Viscous Flow Analysis as a Design Tool for Hydraulic Turbine Components

Viscous flow analysis based on the full Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations is being applied to successfully predict turbulent flow characteristics and energy losses in different hydraulic turbine components. It allows the designer to evaluate the hydraulic performance of alternative designs before proceeding with laboratory testing or to perform elaborate parametric study to optimize the hydraulic design. In this paper, the applications of three-dimensional viscous flow analysis as an analytical design tool for elbow draft tube and spiral casing are presented and their impact on engineering design assessed.