A Review on Sediment Erosion Challenges in Hydraulic Turbines

Abstract

Sediment constitutes several mineral compositions depending upon the geological formation and geography. In many of the rivers in Himalayas and Andes, Quartz is found as a main constituent (more than 50%), along with feldspar and other hard minerals. These particles have hardness more than 5 Moh’s scale, which is capable to erode turbine components. In hydraulic turbines, flow is highly turbulent and unsteady, which can aggravate the erosion problems. Depending upon the nature of the flow, different components of turbines are eroded with different mechanisms. This chapter will provide a review on how various flow phenomena is responsible for particular types of erosion in turbines and their potential consequences. Some examples of the effect in existing power plants will be shown. This chapter will also discuss about some preventive measures that have been proposed and implemented to reduce the impact of the sediment particles in hydraulic machineries.