Hydroelectric Reverse water hammer in turbine draft tubes By Dr Ing Vlado Jordan* PART ONE After turbine shutdown, reverse water flow, in the opposite direction to normal flow, often occurs in the turbine outlet tunnel, causing dangerous, even catastrophic, overpressures on the suction side’. In this article the author analyses the hydrodynamic relationships in the draft tube and the damping of reverse water hammer by the introduction of air into the draft tube \vitt! REFERENCE to Fig. 1, the pressure fi in the section S below the turbine runner has considerable influence on the motion of the water column in the outlet system. The relationship between the flow velocities and this pressure is given by the Bernoulli equation for non-stat- fonaey conditions’, applicable over the total length of the system. irespective of friction losses: 2g) + (Iighs( jal a The left-hand side of the equation includes energy heads for section Ss, and the right-hand side includes those for the end section 5. In addition, the last term on the right- hand side is the dynamic head fi, caused by acceleration or deceleration of the water column From Fig. 1, which shows the variation in energy head along the system during deceleration of the discharge, it can be seen that for the case z,=0 and z,=z, the following, relationship exists: (9s3/2g) = s+ 25 + (34 het 2+(ve)2g)=-H, @ In (he integral expression on the right-hand side of Eq, () the velocity variation év can be expressed by the dis- variation 2Q, ie, év=2Q/S. Neglecting water 1 discharge variation 2Q is constant along the L, at a given time ¢ By also taking into account the relationship given in Fy, (@) nd the friction term &Q#, Eq, (1) becomes: hs +(Q2)2g5} ) ~ H,£kQ" + (dQ/gar) f(A) @ A positive sign in front of the term k0? denotes flow in the normal direction and a negative sign denotes flow in the opposite direction, The integral on the right-hand side af the equation is the “geometric constant” of the system, defined by: L C= EAl/S 0 @® This may be determined graphically as the area under the Curve 1S over the total length L of the system (Fig. 1). ,, BG) represents the connection between the pressure Ja eos: the turbine and the discharge Q through the draft SS any parca time, for normal and ores die Notations jezometric heads at sections $4, Sy (m of water | uma) | | | dm element of system length Tength ofthe system (m) I tan the turbine Fs negative) (m) se= acceleration du to prev (2150 | __. tpsinetion head Tose a Os forthe Tenth Los) tion oss cofent (mS) When the variation in pressure fy is known, but is not given by an algebraic function the equation may only be solved iteratively using time intervals Ar, where, at every interval the calculation has to be carried out using average values lig, for pressure and Q,, for discharge: ag Hh! +H) Qu=O' +AQ/2 Values for fy’ and Q’ are always known as they are the final values from the calculation made for the previous interval. By considering Eq, (4) and omitting the negligible terms AQ? (which isacceptable with only small Ar intervals), the discharge variation follows from Eq. (3): Qt MMs +h) C= Od 2) Fig. 1. Schematic representation ofthe cutie systoreHydroelectric 19 ig. 2. Relationship between time and discharge during flow ‘deceleration where Cy and C, are constants given by: Cy=(1/2g5) 4k 6 and: C=Giear o In the expression for Gy the negative sign in front of k es normal fiow direction and the positive sign applies for reverse flow direction. Discharge at the end of the interval, taking into account the fact that Q=O" + AQ, is equal to: Gib Ht Mle’ + hy) G=G0 In both Eqs. (5) and (7) the connection with time # and the influence of the geometry of the system are contained in the term C,. Using the metric system of units the dimensions of the terms given in Eq, (7) are: m*/s for Q and Q’; m* for C,; mrs? for Cy; and ms for Cy. As is evident later in this article, in some cases the pressure /hy is known and is approximately constant. For such a case it is possible to determine the curves of varia tion of relative discharge co=Q/Qy with time in advance, for all cases. Eq. (3) represents the differential equation: doldr= K\(1+ Kyo) 8) co) where the constants K, and K; designate a given case e 6 Fig. 2. Variation in water outlet volume with time These two values are usually negative