Smooth integration of intermittent energy sources, such as solar and wind power, into the electrical grid induces new operating conditions of the hydraulic turbine by increasing the off-design operations, start/stops, and load variations. Therefore, hydraulic turbines are subject to unstable flow conditions and unfavorable load fluctuations. Predicting load fluctuations on the runner using indirect measurements can allow for optimized operations of the turbine units, increase turbine refurbishment time intervals, and avoid structural failures in extreme cases. This paper investigates an experimental methodology to assess and predict the flow condition and load fluctuations on a Kaplan turbine runner at several steady-state operations by performing measurements on the shaft in the rotating and stationary frame of references. This unit is instrumented with several transducers such as miniature pressure transducers, strain gages, and proximity probes. The results show that for any propeller curve of a Kaplan turbine, the guide vane opening corresponding to the minimum pressure and strain fluctuations on the runner blade can be obtained by axial, torsion, and bending measurements on the shaft. Torsion measurements on the shaft could support index-testing in Kaplan turbines particularly for updating the cam-curve during the unit operation. Furthermore, a signature of every phenomenon observed on the runner blade signals, e.g., runner frequency, rotating vortex rope components, and rotor-stator interaction, is found in the data obtained from the shaft.

The transient load fluctuations on the runner blades of prototype hydraulic turbines during load variations are one of the main causes of fatigue and eventual structural failure. A clear understanding of the dynamic loads on the runner blades is required to detect the source of the fluctuations. In this paper, an experimental investigation of vortex rope formation and mitigation in a prototype Kaplan turbine, namely, Porjus U9, is carried out. Synchronized unsteady pressure and strain measurements were performed on a runner blade during steady-state and load variation under off-cam condition. The normalized pressure fluctuation during load variations remained approximately within ±0.2 P_ref for all the pressure transducers installed on the blade pressure side and is even slightly lower during the transient cycle. Higher pressure fluctuations were found on the blade suction side, approximately four times higher than that of on the pressure side. The synchronous and asynchronous components of the vortex rope were clearly observed at the low discharge operating point and transient cycles. The spectral analysis of the pressure signals showed that the synchronous component appears before the asynchronous component during the load reduction, and it lasts longer during the load increase. These frequencies slightly change during the load variation. In addition, the results proved that the strain fluctuation component on the runner blade arises from the synchronous component of the vortex rope at low discharge while the asynchronous component influence is negligible.

Variable-speed operation of a hydro turbine is considered as an alternative option to meet fluctuating energy demand as it allows high-ramping rate. Cavitation can be a limiting factor to utilize the variable-speed technology at fully capacity in a hydro power plant. This work investigates the cavitation characteristics and unsteady pressure fluctuations as turbine ramps up to meet the energy demand. The investigated Francis turbine consists of 15 blades and 15 splitters, and the reference diameter is 0.349 m. Numerical model of complete turbine is prepared and hexahedral mesh is created. Rayleigh Plesset Model is activated for cavitation modelling. Available experimental data of model acceptance test are used to prescribe boundary conditions, and to validate the numerical results at distinct points. Transient behaviour of the cavitation is studied, and the results are quite interesting. At certain time instants, the cavitation effect is extremely predominant, and as a result of cavitation bubble bursts, the amplitudes of pressure fluctuations are significantly high.

An increase in the start/stop cycles of hydraulic turbines due to the penetration of intermittent renewable energy sources is important. Hydraulic instabilities that occur in hydraulic turbines during start/stops may cause structural issues in the turbine components. High-stress fluctuations on the runner blades are expected during start-ups due to the unsteady pressure loading on the runner blades. This paper presents experiments performed on a 10 MW prototype Kaplan turbine at the Porjus Hydropower Center during a start-up cycle. Synchronized unsteady pressure and strain measurements on a runner blade and axial, bending (in two directions) and torsion strain measurements on the shaft were performed. In addition, the general parameters of the turbine (e.g., rotational speed, guide vane opening and runner blade angle) were acquired. Low-frequency fluctuations (0–15 Hz) were observed in the pressure data on the runner blade after opening the guide vanes from the completely closed position. A higher strain value was observed on the strain gauges installed on the runner blade near the hub (200–500 μm/m ) compared to the ones near the shroud at the leading and trailing edge. The strain fluctuation level on the shaft decreased after loading the generator by further opening the guide vanes. Higher fluctuations were observed in the torsion strain compared to axial and bending strain. In addition, the torsion strain peak-to-peak value reached 12 times its corresponding value at 61% guide vane opening.

