Renewable Energy 150 (2020) 743e764

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Renewable Energy
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/renene

Review

A review on remedial attempts to counteract the power generation

compromise from draft tubes of hydropower plants
Alexis Muhirwa a, Wei-Hua Cai a, b, c, *, Wen-Tao Su d, Quanzhong Liu a, **,
Maxime Binama a, Biao Li a, Jian Wu a
a
School of Energy Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150001, China
b
Laboratory of Thermo-Fluid Science and Nuclear Engineering, Northeast Electric Power University, Jilin, 132012, China
c
School of Energy and Power Engineering, Northeast Electric Power University, Jilin, 132012, China
d
College of Petroleum Engineering, Liaoning Shihua University, Fushun, 113001, China

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Hydropower plants provide an asset over other renewables of production flexibility. Away from the
Received 22 July 2019 turbine design point; detrimental off-load instabilities may compromise the power generation consis-
Received in revised form tency. During part-load operations; the draft tube swirl strongly couples the precessing motion of the
13 December 2019
vortex rope with the propagation of low-frequency pressure pulsations, further excessive fluid-structure
Accepted 30 December 2019
Available online 31 December 2019
interactions and power swings. To counteract that excitation; different attempts have been devised to
dampen local pressure amplitude and detune the instability frequency against the natural system
resonance. This article reviews strengths and weaknesses of those remedial attempts applied in the draft
Keywords:
Draft tube
tube. They have been categorized as (1) Structural passive methods of shape optimization, J-grooves,
Precessing vortex rope stabilizer fins, adjustable diaphragm, baffles, runner cone extension and flow deflectors; (2) Fluidic active
Pressure pulsations techniques of air and water supply and; (3) the hybrid flow control of different approaches. Frequent
Power swings problems for their optimized effectiveness are: proper dimensions against flow intrusion, vibration and
Remedial attempts efficiency; location and configuration; performance deterioration of pressure recovery and cavitation;
supply conditions of ancillary fluids; hydraulic/head losses; and the activation energy requirement.
Future CFD-assisted considerations mainly call for rare hybrid remedy, as no single method can
adequately address all instability problems from the draft tube.
© 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Contents

1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 744
2. Palliative structural attempts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 746
2.1. Geometric optimization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 746
2.2. Wall-mounted structures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 748
2.2.1. Non-intrusive control of J-groove . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 748
2.2.2. Vortex generators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 750
2.2.3. Stabilizer fins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 751
2.2.4. Baffles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 751
2.2.5. Adjustable diaphragm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 751
2.3. On-axis surge palliation of intrusive structures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 752
2.3.1. The runner cone extension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 752
2.3.2. Flow deflectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 753

* Corresponding author. School of Energy Science and Engineering, Harbin

Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150001, China.
** Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: caiwh@hit.edu.cn, caiwh@neepu.edu.cn (W.-H. Cai),
liuquanzhong@hit.edu.cn (Q. Liu).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2019.12.141
0960-1481/© 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
744 A. Muhirwa et al. / Renewable Energy 150 (2020) 743e764

3. Ancillary fluid injection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 753

3.1. Flow aeration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 754
3.2. Remedial flow watering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 757
4. Hybrid flow control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 761
5. Concluding remarks and future work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 761
Declaration of competing interest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 762
Acknowledgement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 762
Table of symbols and abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 762
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 763

1. Introduction system with excessive vibrations [18,19].

Dominant high-frequency instabilities in rotor-stator interspace
Renewable energy resources are progressively contributing to are unavoidable because they are developed by the design concept;
the global production of electrical energy. Large-scale hydropower i.e. flow interactions based on blades number. Therefore; few at-
plants are extensively used to satisfy increasing demand and to tempts, such as MGV [20] and runner splitters [21], have been tried
benefit from outreaching features of hydropower. These are sus- in order to counteract the BPF instability. On the other hand; low-
tainability, storage reliability, environment friendliness, flexibility frequency instabilities are developed by the flow itself, i.e. the
to be regulated and the high efficiency that may reach 95% in vortex structure precession; and they strongly depend on the
Francis turbines. That best efficiency point is only achievable during operating point. That dependence of the flow unsteadiness has
optimal operating conditions [1]. The BEP is the runner design point been the reason to increasing flow control attempts for a safe and
that produces the axial flow in the draft tube with the lowest hy- efficient operation over a wider range of operations.
draulic losses. However, hydraulic turbines are rarely operated Successful control techniques should focus on elimination of the
under such load conditions. Thus; the regulation flexibility allows core instability, i.e. the quasi-stagnant zone at the draft tube
the turbine operation to be adjusted with a changing load demand. centerline, as the origin of the vortex precession [22]. Various
That load inconsistence is mostly caused by seasonal dependence of optimal control approaches have been suggested in order to disrupt
water reserves, periodical consumers requirement, intermittent the formation of on-axis breakdown phenomenon, as shown in
grid pairing with highly dynamic resources of wind or photovoltaic Fig. 1(c). This has been learnt from the flow stabilization achieved
energy, etc … [2]. Therefore, off-design operations are common by increasing the guide vane opening from PLO to BEP conditions:
operating conditions in hydropower plants. the acceleration of the axial flow at the cone center reduces the
Such maladapted runner operations result in downstream swirl stagnant zone and weakens the spiral form of the vortex break-
instabilities and consequent hydraulic losses become dominant down [23].
under part-load operating conditions, as shown by Q = QBEP < 1 in Some palliative attempts have been proven as countermeasures
Fig. 1 (a). The draft tube swirl instability is caused by its misadjusted that can be retrofitted into the system; others are under study for
radial distributions of axial and tangential velocities, the size of further improvements. They can be categorized according to: (i)
resultant backflow zones and the rotation of the vortex rope [3,4]. their phases, whether structural or fluidic attempts; (ii) intrusive or
Elbow-type draft tubes are often used in large-scale hydropower nonintrusive attempts: ones projected inside the controlled flow to
plants to achieve the anti-cavitation submergence with a high interact with it or conditioning the flow without interference; (iii)
trajectory-based pressure recovery. However, depending on the Direct or indirect attempts: ones dealing with the instability at its
forwarded swirl strength, its geometrical design involves adverse origin or at its advanced level; and (iv) active or passive methods:
pressure gradients and the strong curvature of the mean flow. the presence or absence of activating energy, respectively.
Further flow detachments and recirculation zones makes the Based on the operation principle, three approaches are exten-
design and optimization of the draft tube a challenging task [5,6]. sively used [24]:
The precession of the corkscrew-shaped vortex rope causes
large pressure fluctuations of low-band frequency. The latter is (i) Geometric optimization that seeks for the best performance
translated into resonant power fluctuations; as shown in Fig. 1(b). improvement of the baseline component over a wider range
Detrimental mechanical effects are axial and radial forces, excessive of operations by changing parametric dimensions. Only the
vibrations, fatigue and failure of the system structure [7,8]. Typical draft tube and the runner are replaced to counteract the draft
real-world accidents have been exemplified by Pejovic, Gajic [9]; tube surge.
and efforts to minimize flow instabilities caused by that vortex (ii) Adding suitable structures that reasonably hold the flow
precession have been under exercise since the development of steady by weakening the swirl content. Those are different
high-scale hydropower stations. runner cone extensions, J-grooves, fins, damping gates, baf-
The draft tube compromise is not only the local core instability fles, adjustable diaphragms, flow deflectors and swirl gen-
and forwarded inlet perturbations [13]; but also its backward erators for separation control. They reduce the tangential
instability propagation may remotely destabilizes the entire hy- momentum, i.e. the swirl intensity ðSw Þ. This is the ratio of
draulic circuit. The multiphysics in vortex rope dynamics and its axial fluxes for the circumferential momentum and the axial
interactions with the elbow curvature causes an asymmetric flow momentum; as shown in Equation (1). The previous, as en-
imbalance with a reversed synchronous wave of pressure [14]. ergy residue of turbulence, has been subjected to upstream
Upstream components have revealed significant low-frequency active control of the runner speed on swirl generators by
disturbances of Rheingans precession range in the vaneless space means of a magneto-Rheological brake [25].
[15], guide/stay vanes [16] and the spiral casing [17]. Therefore; (iii) Inlet fluid admission that increases the central axial mo-
certain load conditions may display those traveling low-frequency mentum so as to weed out the incipient dead water zone. The
instabilities as a dominant mechanism of the whole hydraulic injection of air or water is mostly applied along the draft tube
 A. Muhirwa et al. / Renewable Energy 150 (2020) 743e764 745

(a)

(b)