because of the underpressures fy and the negative suction heads H,. The curves =f (Kit, K,) obtained from Eq, (8) are given in Fig. 2. The curves with negative ordinates. represent reverse (negative) flow. The abscissae terms j&;\¢ represent relative time: real time values are found from: 1K 119) The volume left behind the outfiowing water column which has a discharge Q=0Q,, ie. the outflow volume Vo, is represented by the area bounded by the cune OF AK, Kz) and the abscissa: Vo = QpEerSt=(Qe/K)EO(K, M1) = (Ooi KP ap For various values of K;, the areas ® are given by the curves in Fig. 3a. The parts of the curves with pos slope represent the outflowing water column (increasing volume). and the parts with negative slope represent reverse flow (decreasing volume), Reverse water hammer with no air supply Ifthe given closing law c2,—f{t) gives rise to a discharge ol volume V, in the closing time 7. which is smaller than the Outlet vollime Vg, separation of the water column occurs in the draft tube and this may have very dangerovs consequences. This phenomenon may be foreseen if the clasing-law curve, drawn to the same scale as the <9 curves in Fig. 2.i8 compared with the closing-law curve for a corresponding value of K; and the o curve is found to be lower that the © curve (Fig. 35). Corresponding constants Ky and K; defined in Eq. @ are calculated for a value of y= —~i0m water column because in the separation region there occurs an under Water Power & Dam Construction February 198Hyaroelectric —— 7 vol macn=1025m Tes) frie (TU eeion 5) wo 03 So i ae Loveremoteseseresereiiztatt og, aa oe og ges Sead (deat tad Saat (uid AAA T t i t | Fi4. Graph used for determining the pressure below the runner (forthe eae where als nol introduced into the draft tube) VV VY ALU sressure which is very near to a vacuum (if no air is dmited cinder atmospheric pressure). For reverse fiow, the waier column from the draft tube collides again with water from the turbine (filling, mean- wile the volume Vz) and the reverse velocity ¥g of flow al this moment’ affects the extent of reverse water immer, Collison time Ty is determined, according to Fig. 3b, as the abscissa of the point R at which the inlet volume Vz ind the outlet volume Vo become equal, ie, where the sives Dio Af and ZeoAs intersect. ‘ordinate of the point having the same abscissa Ty 2 the corresponding « curve gives the reverse flow iy at olison, when the following circumstances are taken into sxount, AS rule, the constant K; for the reverse flow direction 6) differs from the constant Ky' for the normal flow krection because it depends on the value of Cy which is thea by Ba. (6), fore, in Fig. 3a, the Ky’ curve for reverse flow is gisdered as the section from the peak of the Ky’ curve. curve K," is shifted vertically so that its peak cor- ends with the peak of the curve K;’. ihe same way the negative part of the curve « for the NK," 's shifted horizontally, so that the point «=O lies mally below the peak of curve K;'. The negative nate of the curve co shifted in this Way (below the “asection R) gives the reverse ow give a clearer idea of the individual influences te Power & Dam Construction February 1975 affecting reverse water hammer, the graphical method used to determine it (which is also based on Bernoulli equation) is illustrated in Fig, 4 ‘In Fig. 4a the variation in draft-tube discharge Q is shown by a broken line, together with the sloping pressure lines, the lower breaking points 0;, 2;, 4; ... . etc, which signify the states at the turbine and which’ lie on the boundary condition line B,, with the ordinates 1/24. Fig, 4a also shows the upper breaking points I, 35, i... ele which signify the states at the end of the outlet system’ and which lie on the boundary condition line Bp, together with the ordinates h,=kQ? above the tail- water level, where friction losses are taken into account. The alternating inclination of the sloping pressure lines? is given by: An/AQ= +a/g5. (2) where: a=velocity of water hammer wave, (m/s); ¢= acceleration due to gravity, (m/s*): and S, = equivalent section of the outlet system, (m). The section S, takes into account the variability of the sections along the length of the system and is found from the definition of the constant C, given by Ea. (4): S.=ZAYC=L/C, (13) ape gta Schnyder Borgron meio n