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Numerical Simulation of Solid-Liquid Two-Phase Flow and Wear Prediction of a Hydraulic Turbine High Sediment Content

  • S.I.: Computations & Experiments on Dynamics of Complex Fluid & Structure
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Abstract

It is inevitable to build hydropower stations in the rivers with high sediment content, especially in China. In this study, numerical simulation of a hydraulic turbine with long and short blades under the conditions of sediment-containing water was carried out based on the Euler-Euler method using ANSYS CFX software. The flow characteristics inside the turbine under different particle diameters and inlet volume fractions of sediment were analysed and studied. The calculation results show the wear area increased as the sediment particle diameter increased with constant sediment volume fraction. The larger the particle diameter was, the more serious the sediment accumulation was in the lower local area along the direction of gravity, which is likely to cause wear in the turbine flow passage components. In the case of a constant sediment particle diameter, the wear area of the turbine flow passage components increased with increased sediment volume fraction. The wear intensity of a Francis turbine runner during a one-year operation period under four different sediment contents was predicted. The results show that the total wear of the long blades was approximately 9.09 mm, and the total wear of the short blades was approximately 2.33 mm; these values can seriously affect the stable operation of a hydraulic turbine. The scientific prediction of the blade wear intensity and location provides a reliable and quantifiable basis for determining the operation status and maintenance needs of turbine units.

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The data used to support the findings of this study are included within the article.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful for financial support from the Natural Science Basic Research Program of Shaanxi Province-Key Project (grant no. 2017JZ013).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Eco-hydraulics in Northwest Arid Region of China, Xi’an University of Technology, Xi’an, 710048, China

    W. Zhou, J. Chai, Z. Xu, C. Cao & G. Wu

  2. Shaanxi Province Institute of Water Resources and Electric Power Investigation and Design, 710001, Xi’an, China

    W. Zhou & X. Yao

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  1. W. Zhou
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  2. J. Chai
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  3. Z. Xu
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  4. C. Cao
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Correspondence to J. Chai.

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Zhou, W., Chai, J., Xu, Z. et al. Numerical Simulation of Solid-Liquid Two-Phase Flow and Wear Prediction of a Hydraulic Turbine High Sediment Content. Exp Tech 47, 281–293 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40799-021-00542-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40799-021-00542-5

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