(c)
Fig. 1. Head losses for individual components of a hydropower plant (a) [10], typical power spectra with low-frequency components from the draft tube flow (b) [11], and the
stability analysis on a planar distribution of axial velocity inside the Moody-type draft tube (c) [12].
746 A. Muhirwa et al. / Renewable Energy 150 (2020) 743e764
axis. However, other locations are used for the air injection,
such as the draft tube discharge ring, through structural in-
serts, runner cone tip and other runner parts [26]. The water
can be introduced along the draft tube axis by bypassing the
runner from the spiral casing or using the flow-feedback
scheme from the cone exit [27]. The most recent attempt is
a two-phase injection for advanced performance [28].
ðR
va vq r 2 dr
0 Fig. 2. Reversed flow patterns inside different diffuser geometries and increasing cone
Sw ¼ ðR
R v2a rdr
0
where va ; vq are the axial and tangential velocity ½ m =s; r is the
local radius at a particular spot ½m, R is the local section radius.
Each countermeasure has its own benefits and side effects. Most
repeated problems are: (i) the failure to alter the frequency of in-
stabilities with further resonance risks, (ii) inefficiency in connec-
tion with their flow intrusiveness that adds in secondhand
instabilities and structure vibrations, (iii) effective rate of fluid in-
jection, (iv) required activation energy and, (v) hydraulic losses.
Four decades ago; Thicke [29] has reviewed practical solutions for
instability problems in draft tubes. However, this was before the
introduction of the CFD analysis in flow control with its contribu-
tion of cost-effective investigation in depth of the flow rather than
the wall measurements of intrusive experiments. Being less time-
consuming, the number of attempts has increased. This review
article reshuffles most current remedial attempts by exploring the
strengths and weaknesses of each one. Attempts are discussed
according to their phases. The first part looks into structural efforts
of optimization and additional inserts. The second section reviews
the fluid admission, and the third one considers the combination of
different attempts. Recommendations for further work are finally
suggested after concluding remarks.
2. Palliative structural attempts
2.1. Geometric optimization
The draft tube function can be mentioned as driving out the flux
smoothly, improving the damping of dynamic energy behind the
runner and using the suction effect to recover the suction head.
These functions strongly depend on the geometric definition of the
draft tube [30]. The aim of the draft tube optimization is to track the
highest attainable improvement in terms of static pressure recov-
ery, flow stability and efficiency [31]. Geometric optimization is the
more documented and continuously investigated method of all
palliative approaches for instabilities reduction [32]. Design pa-
rameters such as shape, area ratio, length and inlet flow conditions
have been optimized in order to attain a good pressure recovery,
velocity reduction and flow uniformity [33].
As such; the draft tube shape is a crucial design parameter that
has a decisive role on its confined flow stability and the cavitation
surge [34]. The primary design purpose is to exclude the reversed
flow region so as to avoid many shear layers with attendant flow
unsteadiness. Fig. 2 illustrates typical performance trends for
different shape optimizations of a conic diffuser with regards to
backflow belt and separation patterns. The cone opening angle is a
critical parameter in the wall-bounded and on-axis flow control.
The latter is also affected by the downstream shape. The ideal range
of the cone angle is 5-90 [35]. For elbow-type draft tubes, usually
used for large-scale power plants; wider cone straddling that may
span to 150 are useful for improved pressure recovery [36].
The draft tube design is difficult due to many factors; namely,
(1)
angle [37,38].
the viscous turbulent effects such as vortices and separations, an
almost 90 curvature and a changing cross-sectional shape. These
require several design parameters to solve the tradeoff between
hydraulic efficiency and construction cost. Modern draft tubes have
a diverging volume along the conic diffuser (leg) and the straight
diffuser (foot); the elbow cross section is often kept invariable in
order to avoid high losses due to the friction [39]. The sharp-heel
draft tubes, even up to 74 elbow design, have been tested [40].
For structural reasons, one or more piers splits out the flow behind
the elbow [41].
Some designs without splitting piers include the transition zone
after the elbow end as a waveless area transfer which contributes
the stabilization of the flow [42]. For turbines equipped with
shallow draft tubes, the radius of curvature is often shortened. This
results in prolonged vortex rope that revolves in the wall vicinity,
which may result in increased local pressure amplitudes [43].
Separation zones developed by the vortex rope in the horizontal
diffuser can be minimized by reducing its area ratio or, whether
advantageous, eliminate the foot and elbow components by
coupling the runner with a conical type draft tube [36]. However,
that diffuser type has a poor pressure recovery with high cavitation
risk and therefore, inappropriate for high-scale power generation.
The critical zone with high flow fluctuations is at the inner side of
elbow [10]. Fig. 3 illustrates typical designs for the streamwise in-
crease of the area (factors of inlet area) for a standard and sharp-
heel draft tube.
As shown in Fig. 3, draft tube area curves exhibit an initial
diffusion extending up to the cone exit. There is not specific
expression applicable in determining the cone height. However,
Wei, Choi [46] has suggested the height range for a better perfor-
mance, as to Equation (2).
Ld  6ðDoutlet  Dc Þ (2)
where Ld the cone length; Doutlet and Dc are the bottommost and
uppermost draft cone diameter, respectively. The cone part is fol-
lowed by a short region having a constant or decreasing area up to
the elbow exit where the horizontal diffusion starts. That area
variation seeks at reducing higher depressurization at the inner wall
Fig. 3. Draft tube shapes used in optimization: a constant elbow [44] and a sharp-heel
draft tube of turbine [45].
 A. Muhirwa et al. / Renewable Energy 150 (2020) 743e764
and higher collision pressures at outer elbow wall. That substantial
water hammer due to the interrupted diffusion continuity accounts
for backwardly spread instability over the entire system. Therefore,
strict optimization for that section is vital for the global stability.
Fig. 4 illustrates typical parameterizations of the elbow contours
for a baseline draft tube of GAMM Francis turbine. It is done by
modifying the generatrix of elbow geometry. Three criteria used for
elbow curves are circle arc, logarithmic spiral and hyperbolic spiral
formats. That geometric complexity results in high pressure vari-
ations along the elbow curvature and a non-uniform velocity dis-
tribution caused by the swirling flow concentration of the bulk flow
to one side. Fig. 5 depicts the influence of the elbow design on the
velocity field. Using the combination of curves; the draft tube in
hyperbolic-logarithmic spiral format displays the best efficiency
whereas the one in logarithmic spiral format shows the lowest loss
coefficient.
The serious problems of elbow flow are secondary flows. Werle
Legendre separation may give rise to sudden pressure drop and
hydrodynamic flow imbalances inside downstream channels. That
accidental efficiency break-off appears when the discharge sur-
passes BEP, and it springs from runner upgrading without consid-
ering its downstream impact on the old draft tube flow [44]. The
elbow may also suffer a slow and chaotic transport of reversed flow
domain. The latter coexists side-by-side with a fast forward stream
along the elbow segment and an unstable complex shear layer
between them [48]. Shear layers and oscillations of Dean vortices
developed by the centrifugal force of the elbow flow have an
DT-LOG
DT ARC-HIP
Fig. 4. Parameterization for the different elbow-based draft tube designs [47].
747
influence on the flow asymmetry and can be reflected in upstream
pressure fields [16,49]. Therefore, this confirms the elbow as the
origin of the backward wave propagation for the synchronous
pressure component [14].
The achievable energy recovery of the draft tube strongly de-
pends on both the design and the magnitude of the velocity
configuration forwarded by the runner. Inappropriately shaped
discharge edge for hydraulic profiles corresponds to pressure ex-
citations that may bring about hydro-elastic vibration [50]. The
draft tube intake conditions can be correlated with the vortex
structure under part-load operations. Thus; not only the draft tube
design, but also the turbine runner has a direct effect on the
enhancement of draft tube efficiency.
To that end, well-optimized inlet velocity distribution contrib-
utes the flow uniformity by attenuating unwanted flow structures.
The latter are secondary flows, overbearing swirl intensity, the
- backflow and its recirculation zone as an adverse promoter for the
pressure gradient that worsens the pressure recovery [51]. The
analytical method of three different vortex systems has been used
to parameterize the velocity profile [52]. However, it could not
capture the stalled zone at low discharge regimes. The fictitious
swirl-free velocity profile that embeds the kinematics of runner
outlet flow could reveal the central stagnation zone during off-
loads [53,54]. The best match between the runner and the draft
tube can be done through two coupling approaches [54]: (i)
developing and comparing several runner geometries in terms of
the overall efficient; (ii) the optimization of the swirling flow at the
DT HIP-HIP
DT LOG-HIP
748 A. Muhirwa et al. / Renewable Energy 150 (2020) 743e764
Fig. 5. Area diffusion curves for the four draft tubes and their corresponding streamlines and velocity contours [47].
intake of the draft tube for certain predetermined operating con-
ditions [55,56] or for multiple regimes [5], in order to proceed by
the blade design with a downstream agreement of the flow.
Therefore; the rehabilitation should consider the robustness and
adaptive flexibility of refurbished solutions, so as to fulfill the po-
wer requirement and look out for interactional constrains.
The optimum achievement of the draft tube shape is case sen-
sitive. Fig. 6 illustrates typical optimization details of which, 10
geometric parameters are free (h1 ; h3 ; h4 ; d4 ; L1 ; L2 ; r1 ; r2 and
w). These may be set as variables of the objective function of one
performance indicator. The cone opening angle ðaÞ controls sec-
ondary flow such as wall separation or central backflow, h1 ad-
dresses the compromise of flow uniformity against hydraulic loss
caused by r1 and r2 . However, that loss can be lowered by h3 that,
in combination with L; L2 ; L3 ; h4 ; q, and h5 ; govern elbow-induced
secondary flows. Dimension d3 is fixedly dependent on the runner
geometry [57]. There is no guaranty to reach the optimal flow
distribution along the draft tube intake over the challenging wider
operation range [51,56]. Even for metamodel optimization, the
optimum achievement depends on the problem structure and the
design complexity [58].
Modern approach for runner optimization is choosing various
runner modifications parameterized with 20e30 values, and then
let the evolutionary algorithm find an optimal design. A suitable
coupling with an existing draft tube is through controlling the
velocity configuration beneath the runner or carrying out CFD
Fig. 6. Typical optimization variables of the elbow draft tube [57].
GAMM
ARC-HIP
HIP-HIP
LOG
simulation for both modified runner and old draft tube. The prob-
lem of designing or refurbishing hydraulic turbine is the tandem
optimization of the runner and the draft tube for a wider operation
range. The runner should be the best match for the given draft tube.
Runner outlet flow should be optimized first, before proceeding to
designing and simulating runner blades. The pressure distribution
analysis along the runner blade suction implies controlling the
cavitation performance [5,54].
2.2. Wall-mounted structures
2.2.1. Non-intrusive control of J-groove
They are simple structure mounted at the inner surface of draft
tube cone. The J-groove is the popular attempt of non-intrusive
physical component that has been introduced in draft tube of hy-
draulic turbines two decades ago [59]. It is a guide mounted in the
tapered cone in order to control the flow rotation, as an effort to
suppress the draft tube surge by straightening the flow downwards.
The central recirculation zone becomes narrow, which make the
vortex breakdown more bearable [46]. J-grooves are mounted in
the direction of pressure rise; i.e. under a parallel disposition with
the pressure gradient. This prevents the anomalous increase of the
swirl intensity that may be overwhelming in the outlying zone and
directly cause structure vibrations [46,60].
The flow admitted in J-grooves loses some of its angular mo-
mentum and gains more radial momentum. When re-admitted in
the bulk flow; that J-groove flow reduces the circumferential en-
ergy of the bulk flow as it flows down. The effect of weakening the
tangential component is supplemented by a reverse flow inside the
groove passage, which results in augmentation of axial velocity of
the main flow [59]. The axial velocity tends to increase towards the
axis, with a small increase in the wall vicinity [35]. Thus, reversed
flow inside J-grooves has a remote influence to prevent the on-axis
back flow.
One of J-groove strengths is that it can efficiently suppress the
cavitation PVR and pressure pulsations in the turbine without
affecting the turbine performance. The cavitation PVR has high
magnitude below the runner cone. Wall-mounted J-grooves reduce
that magnitude and the vortex rope is broken down into small
 A. Muhirwa et al. / Renewable Energy 150 (2020) 743e764
vapor bubbles. Therefore, the cavitation vortex rope must disap-
pear at farther locations from the runner. Fig. 7 (LHS) compares the
shortening effect of J-groove on the cavitation vortex rope under
cavitation number of 0.1 [61].
The length of the vortex rope and associated amplitudes are
attenuated. The amplitudes in the frequency band close to the
runner rotation get suppressed. However, the effect of J-groove
installation does not shift the main vortex rope frequency [62]. By
eliminating the tangential velocity, J-grooves correct the flow angle
which stabilizes the draft tube flow.
As formulated in Equations 3e5, measures to evaluate J-groove
effectiveness may be (i) flow uniformity (su Þ for local velocity
flucturation (standard deviation), (ii) the normalized flow angle
ðqu ) for studying its distribution along the draft tube and (iii) the
tangential velocity coefficient ðfu Þ to learn forwarded runner
rotation. The flow uniformity becomes higher with the use of J-
groove. The pressure pulsation amplitude is dampened, but the
frequency remains unchanged, which explains the insensitivity of J-
grooves on the frequency of DTPP. The highly oscillating vapor
volume with its large pressure pulsations get weakened by J-groove
[61]. When mounting J-grooves on the cone wall; the vorticity
becomes confined towards the centerline which shrinks the dead
water zone and the developed vortex rope ends up straightened
with lesser twists. This evolves from a reduced core instability and
the drop in turbulence kinetic energy [60]. The prediction of cavi-
tation occurrence can be done using the Cavitation number
(Equation (6)).
vffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
uð
0 u
u ðv  vÞ2 dA , 1
t and at the BEP with 18 J-grooves uniformly distributed along the
@
su ¼ 1  vA  100%
A circumference. Four J-groove designs are designated by groove
ð
 0.464*0.536*4 and 0.464*0.536*2. The mitigation of swirl intensity
 vq dA A
qu ¼ 90  arct ð

