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| 2. |
- Baidar, Binaya
(författare)
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A sensitivity analysis of the Winter-Kennedy method
- 2018
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Hydropower is among the lowest-cost electrical energy sources due to its long lifespan and lower operation and maintenance cost. The hydro-mechanical components of hydropower plants generally last about four to five decades, then they are either overhauled or replaced. The major upgrades and refurbishments of the hydropower plants that are ongoing have also been motivated by the introduction of new rules and regulations, safety or environmentally friendly and improved turbine designs. Whatever are the drivers, the refurbishments are usually expected to increase efficiency, flexibility and more power from the plant.Efficiency measurement is usually performed after refurbishments. While it is relatively straightforward to measure efficiency in high head machines due to the availability of several code-accepted methods, similar measurements in low head plants remain a challenge. The main difficulty lies in the discharge/flow rate measurement. The reason is due to the continuously varying cross-section and short intake, as a result, the flow profile or parallel streamlines cannot be established. Among several relative methods, the Winter-Kennedy (WK) method is widely used to determine the step-up efficiency before and after refurbishment. The WK method is an index testing approach allowing to determine the on-cam relationship between blade and guide vane angles for Kaplan turbine as well. The method utilizes features of the flow physics in a curvilinear motion. A pair of pressure taps is placed at an inner and outer section of the spiral case (SC). The method relates discharge (Q) as Q=K(dP)^n, where K is usually called as the WK constant and n is the exponent whose value varies from 0.48 to 0.52. dP is the differential pressure from the pair of pressure taps placed on the SC. Although the method has very high repeatability, some discrepancies were noticed in previous studies. The reasons are often attributed to the change in local flow conditions due to the change in inflow conditions, corrosions, or change in geometry. Paper A is a review of the WK method, which includes the possible factors that can influence the WK method. Considering the possible factors, the aim of this thesis is to study the change in flow behavior and its impact on the coefficients. Therefore, a numerical model of a Kaplan turbine has been developed. The turbine model of Hölleforsen hydropower plant in Sweden was used in the study. The plant is considered as a low head with 27-m head and a discharge of 230 m3/s. The 1:11 scale model of the prototype is used as the numerical model in this study, which has 0.5 m runner diameter, 4.5 m head, 0.522 m3/s discharge and 595 rpm at its best efficiency point. A sensitivity analysis of the WK method has been performed with the help of CFD simulations. The numerical results are compared with the previously conducted experiment on the model. The study considers four different WK configurations at seven locations along the azimuthal direction. The simulations have been performed with different inlet boundary conditions (Paper B and Paper C) and different runner blade angles (Paper C). The CFD results show that the WK coefficients are sensitive to inlet conditions. The study also concludes that to limit the impact of a change in inflow conditions, runner blade angle on the coefficients, the more suitable WK locations are at the beginning of the SC with the inner pressure tap placed between stay vanes on the top wall.
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| 3. |
- Baidar, Binaya, et al.
(författare)
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Effects of runner change on the Winter-Kennedy flow measurement method : A numerical study
- 2020
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Ingår i: Renewable energy. - : Elsevier. - 0960-1481 .- 1879-0682. ; 153, s. 975-984
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Winter-Kennedy (WK) method is a popular choice to estimate the relative flow rates, and thus the expected improvement in the efficiency of a low head turbine after its refurbishment. Runner refurbishment is a common way to improve the plant’s efficiency. However, a previous experiment on a model turbine reported deviations between the WK coefficients obtained from two different runners ‒ suggesting a deviation between the estimated and actual improvement in the efficiency. Without formal proof, the deviation was attributed to flow changes in the spiral casing. This paper presents a numerical investigation of the effects of a runner change on the WK method. For this purpose, unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations (URANS) simulations of a turbine model with two different runners were conducted. The runner’s impact on the average flow conditions upstream and its subsequent effect on the WK coefficients were studied. The study shows the dependence of the WK coefficients to the runner ‒ with a maximum deviation on the coefficient up to 0.7%. The larger deviations were observed in regions prone to strong secondary flow. Following a radial and circumferential sensitivity study, a suitable location to minimize the effects of runner change on the WK method is reported.
