Authors:
Francis Kifumbi
1
;
Guyh Dituba Ngoma
1
;
Python Kabeya
2
and
Clement N’zau Umba-di-Mbudi
3
Affiliations:
1
University of Quebec in Abitibi-Témiscamingue, School of Engineering, Rouyn-Noranda, Canada
;
2
University of Kinshasa, Faculty of Polytechnic, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
;
3
University of Kinshasa, Faculty of Science, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Keyword(s):
Hydraulic Turbine, Blades, Buckets, Draft Tube, Cavitation, ANSYS-CFX, Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD).
Abstract:
This research work deals with the design of a numerical simulator which consists of an upstream reservoir, a penstock, a Francis turbine, a cross-flow turbine, a Pelton turbine, and a draft tube. This simulator can allow to better study the performance of a mini-hydroelectric plant while investigating the parameters involved with the cavitation phenomenon for the Francis turbine. From existing reference data of the gross head, the flow rate and the rotating speed for the Francis turbine, the cross-flow turbine and the Pelton turbine, the geometrical parameters of the turbine runners were calculated using inter alia the specific speeds, the turbines diagrams and the empirical equations. Moreover, the equations of continuity and Navier-Stokes are applied to obtain by means of the ANSYS-code the fields of the liquid flow velocity and the pressure. The numerical results achieved for the turbine output power and the efficiency were compared with the experimental results from the existing
test benches of turbines in the turbomachinery facility of the Engineering School at the University of Quebec in Abitibi-Témiscamingue (UQAT). Also, the effect of the cavitation on the efficiency of the Francis turbine account for the draft tube height is analyzed. The impact of the draft tube height of the Francis turbine and the jet width of the cross-flow turbine on the output power and the efficiency is examined.
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