• International Journal of Fluid Machinery and Systems
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• v.2 no.4
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• pp.392-399
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• 2009

The paper concerns the description of the step by step development process of the new fixed blade runner called "Mixer" suitable for the uprating of the Francis turbines units installed at the older low head hydropower plants. In the paper the details of hydraulic and mechanical design are presented. Since the rotational speed of the new runner is significantly higher then the rotational speed of the original Francis one, the direct coupling of the turbine to the generator can be applied. The maximum efficiency at prescribed operational point was reached by the geometry optimization of two most important components. In the first step the optimization of the draft tube geometry was carried out. The condition for the draft tube geometry optimization was to design the new geometry of the draft tube within the original bad draft tube shape without any extensive civil works. The runner blade geometry optimization was carried out on the runner coupled with the draft tube domain. The blade geometry of the runner was optimized using automatic direct search optimization procedure. The method used for the objective function minimum search is a kind of the Nelder-Mead simplex method. The objective function concerns efficiency, required net head and cavitation features. After successful hydraulic design the modal and stress analysis was carried out on the prototype scale runner. The static pressure distribution from flow simulation was used as a load condition. The modal analysis in air and in water was carried out and the results were compared. The final runner was manufactured in model scale and it is going to be tested in hydraulic laboratory. Since the turbine with the fixed blade runner does not allow double regulation like in case of full Kaplan turbine, it can be profitably used mainly at power plants with smaller changes of operational conditions or in case with more units installed. The advantages are simple manufacturing, installation and therefore lower expenses and short delivery time for turbine uprating.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.30 no.5 s.248
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• pp.446-456
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• 2006

The effect of relative position of the stationary turbine blade for the fixed vane has been investigated on blade tip and shroud heat transfer. The local mass transfer coefficients were measured on the tip and shroud fur the blade fixed at six different positions within a pitch. A low speed stationary annular cascade with a single turbine stage was used. The chord length of the tested blade is 150 mm and the mean tip clearance of the blade having flat tip is 2.5% of the blade chord. A naphthalene sublimation technique was used for the detailed mass transfer measurements on the tip and the shroud. The inlet flow Reynolds number based on chord length and incoming flow velocity is fixed to $1.5{\times}10^5$. The results show that the incoming flow condition and heat transfer characteristics significantly change when the relative position of the blade changes. On the tip, the size of high heat/mass transfer region along the pressure side varies in the axial direction and the difference of heat transfer coefficient is up to 40% in the upstream region of the tip because the position of flow reattachment changes. On shroud, the effect of tip leakage vortex on the shroud as well as tip gap entering flow changes as the blade position changes. Thus, significantly different heat transfer patterns are observed with various blade positions and the periodic variation of heat transfer is expected with the blade rotation.

• IE interfaces
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.140-147
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• 2001

In the turbine-blade manufacturing industry, turbine-blades are machined and then are assembled to form a circular roll of blades. The roll of blades should be balanced as much as possible, since otherwise the efficiency of the turbine generator might be damaged. A locking blade is a blade whose location is fixed and a non-locking blade is a blade whose location can be freely changed. In this paper, we study methods for balancing the weights of the rotating blades for a turbine where some blades are locking blades. The turbine-blade balancing problem is formulated into a mixed-integer programming problem, which turns out to be NP-hard. A heuristic method based on the number partitioning algorithm is developed and the computational experiments show very promising results.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.195-213
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• 2014

Recently, the horizontal axis rotor performance optimizer (HARP_Opt) tool was developed in the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, USA. This innovative tool is becoming more popular in the wind turbine industry and in the field of academic research. HARP_Optwas developed on the basis of two fundamental modules, namely, WT_Perf, a performance evaluator computer code using the blade element momentum theory; and a genetic algorithm module, which is used as an optimizer. A pattern search algorithm was more recently incorporated to enhance the optimization capability, especially the calculation time and consistency of the solutions. The blade optimization is an aspect that is highly dependent on experience and requires significant consideration on rotor control strategies, wind data, and generator type. In this study, the effects of rotor control strategies including fixed speed and fixed pitch, variable speed and fixed pitch, fixed speed and variable pitch, and variable speed and variable pitch algorithms on optimal blade shapes and rotor performance are investigated using optimized blade designs. The effects of environmental wind data and the objective functions used for optimization are also quantitatively evaluated using the HARP_Opt tool. Performance indices such as annual energy production, thrust, torque, and roof-flap moment forces are compared.

• 유체기계공업학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2004.12a
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• pp.140-150
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• 2004

In this study, the effect of relative position of the blade for the fixed vane has been investigated on blade surface heat transfer. The experiments were conducted in a low speed stationary annular cascade, and heat transfer of blade was examined for six positions within a pitch. Turbine test section has one stage composed of sixteen guide vanes and blades. The chord length of the tested blade is 150 mm and the mean tip clearance of the blade having flat tip is about $2.5\%$ of the blade chord. For the detailed mass transfer measurements on the blade surfaces, a naphthalene sublimation technique was used. The inlet flow Reynolds number is fixed to $1.5{\times}10^5$. Complex heat transfer characteristics are observed on the blade surface due to various flow characteristics, such as separation bubble, relaminarization, transition to turbulence and leakage vortices. The distributions of velocity and turbulence intensity change significantly with the relative position due to the blockage effect of the blade. This causes the variation of heat transfer patterns on the blade surface. The results show that the flow near the leading edge get highly disturbed and deflected toward the either side of the blade when the blade leading edge is positioned close to the trailing edge of the vane. Therefore, separation bubble disappears on the pressure side and overall heat transfer on the relaminarization region is increased. But, due to reduced tip gap flow at the upstream region, the effect of leakage flow on the upstream region of the blade surface is weakened. Thus, the heat transfer characteristics significantly change with the blade positions.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.78-83
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• 2021

