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TABLE I
NOMINAL OPERATING CONDITIONS AND REQUIREMENTS
In this paper, the process to develop the runners of the
micro-turbine for a given site is presented. The theoretical Variable Symbol Value
aspects of the hydraulic design are first introduced, as well as Discharge Q 8.7 l s
the design software to generate the runner geometry. Then the Pressure drop p 3 bar
numerical flow simulations used to evaluate the performance Runner rotational speed N 3000 min
Runner outer radius r 0.050 m
of the hydraulic design of the micro-turbine are exposed. In Runner inner radius r 0.040 m
the third part, the manufacturing process of the runners is Hydraulic power Ph 2.61 kW
described. Then the performance measurements of the runners Mechanical power Pm 2.09 kW
Hydraulic efficiency 80 %
on the hydraulic test rig of the HES-SO Valais//Wallis are
introduced. In the last part, first insights of the optimization
process based on the CFD results are discussed. B. Design method
The micro-turbine is a multi-stage axial machine with two
counter-rotating runners per stage placed in series.
Outflow
First Considering the available hydraulic energy of a site, the
runner maximal mechanical energy transferred by each runner can be
determined. Assuming that the flow passing through the
micro-turbine remains on a constant radius cylindrical surface,
Second the Euler equation applied to a given streamline yields the
Inflow runner relation between the hydraulic specific energy transferred to
the runners and the balance of angular momentum which
depends on the flow direction and velocity (Fig. 2). Moreover,
assuming that the operating medium behaves like a perfect
fluid, Euler equation can be considered as a one dimensional
model of the fluid dynamics within the turbine to describe the
Drinking water runner geometry at the initial design phase.
reservoir
Consumption area
By taking into account the discharge , the hydraulic power is constant at all locations, due to the discharge conservation
can be expressed as: and the fact that the flow section between the hub and the
shroud is constant. The peripheral flow velocity is given by
(4)
the product between the radial position and the rotational
As mentioned in part B, the transferred mechanical energy speed of the runner. Using the Eulers turbine equation, the
is based on the conservation of the angular momentum of the component can thus be calculated. Consequently, all
flow creating a torque around the runner axis. The Euler velocity triangles are defined and the relative flow angles
equation (5) allows calculating the theoretically transferred can be determined. The latest provides actually the orientation
specific energy using the peripheral flow velocity and the of the blades.
peripheral absolute flow velocity component at the inlet
(7)
and the outlet sections of the runner. This theory is actually
valid for a runner with an infinite number of turbine blades
with an infinitely small thickness and for a totally inviscid E. Runner geometry
fluid. To define the runner geometry, the blade angle is assumed
to be the relative flow angle . In reality, the flow direction
(5) slightly differs from the blade orientation, due to the limitation
Finally, the efficiency of this energy conversion is of the blade number and the profile effects. The definition of
calculated as: the blade geometry is done at an unwrapped cylindrical
surface for a given radial position, supposing that there is no
(6) radial flow component. The skeleton-line is the basis of the
blade profile and is determined by the width of the turbine
stage w, the blade wrap angle , the radial position r and the
D. Velocity triangles relative flow angle at the leading and trailing edges, as
The vector of the absolute flow velocity is the sum of the shown in Fig. 4. The skeleton-line is defined by a polynomial
peripheral flow velocity vector and the relative velocity vector of third order (8), ensuring thus a smooth flow deflection.
(7). The geometrical representation of those vectors results in
(8)
a typical velocity triangle, which is defined both at the inlet
and at the outlet of each runner (see Fig. 3). The coefficients of the polynomial are determined
using the following boundary conditions:
0 0 (9)
(10)
0 cotan (11)
cotan (12)
/
y = f(x): circumferential position [m]
0/0
For a given stage width, the blade wrap angle is still a free
variable. The blade wrap angle has to be optimized to get the
smallest possible length of the skeleton-line:
Fig. 3. Velocity triangles at the inlet and the outlet of the runners
1
1 1 (13)
At the inlet and the outlet of the micro-turbine the absolute 3
flow velocity is parallel to the pipeline axis, the component
The final blade contour is given by the thickness
is equal to zero. The meridional flow velocity component
distribution of a standard NACA 4digit hydrofoil. The local
4
thickness of the blade is given by a specific equation, rows are interpolated to close the 3D spline contours and used
depending on the type of the NACA profile, the maximal to define the blade surface.
thickness , the blade width and the location on the
skeleton-line (14). For the current case, the maximal
thickness is fixed at 40% from the leading edge, with the value Define Turbine Additional
of the maximal thickness depending on the mechanical Parameters GUI Functions
strength.
