Abstract
This study investigates the fluid flow through the runner of an exceptionally low specific speed Francis’ turbine using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to predict some performance characteristic of the runner, and to determine the effect of cavitation on the flow features within the turbine. It employs FLUENT CFD codes for the analysis. The study was carried out under steady conditions in two- dimensional analysis, primarily using the RNG k-ε turbulence model. It is mainly on single phase analysis; however a single case of two-phase cavitation modeling was performed in order to evaluate cavitation effects. The hydraulic losses were much dependent on the inlet flow velocity and less dependent on the rotational speed. Cavitation occurred throughout the flow domain and this led to non-physical negative pressure predictions for the single phase analysis. For a fixed discharge, cavitation had significant effect on the prediction of the torque and hence the runner efficiency obtained from the CFD analysis. It causes a significant reduction of the runner efficiency by increasing the hydraulic losses and should be considered in the analysis of the flow features within a runner which is likely to experiences cavitation in order to overcome some of the shortcomings of the single phase predictions.
School
School of Sciences and Engineering
Department
Mechanical Engineering Department
Degree Name
MS in Mechanical Engineering
Date of Award
Spring 6-1-2008
Online Submission Date
3-17-2008
First Advisor
Serag El Din, Amr
Committee Member 1
Ashraf Sabry
Committee Member 2
Lamyaa El-Gabry
Committee Member 3
Mustapha Rizk
Document Type
Thesis
Extent
107 p.
Rights
The author retains all rights with regard to copyright.
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IRB
Not necessary for this item
Recommended Citation
APA Citation
Anthony, W.
(2008).Analysis of the flow through a Francis' turbine runner using computational fluid dynamics [Thesis, the American University in Cairo]. AUC Knowledge Fountain.
https://fount.aucegypt.edu/retro_etds/2313
MLA Citation
Anthony, William. Analysis of the flow through a Francis' turbine runner using computational fluid dynamics. 2008. American University in Cairo, Thesis. AUC Knowledge Fountain.
https://fount.aucegypt.edu/retro_etds/2313
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.