(ON "VORTEX BREAKDOWN" Yu. D.

Shmyglevsidi, 1995)

Vortex breakdown in a steady flow involves either a sudden thickening with the development of
reverse currents in the central part of the swirling flow or a sharp transition from a vortex cord to
a spiral. Reviews of the work on vortex breakdown can be found in

2. I.S. Gastshore, "Recent wcck in swirling incompressible flow," Nat. Res. Coun. Canada,
Aeronaut. Pep., LR-343 (1962).
3. M . G . Hall, "Vortex breakdown," Ann. Rev. Fluid Mech., 4, 195 (1972).
4. S. Leibovich, "The structure of vortex breakdown," Ann. Rev. Fluid Mech., 10, 221 (1978).
5. S. Leibovich, "Vortex stability and breakdown: survey and extension," ~ JournaZ, 22, 1192
(1984).
6. M. Escuder~ "Vortex breakdown: observations and explanations," Prog~. Aerospace Sci., 25,
189 (1988).
7. R.E. Span, T. B. Gatski, and R. L Ash, ~I'he structure and dynamics of bubble-type vortex
breakdown," Proc. Roy. $oc., A429, No. 1877, 613 (1990).

In the photographs in [4, 6] the structure of the vortex formations can be seen. The vortex
thickening system ("bubble") contains either a single ring vortex dosed on the axis [6] or two
vortices, one of which is embedded in the other [4, 6]. In [2-6] a parallel is drawn between vortex
formation and the separation of a viscous fluid flow from a streamlined surface.

If 0 , the pattern of the curves =0 const does not change

Harvey (1962) performed experiments on swirling flows within a tube. By varying the swirl
level, he found that the breakdown was an intermediate stage between weakly swirling flows,
which exhibit no flow reversal, and rapidly swirling flows with columnar flow reversals. The
flow reversal was considered as indicative of a critical phenomenon. He described the
breakdown as giving the impression that an imaginary spherical body has been placed on the
axis of the vortex, around which the fluid is obliged to flow. In practice, the imaginary object is a
bubble which takes the form of a slightly elongated sphere (elliptic shape) of stagnant fluid
downstream of which conditions similar to those ahead of it are restored for a short distance
until a second breakdown occurs

[SCI Review on Sources of vibration and their treatment in hydro power stations-A review
2016]

Harvey [57] was the first one who started observing the helical vortices in a straight diffusing
pipe with air-controlled move in twisting flow. Benjamin [58,59] performed an analysis on the
swirling flow after the breakdown of the vortex. Cassidy and Falvey [60] discussed the
dependency of vortex break down on the ratio of angular momentum and axial momentum [61].

(Nicolet, EPFL Thesis 2007)

Early analytical investigations were able to predict the occurrence of the famous phenomenon
known as the vortex breakdown and are expected when reverse flow occurs along the
axis, see Benjamin 1962 [12]. Such phenomenon was soon confirmed experimentally by
Harvey, 1962 [71], with an apparatus generating an air swirling flow extending in a cone
and evidencing the vortex breakdown by smoke injection, see figure 8.9. The precessing
motion of the vortex induced by the swirling flow was also evidenced. Using a similar
apparatus, Cassidy and Flavey, 1970 [33], have highlighted the dependency of the vortex
precession frequency on the ratio between the axial and swirl momentum. Therefore the
Despite decades of experimental, analytical and numerical researches; the physical mechanisms
underlying the formation of vortex breakdown is still controversial.

Fig.: Vortex filaments (cord) at part load and full load (lec notes)
Figure 2: Bubble type breakdown (from Sarpkaya, 1971a)

Figure 6: Formation of an axisymmetric bubble by core swelling (from Escudier, 1988)

Figure 19: Photograph and schematic representation of a bubble breakdown (Escudier, 1988)

Figure 18: Double ring structure (Faler and Leibovich, 1978)

Figure 4: Double helix breakdown (from Sarpkaya, 1971a)

Figure 3: Spiral type breakdown (from Leibovich, 1978)

Figure 5: Bubble breakdown followed by a spiralling tail (from Sarpkaya, 1971a)

Figure 7: Multiple breakdown (from Sarpkaya, 1971b

Figure 8: Behaviour of the axial filament (Lambourne, 1967)
(Susan resiga, 2006)

The flow rate of the turbine controls the swirl, and has the single most important influence on the
occurrence of pulsation. Therefore, it is convenient to use a non-dimensional number for the
discharge to quantify this, usually QnD/QnD,opt. The discharge Q is a good scaling parameter
only in the usual case of a turbine operating at constant, synchronous speed. But in other cases
such as a model test, the discharge coefficient QnD should be used because the swirl-free
discharge varies with the flow and the runner speed. Apart from the swirl ratio and the radial

velocity distribution, the cavitation number also plays an important role. (Drofler, 2013)

The Processing vortex rope (PVR)

PVR stems from the draft tube instability generated by the swirl formation after the runner exit
during the low load operation. On its turn, PVR may instigate pressure oscillations and the entire
system vibration (Bhan et al. 1988) that may grow even hazardous if its frequency gets closer to
values of natural frequency of the structure (Koutnik et al. 1996)

Part-load instability in the conic station of the DT results from:

 High swirl number (momenta ratio in angular direction and axial direction) with the
consequent swirl formation
The axially measured high pressure gradient that is useful for turbine function but
unfavorable for stable operation. This adverse pressure is predominantly associated with
the runner exit velocity profile (the averaged flow velocity displays an axial component
quite weak at the center, of which the circumferential component is zero) and the cone
form tailored for diffusive pressure recovery.

The phenomena underlying (physical mechanisms for) the corked-screw shaped vortex rope rely
on the generation of negatively oriented component of the axial velocity at the cone center with a
radial component towards the cone axis; of which its upwardly recessing component combined
with the weak axial velocity component persistent at the runner exit central zone, engenders the
quasi-stagnation region or dead water core (stalling zone). This reversed upflow pattern, with
physical flow decomposition effect, is technically designated as the vortex breakdown. This
terminology alludes to the ensued perturbation with immediate buildup of recirculation zone
around the axis of swirl

The term breakdown refers to a columnar vortex with a quickly unexpected behavioral
modification at axial stations; on the other hand, it is visually noticed from the abrupt vortex core
broadening accompanied with axial flow slackening and it is frequently followed by the
formation of one or many recirculation zones.(Lopez, J. axisymmetric vortex breakdown part 1,
confined swirling flow. J. Fluid Mech. 221 (1990), 533-552.

Thesis EPFL

The vortex breakdown has attracted much research interestingness from its diagnosis in vortices
residing at delta-wing tip of aircraft (Peckham and Atkinson 1957); it has been also detected with
severity at the high angle of attack in highly maneuverable military aircraft.
(Mauris, 2002)

At some runners the vortex is very weak also at extreme part load regime, but in some cases the
vortex can be very strong with high amplitudes of the pressure pulsations. Unfortunately, it is not
possible to predict the direct connection between the runner shape and dynamic characteristics of
the turbine.
It is for this reason necessary to complete the research work in this area, especially numerical
prediction of the vortex formation and pressure pulsations characteristics, before any part of the
turbine is constructed. (Jot, 2010)

In high load operating conditions, vortex rope behaves as an internal energy source which leads
to the self-excitation of the system, which leads to self-excited pressure oscillations in the whole
hydraulic system [1], [2]. Allign, S., Nicolet, Ch., Allenbach, P., Kawkabani, B., Simond, J.-J.,
& Avellan, F. (2008).In Proceedings of 24th IAHR, symposium on hydraulic machinery and
systems, Foz do Iguassu, Brazil, 2731 Oct 2008.

