FSI analysis of Francis turbines

Sediment erosion is one of the key challenges in hydraulic turbines from a design and maintenance perspective in Himalayas and Andes. Past research works have shown that the optimization of the Francis turbine runner blade shapes can decrease erosion by a significant amount. This study has taken the proposed designs from past works and conducted a CFD analysis on a single passage of a Francis runner blade to choose an optimized design in terms of erosion and efficiency. Structural analyses have been performed on the selected design through one-way and two-way FSI to compare the structural integrity of the designs.

Autorentext

Mr. Sailesh Chitrakar is currently doing PhD in 'Sediment Erosion and Secondary Flow in Francis Turbines' from NTNU, Norway and KU, Nepal. He did his Masters from KTH, Sweden in Turbomachineries and Aeromechanics.