scholarly journals A Case Study: Sediment Erosion in Francis Turbines Operated at the San Francisco Hydropower Plant in Ecuador

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 8
Author(s):  
Cristian Cruzatty ◽  
Darwin Jimenez ◽  
Esteban Valencia ◽  
Ivan Zambrano ◽  
Christian Mora ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
San Francisco ◽  
Erosion Rate ◽  
Guide Vane ◽  
Flow Simulation ◽  
Numerical Approach ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Hydropower Plant ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Sediment Erosion ◽  
Main Components

The operation of various types of turbomachines is importantly affected by sediment erosion. Francis turbines used for power generation typically suffer said effects due to the fact that they are used in sediment-laden rivers and are usually operated disregarding the long-term effect of the erosion on turbine performance. This investigation seeks to study the erosion rate for the main components of the turbines located at San Francisco hydropower plant in Pastaza, Ecuador. A sediment characterization study was performed in order to determine the properties of the particles present in Pastaza River and accurately predict their effect on the turbine flow passages. A numerical approach combining liquid–solid two-phase flow simulation and an erosion model was used to analyze the erosion rates at different operating conditions and determine wear patterns in the components. As expected, the results indicated that an increase in the erosion rate was obtained for higher intake flows. However, a dramatic increase in the erosion rate was observed when the turbine was operated at near-full-load conditions, specifically when guide vane opening exceeded a 90% aperture.

scholarly journals Calculation of a two-phase system of a liquified hydrocarbon gas

2019 ◽  
Vol 135 ◽  
pp. 04003
Author(s):  
Anna Malysheva
Keyword(s):  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Molecular Structures ◽  
Phase System ◽  
Liquefied Petroleum Gas ◽  
Hydrocarbon Gases ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Safety Issues ◽  
Hydrocarbon Gas ◽  
Main Components ◽  
Liquefied Hydrocarbon Gases

Liquefied hydrocarbon gases are a mixture of chemical compounds, consisting mainly of hydrogen and carbon with different molecular structures. The main components of liquefied hydrocarbon gases are propane and butane, containing lighter hydrocarbons (methane and ethane) and heavier ones (pentane) in the form of impurities. All of these components are saturated hydrocarbons. The composition of liquefied hydrocarbon gases can also include unsaturated hydrocarbons: ethylene, propylene, butylene. Butane-butylenes may be present as isomeric compounds (isobutane and isobutylene). When designing and operating liquefied petroleum gas systems, it is necessary to take into account the external equilibrium between the liquid and the gas. The paper analyzes the change in the ratio of components, in which the relative content of lighter hydrocarbons will decrease, while the content of heavier ones will increase. With an intensive flow of gas, the temperature of the liquid will drop sharply, estimation will be disturbed, and the vessel will freeze. Therefore, when operating balloon installations, it is very important to consider safety issues that are associated with containers’ filling, as well as with the change in the composition of hydrocarbon gases mixture. The discussed issues related to the calculation of a two-phase system of liquefied hydrocarbon gas can improve the operating conditions of the systems.

scholarly journals Development of a Hydropower Turbine Using Seawater from a Fish Farm

Processes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 266
Author(s):  
Md Rakibuzzaman ◽  
Sang-Ho Suh ◽  
Hyoung-Ho Kim ◽  
Youngtae Ryu ◽  
Kyung Yup Kim
Keyword(s):  
Power Plants ◽  
Guide Vane ◽  
Cross Flow ◽  
Synchronous Generator ◽  
Fish Farm ◽  
Hydropower Plant ◽  
Fish Farms ◽  
Data Simulation ◽  
Small Hydropower ◽  
Hydropower Plants

Discharge water from fish farms is a clean, renewable, and abundant energy source that has been used to obtain renewable energy via small hydropower plants. Small hydropower plants may be installed at offshore fish farms where suitable water is obtained throughout the year. It is necessary to meet the challenges of developing small hydropower systems, including sustainability and turbine efficiency. The main objective of this study was to investigate the possibility of constructing a small hydropower plant and develop 100 kW class propeller-type turbines in a fish farm with a permanent magnet synchronous generator (PMSG). The turbine was optimized using a computer simulation, and an experiment was conducted to obtain performance data. Simulation results were then validated with experimental results. Results revealed that streamlining the designed shape of the guide vane reduced the flow separation and improved the efficiency of the turbine. Optimizing the shape of the runner vane decreased the flow rate, reducing the water power and increasing the efficiency by about 5.57%. Also, results revealed that tubular or cross-flow turbines could be suitable for use in fish farm power plants, and the generator used should be waterproofed to avoid exposure to seawater.