A more tractable approach for investigating the swirling flow in the turbine discharge cone is to
use a simplified axi-symmetric flow model since the geometry is axial-symmetric. In comparison
with three-dimensional unsteady flow simulation, the axi-symmetric flow computation is
obviously several orders of magnitude less expensive in terms of computing time and resources.
However, the main drawback of this approach is that the circumferentially averaged flow
provides a steady velocity and pressure fields, without any direct indication on the real flow
unsteadiness. A stability analysis of this axi-symmetric base flow could eventually provide
additional information with respect to the most amplified perturbations and their dominant
frequency, but it cannot estimate the level of pressure fluctuations associated with the flow
unsteadiness.

A mathematical model to be used for analysis of swirling flow with spiral vortex core in a pipe
has been developed by Wang and Nishi [7]. Their quasi-three dimensional model considers a
superposition of an axisymmetric base flow with the velocity field induced by a helical vortex
filament. The base flow is divided in a main flow in an annular section, with a central dead water
region. The main flow has constant axial velocity and free-vortex circumferential velocity
distributions. On the other hand, Wang and Nishi consider a rigid body rotation (linear) for
circumferential velocity and a parabolic variation for the axial velocity in the central dead
water region. After superimposing the helical vortex on this base flow, the theoretical results for
the velocity profiles, both with vortex rope and circumferentially averaged, as well as the
precessing frequency, are shown in [7] to be in a reasonable agreement with experimental data.

Such a turbulent, axi-symmetric swirling flow can recover a circumferentially averaged flow
field, [5], in very good agreement with experimental data for axial and circumferential velocity
components. Moreover, this simplified model captures a central stagnant region in agreement
with the qualitative model proposed by Nishi et al. [6], and the vortex rope is located in the
region of large shear between the stagnant region and the annular swirling flow.

Under some circumstance, in particular in conditions of decelerating flow, the recirculation zone
may break down from one flow structure to another, a phenomenon known as vortex breakdown
or vortex bursting. The phenomenon of vortex breakdown is associated with an abrupt and
drastic change of flow structure. The helical corkscrew vortex at the boundary of the core is one
such structure but an alternative structure is an axisymmetric separation bubble on the axis of the
vortex (Drfler, 2013).

Sidney Leibovich, The Structure of Vortex Breakdown, Annual Review of Fluid Mechanics
10(1), 1978
The term 'vortex breakdown', as used in the reported investigation, refers to a disturbance
characterized by the formation of an internal stagnation point on the vortex axis, followed by
reversed flow in a region of limited axial extent. Two forms of vortex breakdown, which
predominate, are shown in photographs. One form is called 'near-axisymmetric' (sometimes
'axisymmetric'), and the other is called 'spiral'. A survey is presented of work published since
the 1972 review by Hall. Most experimental data taken since Hall's review have been in tubes,
and the survey deals primarily with such cases. It is found that the assumption of axial-symmetry
has produced useful results. The classification of flows as supercritical or subcritical, a step that
assumes symmetry, has proved universally useful. Experiments show that vortex breakdown
is always preceded by an upstream supercritical flow and followed by a subcritical wake.
However, a comparison between experiments and attempts at prediction is less than encouraging.
For a satisfactory understanding of the structure of vortex breakdown it is apparently
necessary to take into account also aspects of asymmetry.

At part load, the vortex rope is shaped like a corkscrew, wrapped around a recirculation zone
in the center [45, 60]. At full load on the other hand, the cavity has a nearly axisymmetric shape
along the draft tube centerline.

Figure 3: a waterfall diagram with Power spectral densities of the pressure fluctuations in the
draft tube cone of a Francis turbine at = 0.11 over a load range of 30% to 137%. The BEP is
located at a discharge factor of QED = 0.2, surrounded by a cavitation-free zone.
The resonance observed at QED = 0.166, or at 82% of the discharge at the BEP, occurs when the
frequency of the vortex rope precession matches the first hydroacoustic eigenfrequency of the
system, as reported by Favrel et al. [18].

Mathematical model of the cavitated vortex core in the draft tube of a turbine (Brane irok
, BogdaN. Blagojevic , Tom Bajcar & Ferdinand Trenc (2003) Simultaneous study of
pressure pulsation and structural fluctuations of a cavitated vortex core in the draft tube of
a Francis turbine)

The source was taken from Fanelli who proposed a modified version of a Fritsch-Maria model
with one degree of freedom and with the following features [14]:
"Stiffness" of the observed system is represented by the isothermal gas cavitation represented
by the volume of the cavitated vortex core;
"Mass" of the system is represented by the mass inertia of the liquid phase in a draft tube; the
fluid is assumed to be incompressible;
"Resistance" is determined by the hydraulic friction.

It was also assumed that the pressure fluctuations in the draft tube and the structural fluctuations
of the vortex core represent variables with one degree of freedom
 Where w denotes the volume of the gaseous phase in the vortex core and
q represents the oscillations of the fluid in a draft tube (q is equal to zero at the outlet of the draft
tube).

Where h represents the change of the pressure head at the inlet of the draft tube, I denotes the
coefficient of inertia of the water column and k represents coefficient of the hydraulic friction.
Each variable can be written as the sum of a constant and of a variable part:

These assumptions can be used to form the equation of state for the water vapour in the cavitated
vortex core.

(P.V = Cste)
Equation (8) contains an eigenoscillation of the cavitated vortex core. In the case of the forced
oscillation Eq. (8) changes into:

Fanelli defined a dimensionless variable:

Thus, we can rewrite

and by reforming:

Represents a non-linear oscillator model, which

links volume fluctuations of the vortex core in the draft tube and pressure pulsations in the
system.
The gas volume of an air-vapor mixture in the core is entrained by the pressure pulsation and
vibrates with the processional frequency of the core.
(Nishi, 1984)

Figure 6 shows the static pressure distribution on the monitoring section at an instant, and the
eccentric vortex rope makes an inhomogeneous pressure distribution. With the rotation of the
rope, pressure transducer at p1 can measure a pulsation. The larger the eccentric distance and
rope diameter are, the larger the amplitude could be. For small amount of air admission, the rope
diameter increases, and the pressure fluctuation amplitude increases a little.

(A Yu
et al., 2015)
Fig.: Flow regime chart at inlet cone angle of 90

Nishi M and Liu S H 2013 An Outlook on the Draft-Tube-Surge Study International Journal of
Fluid Machinery and Systems 6-1 33

It is common to measure the pulsation at several locations around the circumference of the cone
simultaneously and calculate the rms values of the fundamental frequency band of the vortex
precession in the draft tube cone (drofler2013)

Farhat et al. [8] illustrated the benefits of the cavitation monitoring in hydraulic turbines using a
vibratory approach. This technique was used in a large Francis turbine in order to validate as
light modification of its distributor, which was intended to reduce the cavitation aggressiveness
and thereby the related erosion. Cavitation-induced vibrations were measured in fixed parts of
the turbine prototype and compared to those measured in a similar and non-rehabilitated turbine.

