Improvements of a Kaplan type small turbine: Forbedre og vidreutvikle en Kaplan småturbin

Abstract

The goal with this master thesis was to establish Hill diagrams and improve a Kaplan turbine intended for use in Afghanistan. The turbine efficiency has been tested in setting 1 and 2. Turbine efficiency in setting 3 and 4 could not be tested because the runner blades interfere with the housing making it impossible to rotate the turbine. The efficiency was tested with an effective pressure head ranging from 2 to 8 meters. Best efficiency point was not reached because of limitations in the test rig making it impossible to reach a lower effective head. The best efficiencies tested in the two different settings are presented in the table below together with the uncertainty in the actual test point. All tests are done according to the IEC standard for model testing of hydraulic turbines. The computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations done on the inlet bend indicates that the bend should be rounded and flow controllers should be extended over the entire bend. This should be considered to get a more even velocity distribution at the inlet of the guide vane. An alternative placement of the lower bearing was designed but is discarded because of the disadvantages the modification leads to. High wear due to sand erosion on the seals causing high maintenance and costly stops makes the solution not optimal for use in water with high sand content. The runner blade design is checked against the design procedure presented by Professor Hermod Brekke in Pumper og Turbiner and found to be satisfying. It is concluded that time should rather be spent on optimizing the inlet of the turbine. Fluctuations in the measurements make it necessary to change the measuring equipment or search for error in the existing equipment before further tests can be carried out. In order to be able to test in setting 3 and 4 the runner needs to be placed while the blades are fixed in setting 4.