A water turbine runner is exposed to several perturbation sources with differentfrequencies, phases, and amplitudes both at the design and off-design operations. Rotor-statorinteraction, cavitation, rotating vortex rope, and blade trailing edge vortices are examples of suchperturbations which can disturb the runner. The rotor dynamic coefficients require beingdetermined to perform a reliable dynamic analysis. Fluid added inertia, damping, and stiffnesshave previously been investigated for individual perturbation frequencies for the torsionalvibration of a Kaplan turbine model runner. However, a number of perturbation sources mostlytake place simultaneously and alter the dynamics of the runner. Soltani et al. [1] have evaluatedthe torsional added parameters for a Kaplan turbine runner using numerical simulationsconsidering single perturbation frequency. In the present work, the fluid added parameters areassessed in the presence of multiple perturbation sources. A similar methodology is used. Asingle-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) model for the dynamic model and unsteady ReynoldsaveragedNavier–Stokes approach for the flow simulations are assumed. Perturbations withdifferent frequencies are applied to the rotational speed of the runner to determine the fluid addedparameters for the torsional vibration. A number of previously investigated frequencies arechosen and their combinations are investigated. In addition, two different phase shifts areconsidered between the applied perturbations to study the effect of phase. Two more test caseswith higher perturbation amplitude are also conducted to investigate its influence on the fluidadded inertia and damping. The results are compared with the previous study and the interactionof multiple perturbations on the added parameters is investigated.

Fluid added mass, damping, and stiffness are highly relevant parameters to consider when evaluating the dynamic response of a submerged structure in a fluid. The prediction of these parameters for hydraulic turbines has been approached relatively recently. Complex fluid-structure analyses including three-dimensional flow and the need for experiments during operation are the main challenges for the numerical and experimental approaches, respectively. The main objective of this review is to address the impact of different parameters, for example, flow velocity, cavitation, nearby solid structure, and rotational speed on the fluid added mass and damping of Kaplan/Propeller and Francis turbine runners. The fluid added stiffness is also discussed in the last section of the paper. Although studies related to hydraulic turbines are the main objective of this paper, the literature on hydrofoils is also taken into consideration to provide valuable information on topics such as individual runner blades. In this literature survey, the analytical, numerical, and experimental approaches used to determine fluid added parameters are discussed, and the pros and the cons of each method are addressed.

Pulsating turbulent flow is studied for four regimes: steady, quasi-steady, relaxation, and quasi-laminar in a rectangular straight asymmetric diffuser, a generic model of the diffuser found at the end of most Kaplan and Francis type hydropower turbines. The flow entering the diffuser is a developing duct flow at Reynolds number 20 000, based on mean streamwise velocity and hydraulic diameter. The time averaged velocity and turbulent quantities are not affected by the forced oscillation. The regimes prevail in the diffuser, but are shifted due to the decreasing friction velocity. The oscillating quantities are affected by the adverse pressure gradient in the same way as the time averaged quantities, but with a decreasing effect for higher forcing frequencies. The amplitude of the oscillating wall shear stress is found to be signicantly lower than the Stokes solution in the quasi-laminar regime. The regime is confirmed by the behaviour of several other quantities. The pressure recovery is found to be 30 % higher in the relaxation regime than in the other regimes. Results are compared with experiments in channels and turbulent boundary layers, with and without an adverse pressure gradient, and with large-eddy simulations.

Computations of the Turbine-99 benchmark have been performed for two dimensional steady inlet boundary conditions. Three different turbulence models were used: zero equation model, k-ε and shear stress model (SST). The results from the engineering quantities indicate small differences on the mean pressure recovery and the loss factor, while larger differences appear for the wall pressure recovery.

The third IAHR/ERCOFTAC workshop on draft tube flows, Turbine-99 III, is based on the experience gained during the first two workshops and the development of the computational capacities. It is expected to be a step towards better understanding of draft tube flow simulation capabilities. Three cases based on the Turbine-99 benchmark were proposed to the participants: steady calculation, unsteady calculation, optimization of the draft tube performance. More than 30 simulations have been performed by the participants with several turbulence models, near wall treatment, grids and boundary conditions. The complexity of the turbulence models ranges from zero equation model to large eddy simulations. The contribution of the different participants, the protocol of their simulations and a comprehensive comparison of experimental data with the simulations are included in the present document.

Factorial design, a statistical method widely used for experiments, and its application to CFD are discussed. The aim is to propose a systematic, objective, and quantitative method for engineers to design a set of simulations in order to evaluate main and joint effects of input parameters on the numerical solution. The input parameters may be experimental uncertainty on boundary conditions, unknown boundary conditions, grid, differencing schemes, and turbulence models. The complex flow of the Turbine-99 test case, a hydropower draft tube flow, is used to illustrate the method, where four factors are chosen to perform a 24 factorial design. The radial velocity at the inlet (not measured) is shown to have an important influence on the pressure recovery (7%) and the energy loss factor (49%).