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Optimization of axial water injection to mitigate the Rotating Vortex Rope in a Francis turbine

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  • Jafarzadeh Juposhti, Hessan
  • Maddahian, Reza
  • Cervantes, Michel J.

Abstract

Rotating Vortex Rope (RVR) resulting from flow instabilities inside draft tube affects the hydraulic turbine's efficiency and wear. Among the passive and active RVR mitigation methods, the water injection method has been widely investigated lately. The present research focuses on the dynamics of RVR mitigation using the water injection method and the optimization of exergy loss during the water injection. The numerical simulations are performed using a reduced turbine geometry consisting of one stay vane, two guide vanes, one runner passage by applying periodic boundary conditions at side boundaries, and a complete draft tube. The pressure fluctuations, velocity field, and the RVR structure are well captured using the Shear Stress Transport - Scale Adaptive Simulation (SST-SAS) turbulence model. The results of the local swirl number during the load variation show that the onset of flow instabilities and RVR formation are created due to a decrease of the axial momentum below the runner cone. The required axial momentum flux of water injection is calculated for a stable swirl number and the local minimum ratio of dimensionless loss to the pressure recovery factor. The numerical results show that the rotating and plunging components of the pressure fluctuations inside the draft tube reduce during the water injection. The pressure recovery of the draft tube improves. The dynamics of RVR mitigation are visualized using λ2 criterion and the spectrogram of pressure probes on the draft tube wall. An optimum water flow rate and jet velocity for a fixed axial momentum are proposed. The results show that a water jet with a large radius and low velocity is more effective to mitigate the RVR and minimizing the draft tube losses.

Suggested Citation

  • Jafarzadeh Juposhti, Hessan & Maddahian, Reza & Cervantes, Michel J., 2021. "Optimization of axial water injection to mitigate the Rotating Vortex Rope in a Francis turbine," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 175(C), pages 214-231.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:175:y:2021:i:c:p:214-231
    DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2021.05.038
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Goyal, Rahul & Gandhi, Bhupendra K., 2018. "Review of hydrodynamics instabilities in Francis turbine during off-design and transient operations," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 116(PA), pages 697-709.
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    1. Wang, Xiu & Yang, Jia-Fu & Huang, Xiao-Wen & Wang, Wen-Quan, 2024. "Using bionic tubercles to control swirling flow instabilities of a hydraulic turbine during the load rejection process," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 311(C).
    2. Zhumei Luo & Cong Nie & Shunli Lv & Tao Guo & Suoming Gao, 2022. "The Effect of J-Groove on Vortex Suppression and Energy Dissipation in a Draft Tube of Francis Turbine," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-20, February.
    3. Amini, Ali & Rey-Mermet, Samuel & Crettenand, Steve & Münch-Alligné, Cécile, 2025. "A hybrid methodology for assessing hydropower plants under flexible operations: Leveraging experimental data and machine learning techniques," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 383(C).
    4. Yuan, Zhiyi & Zhang, Yongxue & Zhou, Wenbo & Zhang, Jinya & Zhu, Jianjun, 2024. "Optimization of a centrifugal pump with high efficiency and low noise based on fast prediction method and vortex control," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 289(C).
    5. Lei Wang & Jiayi Cui & Lingfeng Shu & Denghui Jiang & Chun Xiang & Linwei Li & Peijian Zhou, 2022. "Research on the Vortex Rope Control Techniques in Draft Tube of Francis Turbines," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(24), pages 1-27, December.
    6. Wang, Wen-Quan & Yu, Zhi-Feng & Yan, Yan & Wei, Xin-Yu, 2024. "Numerical investigation on vortex characteristics in a low-head Francis turbine operating of adjustable-speed at part load conditions," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 302(C).
    7. Zhou, Xing & Hu, Xinyi & Huang, Quanshui & Wu, Hegao & Tang, Xiaodan & Cervantes, Michel J., 2024. "Optimization design of an innovative francis draft tube: Insight into improving operational flexibility," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 299(C).
    8. Sergey Shtork & Daniil Suslov & Sergey Skripkin & Ivan Litvinov & Evgeny Gorelikov, 2023. "An Overview of Active Control Techniques for Vortex Rope Mitigation in Hydraulic Turbines," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(13), pages 1-31, July.
    9. Shiraghaee, Shahab & Sundström, Joel & Raisee, Mehrdad & Cervantes, Michel J., 2024. "Extending the operating range of axial turbines with the protrusion of radially adjustable flat plates: An experimental investigation," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 225(C).
    10. Tao Guo & Lihui Xu & Wenquan Wang, 2021. "Influence of Upstream Disturbances on the Vortex Structure of Francis Turbine Based on the Criteria of Identification of Various Vortexes," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-21, November.
    11. Roh, Min-Su & Shahzer, Mohammad Abu & Kim, Jin-Hyuk, 2025. "Numerical formulation of relationship between optimized runner blade angle and specific speed in a francis turbine," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 238(C).
    12. Nguyen, Duc-Anh & Dinh, Cong-Truong & Kim, Gyeong Sung & Kim, Jin-Hyuk, 2025. "A potential solution to recover energy from wastewater environment by using the single-channel pump as turbine," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 320(C).
    13. Shahzer, Mohammad Abu & Kim, Jin-Hyuk, 2024. "Investigation of role of fins in a Francis turbine model's cavitation-induced instabilities under design and off-design conditions," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 292(C).

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