cracks. Technical suggestions are proposed to improve the monitoring and maintenance in the power stations to maintain the safe and efficient operation of the large Francis turbine units.

Numerical study on sediment erosion characteristics of Francis turbine runner

Sediment erosion is a prevalent and significant challenge to hydro turbines in mountainous rivers. In order to gain an insight into the erosion characteristics of Francis turbines, this study considers the influence of actual sediment gradation and emphasizes the erosion mechanism from the perspective of flow structure. Numerical results reveal a significant correlation between erosion distributions and the location of inter-blade vortices, which is dependent on operating conditions. Specifically, at small or optimal openings, inter-blade vortices predominantly form on the suction side of blades, which coincidentally experiences the most severe sediment erosion. Conversely, at a large guide vane opening, sediment erosion and vortices are primarily distributed at outlet of pressure side, aligning closely with actual site observations at a hydropower station. With increase of operating heads, the average erosion rate of suction side decreases at all guide vane openings, while that of pressure side elevates significantly. In addition, the effect of particle size on sediment erosion was discussed and the maximum erosion rate is demonstrated to be proportional to sediment diameter. These findings would provide important engineering insights for operation optimization to reduce sediment erosion.

Analysis on Hydraulic Design of Runner Blades of Francis Turbine

Francis turbine is the most widely used model in hydropower station, and the hydraulic design of runner blades affects the efficiency of the unit. This paper discusses how to complete the hydraulic design of Francis turbine runner blades according to the given parameters. In hydraulic design of Francis turbine runner, firstly, the structural scheme is determined according to the given parameters. On the basis of referring to excellent hydraulic model, a Francis turbine runner blade is designed according to the given head. By analyzing and calculating the data, the geometric parameters and axial projection of the Francis turbine runner flow channel are determined, and the axial flow network is drawn and checked, so as to complete the calculation of axial vortex line and blade drawing. Finally, the airfoil is thickened by a certain thickening principle.

Challenges with onboard strain measurements on a model Francis turbine runner

As the world transitions towards more renewable energy sources, as a step to reduce the emissions of CO2, intermittent and non-dispatchable sources like solar and wind will take up a larger proportion of the energy production. With more unregulated power in the energy mix, a higher demand is put on the rest of the energy production system. Hydropower is in a unique position as it is both renewable and a highly flexible energy source. The increased use of flexible operation of Francis turbines especially, puts a higher dynamic load on the runner components which as a consequence leads to a reduced lifetime. In this paper we present the experimental setup and results from a measurement campaign performed on a model of a low specific speed Francis runner. Onboard measurements with strain gauges at the trailing edge of two runner blades were performed. The experiments were conducted as a part of the HydroFlex project with the goal of validating numerical simulations and to gain a better understanding of the reduction of lifetime on Francis turbines due to higher fatigue loading from more flexible operation. The results shows that there were a significant drift of the mean strain over time during the measurement campaign, and a lower measured strain at BEP than expected when compared to numerical simulations. In this paper, the experimental setup, results and challenges encountered are presented.

Multidisciplinary optimization of a Francis turbine runner

A fully automated multi-disciplinary design optimization procedure for a Francis turbine runner has been developed in a previous task of the Horizon2020-HydroFlex project. The design optimization was limited to blade design, with the goal of improving the hydraulic efficiency and torque, and reducing the harmonic structural stresses. This is to ensure that the turbine is less prone to fatigue, but still performs well hydraulically. Results from the numerical optimization are presented in this paper. From the design optimization, two runner designs are highlighted. One that performs significantly better than a reference design, and one that performs significantly worse. It is observed that small, but significant improvements can be obtained in both torque and efficiency, while at the same time reducing the structural stresses drastically. This shows that there might be previously unknown areas in the design space that can be explored, especially on the structural side.

