Complete Francis Turbine Flow

Simulation using FLUENT

software
Carija Zoran dipl.ing.
zcarija@rijeka.riteh.hr

Existing Francis turbine

Characteristics:
- power 16 MW
- speed 428.7 min-1
- mass flow 11-17 m3/s
- geometry
- spiral cast Din = 1.5 m
- runner Din/Dout = 1.6 / 1.4 m
- radial-axial runner
- number of blades
-stayring
10
-wicket gate
20
-runner
15

Turbine pictures
Spiral cast + regulation

Guid vanes + runner

Runner

Draft tube

End of draft tube 1

End of draft tube 2
End of draft tube 3

Goals
Try to increase turbine power with the
geometry modification of:
- stayring venes,
- guide vanes,
- runner blades

Tools
- Gambit 2.0.x
- Fluent 6.0.x
- optimisation package (Genetic Algorithm)

Francis turbine fluid flow simulation

1. preprocesing
2. calculating
3. postprocesing

(Gambit)
(Fluent)
(Fluent & FluentPost)

Francis turbine fluid flow optimisation

do while .not.(END)
1. new chromosome
2. preprocesing
3. calculating
4. create fitness for this chromosome
end do

Why complete simulation?

Flow distribution throught stayring

12

Qi (%)

11
10
9
8
0

lopatice
blades

10

1. Gambit

Domain decomposition
- spiral cast
- stayring
- wicket gate
- runner
- draft tube

For presentation purposes and better

visualization the next slides contain meshes
which are very corse (very bad y+).
This meshes are not using for calculations.

1. Gambit
-spiral cast

1. Gambit
-stayring vanes ( x 10)
inlet

outlet

1. Gambit
-stayring

1. Gambit
-guide vanes (x 20)

outlet

inlet

1. Gambit
-wicket gate

1. Gambit
-blade to blade, runner (x 15)
Runner
inlet

Runner outlet

1. Gambit
- runner

Runner
inlet

1. Gambit
-draft tube

1. Gambit
-parametric modeling

Mesh parametars

Create whole
Francis turbine
Geometry parametar

1. Gambit Conclusion

Advantages
- parametric modeling
- IF blocks
- DO loops (periodic domein)
- constants, functions and expresions
- Fluent preprocesor !!

2. Fluent
- model
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Steady state
Segregated solver
Multiple reference frame (MRF) model
Standard k- turbulence model
Grid interface (nonconformal meshes)
Boundary conditions
- velocity inlet (inlet spirala cast)
- outflow (outlet of draft tube)

2. Fluent
- domains
1.
2.
3.
4.

200000 cells
500000 cells
1400000 cells
2300000 cells
- spiral cast
- stayring
- wicket gate
- runner
- draft tube

120000 cells
350000 cells
500000 cells
1300000 cells
120000 cells

Calculation time - 16 hours for 250 iteration (with a

interpolated exisiting solution of corse mesh).
Machine - AMD Athlon 1.7 GHz, 3Gb RAM, running Linux

In next presentation
x=0
y=0
z=0

is
is
is

ISO-Surface, x=0
ISO-Surface, y=0
ISO-Surface, z=0

3. Fluent Grid Outline

3. Fluent Grid All

3. Fluent Grid, z=0, Outline

3. Fluent Grid, z=0

Stayring vanes
Guide vanes
Runner blades

3. Fluent Grid, z=0

3. Fluent Velocity Vectors, z=0

3. Fluent Velocity Vectors, z=0

3. Fluent Relative Velocity Vectors, z=0

3. Fluent Relative Velocity Vectors, z=0

3. Fluent Contours of Velocity Magnitude, z=0

3. Fluent Contours of Velocity Magnitude x=0, y=0

3. Fluent Contours of Total Pressure z=0

3. Fluent Contours of Total Pressure x=0, y=0

3. Fluent Contours of Static Pressure, runner blades

3. Fluent Contours of Static Pressure, runner blades

3. Fluent Overlay (Velocity Vectors,z=0 + Static Pressure Contours, SL blades and RL blades)

3. Fluent Overlay (Velocity Vectors,z=0 + Static Pressure Contours, SL blades and RL blades)

3. Fluent Overlay (Velocity Vectors,z=0 + Static Pressure Contours, SL blades and RL blades)

3. Fluent Path lines (relesed reversed from runner inlet)

runner inlet

3. Fluent Path lines (relesed from runner inlet)

Almost vertical flow

from runner outlet

3. Fluent putanje (runner+draft tube)

Secundary flow in draft tube

3. Fluent Power of SCHEME lenguage

Moment and Power

Losses

Gambit
- example of do loop
Create volume and mesh
$alpha=360/$Num_blades
do para "$ii" init 0 cond ($ii .lt. $Num_blades)
volume move dangle $alpha vector 0 0 1 origin \
0 0 0 connected
export fluent5 (".\Blades_" + NTOS($ii+1) + \
".msh")
enddo