CFD Approach for Flow Investigations in Hydraulic Reaction Turbines – A Review

Abstract

For cost-effective design of hydro turbines it is essential to design a system according to fluid behavior in the flow passage. Due to complexity of the flow many times it may not be practically feasible to carry out experimental investigations. Instead, flow can be simulated numerically comparatively easily and at low cost using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) approach. Many researchers have used CFD technique for flow simulation in hydraulic turbomachinery. This paper reviews the research being carried out by different investigators in the hydraulic Reaction turbines by CFD approach. Starting with Q3D-Euler and 3D-Euler, today usually Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes equations together with robust models of turbulence like standard k- is used. The current industry standard for CFD simulation in hydraulic turbomachinery is also presented.