Design of Kaplan Turbine Parameters in Relation to Design Point Position in a Turbine Hill Chart.

The design of turbine parameters is the basis for the entire hydropower plant project. After selecting the suitable turbine type and model, very important parameters are the runner diameter and the turbine speed. The primary background material for determining the turbine parameters for a given small hydropower plant is the universal hill chart of turbine. It is possible to change the turbine size and speed by shifting the design point position in the turbine hill chart, but at the same time, it will be changed also the range of operating heads and discharges. A suitable tool in designing process is the visualization of the design point in the turbine hill chart. When the universal hill chart is converted into the operational hill chart, shifting the range of operating heads and discharges at changing the design point position in universal hill chart can be directly displayed in it. The goal of this contribution is to show the connection between the modification of the turbine dimension and the speed (i.e. the shift of the design point position in the hill chart) and the movement of the operating area, on a concrete example. The presented graphical representation of the operational hill charts is the output of the projection tool involving a conversion of universal hill chart into the operational hill chart. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]