CFD Investigation for Surface Roughness Effects on the Hydrodynamics of Cavitating Turbulent Flow through a Low Head Prototype Francis Turbine

Surface characteristics have an important role in defining hydrodynamics of the flow through hydraulic machines. Surface roughness is a critical parameter that contributes to altering near-wall flow features and promotes frictional losses in various components of a water turbine. The nature of flow through the Francis turbine runner is highly complex, especially at cavitating regimes, and the surface roughness effects add to the flow complexity. The present work is aimed at evaluating surface roughness effects on the cavitation performance of a low head prototype Francis turbine computationally. Complete cavitation characteristic of the turbine is derived with the consideration of smooth and rough boundaries by implementing SST k-ω turbulence model and cavitation model based on the Rayleigh-Plesset equation, and a comparative study is carried out comprehensively. For the analysis, the complete flow domain of the turbine is considered, and the simulations are conducted for four different operating conditions from the part load of 60% to overload of 120%. Different values of equivalent sand grain roughness, ks, are assigned to different components of the turbine by following the International Electro-Technical Commission standard IEC 62097 Edition-2. It is concluded that the surface roughness effects on the performance of the turbine in the absence of cavitation are not significant for operation at BEP but for the part load of 60% and overload operations, it has considerable hydrodynamic effects. However, these effects become more detrimental at developed cavitation regimes. The obtained computational results are found in a fair agreement with the available experimental results and are quite consistent with the previous research.

An Analytical quasi 2D steady-state Francis turbine model using first principles

Accurate models are required for obtaining accurate simulation results. High fidelity numerical models exist, but for the simulations of large hydropower conduit systems one-dimensional (1D) models are still required. For the operation and characteristics of hydraulic machinery the state variables in 1D pipe computation are not necessarily providing sufficient level of detail on what happens inside the machine to accurately predict component and system behaviour. This work is looking into the physics of the spatial distribution of the flow at the outlet of a Francis turbine runner in order to include 2D effects into a 1D analysis. The key finding is a differential equation describing the distribution of the relative velocity W between the flow and the runner outlet, which enables numerical integrating for finding the distribution of W itself, and subsequently the circumferential and meridional components needed to execute the integrals turning the 2D results into functions of the 1D state variables. The presented work is reflecting condition at the best efficiency point, but ongoing work is expanding this to map the entire region of a turbine runner. The approach should be very relevant for future implementations into digitalization schemes such as digital twins

Optimization of Francis Turbine Runner for Variable Speed Operations with minimization of sediment erosion

Sediment erosion is one of the most notorious phenomenon damaging the turbines, in the Himalayan region. Francis turbine, which is one of the most used type of hydro turbine in the world as well as in Nepal, is affected quite severely, more so when operated in off design conditions. This study has taken a reference design of a Francis turbine from a hydropower in Nepal to optimize it for operation in variable speeds. Minimization of sediment erosion and maximization of efficiency are taken as the objective functions of the optimization, for which blade angles at trailing edge and blade angle distribution are taken as the design variables. The design space of the runner are constrained such that the optimized design could replace the existing runner in the turbine. Latin Hypercube Sampling technique is used to populate the design space such that the design variables are divided randomly to create required number of designs in the design space. Computational Fluid Dynamic analysis are performed on simplified numerical models of the samples to predict their performance and Sediment Erosion Rate Density (SERD), under various operating conditions. The results of output parameters, obtained from CFD, along with the design variables, are used to develop an approximation model relating the objective functions with the design parameters. NSGA-II optimization technique is used to search for the optimum design. The paper presents the comparison of the sediment erosion and efficiency of the reference runner and optimized runners under various operating conditions. It also presents an outline of the process used to optimize the runner for variable speed operation with minimum sediment erosion.

Optimization and Performance Analysis of Francis Turbine Runner Based on Super-Transfer Approximate Method under Multi-Energy Complementary Conditions