, , (14) Save
Parameters
As shown in Fig. 5, the upper and the lower profile contours
can be finally described by a vertical /2 offset from the Draw 3D
Display
skeleton-line.
Performance
Calculations
/
/2
Skeleton- Profile
/ Save Runner
Line
/2 Calculations Geometry
Calculations
TABLE II
SETUP PARAMETERS OF THE DESIGN SOFTWARE
Shroud radius 50 mm
Hub radius 40 mm Fig. 6. Structure of the design software and the connection to the CAD
software.
Runner separation 10 mm
Blade clearance gap 0.2 mm
Blade thickness 4.5 mm
IV. FLUID SIMULATION
Minimal edge radius 0.5 mm A. Numerical setup
Wrap angle type Fixed
Numerical flow simulations are today an indispensable tool
Profile type NACA-XXX4
for the development of turbine design and the evaluation of
Pressure drop 3 bar
hydraulic performance. Development costs for expensive
Discharge 8.7 ls
experimental explorations can be saved and very detailed
Design efficiency 85 %
analysis results can be obtained.
Runner A
Runner width 15 mm TABLE III
Rotational speed 3000 min NUMERICAL SCHEME
Number of blades 5
Simulation type Steady
Runner B Spatial scheme 2nd order specified blend factor:1
Runner width 20 mm Turbulence Model SST
Rotational speed 3000 min Residual Target RMSmax < 10-12
Number of blades 7
The performance of the designed runners has been analyzed
The structure of the design software is given in Fig. 6. using 3D flow simulations of the full water passage of the
Accordingly, the upper and lower profile contours are micro-turbine. The numerical parameters of the simulation are
calculated and saved as 3D point rows for several radial summarized in Table III. The steady numerical simulations
positions. These data are then exported to the CAD have been performed with the commercial software ANSYS
(Computer-Aided Design) software using the API CFX 15.0, based on the finite volume method.
(Application Programming Interface). Finally, the 3D point
5
B. Computational domains and spatial discreetization Interface (GGI) scheme. Finally, a smooth no-slip wall
The computational domains are illustrated in Fig. 7. Stator 1 condition is used for all the solid stattic or rotating surfaces.
domain consists of the inlet pipe with thee static hub that
TABLE V
houses the electrical generator of the first rrunner. Then, the BOUNDARY CONDIITIONS
Rotor 1 and 2 domains include respectivelyy the inlet and the
outlet runners of the micro-turbine. In both R
Rotor domains, the Surface Boundary con
ndition
hub and shroud are assumed to rotate with thee blades and there Inlet 85 / 8.7 / 9.57 [ls-1]
Q = 6.96 / 7.8
is no gap between the tip of the blades and thhe shroud. Finally, Outlet 0 [Pa] averag
ge static pressure
the Stator 2 domain consists of the outlet piipe with the static Interfaces Frozen-rotor
Solid walls Smooth no-sllip wall
hub region that houses this time the electricaal generator of the
second runner.
Stator 1
Rotorr 2
Fig. 8. Domains inteerfaces.
Rotor 1
D. Numerical simulation results
The following results are baased on four numerical
simulation setups with different values
v for the discharge.
Indeed, the values correspond resspectively to 80%, 90%,
100% and 110% of the nominaal discharge. The runner
rotational speeds (3000 rpm), corresp ponding to the one defined
in the design, has been kept consstant for all cases. Fig. 9
shows the field of the relative velociity streamlines through the
whole micro-turbine at the nominal operating point
Stato
or 2 (Q = 8.7 ls-1).
