• International Journal of Fluid Machinery and Systems
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.179-190
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• 2011

The swirling flow developing in Francis turbine draft tube under part load operation leads to pressure fluctuations usually in the range of 0.2 to 0.4 times the runner rotational frequency resulting from the so-called vortex breakdown. For low cavitation number, the flow features a cavitation vortex rope animated with precession motion. Under given conditions, these pressure fluctuations may lead to undesirable pressure fluctuations in the entire hydraulic system and also produce active power oscillations. For the upper part load range, between 0.7 and 0.85 times the best efficiency discharge, pressure fluctuations may appear in a higher frequency range of 2 to 4 times the runner rotational speed and feature modulations with vortex rope precession. It has been pointed out that for this particular operating point, the vortex rope features elliptical cross section and is animated of a self-rotation. This paper presents an experimental investigation focusing on this peculiar phenomenon, defined as the upper part load vortex rope. The experimental investigation is carried out on a high specific speed Francis turbine scale model installed on a test rig of the EPFL Laboratory for Hydraulic Machines. The selected operating point corresponds to a discharge of 0.83 times the best efficiency discharge. Observations of the cavitation vortex carried out with high speed camera have been recorded and synchronized with pressure fluctuations measurements at the draft tube cone. First, the vortex rope self rotation frequency is evidenced and the related frequency is deduced. Then, the influence of the sigma cavitation number on vortex rope shape and pressure fluctuations is presented. The waterfall diagram of the pressure fluctuations evidences resonance effects with the hydraulic circuit. The influence of outlet bubble cavitation and air injection is also investigated for low cavitation number. The time evolution of the vortex rope volume is compared with pressure fluctuations time evolution using image processing. Finally, the influence of the Froude number on the vortex rope shape and the associated pressure fluctuations is analyzed by varying the rotational speed.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2010.06a
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• pp.193.2-193.2
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• 2010

Domestic hydroelectric power plants has been manufactured as the design condition by the demand. Hydraulic turbine power plants operating at appointed load shall be operate stable in terms of pressure, discharge, rotational speed and torque. A performance guarantees for hydro turbines shall be contain, as a minimum, guarantees covering power, discharge and specific hydraulic energy, efficiency, maximum momentary overspeed and maximum momentary pressure and maximum steady-state runaway speed, as well as guarantees related to cavitation. But, present in Korea, the absence of testing laboratories and technical criteria for the performance test of small hydropower degrades the efficiency of the domestic hydropower machines, and makes it difficult to objectively evaluate the performance of hydro turbine. Therefore We planned making a basis of performance test of small hydropower turbine by using our flowmeter calibration system the largest one in Korea. We planned the maximum measurable power of hydro turbine will be 200 kW in our system.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2011.05a
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• pp.206.2-206.2
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• 2011

Domestic hydroelectric power plants has been manufactured as the design condition by the demand. Hydraulic turbine power plants operating at appointed load shall be operate stable in terms of pressure, discharge, rotational speed and torque. A performance guarantees for hydro turbines shall be contain, as a minimum, guarantees covering power, discharge and specific hydraulic energy, efficiency, maximum momentary overspeed and maximum momentary pressure and maximum steady-state runaway speed, as well as guarantees related to cavitation. But, present in Korea, the absence of testing laboratories and technical criteria for the performance test of small hydropower degrades the efficiency of the domestic hydropower machines, and makes it difficult to objectively evaluate the performance of hydro turbine. Therefore We planned making a basis of performance test of small hydropower turbine by using our flowmeter calibration system the largest one in Korea. We planned the maximum measurable power of hydro turbine will be 200 kW in our system.

• 한국태양에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2009.04a
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• pp.302-305
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• 2009

The Francis type hydro turbine with vertical axis has been designed and analized for hydraulic performance verification. The guide vane angle of turbine casing were designed to be varied according to the condition of head and flowrate. When the changes in flowrate and output were comparatively large, the efficiency drop were small, so the efficiency characteristics and stability of the entire operating condition were maintained in good condition. These results showed that the developed hydro turbine in this study will be suitable for small hydro power stations with medium and high head such as agricultural reservoirs and large dam.

• 한국태양에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2008.11a
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• pp.167-171
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• 2008

The Francis type hydro turbine with vertical axis has been designed and analized for hydraulic performance verification. The guide vane angle of turbine casing were designed to be varied according to the condition of head and flowrate. When the changes in flowrate and output were comparatively large, the efficiency drop were small, so the efficiency characteristics and stability of the entire operating condition were maintained in good condition. These results showed that the developed hydro turbine in this study will be suitable for small hydro power stations with medium and high head such as agricultural reservoirs and large dam.

• International Journal of Fluid Machinery and Systems
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.222-228
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• 2016

Almost 70% of the earth is covered by the ocean. Extracting the power available in the ocean using a wave energy converter has been seen to be eco-friendly and renewable. This study focuses on developing a method for analyzing a wave energy device that uses a cross-flow turbine. The motion of the ocean wave causes an internal bi-directional flow of water and the cross-flow turbine is able to rotate in one direction. This device is considered of double-hull structure, and because of this structure, sea water does not come into contact with theturbine. Due to this, the problem of befouling on the turbine is avoided. This study shows specific relationship for wave length and several motions.

• International Journal of Fluid Machinery and Systems
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.102-109
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• 2009

A design optimization system for Francis turbine was developed. The system consists of design program and CFD solver. Flow passage shapes are optimized automatically by using the system with Multi-Objective Genetic Algorithm (MOGA). In this study, the system was applied to a high specific speed Francis turbine (nSP = 250m-kW). The runner profile and the draft tube shape were optimized to decrease hydraulic losses. As the results, it was shown that the turbine efficiency was improved in wide operating range, furthermore, the height of draft tube was reduced with the hydraulic performance kept.

• The KSFM Journal of Fluid Machinery
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.5-10
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• 2016

As a key component of a Francis turbine facility, the runner performance plays a vital role in the performance of the turbine. It is effective and successful to design a Francis turbine runner blade with good performance by one dimensional hydraulic design method. On the basis of one dimensional hydraulic analysis, there are a lot of parameters of the internal flow passage shapes determined by experience. Among those parameters, the effect of port area of blade on the performance of a Francis turbine is investigated in this study. A given Francis turbine model was selected for investigating the port area of blade on the performance. The result shows that the effect of port area of runner blade on the outflow angle from runner passage on the performance is quite significant. A correct exit flow angle reduces the energy loss at draft tube, which has the best efficiency of the turbine model.

• The KSFM Journal of Fluid Machinery
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.20-28
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• 2015

The pump-turbine impeller is the key component of pumped storage power plant. Current design methods of pump-turbine impeller are private and protected from public viewing. Generally, the design proceeds in two steps: the initial hydraulic design and optimization design to achieve a balanced performance between pump mode and turbine mode. In this study, the 3D inverse design method is used for the initial hydraulic impeller design. However, due to the special demand of high performance in both pump and reverse mode, the design method is insufficient. This study is carried out by modifying the geometrical parameters of the blade which have great influence and need special consideration in obtaining the high performance on the both modes, such as blade shape type at low pressure side (inlet of pump mode, outlet of turbine mode) and the blade lean at blade high pressure side (outlet of pump mode, inlet of turbine mode). The influence of the geometrical parameters on the performance characteristic is evaluated by CFD analysis which presents the efficiency and internal flow results. After these investigations of the geometrical parameters, the criteria of designing pump-turbine impeller blade low and high sides shape is achieved.

• 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.