Hydropower unit is the compensation power generation of the energy regulating unit in wind–solar–water multi-energy complementary systems that often require the turbine to operate in a partial working condition area, thereby resulting in problems of low hydraulic efficiency and severe vibration during operation. A multi-objective and multi-condition optimization design method for Francis turbine runner based on the super-transfer approximation approach was proposed in this study. The proposed method aims to improve the hydraulic performance of the turbine, enhance and suppress the vibration of the turbine, and expand the operation range of the turbine on the basis of the actual situation given that Francis turbine frequently operates in low- and ultralow-load areas under the condition of multi-energy complementarity and continuous adjustment of operating conditions. Different operating conditions from low load to full load were selected as performance evaluation conditions. The super-transfer approximation method was used to select the weight co-efficient of water turbine operating conditions, and a multi-objective optimization function with the efficiency and cavitation performance of the water turbine as optimization objectives was constructed to ensure that the optimized water turbine can achieve the optimal performance in the full working condition range. Results showed that the pressure distribution on the blade surface of the optimized runner was uniform and the working ability was enhanced under the condition of ensuring the performance stability of optimal and rated conditions when the original runner was optimized. The hydraulic efficiency of the turbine under the low-load conditions OP1 and OP2 increased by 4.61 and 3.17%, respectively. Hence, the optimized runner is suitable for hydraulic turbines under multi-energy complementary conditions. The results of this study can provide a reference for the optimal design and operation of the turbine runner.

Startup Process Optimization of Hydropower Unit Based on Stress Measurement of Francis Turbine Runner

The energy efficiency characteristics of the turbine, cavitation performance of the runner, and operation stability of the unit are the three major concerns of a hydropower field, the latter two factors leading to the units’ cavitation and stability problems under some operation conditions and fatigue failure of the runner blades, which are the main causes of structural and mechanical failure for the hydropower units. In this article, three conventional unit startup processes are introduced, and combined with the optimal impulse control strategy, an optimized unit startup method is proposed. As the optimal guide vane opening adjustment setting value is obtained by solving the planned startup control strategy, 3D modeling and CFD simulation are carried out, then the equivalent stress characteristics are obtained by finite element calculation when the unit is running from startup to no load at a rated speed on three different startup modes. At last, the dynamic stress tests of the runner blade are performed at the hydropower station by using wireless acquisition and transmission technology, and the peak value and characteristics of the dynamic and static stresses of the blade under different startup processes are obtained. In this, the validity of the model analysis is proved by the comparison between the simulation calculation and the measured results, and the effectiveness of the startup control strategy is proved by combining the runner blade dynamic stress simulation, calculation, and the field dynamic stress test results. The optimization method of the startup process proposed in the article can alleviate the abnormal vibration of the unit and provide a basis for long-term stable operation of the hydropower unit.

Study on sediment erosion of high head Francis turbine runner in Minjiang River basin

The Wenchuan earthquake greatly reduced the forest water conservation capacity along the banks of Minjiang River. With the intensified soil erosion and the rapid increasing sediment transport, the sediment erosion of hydraulic turbines running on the river has become more and more serious, especially of high head Francis turbines. In this study, the k-ε multiphase flow turbulence model was used to calculate the sediment-water flow of a high head Francis turbine with long and short blades in Minjiang River. The distribution pattern of sediment concentration (sediment volume fraction) on the blade surface shows that the sediment particles mainly gather on the outlet edge at 10% of the blade height on the suction surface of the long blade, while the sediment concentration on the surface of the short blade is small. The erosion of the 0Cr13Ni5Mo runner blade was tested by the flow around erosion method, and the erosion amount on the blade surface in the severe erosion area was obtained. Based on the test data of erosion and the numerical calculation results of sediment flow, a formula to calculate the sediment erosion rate of flow passage components with 0Cr13Ni5Mo material was given for turbines operating in Minjiang River. By using this formula, the sediment erosion of flow passage components in hydraulic turbines with 0Cr13Ni5Mo or similar materials operating in Minjiang River can be predicted.

Measurement of dynamic stress and optimized start-up method for prototype Francis turbine

Abstract This paper describes the measurement method and results of dynamic stress for a prototype high head Francis turbine runner, blades of which had fatigue cracks near the root of the blade outlet band side within one-year operation. In order to specify the cause of the cracks, first of all, dynamic stress of the runner blade was measured throughout complete one cycle operation including start-up, no load operation, increase/decrease of load and stopping. Excessive variable strain at the portion near the crack occurred at very low rotational speed during start-up. The large strains occurring during start-up are not due to Rotor-Stator Interaction, other definite cyclic forced vibration or resonance, but the stochastic vibration. Consequently, start-up mode survey was conducted with dynamic stress measurement. As a conclusion, maintaining a small guide vane opening below a certain rotational speed is an effective indicator to reduce the strain during start-up and to minimize the damage caused by this phenomenon.