Cavitation is a phenomenon of formation of vapor bubbles in low pressure regions and collapse
in high pressure regions, high pressure is produced and metallic surfaces are subjected to high
local stresses. It is difficult to avoid cavitation in hydro turbines which cannot be avoided
completely, but can be reduced to an economically acceptable level. Pardeep Kumar, R.P. Saini,
Study of cavitation in hydro turbinesA review, 2010
Excitations Sources in Francis Turbines [Christophe Nicolet, hydroacoustic
modelling and numerical simulation of unsteady operation of hydroelectric systems, EPFL
phd thesis 2007]
The complex flow structure developing in a Francis turbine leads to several types of excitation
related to cavitation, vortices (cavitating or not) and rotor-stator interactions.
The typical excitations source induced by the flow in a Francis turbine are the following:
part load vortex rope excitation: in the frequency range of 0.2 - 0.4 n [126];
upper part load vortex rope excitation: in the frequency range of 2 -6 n [44];
full load vortex rope excitation: in the frequency range of 0.1 - 1 n [79];
[126] Rheingans, W. J. Power swing in hydroelectric power plants. Transaction ASME
62 (1940), 171184.
[44] Dorfler, P. K. Observation of the pressure pulsation on Francis model turbine with high
specific speed. Hydropower & Dams (January 1994), 2126.
[79] Jacob, T. Evaluation sur mod`ele reduit et prediction de la stabilite de fonctionnement des
turbines Francis. PhD thesis, EPFL, Lausanne, 1993. N1146.

interblade cavitating vortices: in the frequency range of 8 - 12 n [100];

 rotor stator excitation: in the frequency range of 1 - 4 Zb n [22];
von Karman vortex shedding: in the Strouhal range of St = 0.1 - 0.3 [18];
bubble and sheet cavitation: in the frequency range of 0.5 - 12 kHz [25].
If all these excitation sources may result in unacceptable solicitations of the turbine structure,
only a small part of them is expected to result in strong interaction with the hydraulic system.
Indeed, many of these excitations are in a high frequency range with respect to the size of the
hydraulic circuit of a power plant. However, some high frequency phenomena can excite an
Eigen frequency of a scale model test rig, while it does not on the prototype because of the
difference of hydroacoustic parameters of both installations. Especially, a given rated frequency
on a scale model corresponds usually to a higher rank of system Eigen frequency harmonics of
the actual power plant, and then benefits from higher damping on the prototype.
Therefore, the excitations of particular interest regarding the risk of hydroacoustic resonance
during prototype operation, are the part load, upper part load and full load vortex rope
excitations, and the rotor-stator excitations. The risk of resonance with interblade vortices
potentially exists, but was never reported on prototype or scale model. However, the related
cavitation compliance may play a strong role in the determination of the Eigen frequencies of a
hydraulic installation.

[Christophe Nicolet, Amirreza Zobeiri, Pierre Maruzewski and Franois Avellan,

Experimental investigations on upper part load vortex rope pressure fluctuations in
Francis turbine draft tube, 2011]
Moreover, a shock phenomenon may occur in the same operating range and induce structural
vibrations due to vortex rope impacts on the draft tube wall
The Froude number is given by
 Fr=C ref / g . Lref = E / g . Lref = H / Lref

Where Cref is the turbine reference velocity, E is the specific energy. The Froude number
affects the distribution of cavitation in the flow as it determines the pressure gradient relatively to
the size of the machine.
The relation between the position of the vapor pressure pv can be expressed as a function of the
Froude number, see Franc et al. [16], neglecting Reynolds effects, assuming the same cavitation
number as a function of the reference position Zref as follows:

The Froude number being usually smaller on prototype than in the model, the elevation of the
position of the cavitation is higher on prototype than in the model, [16], and [17]. Due to the
difference of Froude numbers, the vortex rope on scale model is more narrow and longer than on
prototype as illustrated in Fig. 15, see Drfler [18].

Fig. 15 Difference of the cavitation development between model (M) and prototype (P) due to
difference in Froude numbers
([M V Magnoli and M Maiwald, Influence of Hydraulic Design on Stability and on
Pressure Pulsations in Francis Turbines at Overload, Part Load and Deep Part Load based
on Numerical Simulations and Experimental Model Test Results 2014]
Some dynamic effects, as higher part load and full load instability, could be especially
challenging for the machine smooth operation, but they are not directly transposable from the
model to the prototype and very seldom present at the prototype.
Owing to administered volume flow, each of the dynamic effects with their corresponding
pressure oscillations grows more significant. Typical amplitudes of the pressure pulsations,
H/H, are schematically presented in Figure 2 and associated to the different flow phenomena.
The guide vane opening, , can be related to the fluid flow.

Figure: Typical amplitudes spectrum of pressure pulsations, H/H, over various operational
regimes parceled out by the guide vane opening, , (M V Magnoli and M Maiwald, 2014).
Deep part load, where the runner channel vortex might be encountered, is also at the origin of
typically high pressure oscillation amplitudes.
Figure. Regions in the turbine hill chart related to dynamic effects.
At overload, full load instability may arise in very special cases. At full load operation, the rotor-
stator-interaction may become important, especially at low specific speed machines.
The several dynamic effects in Francis turbines are associated with typical flow patterns at
the turbine runner, which can be observed during the machine model test and to a certain extent
even be simulated and visualised with modern computational fluid dynamic (CFD) techniques.
Typical fluid flow patterns can be found in Figure 3, where pictures of the cavitating runner
outlet flow could be seen. Depending on the driving phenomenon, different flow characteristics
are observed.
Figure 3. Flow patterns in the turbine hill chart regions associated to dynamic effects.

[Y. Wu et al., Vibration of Hydraulic Machinery, Mechanisms and Machine Science 11,
DOI: 10.1007/978-94-007-6422-4_6, Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2013]
Operation Range and Pressure Pulsation
For a prototype Francis turbine, the range in the operation performance curve is divided into
several zones according to flow features, as shown in Fig. 6.2a. These features are non-vortex
rope, full load, part load, channel vortex, flow separation zone on the suction side of the blades
leading edge (i.e. high head case), flow separation zone on the pressure side of the blades
leading edge (i.e. very low head and large load case), and cavitation at the trailing edge of the
blade (overload case). Figure 6.2b is another type of performance curve for a prototype Francis
turbine proposed by Russian manufacturers. The abscissa is power ratio and the ordinate is head
ratio. Figure 6.3 shows the shape of draft-tube cavity-vortex under different operation conditions

Tao, X. M., & Liu, G. L. (2004). Hydarulic satabulity problems of Francis turbine. Large
Hydraulic machinery in China, 4, 4045.

