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A Case Study: Sediment Erosion in Francis Turbines Operated at the San Francisco Hydropower Plant in Ecuador

Author

Listed:
  • Cristian Cruzatty

    (Departamento de Ingeniería Mecánica, Escuela Politécnica Nacional, Quito 170517, Ecuador)

  • Darwin Jimenez

    (Departamento de Ingeniería Mecánica, Escuela Politécnica Nacional, Quito 170517, Ecuador)

  • Esteban Valencia

    (Departamento de Ingeniería Mecánica, Escuela Politécnica Nacional, Quito 170517, Ecuador)

  • Ivan Zambrano

    (Departamento de Ingeniería Mecánica, Escuela Politécnica Nacional, Quito 170517, Ecuador)

  • Christian Mora

    (Centro de Investigación y Recuperación de Turbinas Hidráulicas y Partes Industriales, CELEC EP, Baños de Agua Santa 180254, Ecuador)

  • Xianwu Luo

    (Department of Energy and Power Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China)

  • Edgar Cando

    (Departamento de Ingeniería Mecánica, Escuela Politécnica Nacional, Quito 170517, Ecuador)

Abstract

The operation of various types of turbomachines is importantly affected by sediment erosion. Francis turbines used for power generation typically suffer said effects due to the fact that they are used in sediment-laden rivers and are usually operated disregarding the long-term effect of the erosion on turbine performance. This investigation seeks to study the erosion rate for the main components of the turbines located at San Francisco hydropower plant in Pastaza, Ecuador. A sediment characterization study was performed in order to determine the properties of the particles present in Pastaza River and accurately predict their effect on the turbine flow passages. A numerical approach combining liquid–solid two-phase flow simulation and an erosion model was used to analyze the erosion rates at different operating conditions and determine wear patterns in the components. As expected, the results indicated that an increase in the erosion rate was obtained for higher intake flows. However, a dramatic increase in the erosion rate was observed when the turbine was operated at near-full-load conditions, specifically when guide vane opening exceeded a 90% aperture.

Suggested Citation

  • Cristian Cruzatty & Darwin Jimenez & Esteban Valencia & Ivan Zambrano & Christian Mora & Xianwu Luo & Edgar Cando, 2021. "A Case Study: Sediment Erosion in Francis Turbines Operated at the San Francisco Hydropower Plant in Ecuador," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-17, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:15:y:2021:i:1:p:8-:d:707462
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ravi Koirala & Baoshan Zhu & Hari Prasad Neopane, 2016. "Effect of Guide Vane Clearance Gap on Francis Turbine Performance," Energies, MDPI, vol. 9(4), pages 1-14, April.
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    4. David E. H. J. Gernaat & Patrick W. Bogaart & Detlef P. van Vuuren & Hester Biemans & Robin Niessink, 2017. "High-resolution assessment of global technical and economic hydropower potential," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 2(10), pages 821-828, October.
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