Cavitation Inception in Crossflow Hydro Turbines

Ram Chandra Adhikari, Jerson Vaz and David Wood
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Ram Chandra Adhikari: Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, University of Calgary, 2500 University Dr NW, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada
Jerson Vaz: Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Federal University of Pará –Av. Augusto Correa, N 1–Belém, PA 66075-900, Brazil
David Wood: Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, University of Calgary, 2500 University Dr NW, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada

Energies, 2016, vol. 9, issue 4, 1-12

Abstract: Cavitation is a common flow phenomena in most hydraulic turbines and has the potential to cause vibration, blade surface damage and performance loss. Despite the fact that crossflow turbines have been used in small-scale hydropower systems for a long time, cavitation has not been studied in these turbines. In this paper, we present the findings of a computational study on cavitation inception in crossflow turbines. Cavitation inception was assessed using three-dimensional (3D) Reynolds-Averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) computations. A homogeneous, free-surface two-phase flow model was used. Pressure distributions on the blades were examined for different flow rates, heads and impeller speeds to assess cavitation inception. The results showed that cavitation occurs in the second stage of the turbine and was observed on the suction side near the inner edge of the blades. For the particular turbine studied, cavitation always occurred at shaft speeds greater than that, giving the maximum efficiency for each combination of flow rate and head. The implication is that the useful operating range of crossflow turbines is up to and including the maximum efficiency point.

Keywords: crossflow turbine; two-phase flow; water-vapor pressure; cavitation (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: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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