Sotnikov, A. A., & Pylev, I. M. (2001). Experience at Leningrad metallurgical plant with water
turbines for use over wide ranges in head and load. Power Technology and Engineering, 35(2),
7377.
Fig. 6.2 a Operation zones in prototype characteristics curves of Francis turbine Abscissa is
water head (unit: m) and ordinate is power (unit: W) (Tao and Liu 2004). b Performance zones of
prototype Francis turbine (From Leningrad Metallurgical Plant), (see Sotnikov and Pylev 2001)
Figure 6.2b shows four zones or regions:
Zone 1: The flow at the runner outlet has positive circulation. Vibration of the turbine is usually
small, with a very low efficiency. However, Francis turbines are not recommended for operated
at this zone except for spinning as a stand-by unit (i.e. no-load). The flow pattern is shown in
Fig. 6.3a. There is a dead flow region in the draft tube.
Zone 2: The amplitude of pressure pulsation, especially in a draft tube, is high, with low
frequency. This results from the helical vortex rope in the draft tube, as shown in Fig. 6.3b and c.
The rotating frequency of this rope is 0.150.33 times the runners rotating frequency. The
turbine is usually not allowed to operate in this region for a long time if a reliable device for air
admission to the draft tube is available. If no air admission device is equipped, machines may be
destroyed within a few years of operation.
Zone 3: Stable operation at high efficiency is achieved since no obvious vortex rope presents
under the runner exit as shown in Fig. 6.3e.
Zone 4: Under the exit of runner there is a negative vortex rope (i.e. it rotates in the opposite
direction of runner rotation). The pressure pulsation increases, and severe cavitation occurs. This
is the second vibration zone of the turbine runner.
The vortex rope is shown in Fig. 6.3f as an onion-like shape.
Fig. 6.3 Shape of draft tube cavity-vortices a dead flow case in the draft tube. b helical vortex
rope in draft tube at very small flow case c helical vortex rope in draft tube at small flow rate
d straight rope at higher part-load case e no votex rope at high efficiency case f onion shape rope
at high flow rate case
Another operation zone named for higher part-load is possible where the vortex shape is similar
to Fig. 6.3d. This zone usually appears on Francis turbines of high specific speed at the flow rate
ranging from 75 to 90 % of the optimum. The pressure pulsation frequency is 15 times of the
runner rotating frequency fn.
Descriptions of pressure pulsation in a draft tube
The graph on the left of Fig. 6.4 is the operation curve of a model turbine in which the abscissa is
the flow rate coefficient, and the ordinate indicates energy coefficient. For a given rotating speed,
the required efficiency contour and guide vane opening contour curves can be deduced from the
model characteristics chart in this figure.
Turbine characteristics are specified by the unit energy a and the unit flow rate b at BOP. But the
rated turbine characters of a hydro power project is specified by unit energy c and unit flow rate
at the rated point of the station, which are usually different from those at BOP.
The continuous operation range of the turbine is restricted by the following factors: the minimum
of guide vane opening d, the maximum of guide vane opening e, the maximum and minimum
unit energy coefficients f and g of the project and the maximum power of the generator used in
the station.
The graph on the right of Fig. 6.4 shows variation of pressure pulsation amplitudes in the draft
tube from minimum to maximum of guide vane openings under the rated energy unit c condition.
In this figure, the dimensionless amplitude is the function of dimensionless flow rate and
frequency (obtained via the Fourier transform).
Numbered turbine operation from one to 5 are very low flow rate, part load, high part load, high
efficiency, and full load respectively.
Fig. 6.4 Francis turbines operation range with a pressure pulsation water fall graph in draft tube
(Jacob and Prenat 1996) (a) performance chat (b) waterfall of pressure fluctuation based on FFT
a) Helical vortex rope precession at part load. 2 indicates the pressure pulsation zone with the
precession of a helical vortex rope in draft tube. The vortex rope rotates around its center
with angular speed . The precession is a rotation movement of a rotating center of the
vortex rope around another fixed axis (central axis of the conical part) with another angular
speed . is called the precession angular speed as discussed in Chap. 4 . In the case
of a
part load, the combined effect of the conical diffuser and the elbow causes the flow at the
runner exit with a positive circulation to have a precession movement around the axis of the
conical part of draft-tube. Furthermore, the Tomas cavitation number will be small enough to
induce cavitation at the low pressure centre of the vortex rope, referred to as the cavity vortex
precession.

[Jacob, T., & Prenat, J.E. (1996). Francis turbine surge: Discussion and data base.
Proceedings of the 18th IAHR Symposium (pp. 855864) Valencia]
A system is considered as stable in sustained operating conditions if the response to unavoidable
disturbances does not endanger its safety. Normal disturbances of hydraulic turbines are pressure
fluctuations [3, 5, 10], influenced by machine design, operating conditions and by the dynamic
response of the water conduits and rotating components. They may be associated with
mechanical fluctuations of shaft torque, rotational speed, hydraulic load on guide vanes etc. as
well as with vibrations.
(O Kirschner, A Ruprecht, E Gde and S Riedelbauch Experimental investigation of
pressure fluctuations caused by a vortex rope in a draft tube, 2012: The appearance of the
vortex rope corresponds to the strength of the swirl at the runner outlet [1]. The rotation of the
vortex rope causes pressure oscillations. The frequencies of these pressure fluctuations are
relatively low and can be in the range of an eigenfrequency of the power plant water passage. If
the frequency of the pressure oscillation correlates with an eigenfrequency of the water passage,
unacceptable amplitudes in the pressure oscillation may occur. As a consequence the operation
range of the hydro power plant must be limited [2]. In addition to low frequencies caused by the
rotation of the vortex rope and the harmonics of these frequencies also pressure fluctuations with
higher frequencies can be observed. In figure 1 the pressure fluctuation is shown.

The fluctuation of the measured pressure is normalized by the head with equation:
.
The frequencies of these fluctuations are no multiple of the vortex rope rotation frequencies and
differ from frequencies of externally forced fluctuations like e.g. rotor-stator interaction. Koutnik
et al presented the rotation of a cavitating elliptical rope cross-section as the cause of these
fluctuations in higher part load operation [3, 4]. In figure 2 a scheme of this rotation in addition
to the rotation of the vortex rope is depicted.

Results of the comparison

Figure 11 shows a sketch of the vortex rope movement in a longitudinal section. The rotation of
the vortex rope leads to a movement of the vortex core downstream in the shear layer between
the main flow and the stagnation region in the center of the draft tube. Additionally the vortex
rope core rotates around its axis.

A correlation between the pressure fluctuation and the movement of the vortex rope can be
identified. The pressure fluctuation is a superposition of the low frequency pressure fluctuation
causedby the rotation of the vortex core and the higher frequency pressure fluctuation caused by
the rotation of the vortex rope.

(Landry et al., Local wave speed and bulk flow viscosity in Francis turbines at part load
operation 2016):
The hydraulic resistance R and the hydraulic inductance L correspond to energy losses and

inertia effects, respectively. The R a nd L parameters of the equivalent scheme are given by:

where is the local loss coefficient, D defines the diameter of the elementary pipe, g is the

gravity acceleration, Q is the discharge in the hydraulic pipe, and dx is the length of the pipe
element. These parameters are known from the draft tube geometry.

The divergent geometry of the draft tube has a destabilizing effect (Chen et al., 2008) and is
modelled through a negative resistance Rd:

The occurrence of a cavitation volume in the draft tube strongly decreases the wave speed.
Therefore, the convective term of the NavierStokes equations has to be taken into account
(Allign et al., 2014a) and is represented by a pressure source J:

The precession of the cavitation vortex rope is modelled by a momentum source Sh.