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| 4. |
- Baidar, Binaya, et al.
(författare)
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Numerical study of the Winter-Kennedy method : a sensitivity analysis
- 2018
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Ingår i: Journal of Fluids Engineering. - : The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). - 0098-2202 .- 1528-901X. ; 140:5
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Winter-Kennedy (WK) method is commonly used in relative discharge measurement and to quantify efficiency step-up in hydropower refurbishment projects. The method utilizes the differential pressure between two taps located at a radial section of a spiral case, which is related to the discharge with the help of a coefficient and an exponent. Nearly a century old and widely used, the method has shown some discrepancies when the same coefficient is used after a plant upgrade. The reasons are often attributed to local flow changes. To study the change in flow behavior and its impact on the coefficient, a numerical model of a semi-spiral case (SC) has been developed and the numerical results are compared with experimental results. The simulations of the SC have been performed with different inlet boundary conditions. Comparison between an analytical formulation with the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) results shows that the flow inside an SC is highly three-dimensional (3D). The magnitude of the secondary flow is a function of the inlet boundary conditions. The secondary flow affects the vortex flow distribution and hence the coefficients. For the SC considered in this study, the most stable WK configurations are located toward the bottom from θ =30deg to 45deg after the curve of the SC begins, and on the top between two stay vanes.
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| 5. |
- Baidar, Binaya, et al.
(författare)
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Numerical study of the Winter-Kennedy method for relative transient flow rate measurement
- 2019
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Ingår i: IOP Conference Series. - : Institute of Physics (IOP). - 1755-1307 .- 1755-1315. ; 405:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Winter-Kennedy (WK) method is used to estimate relative flow rate using the differential pressure between two taps located at a radial section of a spiral casing (SC). It is widely used in index testing, for double regulated turbines optimization and sometimes for continuous discharge measurement in low head plants. This paper explores the possibility of using the WK method for relative transient flow rate measurements. A numerical model of a Kaplan model turbine from the penstock to the distributor has been developed. Unsteady RANS simulations with k-ω SST turbulence model are performed. Previously conducted experiments on the model turbine are used to validate the numerical results. In the simulations, the guide vanes (GVs) are closed from 26.5°, the best efficient point (BEP), to about 5° opening angle. Two azimuthal locations of the SC and four different WK configurations at each location are considered. The variation of the WK coefficients with time are investigated and compared to the ones at several stationary GV angles. The results showed a difference between the WK coefficients obtained at transient and stationary operations. However, there may be a possibility of using the WK method during transients by locating the pressure taps in appropriate locations for an acceptable variation of the WK coefficient from its BEP value.The research has been funded by Swedish Hydropower Centre (SVC).
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| 6. |
- Baidar, Binaya, et al.
(författare)
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Numerical Study of the Winter–Kennedy Flow Measurement Method in Transient Flows
- 2020
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Ingår i: Energies. - : MDPI. - 1996-1073. ; 13:6
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper explores the possibility of using the Winter–Kennedy (WK) method for transient flow rate measurement in hydraulic turbines. Computational fluid dynamic (CFD) analysis of a numerical model of an axial turbine was carried out for accelerating and decelerating flows. Those were obtained by linearly opening and closing of the guide vanes, respectively, while retaining the inlet pressure constant during the simulations. The behavior of several WK configurations on a cross-sectional plane and along the azimuthal direction of the spiral casing was studied during the transients. The study showed that there are certain WK configurations that are more stable than others. The physical mechanism behind the stability (or instability) of the WK method during transients is presented. Using the steady WK coefficient obtained at the best efficiency point (BEP), the WK method could estimate the transient flow rate with a deviation of about 7.5% and 3.5%, for accelerating and decelerating flow, respectively.
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| 7. |
- Baidar, Binaya, et al.