va dA A
Fig. 7. Experiment vs. CFD analysis of cavitation vortex rope: (a) without J-Groove; (b) with J-Groove; and the pressure pulsation spectra at four locations of the cone wall [61].
749
ð
vq dA
1
fu ¼  pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi (5)
A 2gH
ptest  psat
scav ¼ 1 2V 2
= (6)
where A is the local area; v; v; V are absolute local velocity, area-
averaged velocity and upstream velocity; va and vq are averaged
components of axial and tangential velocities, ptest ; psat are abso-
lute pressure and saturation pressure, respectively.
J-groove performance depends on J-groove dimensions.
Compared to a deep narrow groove, a “Shallow J-groove” with
larger width has shown a good performance in reducing the swirl
intensity of the main flow [63]. Since there is no standardization
about common achievement within a wider range of flow rates, the
dimensions of J-grooves are usually obtained by a trial-and-error
optimization [64,65]. Table 1 provides typical dimensions. The
number and depth of J-grooves have insignificant influence on the
turbine performance. Increasing groove number at the same depth
shows no influence on the turbine efficiency. However, the increase
of depth causes efficiency reduction with appearance of the flow
recirculation in the conic zone and backflow downward without
controlling the vortex flow [60].
A compromise in the flow stabilization of J-grooves is the pro-
gressively increasing loss when the performance is getting
improved. Fig. 10 shows the swirl intensity at deep PLO (0.493BEP)
(3)
length*location normalized by the runner outlet diameter
(112 mm)*groove depth; i.e. case 1e4: 0.643*1.089*4; 0.33*1.089*4;
is obvious; more importantly for case 1 and 2 at deep PLO. The
(4) relatively low intensity of BEP operation is highly dampened by
case 2. Considering the minimum swirl number, as measure that
quantifies the best J-Groove design; the achievement is associated
to suffered loss in Fig. 8 (RHS). The better the performance achieved
750 A. Muhirwa et al. / Renewable Energy 150 (2020) 743e764

Table 1
Typical investigated J-groove dimensions.

Referral authors Length [mm] Width [mm] Depth [mm] J-Grooves number

Anup et al. [60] 5, 10 13,16

Nguyen et al. [34] 280 44; 45, 46 14 12
140 46 14 12
210 23 14 12
280 46 5 12
Wei et al. [35] 280 23; 46, 69 14 12
280 46 5 12
210 46 14 12
140 46 14 12
Wei, Choi [46] 280 45.8 14
Kurokawa [63] 116 19 2 20
156 19, 29-39 4 20
Junichi Kurokawa [59] 30 11.3, 26.9 4 2

by J-Groove geometry on the swirl suppression, the larger the draft
tube loss.
Benefits of J-groove attempts are as follows: (a) they are non-
intrusiveness since the flow medium is not invaded, no second-
hand instabilities of their own thus; (b) no efficiency deterioration
by application of different groove shapes; (c) industrial-level
methods like the active air injection and passive technique of fins
have to be adjusted as per the OP and their reliability is bound to
decrease finally. This is opposite for the flow straightener of J-
groove with the purpose to break the vortex; (d) the swirl com-
ponents of tangential and axial velocities can be dampened and; (e)
high cavitation performance can be obtained. By setting vortex-
control grooves on the runner cone in opposite direction to the
runner rotation; the reverse swirl is generated; which opposes the
main vortex flow and slightly increases turbine efficiency. The
pressure pulsations due to PVR rotation and cavitation volume can
be alleviated till 35% and 80%, respectively. This is possible thanks
to a decreased PVR eccentricity and increased core pressure [66].
2.2.2. Vortex generators
These are small blades/vanes or wings made up of small trian-
gular or rectangular fins, planted at the surface in arrays and often
in pairs, and tilted with an angle to the incoming efflux. Other
designs consist in angular or V-shape types and their height should
be slightly higher than the boundary layer thickness. They keep the
flow attached to the wall by mixing wake momentums, delay