The dissipation representing internal processes breaking a thermodynamic equilibrium between

the cavitation volume and the surrounding liquid is described by a hydraulic resistance defined as

R , where represents the bulk viscosity and w is the water density:

However, there is no mathematical model to define the bulk viscosity in the hydroacoustic
representation of the cavitation vortex rope. The mathematical development of the cavitation
volume fluctuations yields a dynamic parameter called cavitation compliance CC. This dynamic
parameter represents the variation of the cavitation volume VC with respect to a variation of
pressure and implicitly defines the local wave speed a in the draft tube, influencing the travelling
time of pressure waves:

However, there is no mathematical model to predict the wave speed in the hydroacoustic
representation of the cavitation vortex rope. Finally, according to Franc et al. (1995), the pressure
field at the runner outlet p1 depends on the Thoma number , Froude number F, energy losses
ErIx and operating conditions, as below:
RI is the radius of the runner
Extreme operating points lead the water turbine to experience complex two-phase flow
phenomena, which are sources of dynamic loading of the turbine components as well as of the
complete hydraulic system.
The decrease in tailrace pressure level makes the vortex core visible as a gaseous vortex
rope. This phenomenon, referred to as cavitation, corresponds to vaporization at constant
temperature due to pressure decrease. The occurrence of the cavitation may induce a drop
in efficiency, a risk of erosion, and mechanical vibrations that could jeopardize the safety of
mechanical and hydraulic systems [27]. In order to avoid cavitation development at the runner
outlet for the best operating condition, the notion of Net Positive Suction Energy (NPSE) is
introduced, defining the maximum setting level of a turbine:

2
p p C
NPSE= B V g hs + I
W W 2

Where pV the vaporization pressure, W is represents the water density and C I defines

the

flow velocity at the turbine outlet. The level setting h s , defined in Figure is decisive in

characterizing the onset of cavitation phenomena. A dimensionless number called the Thomas
number and defined by the IEC is described as:

Thus, the higher the setting level, the lower the Thoma number. A low value of the Thoma
number indicates high risks of cavitation. In turbine mode, E represents the specific energy of
the turbine and is defined as a difference of specific hydraulic energies between the inlet I and
I
the outlet of the turbine.

pB p V C 2 p B p V C 2
g h s+ I g h s + I
NPSE W W 2 W W 2
= = =
E g H I g H I C2 C2
g ( p
w
+ gZ + ) (
2 I
g
p
w
+ gZ+
2 )
I

(SCI review study on cavitation 2010)

Elementary principles of Cavitation

Basic cavitation features an inseparable system of hydrodynamic cavitation and cavitation

damage for components. The damage suffered from cavitation and sediment erosion are distinct
in that the latter displays polished grooves and scallops whereas the former ensues spongy-
appearing region, holes till wider aperture section.

Closer or just during cavitation initiation; the cavitation exhibits individual cavities, also termed
as bubbles. The local hydrodynamic development of gas- or vapor-stuffed bubbles takes place
in depressurized regions and, conversely to usual potential flows, they end up swept into high
pressure belts. Irresistible to local pressure, they are subsequently smashed to emit a sound with
a scarce (but dense) pressure blow that may slowly (acceptably) result in boundary
deterioration or erosion.
The advanced cavitation leg gives rise to fluctuating gas-vapor pockets with a propensity to seem
preponderantly attached to a boundary, hence termed as fixed cavities by Knapp [10] in 1956.

In Hydraulic machinery, such as the pump; The cavitation do not result in rampant vibration or
noise unless its performance, expressed in terms for loss efficiency or head, overtakes some
percentage threshold (long-considered as 2% but currently assumed 1% for pumps)

Net positive suction head NPSH

= =
Total head H

Fig.: A sample sigma plot for the change in efficiency with sigma at constant discharge in typical
cavitation test

[Jorge Arpe; Christophe Nicolet1; Franois Avellan Experimental Evidence of

Hydroacoustic Pressure Waves in a Francis Turbine Elbow Draft Tube for Low Discharge
Conditions 2009]

The influence of the Thoma cavitation number, was investigated experimentally with a
laboratory swirling flow generator by Nishi 18,19, pointing out the apparition of the so-called
draft tube surge. The influence of the Thoma cavitation number on the swirling flow and the
pressure fluctuations were thoroughly studied in the case of elbow draft tubes of Francis turbine
scale model by Jacob 7 and, then, by Arpe 20. To emphasize the influence of the Thoma
cavitation number, the visualization of the cavitation vortex core development is reported Fig. 1
for two different values of sigma for the same operating conditions. Obviously, the gaseous
volume of the cavitation vortex core decreases when increases.

Cavitation and hydraulic Turbines

Comparably, hydraulic turbines are more complex than pumps owing to: Tunable wicket gates,
off-peak swirl in the draft tube and the higher specific speed equipped with tiltable runner blades.
Hence, countless operations are a characteristic of each turbine, of which even a unique constant
speed may have only one condition for optimum cavitation.

Off-load operations are enormously troublesome. Nonetheless, air intrusion can lessen the
cavitation noise, vibration and material deterioration and the choice of cavitation-resistant
material can be an alternative. These countermeasure are at best only partially effective; and
because best efficiencies are tied in near base load operations; better would be to demarcated the
operation within. Regrettably, the allowable cavitation principle is also applicable to turbines;
which renders the cavitation phenomenon unavoidable.

Only, conservative principles in: (1) runner design, (2) operating speed and (3) opting for the
turbine elevation may be a nostrum.

[James Daily, Fifth hunter Rouse hydraulic engineering lecture, Hydraulics divisions speciality
conference, Journal of hydraulics engineerin, 1986]

[Xian-wu LUO, Bin JI, Yoshinobu TSUJIMOTO A review of cavitation in hydraulic

machinery, Journal of Hydrodynamics 2016, 28(3):335-358]

It is clear that the runner design influences cavitation inception and development besides the
operation conditions such as the machine setting level and the operating point.

HUANG Yuan-fang, LIU Guang-ning and FAN Shi-ying. Research on prototype hydro-
turbine operation[M]. Beijing, China: Foreign Language Press, 2012, 53-56.

Since hydraulic stability as well as cavitation depends on the operation conditions, Fig.9 shows
six typical operation zones for a high specific speed Francis turbine (GVO marked a1-a9)
Fig.9 Typical performance diagram of a Francis turbine with a high specific speed

(1) At Zone 1, the flow at runner outlet has a circulation in the direction of runner rotation.
Because of low load and very low efficiency, the turbine should not be operated.

(2) Zone 2 is a partial load operation area, where the turbine is not allowed to be operated at a
long period. There is the predominant pressure fluctuation with a low frequency [116] as well as
discharge oscillation [117] due to helical vortex rope in draft tube shown in Fig.10(a).

The vortex rope is generally filled with cavitation since the pressure there is lower. According to

Rheingans[118], the frequency of pressure fluctuation is calculated by f =n/c where n is

rotational speed of the runner per second, c is a value of 3.2-4.0.

[116] ARPE J., NICOLET C. and AVELLAN F. Experimental evidence of hydroacoustic pressure waves in a Francis turbine elbow draft tube for
low discharge conditions[J]. Journal of Fluids Engineering, 2009, 131(8): 081102.
[117] MLLER A., DREYER M. and ANDREINI N. et al. Draft tube discharge fluctuation during self-sustained pressure surge: Fluorescent
particle image velocimetry in two-phase flow[J]. Experiments in Fluids, 2013, 54(4): 1-11.
[118] RHEINGANS W. J. Power swing in hydroelectric power plants[J]. Transaction of ASME, 1940, 62(3): 171-184.