(författare)
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Numerical Study of Wall Shear and Velocities Using a Commercial CFD Code : Some Crucial Aspects to Consider
- 2017
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Ingår i: Hydro Nepal. - : Nepal journals online. - 1998-5452. ; 21, s. 45-49
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper presents the numerical prediction of wall shear and velocities in steady and superposed pulsatile turbulent flow in a pipe, the phenomena that can be observed in hydropower. The previously conducted experiment is a base for this study and some crucial aspects of CFD while using a commercial code have been emphasized. The widely-accepted grid convergence index approach is adopted to quantify the discretization uncertainty and the results are validated against the experiment. The influence of the wall functions applied in the code is also studied with two turbulence models: standard k-ε and kω based SST model. The time-averaged results of superposed flow with small amplitude unsteadiness are equivalent to results from the steady flow. The results and the method used in this paper may be useful for the CFD simulations in hydropower applications like penstock and bifurcations designs.
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| 8. |
- Baidar, Binaya, et al.
(författare)
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Selection of Optimal Number of Francis Runner Blades for a Sediment Laden Micro Hydropower Plant in Nepal
- 2015
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Ingår i: The International Journal of Fluid Machinery and Systems. - : Korean Fluid Machinery Association. - 1882-9554. ; 8:4, s. 294-303
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The present study is conducted to identify a better design and optimal number of Francis runner blades for sediment laden high head micro hydropower site, Tara Khola in the Baglung district of Nepal. The runner is designed with in-house code and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis is performed to evaluate the performance with three configurations; 11, 13 and 17 numbers of runner blades. The three sets of runners were also investigated for the sediment erosion tendency. The runner with 13 blades shows better performance at design as well as in variable discharge conditions. 96.2% efficiency is obtained from the runner with 13 blades at the design point, and the runners with 17 and 11 blades have 88.25% and 76.63% efficiencies respectively. Further, the runner with 13 blades has better manufacturability than the runner with 17 blades as it has long and highly curved blade with small gaps between the blades, but it comes with 65% more erosion tendency than in the runner with 17 blades.
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| 9. |
- Baidar, Binaya, et al.
(författare)
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Sensitivity of the Winter-Kennedy method to different guide vane openings on an axial machine
- 2019
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Ingår i: Flow Measurement and Instrumentation. - : Elsevier. - 0955-5986 .- 1873-6998. ; 68
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This work studies the effects of guide vane openings (GVOs) on the Winter-Kennedy (WK) flow measurement method using CFD. The dependence of the WK coefficient with GVOs and its physical mechanism are presented. Although the WK method is reported to be sensitive to different factors including GVO, it is still unclear to which extent the GVO can be changed without modifying the WK coefficient significantly and the mechanism leading to such modification, if any. A numerical model of a Kaplan model turbine with a semi-spiral casing is developed and used to such purpose. Previously conducted experiments on the model turbine are used to validate the numerical results. The magnitude and behavior of the secondary flow are investigated together with the WK coefficients. The GVO is found to have an impact on the WK method, and the impact increases with the GVOs as the flow structure change. A suitable location to minimize the impact of the GVO is suggested. Furthermore, the theoretical WK constant with a suitable location and configuration are also presented; this can be useful in the absence of the measured WK coefficient.
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| 10. |
- Baidar, Binaya, et al.
(författare)
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Sensitivity of the Winter-Kennedy method to inlet and runner blade angle change on a Kaplan turbine
- 2019
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Ingår i: IOP Conference Series. - : Institute of Physics (IOP).
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Winter-Kennedy (WK) method is a widely used index testing approach, which provides a relative or index value of the discharge that can allow to determine the on-cam relationship between blade and guide vane angles for Kaplan turbines. However, some discrepancies were noticed in previous studies using the WK approach. In this paper, a numerical model of a Kaplan model turbine is used to study the effects of upstream and downstream flow conditions on the WK coefficients. Experiment on the model turbine is used to validate unsteady CFD calculations. The CFD results show that the inflow condition affects the pressure distribution inside the spiral case and hence the WK results. The WK coefficients fluctuate with high amplitude - suggesting to use a larger sampling time for on-site measurement as well. The study also concludes that to limit the impact of a change in runner blade angle on the coefficients, the more suitable WK locations are at the beginning of the spiral case with the inner pressure tap placed between stay vanes on the top wall.
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