Fig. 8. Swirl intensity distribution and associated loss in draft tube with J-Groove at deep PLO (a) and best efficiency point (b) [62].
 A. Muhirwa et al. / Renewable Energy 150 (2020) 743e764
separation and break down the vortex core with More consistent
velocity fluctuations despite the effect of local drag [67,68].
Therefore, Vortex generators play the role of boundary layer ma-
nipulators. The momentum thickness ðd Þ is defined as the mo-
mentum loss in the boundary layer with respect to a uniform flow
and it has an important role in the pressure recovery. Its rate with
the diameter ð d =DÞ may cause efficiency losses of 20% within a
range of 0.5e3%. Therefore, treating the boundary layer is one of
crucial options for optimized pressure recovery [69].
The passive method of vortex generators has been numerically
modeled, and tested for aerodynamic applications [70]. However,
the adaptation in hydrodynamic systems needs more emphasis and
experiments on full-scale turbine models [71]. A CFD-driven
tentative of H. C. Pan [72], have confirmed the increased turbine
performance in terms of pressure recovery and efficiency by
mounting several vortex generators closer to the inlet of a hydro-
turbine draft tube. 15 kinds of passive vortex generators at the
section corresponding to the vortex onset could increase the effi-
ciency and the static pressure recovery coefficient (4.37%) [31].
Solid vortex generators may enhance machine stability and the
turbine efficiency, as well. This is possible by tracking the highest
optimization of vortex generator parameters such as the location,
sandwiching interspace and the vane inclination angle [71]. There
are some similarities between passive vortex generators, some-
times referred to as vortex generator fins, with usual stabilizer fins
used for swirl intensity alleviation. The main differences are the
size, the shape and the projection level inside the flow. higher
projections may create adverse vortices to affect the whole flow
domain rather than the intended boundary layer [31].
2.2.3. Stabilizer fins
Stabilizer fins are structures mounted on the draft tube wall in a
parallel disposition to the machine axis. They are rarely planted on
the runner cone; as well. Their function is to make the pressure
pulsation amplitudes more bearable by decreasing the high swirl
intensity in the outlying zone of the draft tube. Hence, they are
likely to show no improvement during high load operations where
the axis-symmetric vortex rope is concentrated in the center. When
fitted with the elbow inner wall, they may improve the local flow
uniformity [73]. The compromise of fin location is that when
planted near the runner, they cause excessive loss; whereas they
may be ineffective in downstream locations [74].
Fins are old countermeasures; the earliest review dates five
decades ago before the CFD introduction [75]. Further numerical
analysis evolution did not boost their analysis maybe due to their
harsh losses. Important parameters leading to effectiveness of fins
are orientation, number, shape, size, and location [29]. Weaknesses
of thins are inefficiency, operational noisiness and the cavitation
erosion that restricts their limited use to large turbine units. They
may be efficient within a certain operation range, but surpassing
that range, they cause large flow instabilities to become even un-
desirable [76]. The efficiency maximization of stabilizer fins
through their geometry and location is a matter of trial-and-error
and the frequency does not necessarily change [77]. A good point
is that the draft tube fins can reduce the synchronous pressure
pulsations with insignificant influence on the asynchronous
component. However, the precession frequency may increasing
slightly, typically by 10e15% [43]. Due to their effect in reducing the
volume of the vortex rope, fins are a recommended method to
eliminate cavitation-related draft tube resonance as well as power
swings [74]. Nevertheless, laying fins on the wall can initiate harsh
resonance as a result of rear cavities growth at operations of low
cavitation number [78]. Thus, the operational range and shape are
of high consideration.
An experimental investigation carried out by Nishi, Wang [76]
751
about reshaping fins for cavitation mitigation, pressure recovery
and swirl reduction at different swirl rates; the trapezoidal cross
section has showed good results. It has been found that: (a) the
cone inlet periphery is the best position that helps in extending the
operational load range, (b) increasing height of fins may result in
the growth of asynchronous frequency and (c) the effectiveness of
fins to weaken the swirl is likely to avoid pressure fluctuations of
natural frequency of the system. The latter is manifested by draft
tube vibrations, flow cavitation and fluctuating pressure recovery
behind the elbow [75].
When fins cover a long distance into the controlled flow deeply
enough to eventually enter into contact; they are referred to as
splitters. Splitter plates are supposed to lower the swirl intensity or
breaking the coherence in the vortex rope structure [75]. As their
firm disposition cannot be adjusted to the direction of flow in-
stabilities under changing flow rates; the effective flow rates for
splitters are strictly limited however excellent may be their design
[78].
2.2.4. Baffles
Baffles are new devices mounted axially on the wall in order to
alleviate DTPP by hindering strong swirling flows. They reduce the
inlet tangential velocity of the draft tube flow and thereby, prevent
the formation of the vortex rope in the draft tube. As shown in
Fig. 9(LHS); the wall boundary layer is improved by damping the
tangential velocity in the baffle-intervention zone (around 0.7e1R/
Rw). Away from that zone; the circumferential velocity is increased,
which intensifies the viscous dissipation that prevents the forma-
tion of the vortex rope. Therefore; the wake of the runner crown
cone with its further stagnation zone shrinks. The decrease in ve-
locity gradients reduces its effect of rolling-up shear layers and the
diameter of the helical vortex rope [79].
Static pressure fields reveal that the vortex rope pattern un-
dergoes a downstream transformation in terms of strength and
diameter, which is followed by the amplitude reduction of pressure
oscillations. With increasing protrusion, there is a gradual decrease
of the vortex rope size and the associated noise keeps waning. The
vortex structure increasingly wobbles inside the cylinder with a
dominating asymmetry till a critical state of 1cm insertion. At the
optimum scenario of 1.5cm insertion, the vortex rope vanishes with
lowest pulsation amplitudes, and that amplitude mitigation is
associated with the optimal number of baffles, as shown in
Fig. 9(RHS).
2.2.5. Adjustable diaphragm
To solve the problem of flow intrusion of wall-mounted at-
tempts with their efficiency loss dependence on operating condi-
tions; an new approach has been suggested by Tanasa, Susan-
Resiga [80]. It is a passive approach to introduce a flow throttling
diaphragm across the cone exit. The flow cross section is, thus,
adjusted by means of a flexible control of shutter-opening circular
diaphragms. The induced axisymmetric flow causes the helical
vortex structure to be straightened to a bubble shape with reduc-
tion of its eccentricity. That retreat of the stalled zone with efficient
mitigation of the precessing helical vortex can be seen through
velocity profiles. The slight increase of on-axis flow minimizes the
swirl content. Therefore, the precession of the helical vortex and
attendant pressure pulsations are controlled. The compromise of
this method is between the pressure pulsation mitigation and the
associated hydraulic losses that keep varying at different cone
sections with a changing diaphragm opening.
There must a recommended range of shutter area ratio to
maintain a good balance. Experimental validations on low-head
turbines have revealed the increase in overall turbine efficiency
and pressure recovery improvement under runaway operations
752 A. Muhirwa et al. / Renewable Energy 150 (2020) 743e764
Fig. 9. Radial distribution of tangential velocity at the two cone sections and influence of baffles number on the frequency spectra: 0, 2, 3, 4 baffles, (a to d: right) [79].
Fig. 10. Streamwise equidistant measurements: different diaphragm openings at the cone exit (LHS) and comparison with the flow watering attempt (RHS) [83].
[81]. By delaying the separation flow; the diaphragm progressively
increases the downstream wall pressure recovery, where the
lowest opening displays good results (Fig. 10 LHS). More recent
proof of a concept has carried out a comparative study with an on-
axis 10% water jet suggested by Bosioc, Susan-Resiga [82]. The
diaphragm at the shutter area ratio of 50% lowers amplitudes more
than the water jet, as shown in Fig. 10(RHS). Beyond that opening,
the synchronous component becomes slightly dominant (10e50%)
with the growth of a bubble type structure. The decrease (80e90%)
in rotating component explains a progressive fading of the helical
structure [83].
If this approach becomes validated for practical use; an auto-
matic user-friendly mechanism that can be retrofitted on old draft
tubes should be used to synchronize the diaphragm feed with the
GVO for a wider operation range.
2.3. On-axis surge palliation of intrusive structures
The approach of central inserts is an inspiration from the old
moody cone of bell-mouthed shape. It was used to streamline the
flow past central zones of back flow. Thus; the hollow cylindrical
tube between the runner cone and elbow, with radial struts fixing
the structure to the wall, is an old approach. Concentric cylinders
are no longer popular because of their caused efficiency loss and
structure vibrations. The same problem applies for shaft extensions
that may display promising results for some operating points, and
turn significantly inefficient at other operational points. The on-
axis structural palliation may overcome the weak performance of
wall-fitted attempts during high-load operations. However, PVR
radial forces are a big problem for the structure supports [43].
2.3.1. The runner cone extension
The runner cone extension is one of old inserts of the draft tube
[29]. This method does not reduce efficiency significantly, as in the
case of fins. In addition to reduced lateral forces, there is another
disadvantage of pressure recovery reduction; as some of the
important recovery space behind the runner is occupied. Moreover,
it is not possible to adjust the protrusion for different operating
conditions [78]. The shape, length and diameter against the
reduction of DTPP are main optimization aim. The obstruction of
the backflow formation by the runner cone extension can be a
solution to cancel out the massive shear layers and get a more
uniform flow with a good pulsation damping during PLOs, but this
may be ineffective during HLOs. An example is the attempt of initial