(3) Francis turbines are usually operated at Zone 3 and Zone 4, where Zone 3 is a high partial
load operation zone with 65%-90% of optimal flow, and Zone 4 is the optimal efficiency
operation zone. In Zone 3, there can have pressure fluctuation with frequency higher than
rotating frequency. In Zone 4, there is no vortex rope in the draft tube, and the operation is stable.

(4) Zone 5 is the full load operation zone, where a cylindrical vortex rope with inverse runner
rotation can be observed as shown in Fig.10(b).
In full load conditions, self-oscillations may occur [119]. These self-oscillations are experienced
with an axial pulsation of the cavitation volume corresponding to the first eigenfrequency of the
system [120]. The onset of full load pressure surge may cause pressure and power oscillations.
The hydro-acoustic and modal analysis can be used to illustrate the self-induced oscillation
nature of the full hydraulic circuit [121].

[119] ALLIGNE S., NICOLET C. and TSUJIMOTO Y. et al. Cavitation surge modeling in Francis turbine draft tube[J]. Journal
of Hydraulic Research, 2014, 52(3): 399-411.
[120] JACOB T., PRNAT J. E. and VULLIOUD G. et al. Surging of 140 MW Francis turbines at high load, analysis and
solution[C]. 16th IAHR Symposium on Hydraulic Machinery and Cavitation: Progress in Technology. Sao Paulo, Brazil,
1992.
[121] KOUTNIK J., NICOLET C. A. and SCHOUL G. et al. Overload surge event in a pumped storage power plant[C]. 23rd
IAHR Symposium on Hydraulic Machinery and Systems. Yokohama, Japan, 2006.

(5) In the overload zone, i.e., Zone 6, both cavitation as well as pressure fluctuation increases.
Sometimes, a second vibration occurs [115].

[115] HUANG Yuan-fang, LIU Guang-ning and FAN Shi-ying. Research on prototype hydro-turbine operation[M]. Beijing,
China: Foreign Language Press, 2012, 53-56.

Among those zones, the vortex rope phenomenon has been extensively discussed, which occurs
at both partial load and full load conditions [122,123]. At partial load, the vortex rope develops
from the runner cone and wraps around the dead water region at the center of the draft tube. It is
also well recognized that the geometry of vortex rope depends on the operation load (flow
coefficient), though the rope diameter is dependent on cavitation number.
The great risk of a high amplitude pressure fluctuation in prototype turbine operation is due to
the resonance between the vortex rope rotation and the natural oscillation of the water in draft
tube when their frequencies become close to each other. The natural oscillation frequency f0 is
expressed as

1
1 Vv dL
f
0 2 H A
s dt

Where V v : is the volume of vortex rope. H s : is power station suction head. dL is the

length of draft tube centerline, and A dt is the area.

[[EPFL hydroacoustic modeling of cavitating VL, 2015] The frictionless natural frequency can
be inferred:

the experimental
frequency fexp is slightly different than the undamped case defined by f0 .
Therefore, it is important
to calculate the wave speed related to the natural frequency and the dissipation
parameter simultaneously]

The results [124] indicate that the rope diameter as well as diameter oscillation increases with the
decreasing cavitation number. The vortex position variations demonstrate that the vortex at
partial load has a kind of precessional motion, whose eccentricity increases downstream since the
diameter of dead water region increases downstream.

[122] SUSAN-RESIGA R., CIOCAN G. D. and ANTON I. et al. Analysis of the swirling flow downstream a Francis turbine
runner[J]. Journal of Fluids Engineering, 2006, 128(1): 177-189.
[123] SUSAN-RESIGA R. F., MUNTEAN S. and AVELLAN F. et al. Mathematical modelling of swirling flow in hydraulic
turbines for the full operating range[J]. Applied Mathematical Modeling, 2011, 35(10): 4759-4773.
[124] ILIESCU M., CIOCAN G. D. and AVELLAN F. Analysis of the cavitating draft tube vortex in a Francis turbine using
particle image velocimetry measurements in twophase flow[J]. Journal of Fluids Engineering, 2008, 130(2): 021105.

To further investigate the vortex rope at partial flow operation of hydro turbines,
flow visualization
by particle image velocimetry[124], laser Doppler velocimetry (LDV)[125,126], unsteady
wall pressure measurement[127,128] and simulation model test[129] have been
conducted to extract both the periodic velocity components and the rope
dimension. The results[124] indicate that the rope diameter as well as diameter
oscillation increases with the decreasing cavitation number. The vortex position
variations demonstrate that the vortex at partial load has a kind of precessional
motion, whose eccentricity increases downstream since the diameter of dead water
region increases downstream.

[125] GOUIN P., DESCHENES C. and ILIESCU M. et al. Experimental investigation of draft tube flow of an axial
turbine by laser Doppler velocimetry[C]. 3rd IAHR International Meeting of the Workgroup on Cavitation and Dynamic
Problems in Hydraulic Machinery and Systems. Brno, Czech, 2009.
[126] VUILLEMARD J., AESCHLIMANN V. and FRASER R. et al. Experimental investigation of the draft tube inlet
flow of a bulb turbine[J]. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 2014, 22(3): 032010.

[129]YONEZAWA K., KONISHI D. and MIYAGAWA K. et al. Cavitation surge in a small model test facility simulating a
hydraulic power plant[J]. International Journal of Fluid Machinery and Systems, 2012, 5(4): 152-160.

The decrease of the tailrace pressure level makes the vortex core visible as a gaseous vortex
rope.
The volume of the gaseous vortex rope is dependent of the cavitation number and affects the
parameters characterizing the hydro-acoustic behavior of the entire power plant. As a result,
eigen frequencies of the hydraulic system decreases with the cavitation number. Interaction
between excitation source like vortex rope precession and eigen frequencies may result in
resonance effect and induce a so called draft tube surge and electrical power swing, Rheingans,
Ref. 2. [Christophe Nicolet, Jorge Arpe and Franois Avellan; Identification and modeling of
pressure fluctuations of a Francis turbine scale model at part load operation, 2004]

[SCI Review on Sources of vibration and their treatment in hydro power stations-A review
2016]

When local pressure falls below the vapor pressure of water, water column separation takes place
either in transient or steady conditions. Due to this water column separation the turbine and the
other hydraulic components get damaged with cracks in internal linings [50]. By preventing
these separated columns of water in draft tube, large vortex can be minimized to some extent.
Helical flow causes unequal forces in the draft tube cone. Minimum and maximum pressures
those occur at the center of vortex core and on the wall have been shown in Fig. 6(a) & (b)
respectively. The unstable vortex core is due to swirl by turbine blades [50,61]. Problems due to
draft tube vibrations are reviewed in detail in [63].

