Water Turbine Design Optimization with CFD
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The document discusses the optimization of water turbine design using CFD, highlighting the experience of application engineers Jon Wilde and Darren Lynch. It covers the benefits of simulation, types of water turbines, and a case study demonstrating design modifications that improved turbine efficiency by 1.5%. The findings emphasize the role of CFD in enhancing design processes and identifying areas for further improvements.
![WATER TURBINES
● A turbine - a big one!
● 150,000 hp
● This photo was taken on June
25th 1947
● Water turbines have been used
for over 135 years
Source: U.S. Bureau of Reclamation photo archives(Image originally uploaded to en.wikipedia by user
Pud) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/copyofwaterturbinedesignoptimizationwithcfdwebinar-190211214652/85/Water-Turbine-Design-Optimization-with-CFD-11-320.jpg)
![GLOBAL ENERGY
● World energy demand is rising
rapidly
● Factors like climate change
require a shift from depleting
fossil fuels to renewable sources
of energy
● Hydropower currently
contributes to 16% of the
world’s power generation
Source: BP statistical review of World Energy, Delphi234 [CC0], via Wikimedia Commons](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/copyofwaterturbinedesignoptimizationwithcfdwebinar-190211214652/85/Water-Turbine-Design-Optimization-with-CFD-12-320.jpg)
![KAPLAN TURBINE (0-60m pressure head)
Source: Uploaded by Duk [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
● Kaplan turbines are axial flow
reaction turbines
● The pressure of the fluid
changes as it flows through the
turbine
● Power is generated from both
the hydrostatic head and the
kinetic energy of water
● They are suited for low heads
and high flow rates](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/copyofwaterturbinedesignoptimizationwithcfdwebinar-190211214652/85/Water-Turbine-Design-Optimization-with-CFD-14-320.jpg)
Water Turbine Design Optimization with CFD
- 1. WATER TURBINE DESIGN OPTIMIZATION WITH CFD JON WILDE and DARREN LYNCH
- 2. JON WILDE Application Engineering Director 15+ years of experience in CFD, application engineering, and team management. Before joining SimScale, he worked with many other CFD solutions and managed a team of technical support engineers.
- 3. DARREN LYNCH CFD Application Engineer Experienced in CFD and engineering design, Darren studied Aerospace Engineering at Brunel University and is part of the Application Engineering team at SimScale.
- 4. 1. Benefits of Using Simulation 2. Introduction to SimScale 3. Today’s Topic: Water Turbines 4. Live Demonstration 5. Results Summary 6. Q & A
- 8. ACCELERATE YOUR DESIGN PROCESS Easily test performance, optimize durability or improve design efficiency with cloud-based simulation.
- 9. ALL-IN-ONE Structural mechanics, fluid dynamics, and thermodynamics. REAL-TIME SUPPORT Chat, phone, and email. Consultancy, webinars, and training. COLLABORATION Join the community, benefit from public projects, and share knowledge. FAST & EASY Get results faster on any device thanks to cloud technology. COST-EFFICIENT Start risk-free without an upfront investment. SECURE High security with government-approved Advanced Encryption Standard (AES).
- 11. WATER TURBINES ● A turbine - a big one! ● 150,000 hp ● This photo was taken on June 25th 1947 ● Water turbines have been used for over 135 years Source: U.S. Bureau of Reclamation photo archives(Image originally uploaded to en.wikipedia by user Pud) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
- 12. GLOBAL ENERGY ● World energy demand is rising rapidly ● Factors like climate change require a shift from depleting fossil fuels to renewable sources of energy ● Hydropower currently contributes to 16% of the world’s power generation Source: BP statistical review of World Energy, Delphi234 [CC0], via Wikimedia Commons
- 13. TYPES OF WATER TURBINES Pelton Wheel Francis Turbine Kaplan Turbine 1827 ● Water turbines are the most important component of a hydropower system ● They are rotary machines that convert the kinetic and potential energy of water into mechanical work ● Primarily used in electric power generation applications ● Based on the head under which they operate, they can be classified into high, medium, and low head Fourneyron Reaction Turbine 1849 1870 1913 (Source: https://media.giphy.com/media/l2JebisijdzVL2Cqs/giphy.gif)
- 14. KAPLAN TURBINE (0-60m pressure head) Source: Uploaded by Duk [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons ● Kaplan turbines are axial flow reaction turbines ● The pressure of the fluid changes as it flows through the turbine ● Power is generated from both the hydrostatic head and the kinetic energy of water ● They are suited for low heads and high flow rates