cone with cylindrical extension [43]. There is a negligible effect of
runner cone modifications on amplitude and frequency during the
full load oscillations that are mostly decided by the blade shape
[84].
Spiral grooved runner cones can increase the axial velocity
beneath the runner cone and reduce the tangential velocity in the
diffuser [85]. The combination of runner cone extrusion with pe-
ripheral grooves has been compared with non-grooved extruded
runner cone and a round-top runner cone of a bullet-like shape
[86]. The latter has been found to be the most effective in terms of
dampened peak-to-peak pressure pulsations and improved cavi-
tation performance. A little effect of runner cone design on the BPF
can be observed and the cavitation performance may be good or
worse at different GVOs. For all the three modifications; the dis-
tribution pattern of the vortex rope changes from single mode to
two interlacing structure, and the dominant frequency is lowered.
The low-pressure zone is narrowed, but the PVR becomes longer
 A. Muhirwa et al. / Renewable Energy 150 (2020) 743e764
with increased pressure differences. This may result in increased
peak-to-peak amplitudes of downstream pressure fluctuations.
As shown in Fig. 11; the ineffective GVO of 170 displays the
opposite purpose of J-grooves for all runner extension attempts,
except for the round top design. The cavitation performance
slightly increases with the GVO. Runner cone modifications have
little effect on turbine performance and can be simply imple-
mented on existing runners on site. The achievement of semi-
tapered extensions of runner cone depends on its length and
diameter. The optimum diameter is supposed to cover the backflow
area that varies between 2 and 8% of the draft tube diameter [87].
Based on the runner cone extension done by Vevke [87], and
after noticing the caused mechanical failure of the bolt; a freely
rotating runner cone extension (Fruce) driven by the free vortex has
been suggested to avoid high amplitude DTPPs along the draft tube
center. The purpose was to reduce the tangential velocity and
pressure pulsation amplitudes by removing the forced vortex in the
center. At PLO, the extension length clearly has influence on the
rotational speed of the Fruce. The Fruce has reached the runner
speed at 0.73QBEP, but it could not go beyond the runner speed. The
Fruce did not achieve the dampening as it was hoped for. The
reason behind has been thought to be the used small diameter [88].
2.3.2. Flow deflectors
Flow deflectors are structures added in the conic section of the
draft tube in order to break the continuity of flow instabilities. By
destroying the coherence in the vortex procession, they act as
vertical splitter plates interconnected within, and with the draft
tube wall by means of supports. Flow deflectors remarkably reduce
the flow eccentricity. This explains the streamwise reduction of
initial circumferential velocity. Breaking the vortex rope into pieces
affects its precession energy, which results into increased zones of
low pressure in the elbow. By adding flow deflectors; the problem
of resonance with further power fluctuations is prevented, as well.
This is due to achieved dampening in amplitudes and the corre-
sponding upward shift in frequency of peak-to-peak pressure pul-
sations, as shown in Fig. 12. Therefore, most applications of this
approach are in tandem with other attempts to improve their
performance shortage in avoiding high power swings.
Further studies should evaluate the negative side of their flow
intrusion on the turbine performance. Even though, they are thin
Fig. 11. Distributions of pressure at GVO of 170 with four runner cones: (a) original one,
(b) with a cylindrical extension (c) grooved extension and (d) the round-top type with
a streamlined pyramid [86].
753
plates set axially in the draft tube, the swirl may involve radial
forces. Moreover, their supporting structures cover the whole
diameter; which may involve severe structure vibrations.
Table 2 summarizes structural attempts and Fig. 13 shows their
normalized locations with respect to the cone inlet diameter (D) of
a typical reduced scale model of the Francis turbine. So measuring
points are usually marked, as illustrated by Fig. 14 (RHS). The cone
angle is 5.40, the length-to-inlet diameter ratio is 1.7 and the cone
area ratio is 1.3. For baffles, the real clearance between the inlet and
their position is 2.5m and their angular interspaces for 3 settings
are as shown in Fig. 13.
Three decades ago marked a rapid increase of CFD applications
to hydropower. Likewise; palliative attempts increased due to the
cost and performance of investigation in the wall near/far field [90].
Table 2 provides more recent applications. The commercial code of
3D-Navier stokes CFD-solver ANSYS CFX seems common for nu-
merical evaluation of attempts. No blade row simulation is recor-
ded; but full turbine or draft tube simulations (initialized with
runner outputs) have been used for attempts assessment on real
turbine model or swirl generators [64,83].
Some works may carry out a selective study to choose a good
turbulence model that fairly fits the experiment readings. Turbu-
lence models; such as SST k-u, k-ε, realizable, RSM, SAS-SST and
RNG k-ε; have been compared [28,60]. RANS equations with the
transition SST and RNG seem often used. SST two-equations allow
good predictions over a wider field. RNG is responsive to streamline
curvature and higher strain rates with better handling of transi-
tional flows at different turbulent length scales. RNG enhances the
swirling flows accuracy, as its modeling includes the swirl effect.
Moreover, they both display a low cost in terms of computational
resources and simulation time with reasonable predictions of un-
steady flow behaviors [60,86]. The shallow depth of J-Groove re-
quires high-accuracy boundary layer, which makes the two-
equation SST model a good choice. VLES may outperform the SST
model [91]. For palliation studies involving cavitation modeling,
ZGB model derived from a simplified RayleighePlesset equation
has been used [61]. A new multiphase simulation method that
accurately capture interface between water and vapor has been
coupled with the modified PANS model. The latter is an improve-
ment of original PANS that can abridge RANS and DNS [66].
3. Ancillary fluid injection
The ancillary injection of one phase or two-phase fluid, at spe-
cific admission conditions, has been used as attempt to counteract
instabilities of the flow and consequent power generation fluctu-
ations. In hydraulic turbine draft tubes; air and/or water are used at
common inlet spots. The latter are the peripheral and the on-axis
inlet; monitoring point are usually set downstream at a distance
that is usually normalized by the runner exit diameter; as shown in
Fig. 14.
Central fluid injections are more frequently investigated due to
their effectiveness. The central water injection of 6% flow rate can
dampen PLO pressure pulsations till 75%, whereas peripheral in-
jections do not reach expectations. However, the power loss may
adapt to the achieved attenuation in pressure fluctuations, but the
reduced production is not that prohibitive for the palliation appli-
cation [92]. Few applications inject the fluid through the trailing
edge of wicket gates [93,94], at the cone wall with a tangential
injection of water jet [95], at the discharge ring [28] or continuous
circumferential slots on the runner crown [96]. Depending on the
amount of air; the asynchronous pressure component is reduced
and, only small residues of synchronous wave persist [97]. The
similar suppression of surge components applies to water injection
[82,98].
754 A. Muhirwa et al. / Renewable Energy 150 (2020) 743e764
Fig. 12. Time and frequency domains of pressure fluctuations near the cone intake [89].
Table 2
Recapitulation of most recent structural attempts.
Attempts Refs and tentative time
Chen et al.[64]-2019
Chen et al.[61] 2018
Chen et al.[62] 2017
Anup et al.[60] 2016
Wei et al. [35] 2013
J-groove
Fins Nishi et al.[76] 1996
Nishi et al. [77]-2002
Baffles Zhou et al.[79] 2019
Tanasa et al. [83]-2019
Tanasa et al. [81]-2016
Tanasa et al. [80]-2015
Adjustable Diaphragm
Yu et al. [66] 2019
Gogstad et al. [88]-2016
Qian et al. [86]-2012
Runner cone modification
3.1. Flow aeration
The air generated intrinsically, such as vortex-induced air, is
generally considered negative for the operation, safety, discharge
CFD approach Advantages Disadvantages
SST-SAS Non-intrusive: fairly intact Frequency components closer to
RNG k-ε; ZGB performance; cavitation runner frequency may be
SST suppression. Swirl mitigation by suppressed; but no shift of PVR
RNG k-ε outlying tangential flow and axial frequency to detune resonance.
RNG/SST k-ε component. Stabilizing flow angle, J-groove dimensions and number
flow uniformity: balanced governs the performance. Increased
tangential velocity with corrected energy losses by swirl mitigation.
eccentricity. Remote prevention,
shrinkage or stream-lining of on-
axis backflow. PVR is suppressed,
straightened or shortened.
Good flow uniformity. Weakened
pressure pulsations behind the
runner.
e Reduced synchronous wave of Very inefficient in their off-design
e pressure pulsations operation range, rear cavitation
Under their operation range: the erosion. Noisiness, vibration, slight
cavitation volume is reduced, increase of PVR frequency.
resonance and power swings are
prevented. Local flow uniformity
when featured with the elbow wall.
RNG k-ε Boundary layer improved; The PVR frequency is not altered;
prevention of the vortex rope no resonance counteraction.
formation or reduction of its
diameter and noise. Increased
turbine efficiency. Pressure
amplitude reduction.
e Controlled intrusion. Mitigated Compromise between DTPP
RSM in Fluent code severe deceleration and stagnant mitigation and hydraulic loss.
SAS in Fluent code zone. PVR is straightened (or a Frequency unchanged.
bubble-type vortex) by eccentricity Synchronous wave slightly
reduction. The swirl strength is amplified.
minimized. Reduced asynchronous
amplitudes. Improved efficiency
Modified PANS Good flow uniformity; alleviated Reduction of pressure recovery;
e PVR eccentricity and evolution. impossibility to readjust the
SST Pressure pulsations due to PVR extension as to the OP; the
rotation and cavitation induction performance on pressure oscillation
are dampened with a little and cavitation changes with the
efficiency rise. Massive shear layer GVO; peak-to-peak amplitude may
are omitted by covering the increase.
backflow zone. Little effect on BPF
oscillations in addition to the
reduction of PVR oscillations; the
dominant frequency may be
decreased
reduction, vibrations and efficiency of hydroelectric power plants
[99]. More specifically, it happens in turbines when the submer-
gence of free air-core falls below a certain critical level [100].
However, the extrinsic introduction of non-condensable air can
 A. Muhirwa et al. / Renewable Energy 150 (2020) 743e764 755