scholarly journals A theoretical and numerical approach for selecting miniaturized antenna topologies on magneto-dielectric substrates

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 369-377 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex Pacini ◽  
Alessandra Costanzo ◽  
Diego Masotti
Keyword(s):  
Near Field ◽  
Dielectric Materials ◽  
Numerical Approach ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Microwave Range ◽  
Dielectric Substrates ◽  
Full Wave ◽  
Miniaturized Antenna ◽  
Wavelength Radiation ◽  
Definition Of

An increasing interest is arising in developing miniaturized antennas in the microwave range. However, even when the adopted antennas dimensions are small compared with the wavelength, radiation performances have to be preserved to keep the system-operating conditions. For this purpose, magneto-dielectric materials are currently exploited as promising substrates, which allows us to reduce antenna dimensions by exploiting both relative permittivity and permeability. In this paper, we address generic antennas in resonant conditions and we develop a general theoretical approach, not based on simplified equivalent models, to establish topologies most suitable for exploiting high permeability and/or high-permittivity substrates, for miniaturization purposes. A novel definition of the region pertaining to the antenna near-field and of the associated field strength is proposed. It is then showed that radiation efficiency and bandwidth can be preserved only by a selected combinations of antenna topologies and substrate characteristics. Indeed, by the proposed independent approach, we confirm that non-dispersive magneto-dielectric materials with relative permeability greater than unit, can be efficiently adopted only by antennas that are mainly represented by equivalent magnetic sources. Conversely, if equivalent electric sources are involved, the antenna performances are significantly degraded. The theoretical results are validated by full-wave numerical simulations of reference topologies.

Numerical Study on the Erosion Characteristics of U-Type Bend for Gas Solid Flow

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu Wang ◽  
Qi He ◽  
Ming Liu ◽  
Weixiong Chen ◽  
Junjie Yan
Keyword(s):  
Particle Size ◽  
Erosion Rate ◽  
Loading Rate ◽  
Pipe Wall ◽  
Numerical Study ◽  
Pulverized Coal ◽  
Mass Loading ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Inlet Velocity ◽  
Pipe System

In pulverized coal-fired plant, the U-type bend is commonly used in flue gas and pulverized coal pipe system to due to the constraints of outer space. And gas-solid two-phase flow exists in these pipelines. The erosion of the pipe has significant effect on the safety and reliability of pipelines. In present paper, the erosion characteristics of U-type bend were investigated through CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) method. The wear distribution on the pipe wall was obtained. And the particle flow characteristics in U-type bend were analyzed. The influence of inlet velocity, mass loading rate and particle size on the erosion rate was studied as well. Result suggested that the maximum erosion rate increases exponentially with the increase of inlet velocity. And maximum erosion rate increases linearly with the increasing mass loading rate. Increasing particle size can aggravate the wear on the pipe wall.

scholarly journals Coupling Analysis of Fluid-Structure Interaction and Flow Erosion of Gas-Solid Flow in Elbow Pipe

2014 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 815945 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hongjun Zhu ◽  
Hongnan Zhao ◽  
Qian Pan ◽  
Xue Li
Keyword(s):  
Erosion Rate ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
Fluid Structure Interaction ◽  
Fluid Phase ◽  
Diameter Ratio ◽  
Pipe Diameter ◽  
Discrete Phase Model ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Fluid Structure ◽  
Structure Interaction

A numerical simulation has been conducted to investigate flow erosion and pipe deformation of elbow in gas-solid two-phase flow. The motion of the continuous fluid phase is captured based on calculating three-dimensional Reynolds-averaged-Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations, while the kinematics and trajectory of the discrete particles are evaluated by discrete phase model (DPM), and a fluid-structure interaction (FSI) computational model is adopted to calculate the pipe deformation. The effects of inlet velocity, pipe diameter, and the ratio of curvature and diameter on flow feature, erosion rate, and deformation of elbow are analyzed based on a series of numerical simulations. The numerical results show that flow field, erosion rate, and deformation of elbow are all sensitive to the structural changes and inlet condition changes. Higher inlet rate, smaller curvature diameter ratio, or smaller pipe diameter leads to greater deformation, while slower inlet rate, larger curvature diameter ratio, and larger pipe diameter can weaken flow erosion.

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