Prediction of dynamic blade loading of the Francis-99 turbine

Abstract

CFD simulations focusing on capturing dynamic fluctuations of the flow for three operating points were performed for a scale model of a high head Francis turbine. A mesh sensitivity study showed an influence of the near wall resolution, consequently a low Reynolds mesh with a SST turbulence model was used. Rotor/stator fluctuations are well reproduced with the full turbine simulation at all operating points. Velocity contours and average velocity profiles from LDV measurements in the draft tube confirm that the flow physics is generally well reproduced. Simplified approaches such as profile transform and Fourier transform underestimated the measured fluctuations. As full turbine simulations were time-consuming, a simulation with only the draft tube was performed at part load to predict the fluctuations in the draft tube cone. The SAS-SST turbulence model was able to capture the vortex rope behavior.