Spiral Illustrative
Stay vanes cylindrical
Guide vanes extension
Runner
[88]
[46] 0.4D
[62] 0.53D
0.62D
[46] 0.6D
362.1
[46] 0.8D 0.86D [79]
1800
603.3 1200
Draft tube [61-62] 1.089D 1.2D 900
0.1
Ø=476.1 D
70%
60%
50%
30%
[81-83]

Fig. 13. Illustrative turbine model and normalized locations of structural attempts along the draft tube cone.

Fig. 14. Locations of air and water injection and the computational domain views with typical probe location [28,92].

counteract the draft tube pressure surge, when injected with
suitable fraction rate. That air may protect the downstream aquatic
habitat as well, where sites of low-level dissolved oxygen can occur
in the reservoir before the turbine intake. Considering dynamic
behaviors; the air injection into water at the draft tube inlet pre-
sents no adverse influence over the unit operation [101]. By
including a throttling system of heavy-duty spring-free valves and
by conducting extensive performance assessments; blowing the
flow is an old approach that has grown mature in industrial ap-
plications [102]. Recent efforts only try to better the performance
with reduced efficiency loss or combining the aeration with other
approaches.
Pivotal factors for effective aeration with acceptable loss are: (i)
the location for air admission and (ii) the fraction of influx air rate
with respect to the water flow rate [78].The air supply below the
runner through the crown cone tip or the shaft hole is the first
common solution to attenuate draft tube surging problems. The
spiral shape of vortex breakdown switches to bubbles and the flow
becomes axially projected. Other local injection spots are draft tube
wall, the runner cone with baffles, runner cone with a step and
peripheral aeration at the discharge ring [103]. However, inefficient
hollow inserts (crossing tube, tripod, and a snorkel fitted with the
runner cone etc.) can be mounted inside the draft tube flow with
injection through-holes. The latter aerate targeted locations in case
the inserts can be rigidly planted to prevent galloping [43,75].
Well-adapted air flow rates can cushion pressure fluctuations by
increasing the vortex core pressure and weakening the axial pres-
sure gradient. The mechanism of flow stabilization consists in
changing the vortex rope shape in connection with the amount of
injected air, i.e. small amount of air keeps the corkscrew shape of
the vortex rope, and high aeration rates forge its cylindrical shape
[26]. Sufficient air supply eliminate the vortex rope; otherwise, the
resonance may take place since the natural frequency of the system
decreases with increasing cavity volume [36]. Even though the
756 A. Muhirwa et al. / Renewable Energy 150 (2020) 743e764
Fig. 15. Frequency domain for cavitating and non-cavitating flow (a) and aeration effect on cavitating flow (b): cavitation surge (s ¼ 3.3, LHS) and vortex rope behavior, (s ¼ 4.8,
RHS) [105,106].
aeration may not reduce the precession frequency; amplitudes
becomes alleviated, along with pulsations in the scroll case and the
guide vanes. However; the BPF instability gets amplified in front of
the runner, as a new rotor-stator interaction. This becomes a
compromise when choosing suitable air discharge [104].
The aeration eliminates the vortex rope behavior and the cavi-
tation surge, but the loss is increased and the turbine efficiency is
decreased by several percentages [105]. The adverse pressure
gradient along the axial direction causes the main cavitation fre-
quency (Type II), as illustrated in Fig. 15(a). Type I surge is caused by
the decreased rotation when cavitation appears: the cavitation
chokes the main flow; which reduces the effective area. This hin-
ders the vortex breakdown and PVR behavior with further increase
of axial flow and decreased swirl intensity [66,105,106]. As illus-
trated in Fig. 15(b); at low cavitation number; natural or forced low-
air rates suppress the cavitation surge. During high cavitation
number, low natural aeration alleviates PVR behavior, but low
forced aeration works for both situations.
The number, diameter of injection nozzle and the air flow rate
have an influence on turbine power loss and pressure recovery. To
obtain suitable choices for those values a methodology has been
suggested and the ratio between the total loss and pressure re-
covery factor is as plotted in Fig. 16 [28]. As shown in Fig. 16 (a);
with increasing nozzle diameter, both the power loss and its co-
efficient based on pressure recovery increase. Thus, 1 cm nozzle
diameter is chosen to learn the power loss and its coefficient at
three different OPs, Fig. 16 (b). Air injection at 66.6% QBEP does not
improve the system performance due to greater fraction of power
loss. At 86.2% QBEP, minimum values for the power loss and its
coefficient are 0.5 and 1% airflow rates; 0.75% can be chosen
because of differences between two curves.
Deeper investigations into flow stability consist in involved
mechanism of vortexeair interactions using four terms of vorticity
transport equation; as shown in Equation (7). The mechanism of
enhancing flow stability depends on changes of vorticity distribu-
tion and the vortex rope motion by aeration. The vortex dilatation
term is predominant along the cavity interface at the diffuser inlet
and alters the vorticity field in zones of high density and pressure
gradient. The vortex has a high stretching and dilation during the
vortex rope evolution, whereas the baroclinic torque term displays
unimportant influence in the vortex evolution. However, the latter
may increase during particular aeration volumes, which explains its
little contribution in alleviating the swirling flow near the draft
tube inlet. As depicted in Fig. 17; the viscous diffusion term shows
no effect [26].
Du Vr  Vp  
¼ ðu:VÞv  uðV:vÞ þ m 2 þ g V2 u (7)
Dt rm
where u is the vorticity, v is the velocity, gz1=Re is the kinematic
viscosity and rm ðaa ra þð1 aa ÞrL Þ is the mixed density, (a : Volume
fraction and subscripts a and L are for air and liquid respectively)
that is assumed homogeneous.
Thus, proper volumetric fraction of air can enhance the vortical
dilation by weakening the vortical flow, which alleviate draft tube
pressure fluctuations.
 A. Muhirwa et al. / Renewable Energy 150 (2020) 743e764
(a)
(b)
Fig. 16. Relative power loss versus airflow rate: for different nozzle diameter for 0.5%Q airflow rate at 66.6% QBEP(a); for 1 cm nozzle diameter at three OPs (b) [28].
3.2. Remedial flow watering
Palliative water supply is a relatively new alternative that
counteracts the pressure surge from its origin. A co-phase jet can-
cels out on-axis misadjusted flow components that give rise to the
precession of the vortex rope. The theoretical estimate has been
early suggested in pump-turbines by Gearhart, Yocum [107]. The
flow taken from the spiral casing had to bypass the runner so as to
be centrally discharged into the draft tube for surge elimination.
That tentative of bypass flow-feedforward (BFF) has been carried
out by Blommaert [74] in the draft tube of hydraulic turbine. A
rotating valve was used to regulate the antidote-like injection of
1e2% of the whole turbine discharge. The purpose was to eliminate
self-induced instabilities and reduce the hydro-acoustic effect of
vortex rope precession. However, that discharge fraction was not
enough to eliminate the vortex rope formation from its genesis.
Therefore; a well-approached novel scheme of palliative BFF has
been introduced by Romeo Susan-Resiga [108]; by using a highly
energetic water jet discharging through the tip of the crown cone.
Since then, extensive studies to improve its performance have been
carried out on Francis turbines, pump turbines and swirl generators
improved for the swirling flow control [98].
Fig. 17. Distribution of the vorticity (a) and its four terms: Stretching (b), Dilation (c),
Baroclinic torque (d) and viscous diffusion term (e) near the draft tube inlet for:
Qair ¼ 0 (I); 1% (II); 2% (III); 4% (IV) [26].
757
BFF massive jet could prevent the vortex rope formation by
eliminating the quasi-stagnant central zone and changing the
precession frequency, as shown in Fig. 18. That runner bypass is a
hydraulic loss to the energy production. Initially, it was hypothe-
sized that those bypassing losses are compensated by contributed
elimination of severe pressure fluctuations and improved draft tube
efficiency [108]. Further efforts have found a way to achieve the
palliation without the production loss. The flow is taken at a
downstream cone location to be reversely discharged at the cone
inlet; i.e. Flow-feedback method (FFB). The pumping energy can be
also considered as a production loss; it should be well appreciated
for the FFB validation against the control scheme of BFF.
Using the pressure gradient between the source and the sink of
control piping as driving force; the FFB becomes a self-regulating
passive method. The plain FFB of 10% is backed by only 2% boost
from the ejector pumps [98]. The FFB is considered as self-
emanating approach since the water jet drives the runner and
subsequently controls the vortex rope downstream. For pumped
FFB, it is regarded as self-energizing because the activating energy
is internally generated [109]. As the control channel of FFB fetches
the water downstream, the overall turbine efficiency is improved
by corrected BFF hydraulic losses.
Most importantly, palliative water supply shows a good per-
formance during higher part-load operations. This critical oper-
ating range displays a high PVR eccentricity that sometimes
involves the shock phenomenon. . Thus; the following problems
may be counteracted: (i) damage of bolts connecting the draft tube
and further runner hub removal, (iii) runner blades breakdown, (iv)
labyrinth seal damage, and (v) bearings deterioration [98].
To disrupt the stalled zone and prevent cumbersome dynamics
of vortex rope; the dead water zone ought to be eliminated or
ejected downstream. That interference of the crown cone wake is
caused by the jet velocity imparted to the central flow. The axial
758 A. Muhirwa et al. / Renewable Energy 150 (2020) 743e764
No jet
Jet
Fig. 18. Axial velocity contours displaying the mitigation of the stagnant zone:
0.91QBEP (LHS) and 0.7QBEP (RHS) [22].
momentum around the centerline is increased; and shearing effects
along the interface between the backflow zone and the main flow
are decreased [22,109]. Before the jet control; the central backflow
zone (dark) is relatively large, and decrease by axial momentum
injection as shown in Fig. 20. The reversed flow ejection improves
the energy conversion efficiency with a good pressure recovery
[110]. Up to 50% increase of energy conversion can be achieved;
which contributes a wider load operation range. The performance
hill chart of Francis turbines may then display a general flattening
trend during PLO with good efficiencies [111].
The ejection of the breakdown region is concurrent with the
wall detachment of the outlying flow. The point of reattachment
downstream defines the ejection distance of the dead water zone
[109]. The wall separation is sensitive to the discharge. High dis-
charges fill up the central region, which reduces the wall shear
stress along the draft tube wall. The optimal discharge has a wholly
attached flow [112]. The active method of FFB may cancel out that
dependence of the wall performance on the jet discharge by means
of its boundary layer treatment [109]. Thanks to that efficient use of
the draft tube volume; shorter and compact discharge cones can be
used without pressure recovery impairment. This may somehow
contribute hydropower plants affordability with bettered perfor-
mance over a wider load flexibility [113].
Adding an on-axis linear momentum intends at counteracting
usual interactions between the backflow and the main flow. To that
end; major effectiveness parameters are: the jet location, velocity
ratio, size ratio (jet radius against backflow size). The common
location of admission is through the tip of the runner cone along
the draft tube axis.
The effective jet rate with respect to the main flow discharge
(Qjet/Q) has significant implications on axial momentum, as shown
in Fig. 19 (LHS). However; increasing jet rates imply linearly in-
crease of the required activation power (loss), while the dissipation
of power in the diffuser decreases. Therefore; the determination of
optimum jet fraction involves the overall energy balance. As
depicted in Fig. 19 (RHS); the summation of those optimization
factors displays the minimum discharge fraction as an optimal jet
rate that do not impair the machine efficiency [110]. Higher jet rates
may shift the stalled zone away of the conic diffuser without
affecting the overall turbine efficiency [82]. Preliminary BFF trials
have used a dose of 1e2%Q [74]. When approaching the BFF
concept, highest volumetric losses within the jet range of 1e28%Q
have been analyzed [114]. Further improvements of the FFB injec-
tion have used jet ranges between 10 and 12%Q with pressure
amplitude reductions of 30%e70%, respectively. The effective
threshold has been found to be 10%Q [115].
The active FFB supplied with a richer jet (12%Q) can thoroughly
remove the vortex rope. The asynchronous pressure component
becomes insignificant with much lower synchronous fluctuations.
On the other hand; the passive FFB approach mitigates the vortex
rope pressure fluctuations and leaves the asynchronous compo-
nent. However, both FFB schemes enhance the pressure recovery
and, the pressure fluctuations amplitude with the dominant fre-
quency are reduced [98]. The latter achievements have been proven
using 11 bypassing jet rates from 5% to 14% Q. The jet rate of 11.5%Q
delimits the partial from full injection ranges; i.e. dominance of
rotating and plunging component, respectively; as shown in Fig. 20
(LHS) [82]. Fig. 20 (RHS) compares the pressure recovery between
baseline swirl and full injection control of 14%Q at three equidistant
cone sections. The pressure recovery expression is as to Equation
(8).
p  pi
Cp ¼  (8)
r:v2 2
where Cp is the pressure recovery coefficient, pi is the mean pres-
sure at the inlet cone section, p is the local mean pressure, r is the
density, and v is the throat velocity computed using both discharges
of the primary and jet flows.
To mitigate the plunging component that can remotely propa-
gate all over the entire hydraulic system; a 3D-numerical attempt of
pulsating axial water jet has been suggested. However, this is not
yet validated on physical models [116]. Not only the reduction of
the plunging component; some jet ranges may also prevent the
resonance phenomenon. As found by Feng, Wu [89]; the jet rate
governs the shape of the low-pressure zone from spiral (0e0.01Q)
to cylindrical form (0.03e0.05Q). Low fractions (1%Q) slightly
amplify DTPP with small frequency reduction. Further increase in
admission rates (3%Q) lowers the DTPP amplitude together with
the main frequency. However; at 5% rate, the main frequency hits
its higher values whereas the pressure pulsation amplitudes keep
falling, as shown in Fig. 21. Thus, the range of 0.03Q-0.05Q can be
considered as the best range for amplitudes mitigation and reso-
nance prevention, since the main PVR frequency seems to deflect
from the natural generator frequency.
To energize the highly decelerating on-axis flow and eject the
dead water zone farther; there are two way to treat the axial mo-
mentum (mass  velocity) of the jet: high-velocity low-discharge
jet, i.e. faster and light injection [110] or low-velocity large-
discharge jet, i.e. slow and massive injection [82]. Two corre-
sponding tradeoffs are the dead water cross section that can be
ejected with further wall detachment and volumetric losses,
respectively. It has been demonstrated that the best approach is of
higher discharge jet with lower velocity; since hydraulic losses can
be avoided by the FFB scheme [109]. From Equations (9) and (10);
the choice of jet velocity depends on the turbine head and the jet
radius plays a major balancing role between the jet velocity and
discharge [22,110].
qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
vjet z 2gðH  hl Þ ¼ z 2gH (9)
Qjet ¼ pR2jet vjet (10)
where vjet is the jet velocity, Qjet is the jet discharge, H is the
 A. Muhirwa et al. / Renewable Energy 150 (2020) 743e764 759