C. Boundary conditions
Table VI gives an overview of the most important
The detailed boundary conditions of the whole numerical results. As expected, th he Best Efficiency Point
computational domain, for both the stationaryy and the rotating (BEP) is found at 8.7 dischaarge, which corresponds to
parts, are provided in Table V. At the inlet off the Stator 1, four the design parameters. One may statte here that the first runner
different constant discharge values, correesponding to the recovers more mechanical power thaan the second one. Indeed,
investigated operating conditions, are impossed. At the outlet the main part of the static pressure drop
d is created by the first
of the Stator 2 domain, 0 [Pa] relative averaage static pressure runner. A maximum efficiency of 83.14%8 is reached for the
condition is selected. The interfaces between the static and nominal discharge, the mechanical power
p being 2753 W.
rotating domains (see Fig. 8) are treated wiith a Frozen-rotor
condition, the connection being ensured by the General Grid
6
+Y
d c
+X +B
Fig. 13. Hydraulic test rig of the HES-SO Valais//Wallis with the installed
micro-turbine prototype, a) Main reservoir b) Centrifugal pumps c)
Fig. 11. Generated tool path for the roughing operation (left) and solid Pressurized reservoir d) Testing model
simulation of the 5-axis milling (right).
7
experimental tests of small scale turbines, pumps or other used to create the characteristic curves (16), (17). Those
hydraulic components, see [4]. The test rig is built on two values refer to the external runner diameter and the
floors and supplied with fresh water from a main reservoir, see rotational speed of the second runner.
Fig.13. Three recirculating multistage centrifugal pumps
connected in parallel supply the water circuit with hydraulic (16)
power. A pressurized reservoir allows simulating different
implantation levels of the model. The actual prototype of the
micro-turbine has been installed on the test rig and allows
testing the characteristic of different runner geometries. The (17)
electrical generators placed inside the hubs allow the
regulation of the rotational speed of each runner [3]. To
C. Test results
measure the mechanical power, each runner axis is equipped
with a torque sensor. The main experimental results are given in Table VIII. For
every constant head measurements, the resulting BEP is given.
B. Testing method Theoretically, the maximal hydraulic efficiency does not
An advantage of experimental tests is the possibility to depend on the head, indeed there is only small difference of
obtain a large number of measurement points over the whole the efficiency between the different heads. Due to the
operating range of a hydraulic machine in relatively short mechanical losses of the runner bearings, discharge losses and
time. To retrieve the characteristic curves of the micro-turbine turbulences in the blade clearance gap, the desired efficiency
by fluid simulation would require a substantial computing cannot be reached in the experimental tests with the actual
time: more than 16 hours per operating point if the whole configuration of the prototype.
water passage is considered.
To create the characteristic curves of the micro-turbine, the TABLE VIII
degree of freedom of the turbine regulation, (15), describing SUMMARY OF TEST RESULTS
the ratio between the absolute rotational speeds of the two H [bar] Q [ls-1] [-] NB [min-1] h [%]
counter-rotating runners, is introduced. The discharge, the 0.5 3.95 1 1010 50
head, the rotational speed and the torque of each runner are 1 5.63 1 1493 51.5
measured for each operating point. 1.3 6.77 1.18 1749 50.5
2 7.9 1 2003 52.8
2.5 9.22 1 2499 52.9
(15) 3 9.8 1.18 2257 53
TABLE VII
RUNNERS ROTATIONAL SPEEDS OF THE MEASURED OPERATING POINTS
H = 0.5 / 1.3 / 2 / 2.5 / 3 [bar]
250 50 125 213 294 500 Fig. 14. Hydraulic efficiency as a function of the speed factor and the
500 175 325 500 769 1429 discharge factor for a testing head of 1.3 [bar].