Analytical Implementation and Prediction of Hydraulic Characteristics for a Francis Turbine Runner Operated at BEP

The extensive investigation and profound understanding of the hydraulic characteristics of the Francis turbine are crucial to ensure a safe and stable hydraulic system. Especially, predicting the runner’s hydraulic efficiency with high fidelity is mandatory at the early stage of a new hydropower project. For these purposes, the current technologies mainly include experimentation and CFD simulation. Both methods generally have the demerits of a long period, massive investment and high requirements for supercomputers. In this work, an analytical solution is therefore introduced in order to predict the internal flow field and working performance of the runner while the Francis turbine operates at the best efficiency point (BEP). This approach, based on differential-geometry theory and the kinematics of ideal fluid, discretizes the blade channel by several spatial streamlines. Then, the dynamic parameters of these streamlines are determined in a curved-surface coordinate system, including velocity components, flow angles, Eulerian energy and pressure differences across the blade. Additionally, velocity components are converted from the spatial-velocity triangle to the Cartesian coordinate system, and the absolute-velocity vectors as well as the streamlines are subsequently derived. A validation of this approach is then presented. The analytical solution of hydraulic efficiency shows good agreement with the experimental value and simulation result. Additionally, the distributions of pressure differences over the blade, velocity and Eulerian energy are well predicted with respect to the CFD results. Finally, the discrepancy and distribution of the dynamic parameters are discussed.

Numerical study of the natural frequency and mode shape of prototype Francis turbine runner

Numerical study of the natural frequency and mode shape of prototype Francis turbine runner

Coherent structures decomposition of the flow field in Francis turbine runner under different working conditions

The dynamic mode decomposition (DMD) method is adopted to do flow field decomposition in the runner of Francis turbine. The coherent structures corresponding to main frequency components in runner passage under different working conditions are extracted, and the relative error of the reconstructed flow field and the predicted flow field are analyzed. The results show that the DMD method successfully decomposes the position and shape of the coherent structure corresponding to a single frequency in the unsteady flow, and its temporal and spatial evolution. Under part load (PL), best efficiency point (BEP), and high load (HL) working conditions, the coherent structures with high frequency induced by rotor-stator interaction (RSI) are the most stable, which located at the entrance of the runner passage. The low-frequency coherent structures mostly appear inside the runner passage, which is mainly caused by the short blade wake and flow separation under off-design conditions. The averaged flow field contains the most flow energy (larger than 90%), and unsteady coherent structures consume or transport less energy. The flow field in runner passage predicted by the DMD method is consistent with the computational flow field, which relative error is stable at 10−2. The study of coherent structures in runner passage of Francis turbine is beneficial to achieve a better design of runner and more stable operation of power plants.

Numerical and experimental investigation of erosive wear in Francis runner blade optimized for sediment laden hydropower projects in Nepal

The design of the Francis turbine aims to maximize its performance in terms of efficiency. This design approach has overlooked effects on the turbine due to sediment erosion for power plants operating under high sediment load. In this paper, a multi-objective design procedure to develop a Francis turbine runner for maximizing efficiency, as well as minimizing sediment erosion is discussed. Parameterized runner designs obtained from the design algorithm are implemented in the Design of Experiment (DOE) to get sample runners. These sample runners are investigated using a commercial CFD tool and validating with an experiment in a model turbine test rig to obtain efficiency and sediment erosion data. Subsequently, a Multi-Objective Genetic Algorithm (MOGA) is implemented to generate the optimized runner blades. Two different optimized runners are selected after the optimization. The optimized runner generated from this technique is further investigated experimentally in the laboratory scale sediment erosion test rig. From both numerical and experimental results, it is found that the optimized runner blade has improved erosion handling capability. Implementation of the procedure discussed in this article can be a crucial step for designing the turbines which are vulnerable to sediment erosion.