Fig. 19. Axial velocity distributions and diffuser dissipation with jet power at different rates of water supply [110].

Fig. 20. The repartition of pressure pulsation modes vs jet rates and the streamwise comparison of energetic performance between uncontrolled swirl and the full water control of
14%Q [82].

Fig. 21. Effects of palliative flow watering with changing rates near the draft tube intake [89].

turbine head, hl corresponds to hydraulic losses through the Fig. 22.

penstock and bypass channel, z is the total loss coefficient along
the jet supply, R is the jet radius. Jet radii equivalent to 10% and 50%
of the runner crown radius can reduce the loss coefficient by 14 and
50%, respectively. Larger jet radii eject higher jet discharges and
more ejection/reduction of the reversed flow region; as shown in
A recent attempt uses continuous slot jets on the runner crown
to produce angled water injections of different momentum fluxes
introduced in opposite direction to that of the main swirl flow. The
purpose is to manipulate the boundary layer at the crown with a
small bypassing flow rate (less than 0.03Q and 0.04Q). This controls
760 A. Muhirwa et al. / Renewable Energy 150 (2020) 743e764

Fig. 22. Inlet axial velocity profiles for different jet radius with their corresponding effects on the dead water zone at flow rates of 0.91QBEP (a) and 0.7QBEP (b) [22].

the vortex rope size, on-axis recirculation zone, turbulent struc-
tures and associated velocity fluctuations with pressure pulsations.
Factors like the momentum flux, position and the injection angle of
slot jets, govern the achieved effectiveness in preventing the
breakdown or shrinking the PVR size. They depend on the oper-
ating conditions and further optimizations should consider their
FFB configuration [96]. Table 3 shows typical fluid attempts
recently tried out.
In addition to numerical approaches in Table 2; High-fidelity LES
has been rarely used due to the precision requirement of meshing
scale and simulation details. Navier-Stokes equations were used for
the spatial low-pass filtering between resolved and modeled flow
field. The near-wall eddy viscosity scaling of WALE-SGS is suitable
without applying a damping function [92]. The hybrid URANS-LES
strategy has been used for boundary layer manipulation at the
runner crown. This removes the requirements of fine resolutions as
LES is known to be very expensive for wall-bounded flows at
practical Reynolds numbers. The turbulence model of DDES-SA
offers best results in predicting high swirling turbulent flow
where the precession effect is remote from the wall [96]. DES model

Table 3
Recapitulation of most recent fluid attempts.