- 15. Pelton wheel from Walchensee, GFDL or CC-BY-SA-3.0, via Wikimedia Commons PELTON WHEEL TURBINE (300m-1600m pressure head) ● Impulse turbine, extracts energy from moving water ● Water jets from high pressure nozzles impinge on the spoon shaped buckets ● The impulse force on the buckets causes the disk to rotate and generate power ● Mainly suited for high head applications
- 16. FRANCIS TURBINES (60m-300m pressure head) Source: Voith Siemens Hydro Power Generation [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) , via Wikimedia Commons ● Impact & reaction turbine that operate at a medium head, and combine axial and radial flow concepts ● They fill the large gap between high head Pelton wheel and low head Kaplan turbines ● The most commonly used water turbines today, 60% of global hydropower ● Creating more efficient designs is an open challenge for engineers today
- 17. COMPONENTS OF THE FRANCIS TURBINE Runner Guide Vanes Draft Tube ● Inlet Duct ● Spiral Casing ● Guide Vanes ● Runner & Runner Blades ● Draft Tube Inlet Outlet
- 18. COMPONENTS OF THE FRANCIS TURBINE ● Spiral Casing ● Guide Vanes ● Runner and Runner Blades
- 19. FRANCIS TURBINE IN OPERATION Streamlines through a Francis turbine ● Water flows through a spiral casing into the guide vanes (static) ● The guide vanes control the angle of flow of water towards the runner blades (moving) ● Water forces the runner to rotate through a combination of impact and reaction forces ● It then exits the runner to a draft tube that discharges it to the environment
- 20. 1. CAD IMPORT Upload your CAD model or import it from other cloud services into SimScale. 2. SIMULATION SETUP All steps to define and run a simulation are done within SimScale. 3. DESIGN DECISION Use simulation insights to make better and faster design decisions. 3
- 21. BOUNDARY CONDITIONS ● Inlet – volume flow rate ○ (8-16 m³/s) ● Outlet – static pressure (0Pa) ● Rotational speed (350 rpm)
- 24. FLOW THROUGH THE INLET DUCT INLET DUCT Draws water into the casing of the turbine Has a converging passage area, to increase the kinetic energy of the water Velocity within the inlet duct
- 25. ● The casing directs the water from the inlet duct to the stator guide vanes ● The fluid velocity should be fairly constant along its path towards the guide vane ● The cross sectional area decreases to maintain the velocity FLOW THROUGH THE CASING Flow through the casing
- 26. FLOW AROUND THE BLADES Stator vanes guide the fluid onto the runner blades at the angle appropriate to the design Due to the angle of incidence, the flow around the second stator row experiences large separation
- 27. STATIC PRESSURE ON THE BLADES Careful design should ensure that the pressures on the blades do not fall below vapor pressure of water, as this would lead to cavitation. Pressure Side (front) Suction Side (rear)
- 28. ● The draft tube decelerates the fluid from the exit of the runner to the discharge ● This increases pressure and minimizes the loss of kinetic energy ● A good design is critical here to avoid cavitation FLOW THROUGH THE DRAFT TUBE Static Pressure Contour Velocity Contour
- 29. ● There is a large recirculation region in the tube caused by high pressure gradients ● Let’s optimize the design here FLOW THROUGH THE DRAFT TUBE 3D streamlines, showing the recirculation in the draft tube
- 30. Initial Design Modified Design FIRST DESIGN MODIFICATION: DRAFT TUBE DESIGN
- 31. SECOND DESIGN MODIFICATION: STATOR ROW ANGLES Initial Design Modified Design
- 32. DESIGN COMPARISON: FLOW THROUGH THE STATOR VANES Initial Design Modified Design
- 33. DESIGN COMPARISON: FLOW THROUGH DRAFT TUBE Initial Design Modified Design
- 34. DESIGN COMPARISON: FLOW THROUGH DRAFT TUBE Initial Design Modified Design
- 35. DESIGN COMPARISON: PERFORMANCE CURVES ● The design modifications implemented have led to an increase of 1.5% in the peak efficiency of the turbine ● Equivalent to an additional 450 Kwh of energy
- 36. ● We have improved the design through CFD ● We also learned how to make a design worse ○ This is the beauty of CFD ○ Parallel runs on the cloud ● We identified some issues and know where to focus for further efficiency gains LESSONS LEARNED
- 37. ● The original design was not optimum ● The draft tube modification shows great promise ● The changes made to the stator were less effective, we should test again without these modifications LESSONS LEARNED (Source: https://media.giphy.com/media/3HoB7BmMnKMdq/giphy.gif)