Optimization procedure for variable speed turbine design

Tengs, Erik Os; Storli, Pål-Tore Selbo; Holst, Martin

doi:10.1080/19942060.2018.1507950

Cited by 7 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…The process of optimizing a variable-speed turbine is described in a few publications. The article from NTNU Trondheim [32] details the design of a Francis turbine using a fully parameterized model in Matlab and Ansys CFX. The optiSlang program provides the interfacing and optimization process.…”

Section: Optimization Processmentioning

confidence: 99%

Variable-Speed Propeller Turbine for Small Hydropower Applications

et al. 2023

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Standard technical solutions are not cost-effective for many small hydropower sites. This study aims to demonstrate the workflow for the tailor-made variable-speed axial propeller turbine and provide proof of this concept. The turbine is designed to meet the site’s specific space limitations and operating range needs. The runner shape is adjusted to the variable-speed operation and defined hydraulic profile using a parametric geometry model and CFD-based optimization. The variable-speed propeller turbine shows excellent flow control while keeping the mechanical design simple. The tailor-made approach minimizes construction costs using existing structures and is highly suitable for mini-hydropower applications. The prototype—an atypical turbine designed for highly restricted space and installed on-site—serves as proof of the concept. The findings on the design of axial variable-speed turbines are presented.

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Section: Optimization Processmentioning

confidence: 99%

Variable-Speed Propeller Turbine for Small Hydropower Applications

et al. 2023

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“…The use of this technology in Hydropower are found in pumped storage projects, where the turbines; being used as pumps; are driven by the motor at the speed required by the operator. Variable speed hydro turbines is a topic of discussion in the European power producing community due to the requirement of flexible hydropower which can complement the fluctuations in the energy grid brought about by the unpredictable nature of renewable sources of energies which are now making a surmountable contribution to the grid and are going to increase in the future [16]. In addition to adding the flexibility to the grid, variable speed generation can also be beneficial for the life of the turbines and the hydropower in general.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Numerical Analysis of Francis Turbine being operated in variable speed from sediment erosion perspective

Ghimire,

Kayastha,

Bijukchhe

et al. 2023

J. Phys.: Conf. Ser.

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Sediment erosion in hydro turbines is one of the most daunting reasons incurring huge losses to power plant owners located in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region. Repetitive repair and maintenance of runners of Francis turbines installed in such power plants have been one of the major contributor to these losses. There is no measure of how much these power plant owners have lost due to reduction in efficiency brought about by the eroded surfaces of runners. Amidst several optimizations performed in changing the runner design, this study has been conducted to study the applicability of the pre-existing designs being operated in variable speed conditions, irrespective of its practical difficulties. Numerical simulations have been performed to determine the sediment erosion of the runners at different operating conditions. In addition to the guide vane angles, and the amount of sediment injected into the system; which is parametrized as a function of the guide vane angles; rotational speed of the runner has also been varied. Complete efficiency hill diagram and sediment erosion hill diagram have been developed to analyse the efficiency and sediment erosion at several operating conditions. Finally a comparison of the variations in efficiency and sediment erosion upon operating the turbine in synchronous speed and variable speed modes have been shown. Basically, the efficiency of the turbine and sediment erosion on blade surface can be increased and decreased respectively, at off design conditions by operating the turbine in variable speed.

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“…Variable speed Francis turbines are being developed in Europe to meet their requirement of flexibility in the grid brought about by intermittent sources of renewable power like wind and solar [14]. Variable speed operation of Francis turbines are associated with reduction in fatigue and wear and higher efficiency at off design conditions [15].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optimization of Francis Turbine Runner for Variable Speed Operations with minimization of sediment erosion

Ghimire

Gautam

Chitrakar

et al. 2022

IOP Conf. Ser.: Earth Environ. Sci.

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Sediment erosion is one of the most notorious phenomenon damaging the turbines, in the Himalayan region. Francis turbine, which is one of the most used type of hydro turbine in the world as well as in Nepal, is affected quite severely, more so when operated in off design conditions. This study has taken a reference design of a Francis turbine from a hydropower in Nepal to optimize it for operation in variable speeds. Minimization of sediment erosion and maximization of efficiency are taken as the objective functions of the optimization, for which blade angles at trailing edge and blade angle distribution are taken as the design variables. The design space of the runner are constrained such that the optimized design could replace the existing runner in the turbine. Latin Hypercube Sampling technique is used to populate the design space such that the design variables are divided randomly to create required number of designs in the design space. Computational Fluid Dynamic analysis are performed on simplified numerical models of the samples to predict their performance and Sediment Erosion Rate Density (SERD), under various operating conditions. The results of output parameters, obtained from CFD, along with the design variables, are used to develop an approximation model relating the objective functions with the design parameters. NSGA-II optimization technique is used to search for the optimum design. The paper presents the comparison of the sediment erosion and efficiency of the reference runner and optimized runners under various operating conditions. It also presents an outline of the process used to optimize the runner for variable speed operation with minimum sediment erosion.

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Optimization procedure for variable speed turbine design

Cited by 7 publications

References 20 publications

Variable-Speed Propeller Turbine for Small Hydropower Applications

Variable-Speed Propeller Turbine for Small Hydropower Applications

Numerical Analysis of Francis Turbine being operated in variable speed from sediment erosion perspective

Optimization of Francis Turbine Runner for Variable Speed Operations with minimization of sediment erosion

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