750 150 375 638 882 1500
1000 350 650 1000 1538 2857
1250 250 625 1063 1471 2500
1500 525 975 1500 2308
1750 350 875 1488 2059
2000 700 1300 2000 3077
2250 450 1125 1913 2647
2500 875 1625 2500
2750 550 1375 2338 3235
3000 1050 1950 3000
3250 650 1625 2763
0.20 0.35 0.50 0.65 0.85 1.00 1.18 1.54 2.00 2.86
In Fig. 14 the characteristic for a constant head of 1.3 [bar] B. Flow stability at the runner interface
is provided. The black lines indicate the ratio between the The particular turbine configuration of two counter-rotating
rotational speeds of the runners. As predicted, the best runners can create an effect of instability on the flow direction
efficiency point was found close to 1. The diagram is at the interface between runners. A small deviation of the
based on dimensionless values, normalized to the specific relative flow angle at the outlet of the first runner can affect
energy and implicitly to the testing head. It actually allows negatively the flow direction at the inlet of the second runner.
comparing characteristics between different heads. The absolute velocity vector at the outlet of the first
Another way to present the characteristic of the turbine is to
runner is equal to the absolute velocity vector at the inlet
express the efficiency in relation to the discharge and the
of the second runner. The relation between the relative flow
operating head. This representation is given in Fig. 15.
angle and can be formulated as:
VII. DISCUSSION OF THE RESULTS
(18)
The nominal design parameters along with the obtained
results of the numerical simulation and of the experimental
tests at the BEP (in the investigated operating range) are given The mentioned relationship is represented in Fig. 16. At the
in Table IX. point of highest instability reaches a value of 90. To
TABLE IX guarantee a correct flow angle at the inlet of the second runner
SUMMARY OF DESIGN, CFD AND TEST RESULTS and to undesired flow separation, the operating point must be
Value Design CFD BEP Tests BEP outside the shaded region.
[%] 85 83 ~53
[bar] 3 3.8 3
[ls-1] 8.7 8.7 9.8
X. REFERENC
CES
[1] C. Mnch-Allign, S. Richard, B. Meiier, V. Hasmatuchi, F. Avellan,
Numerical simulations of a counter rotaating micro turbine, Advances in
Hydroinformatics, P. Gourbesville et al. (eds.), Springer Hydrogeology, p
363-373, 2014
[2] V. Hasmatuchi, C. Mnch, S. Gabathuleer, S. Chevailler, and F. Avellan,
New Counter-Rotating Micro-Hydro Turbine for Drinking Water
Systems, Hidroenergia 2014, Istanbul, Turkey,
T 2014.
[3] D. Melly, R. Horta, C. Mnch, H. Biner, S. Chevailler, Development of
a PM-Generator for a Counter-Rotatin ng Micro-hydro Turbine XXI
International Conference on Electrical Machines,
M Berlin, Germany, 2014.
[4] V.Hasmatuchi, F. Botero, S. Gabathuleer and C. Mnch, Design and
Control of a New Test Rig for Small Power Turbomachines, Hydro
2014, Cernobbio, Italy, 2014.
[5] G. Peng, S. Cao, M. Ishizuka, S. Hayam ma, Design optimization of axial
Fig. 17. Pressure contour and vector field of relative veloocity as a result of the flow hydraulic turbine runner, Intern national Journal for Numerical
2D blade cascade simulation. Methods in Fluids, pp. 517-531, June 20002.
[6] P. Drtina, M. Sallaberger, Hydraulic tuurbines-basic principles and stat-
of-the-art computational fluid dynamics applications, Proceedings of the
Institution of Mechanical Engineers, PartP C: Journal of Mechanical
Engineering Science, vol. 213 no. 1 85-102, 1999
[7] H. B. Kief, H. A. Roschiwal, CNC Hand dbuch 2009/2010, Mnchen, Carl
Hanser Verlag, 2009.
...
...
XI. BIOGRAPHIES
D. Biner graduated in 2014 the Bachelor of Science
in Systems Engineering, Design & Materials
specialization, at the University of Applied Sciences
Western Switzerland, HES-SO Valais//Wallis in
Sion. Since September 2014, he is scientific assistant
at a 50% basis in the hydraulic energy research team
of Prof. Mnch at the HES-SO Valais//Wallis,
besides hes going through the MSE masters degree
studies in industrial technologies at the HES-SO. He
is working on experimental projects in hydraulic
turbo machinery. His main research interests are the hydraulic design, the
performance measurements, flow simulations and the optimisation of small
scale hydro machinery.