We modeled the helical turbine and three modified helical turbines for the structure of the hydraulic turbine for discharge water energy harvesting. A structure that can reduce the load applied to the blade by placing a center plate is our basic concept. The shape was reduced to 1/5, fixed to a size of 240 mm in height and 247 mm in diameter, and modeled by changing the width and the angle of the hydraulic turbine blade. The pipe inner diameter of the simulation pipeline equipment is 309.5 mm, and the simulation section was 4 m in the entire section. The flow velocity was measured for two cases, 1.82 m/s and 2.51 m/s, with the parameters being the amount of power generation, hydraulic turbine's torque, and hydraulic turbine's rotation speed. The measurement results confirmed that the flow velocity at the center, which has no pipe surface resistance, has a great influence on the amount of power generation; therefore, the friction area of the turbine blade should be increased in the center area. In addition, if the center plate is placed on the helical turbine, durability can be improved as it reduces the stress on the blade.

• New & Renewable Energy
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.116-125
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• 2024

Ultra-low-head is an unexplored classification among the sites in which hydroelectric power can be produced. This is typically owing to the low power output and the economic value of the turbines available in this segment. A turbine capable of operating in an ultra-low-head condition without the need of a dam to produce electricity is developed in this study. A gate structure installed at a shallow water channel acting as a weir generates artificial head for the turbine mounted on the gate to produce power. The turbine and generator are designed to be compact and submersible for an efficient and silent operation. The gate angle is adjustable to operate the turbine at varying flow rates. The turbine is designed and tested using computational fluid dynamics tools prior to manufacturing and experimental studies. A parametric study of the runner blade parameters is conducted to obtain the most efficient blade design with minimal hydraulic losses. These parameters include the runner stagger and runner leading edge flow angles. The selected runner design showed improved hydraulic characteristics of the turbine to operate in an ultra-low-head site with minimal losses.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.101-106
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• 2006

The optimum design of turbine blade at minimized fatigue life can be derived by the statistical fatigue analysis in this study, The optimum value of positions in the axes of X and Y at turbine blade can be found by design of experiments on the condition that the value of fillet radius is fixed to minimize the fatigue life. The degree of uncertainty about process at the factors in the axes of X and Y can be calculated by six sigma analysis. The optimum value of fillet radius is determined by utilizing the robust design at uncertain condition. It is concluded that maximum von Mises stress can decreased by 20% and the fatigue life can be double.

• International Journal of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering
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• v.8 no.5
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• pp.456-465
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• 2016

In order to optimize the performance of a Wells turbine with fixed guide vanes, the designs of an end plate and a ring on the tip of the turbine rotor are proposed as penetrating blade tip treatments. In this study, numerical investigations are made using computational fluid dynamics (CFD)-based ANSYS Fluent software, and validated by corresponding experimental data. The flow fields are analyzed and non-dimensional coefficients $C_A$, $C_T$ and ${\eta}$ are calculated under steady-state conditions. Numerical results show that the stalling phenomenon on a ring-type Wells turbine occurs at a flow coefficient of ${\phi}=0.36$, and its peak efficiency can reach 0.54, which is 16% higher than that of an unmodified turbine and 9% higher than in the case of an endplate-type turbine. In addition, quasi-steady analysis is used to calculate the mean efficiency and output work of a wave cycle under sinusoidal flow conditions. As a result, it has been found that the ring-type turbine is superior to other types of Wells turbines.

• Advances in aircraft and spacecraft science
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.37-52
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• 2017

Gas turbines operating in dusty or sandy environment polluted with micron-sized solid particles are highly prone to blade surface erosion damage in compressor stages and molten sand attack in the hot-sections of turbine stages. Commercial/Military fixed-wing aircraft engines and helicopter engines often have to operate over sandy terrains in the middle eastern countries or in volcanic zones; on the other hand gas turbines in marine applications are subjected to salt spray, while the coal-burning industrial power generation turbines are subjected to fly-ash. The presence of solid particles in the working fluid medium has an adverse effect on the durability of these engines as well as performance. Typical turbine blade damages include blade coating wear, sand glazing, Calcia-Magnesia-Alumina-Silicate (CMAS) attack, oxidation, plugged cooling holes, all of which can cause rapid performance deterioration including loss of aircraft. The focus of this research work is to simulate particle-surface kinetic interaction on typical turbomachinery material targets using non-linear dynamic impact analysis. The objective of this research is to understand the interfacial kinetic behaviors that can provide insights into the physics of particle interactions and to enable leap ahead technologies in material choices and to develop sand-phobic thermal barrier coatings for turbine blades. This paper outlines the research efforts at the U.S Army Research Laboratory to come up with novel turbine blade multifunctional protective coatings that are sand-phobic, sand impact wear resistant, as well as have very low thermal conductivity for improved performance of future gas turbine engines. The research scope includes development of protective coatings for both nickel-based super alloys and ceramic matrix composites.