Attempts Refs and tentative time CFD approach Advantages Disadvantages

Mohammadi et al.[28]- 2018
Luo et al. [26] - 2017
Nakashima et al.[105]- 2015
Muntean et al.[117]-2013
Flow Aeration
Altimemy et al. [92] e 2019
Foroutan et al.[22]- 2014
T
anasa et al.[98] 2013
Bosioc et al. [82] 2012
Javadi et al.[96]
2016
Flow watering
SST k-u; 2-phase models
SAS and SST; mixture multiphase
SAS
e Enhanced stability mechanism with
LES-SGS model
Baseline standard k-ε model, DES
e origin with a suppressed periodic
e vortex rope precession and
Hybrid URANS-LES with RSI
Low-air rates can suppress PVR
behavior (swirl) and the cavitation
surge
increasing aeration rates: helical to
cylindrical PVR shape.
Asynchronous pressure component
is reduced and small residues of
synchronous waves. Reduced low-
frequency pressure amplitudes in
the scroll case and the guide vanes.
Noise reduction thanks to air
compressibility for peripheral
injection. Improved dynamic
behavior at high PLO.
Non-intrusive technique. Central
injection tackles instability at its
engulfing vortex filaments.
Negligible effect on generated
power.
Preventing the shock phenomenon
and the vortex breakdown.
Reduced precession frequency and
amplitude.
Improved local energy conversion
Enhanced overall efficiency in self-
emanating FFB that becomes self-
energizing from source-sink
pressure difference.
Increased loss and several percent
reduction of turbine efficiency.
Slight/no frequency shift as PVR
rotation speed may not be changed.
New rotor-stator interaction is
created that may lead to amplified
BPF at high excitations.
Deteriorated dynamic behavior at
lower discharges.
Costly installation due to auxiliary
equipment (extra piping and a
compressor). Complex retrofitting.
Peripheral injection seems
ineffective at PLO and increase
pressure amplitudes at the blade
exit.
Though the pressure pulsation
amplitude is reduced, the signal
decomposition alerts dominant
plunging component propagating
in the entire system during full
injection range.
Large discharge is a hydraulic loss in
BFF. The pumping energy in active
FFB is a loss. Auxiliary equipment
 A. Muhirwa et al. / Renewable Energy 150 (2020) 743e764
has been used for 3D unsteady simulations initialized by 2D-
axisymmetric steady simulations with the turbulence modelling of
two-equation standard k-ε and two-layer zonal model for near wall
treatment [22]. Some attempts, such as pulsating jets and vortex
generators adopted from aerodynamic systems, only rely on nu-
merical simulations. Their potentiality should be assessed on draft
tube prototypes.
4. Hybrid flow control
No single cure-all remedy can address all draft tube instabilities
[118]. Few studies have tried to optimize the mitigation of the draft
tube surge by combining strengths associated with different ap-
proaches. Flow watering schemes reduce DTPP originated by the
vortex rope. Therefore, it is more effective during high part-load
rather than low part-load operations. Adding in a low-rate aera-
tion; the two-phase “air-water” may achieve a good performance
for both PLO ranges; more clearly during low part-load operation
[119]. Beyond 0.7QBEP discharge; the air injection is more effective
with improved dynamic behavior than both the water injection and
the two-phase hybrid control. Very large discharges (0.81QBEP) may
display small influence. Below that range; the aeration deteriorates
the dynamic behavior, which may give rise to mechanical problems.
However, the two-phase control of air and water outperforms in-
dividual watering and aeration of the flow [28,117]. Table 4 sum-
marizes the suitability of each approach at specific OPs.
Even though, the aeration contributes the amplitude and fre-
quency reduction of DTPP; the aeration rate is subjected to a strict
regime range. This is because of the upstream influence of aeration
in increasing pressure pulsations due to BPF in front of the runner
[82]. The difference between on-axis injections of water and air is
that the objective of water supply is to mitigate or prevent the
vortex breakdown without a necessity to change the compliance
throughout cavitating domains as it is the case for the aeration
[108].
Compounded structural attempts are rare to find. However, the
choice may be inferred from comparative studies performed on
Table 4
Results from three injection modes.
OPs (%) Flow watering Flow aeration
66.6 e e
86.2 From the flow watering; From the flow aeration of 0.75%,
the loss reduction of 3.2% the loss reduction of 23%
100 e From the flow aeration of 0.75%,
the loss reduction of 17%
Fig. 23. Effectiveness of attempts optimization in frequency and time domains [120].
761
individual measures. A typical search has been carried out by Feng,
Li [120] to tame a strongly fluctuating turbine output power.
Original draft tube optimizations of extended runner cone, damp-
ing gates and flow deflectors have been investigated. Prolonged
runner cone changes the vortex rope shape and slightly reduces the
amplitude with poor change of the fluctuation frequencies.
Damping gates can reduce the tangential velocity whereas flow
deflector can reduce the vortex eccentricity. Both measures some-
how eliminate the vortex rope and change the fluctuation fre-
quency. As shown in Fig. 23; the main frequency of pressure
fluctuations has displayed different changes.
Although all optimization attempts reduce the pressure ampli-
tude; flow deflectors are more effective in both the amplitude and
main frequency of DTPP. It has been demonstrated that extended
runner cone and flow deflectors can reduce the backward propa-
gation of main draft tube instabilities till the spiral casing. There-
fore, flow deflectors perform well in entire system stability by
avoiding resonance and output power fluctuations.
Water supply and flow deflector can be effective in damping the
fluctuation amplitude and deflecting the main pulsation frequency
from the natural frequency of generator; thereby, prevent the
resonance phenomenon. This simultaneously prevents the fluctu-
ation problem of power output. However, the flow watering out-
performs flow deflectors in mitigating pressure pulsation
amplitudes. The air admission technique cannot alter the pressure
fluctuation frequency thereby, failing to fix output power oscilla-
tions. However; considering the reduction of pressure amplitudes,
water injection alone outperforms combined expedients [89]. In
addition to well-optimized attempts, further advanced schemes of
hybrid control would consider a newly suggested method of tan-
dem runners for upstream swirl adjustment [121].
5. Concluding remarks and future work
Attempts to counteract compromising draft tube surging effect
on the power generation have been herein reviewed. To mitigate
the swirl instability and suppress the core instability; passive and
Hybrid control: air þ water injection Effective injection Efficiency increase (%)
1.5% for air; loss reduced to 21% Hybrid control 1.5
Compared with the lone aeration; The aeration alone 2.3
loss increase of 4.5%
Equivalent results for aeration The aeration alone 4.3
and hybrid control
762 A. Muhirwa et al. / Renewable Energy 150 (2020) 743e764

active methods have been devised. Passive methods mainly include flow watering. Further deep investigations would use WALE-
geometric optimization, wall-mounted structures or on-axis in- SGS modeling of near-wall eddy viscosity scaling to predict
serts, and those diametrically positioned across cone sections. The the aftermath caused by the intrusion of wall-mounted at-
optimization of the draft tube shape redefines the flow stability by tempts. The second choice may be Hybrid URANS-LES to reduce
means of on-axis recirculation zone and wall detachments. The the computational cost. CFD coupled FSI simulations are rec-
critical part for optimization is the elbow section due to its design ommended to associate propagative system interactions with
and upstream propagation of synchronous instability. Structural the altered flow features.
appendages are J-grooves, stabilizer fins, adjustable diaphragm,  Some attempts pave a way towards real applications in hy-
stationary and freely rotating modifications of the runner cone, draulic turbines. Others may seem far from realistic and eco-
baffles, flow deflectors, damping gates and vortex generators. The nomic for full-scale prototypes, whether old or new designs.
majority of wall-mounted structures aim at weakening the swirl Attempts relying on numerical simulations should be validated
strength and/or counteracting the critical core activity. Compro- on physical models. Their performance transferability to full-
mising issues have been the location, configuration and the scale prototypes should be learnt in order to predict their
required projection into the flow medium that may involve feasibility.
secondhand instabilities and excessive vibrations. Adjustable and
non-intrusive attempts may be a solution. To counteract the
instability at its inception, attempts based on on-axis flow control Declaration of competing interest
have been suggested. These are runner cone extensions and active/
passive axial injection of air and water. Their purposes are the The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest regarding
crown wake interference, quasi-stagnant zone ejection, shear the publication of this article.
layers reduction and vortex precession weakening. The common
feature is to create a stable axisymmetric core in the cone center
with reduced pressure pulsations amplitudes and/or frequency. Acknowledgement
Typical challenges have been the fluid supply conditions, cavitation
performance, hydraulic loss, efficiency deterioration and pressure This work is supported by National Natural Science Foundation
recovery. These require optimization of attempts or advanced of China (51606050, 51506037, 51976043), Chinese Postdoctoral
hybrid palliation for an extend operation range. Science Foundation (2016M591527), Heilongjiang Postdoctoral
The following guidelines and recommendations can be inferred: Found (LBH-Z16057) and Natural Science Foundation of Hei-
longjiang Province (E2017038).
 Effective control of the swirling flow should address the main
cause of self-induced instabilities that is limited in space, i.e. the
momentum deficit near the axis, rather than the effects of a Table of symbols and abbreviations
well-developed vortex rope that are scattered in a vast domain
of the draft tube. BEP Best Efficiency point
 Successful watering attempt needs a massive interference that QBEP Best Efficiency discharge
intensely forces the instabilities genesis out of the conic part. PLO Part load operation
Therefore; the momentum repartition in the controlling jet HLO High load Operation
should be high discharge-low velocity jets, rather than low OP operating point
discharge-high velocity jets. This favors the flow-feedback over GVO Guide Vane Opening
the bypass feedforward schemes with activation energy loss and MGV misaligned guide vanes
bypass hydraulic loss, respectively. Such byproduct losses PVR Precessing Vortex Rope
should be cancelled out or sufficiently made inconsequent with RHS Right Hand Side
respect to the efficiency. LHS Left Hand Side
 Proper flow parameterization at the runner exit and shape J-groove Jet groove
optimization for the runner and draft tube are essential refur- DTPP Draft Tube Pressure Pulsations
bishment procedures for overall efficiency. CFD Computational Fluid Dynamics
 A user-friendly control strategy with a mechanism that contin- RSM Reynolds Stress Model
uously adjusts the palliative action according to the varying load SST Shear Stress Transport
demand is recommended. RNG Renormalization Group
 Attempts with a high attenuation of resonance risk, such as flow LES Large Eddy Simulation
deflectors, need more analysis in terms of side effects caused by VLES Very Large Eddy Simulations
their flow intrusion. Other new techniques, such as baffles and RANS Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations
adjustable diaphragms, need that contrastive study. WALE-SGS Sub-grid Scale modeling of Wall-adapting Local Eddy-
 As no single attempt can address the flow unsteadiness over a Viscosity
wider operation range; it is recommended to focus on rare Hybrid URANS-LES Unsteady Reynolds-Averaged
hybrid control schemes. The choice would include few attempts NaviereStokeseLarge Eddy Simulation
proven to shift the frequency with reduced resonance risk. Non- DDES-SA Delayed Detached-Eddy Simulation coupled with the
intrusive attempts would be useful in avoiding secondhand in- SpalarteAllmaras
stabilities and on-axis attempts would sort out the problem at ZGB ZwarteGerbereBelamri cavitation model
its embryonic stage. PANS Partially Averaged Navier-Stokes turbulence model
 To appreciate the effectiveness of an attempt with a quasi- DNS Direct Numerical Simulation
periodic state, CFD simulations for much longer flow time are FSI Fluid-structure interactions
recommended. In covered literature; the high-fidelity of LES has BPF Blade Passing Frequency
been used once by a more recent work on assessing the resolved FFB Flow-feedback scheme
non-uniformity of the flow versus the hydraulic loss caused by BFF Bypass Flow Feed-forward scheme
 A. Muhirwa et al. / Renewable Energy 150 (2020) 743e764 763

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