Experimental Study of the Effect of Splitter Blades on the Performance Characteristics of Francis Turbines

Yun Jia, Xianzhu Wei, Qianyun Wang, Jinsheng Cui and Fengchen Li
Additional contact information
Yun Jia: School of Energy Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China
Xianzhu Wei: School of Energy Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China
Qianyun Wang: State Key Laboratory of Hydro-Power Equipment, Harbin Institute of Large Electrical Machinery, Harbin 150040, China
Jinsheng Cui: State Key Laboratory of Hydro-Power Equipment, Harbin Institute of Large Electrical Machinery, Harbin 150040, China
Fengchen Li: School of Energy Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China

Energies, 2019, vol. 12, issue 9, 1-16

Abstract: With the improvement in energy structures, the safe and stable operation of hydropower units is becoming the most important issue for electric grids. To expand the stable operating range of a 200 m head Francis turbine, splitter blades were designed to increase the cavitation ability and lower the high-amplitude pressure fluctuations. Experimental studies were carried out to analyze the effect of the splitter blades on the turbine performance characteristics (efficiency, cavitation, and pressure fluctuation), and the results obtained were compared with those for normal blades. The results reveal that the splitter blades can increase the efficiency by approximately 2%, and they can reduce the pressure fluctuation in the vaneless space, under high-head operating conditions. The flow observation results reveal that the splitter blades can restrain the cavitation at the suction side of the blades, and thereby expand the stable operating range. Analyses of the pressure fluctuation show that the splitter blades can change the blade passing frequency and sharply lower its amplitude. This study may provide a reference for all Francis turbine designs, which makes it significant for the stable and effective operation of hydropower units.

Keywords: Francis turbine; splitter blade; efficiency; cavitation; pressure fluctuation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/12/9/1676/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/12/9/1676/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jeners:v:12:y:2019:i:9:p:1676-:d:227895

Access Statistics for this article

Energies is currently edited by Ms. Agatha Cao

More articles in Energies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().