Cavitation presents itself in an informal pitch against the metallic, outer side of turbine parts due
to the formation of cavities [64]. Formation of vapor or bubbles in flowing liquid due to sudden
pressure drop is known as cavitation. These bubbles collapse as they move towards a higher
pressure region against the turbine runner causing damage of the turbine surfaces and reduced
efficiency of turbine [11]. The violent cavity collapses occur in a short time [65,66]. Different
forms of cavities in a flowing liquid are travelling bubbles, partial cavitation vortices or attached
cavities [6769]. Due to cavitation and abrasive erosion, erosion of turbine takes place which
causes production loss and unit outage [11]. Cavitation damages the turbine setup and material
surfaces with excessive vibrations and flow instabilities and it ultimately degrades machine
performance [54,69]. Cavitation can appear on different locations depending on the operating
conditions of a machine [6971]. Cavitations present themselves in conflict of metallic
uppermost layer of turbine parts due to cavities.
Reaction turbines are greater liable to cavitations. Cavitations cause erosive corrosions, heavy
vibrations and decrease in turbine efficiency and output. Cavitations can be continuously
monitored by installing the vibration sensors on the outer wall of the unit, guide vane
axes, support pedestal and/or at the maintenance door of draft tube [53].
When tips of the vapor filled vortices come in contact with solid surface, potential erosion takes
place. Part load operation causes vortex cavitations in flow channels. Partial cavitations are a
complex and common type of cavitations. The interface of cavity is turbulent and wavy. Large
clouds of cavities and U-shaped transient cavities collapse violently on the solid surface [72]. In
this type of cavitations high erosion occurs. Corrective steps are difficult to apply in existing
units, so monitoring these cavitations during operation is the only solution to avoid harmful
situations. Cavitations can be decreased by increasing the runner speed and operating the turbine
within specified operating condition. Cavitation takes place at off design operating condition of
turbine [69]. Collapsing of vapor cavities makes high frequency noise. Ultrasound method is the
most suitable for measuring vapor cavities [73]. Cavitation erosion creates considerable negative
effects on hydrogenerating equipment due to hydrodynamic mechanism. Operating in the
damaging region can be avoided by detecting the cavitations correctly [74].
Cavitation causes heavy fluctuating forces. During cavitation, a pressure fluctuation takes place
due to bubbles growth and collapse and causes vibrations in hydraulic turbines. This causes
variation in flux distribution in stator. The cavitation vibration is of high frequency from several
hundred cycles to several thousand cycles per second leading to system instability [51]. The
suitable sensor to monitor the cavitation of high/medium frequency is accelerometer. The
cavitation erosion splits in damage mechanism and hydraulic mechanism. The interface between
these two is known as cavitations aggressiveness. In a turbine, the audio bandwidth of
cavitations is from 3 kHz to 15 kHz [7476]. Ultrasound method is more suitable for vapor
cavitations measurement. These cavitation measurements are more credible and accurate [74].
Hydrodynamic pulsations due to cavitations cause changes in flow [20,77]. According to Prof. D.
Thoma, the region of cavitations in reaction turbines can be determined by a dimensionless
number known as Thomas cavitations factor [64,78]. Thomas cavitations factor = (Hb
Hs)/Hwhere Hb = barometric pressure of water head in meter, Hs = distance of turbine runner
above tail water level in meter, H = water net head of turbine in meter.
Injection of compressed air into low-pressure regions softens the effect of cavity collapses and
minimizes great damage. In bulb turbines, cavitations can be avoided by deciding the operation
range [51]. Cavitations cannot be avoided completely; they can only be minimized to an
acceptable level [62].

CAVITATING FLOWS

The effect of flow on

Single cavitation event: the single cavitation nucleus is swept into low pressure zone to grow
explosively till the macroscopic size and if converted back to more pressurized zone it
collapses. . This confluent motion in forth and back to high pressure regions results in their
appellation of travelling cavitation bubbles. The elastic-like growth and collapse models
presumes the consistency of a bubble spherical form and a non-existence of mutual interactions
for a surmised interspace separation and time lag quite enough to not affect remarkably the
overall flow.

A posteriori acquaintances confirm a far from spherical form whether single or a cloud of tiny
bubbles. The sphericity disappears mainly due to bubble interactions with shear forces and
pressures gradients in flow media or a solid boundary.

Chiefly, the term limited cavitation refers to counteract these individual travelling cavitation
circumstances with occurrences of highly complex situation of exuberant event
concentrations/densities.
With increasing time or space frequency of cavitation scenarios, plenty mutual interactions may
give rise to comprehensive new phenomena. They may start interacting hydrodynamically
resulting in various phenomena that can have practical consequences as it is for cloud cavitation.

Soaring concentrations of cavitation events brings about concurrent large-scale cavitation

structures, of which familiar ones are cavitating vortices or attached cavities. owing to:

Single bubbles coalescence, frequently as an overwhelming accumulation of individual

bubbles in recirculation zones.
A vast flow zone that is wholly and simultaneously subjected to vaporization.

Spherical bubble cloud: clouds of bubbles take place under a multitude of circumstances, such
as breaking waves with an acoustic emission.

Fig.: Photograph of a breaking wave showing the resulting cloud of bubbles. The vertical
distances between the crosses is about 5 cm.
Fig.: Spherical cloud of bubbles: notation.

The cloud of radius, A(t), surmising a unorform and constant bubble population over unit liquid
volume, . The linearization assumes small perturbations of the bubbles from an equilibrium
radius, Ro:

R ( r ,t )=R0 [ 1+( r ,t) ] , 1

The purpose is to find the cloud response against a tiny pressure perturbation at infinity, p ( t ) ,

p ( t ) =p ( , t )= p + { ~
p e jt }

Where p is the mean, uniform pressure and ~

p and are the perturbation amplitude

and frequency, respectively. The aimed solution is a functional dependence is between,

p(r , t) , the radial velocity, u(r , t) , void fraction, (r ,t ) , and the bubble perturbation,

( r , t ) . As we adapt a linear analysis, the response to excitation involving multiple

frequencies can be obtained by Fourier synthesis.

Cavitation model (Study on flow instability and countermeasure in a draft tube with swirling
flow by T Nakashima, R Matsuzaka, K Miyagawa, K Yonezawa, Y Tsujimoto, 2014)
The cavitation model is based on the assumption that the water and vapor mixture in the
cavitating flow is a homogeneous fluid. The cavitation process is governed by the mass transfer
equation for the conservation of the vapor volume fraction, v:

(*)

Where is the fluid density and u is the flow velocity. The source terms m and m in Eq. (*)
represent the evaporation and condensation for the phase change during cavitation and the
subscript v denotes the vapor.The mixture density, is defined as:

Where v is the volume fraction of the vapor component; The subscript v and l refer to the vapor
and liquid components.

According to the Rayleigh-Plesset equation, the growth of a single vapor bubble depends on the
pressure difference between the local static pressure, p, and the saturated vapor pressure, pv. By
neglecting the second-order derivative of the bubble radius, which is dominant only during rapid
changes in the bubble size, the Rayleigh-Plesset equation can be written as.

(**)

where R is the spherical bubble radius and p is the static pressure. Subscript l denotes the liquid.
The number of bubbles per unit volume, Nb, depends on the direction of the phase change. For
the initial bubble growth or vaporization period, the main bubble content may be non-
condensable gas and Nb is calculated from:

Where nuc is the fraction of non-condensable gas in the liquid. For the condensation process, the
bubbles are almost filled with vapor, so the non-condensable gas fraction in each bubble is
neglected. Thus, Nb can be determined from:
The total mass transfer rate per unit volume is:

(**)

Combining equations (**) and (***), the source terms in Eq. (*) for the vaporization and
condensation are given by:

where nuc has the value of 510-4 for most practical cases. In usual cases, the typical bubble
size, Rb, should be 110-6 m in water. Ce and Cc are empirical coefficients for the vaporization
and the condensation processes.

where Vth is the diffuser throat velocity.

NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF THE DRAFT TUBE FLOW

The first attempt to numerically simulate the unsteady flow pattern accompanied with the helical
vortex was made by Skotak [4] and [5] [4] Skotak, A. (1999). Draft tube swirl modeling.
Proceedings of the 9th International Meeting of IAHR Work Group on the Behavior of Hydraulic
Machinery under Steady Oscillatory Conditions, D4.
[5] Skotak, A. (2000). Of the helical vortex in the draft tube turbine modeling. XXth IAHR
Symposium on Hydraulic Machinery and Systems
Usually unsteady analysis was performed only in the draft tube and the results of the previous
steady state analysis of the runner were used as inlet boundary conditions (Half-stage
simulation). In some cases the runner and the draft tube were analysed simultaneously (full stage
simulation). Most of the authors reported that by standard k- model no rotating rope was
obtained, while by the extended k- model of Kim and Chen [6] and realizable k- model [7] the
rotating rope was obtained, but it was overly damped. Better results were obtained by Reynolds
Stress Models (RSM) [7] and [8]
and Large Eddy Simulation (LES) [9] and [10]. Generally, where the experimental results were
available, the frequency of pressure pulsation matched the measured values quite well, but the
prediction of amplitudes was less accurate. When the cavitation was included [9], [11] and [12],
it was reported that numerically obtained cavitating rope was smaller than in the experimental
observation while the frequencies and amplitudes of pressure pulsation were not compared with
the experimental values. The frequencies were the same whether cavitation was modeled or not,
but amplitudes were smaller in case of cavitation modeling. Due to long computational time, in
most papers mentioned above, unsteady numerical analysis was limited to one or two operating
points, computational grids were rather coarse and in some cases more time steps would be
needed to get reliable results. In addition to the numerical flow analysis, an interesting approach
to better understand these phenomena is simultaneous flow visualization and measurements of
structural fluctuations [13].
Flow in water turbines is turbulent and unsteady. While the efficiency and cavitation in Francis,
Kaplan and bulb turbines can be predicted by a steady state flow analysis and the results are
usually accurate enough, unsteady flow analysis has to be performed when unsteady phenomena
such as rotating vortex rope are the objects of interest. In these cases also more advanced
turbulent models as Reynolds Stress Models (RSM), Large Eddy Simulation (LES), Detached
Eddy Simulation (DES) or Scale-Adaptive Simulation (SAS) models have to be used. In this
paper three turbulent models are used: SAS-SST, RSM and LES.
The Scale-Adaptive Simulation (SAS) is an improved URANS (Unsteady Reynolds Averaged
Navier-Stokes) formulation, which allows the resolution of the turbulent spectrum in unstable
flow conditions. The SAS concept is based on the introduction of the von Karman length-scale
into the turbulence scale equation. The information provided by the von Karman length-scale
allows SAS models to dynamically adjust to resolved structures in a URANS simulation, which
results in a LES-like behaviour in unsteady regions of the flow-field. At the same time, the model
provides standard RANS capabilities in stable flow regions. SAS-SST model is the combination
of SAS and SST (Shear Stress Transport) model. Reynolds Stress Turbulence Models (RSM)
based on transport equations for all components of the Reynolds stress tensor and the dissipation
rate. The exact production term and the inherent modelling of stress anisotropies make RSM
more suited to complex flows, for example a flow with a rotating vortex rope in the draft tube,
where standard two-equation models fail. However, due to six additional transport equations the
computational time increases significantly.
Details on the structure of turbulent flows, such as pressure fluctuations, can be obtained
by LES. LES is an approach which solves for large-scale fluctuating motions and uses subgrid
scale turbulence models for the smallscale motion. In ANSYS three LES models are available:
the Smagorinsky model, the wall adapted local eddy-viscosity model (LES WALE)
and the Dynamic Smagorinsky-Lilly model. The first two models are algebraic. The
Smagorinsky model is available together with two different formulations of the wall damping
function. The LES WALE model needs no wall damping, while the Dynamic Smagorinsky-Lilly
model uses the information contained in the resolved turbulent velocity field to evaluate the
model coefficient. The method needs explicit (secondary) filtering and it is therefore more time
consuming than the algebraic models. LES requires fine grids and small time steps, particularly
for wall bounded flows, as well as a large number of time steps to generate statistically
meaningful correlations for the fluctuation velocity components [16].
The cavitating vortex rope has to be modeled by one of the multiphase models. The
homogeneous and inhomogeneous multiphase models are available. In the inhomogeneous
model each fluid possesses its own field and the fluids interact via interphase transfer terms.
There is one solution field for each separate phase. Sub-models differ in the way they model the
interfacial area density and the interphase terms. The homogeneous model assumes that
transported quantities (with the exception of volume fraction) for the process are the same for all
phases. Therefore, it is sufficient to solve bulk transport equations for shared fields rather than
solving individual transport equations. Density and viscosity are calculated from density and
viscosity of all phases in the fluid. The cavitation is usually modeled by homogeneous model.
Cavitation refers to the process by which vapour forms in low pressure regions of a liquid
flow. In the ANSYS CFX-12, The Rayleigh-Plesset model is implemented in the multiphase
framework as an interphase mass transfer model. The growth of bubbles is given by Rayleigh-
Plesset equation. The equation for volume fraction is fully coupled with flow equations, because
the term, which represents the sources, depends on the pressure. The bubble grows if the pressure
is low. On the other hand, the vaporization causes change of density in flow equations.
A detailed description of turbulent models and multiphase models can be found in ANSYS
CFX-12 Solver Theory Documentation [16].
(Dragica Jot*and Andrej Lipej, Numerical Prediction of Non-Cavitating and Cavitating Vortex
Rope in a Francis Turbine Draft Tube, 2010)

Precise numerical prediction of the vortex rope features proves a difficult assignment due to its
tangled hydrodynamic unsteadiness over spatial and temporal scales.
The option for mesh density, the turbulence modelling scheme and time accuracy is dependent
on the flow domain structures and user- expected computational quickness and outcomes
accuracy.
The steady state simulation is customary utilized by design engineers to assimilate suffered
hydraulic losses under the majority of operating conditions in different compartments.
Nevertheless, some operating conditions may call for unsteady evaluation to precisely predict
losses (in the draft tube diffuser). Draft tube losses can then be properly predicted over the whole
span of Francis Turbine working conditions by steady RANS in tandem with URANS (Thi C. Vu
et al, 2011). The global behaviours at peak and environing load operations can be definitely
husked through steady state simulations. At regimes far from the BEP (or owing to a
misdesigned draft tube), the convergence issue pops up; that is initially constant residuals for
governing equation variables start to oscillate

Since their inception; customary employed numerical simulations were basically founded on
aggregate turbulence models of two-equation RANS (Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes) due to
their simplicity and running computational costs. Notwithstanding that those turbulence models
were consolidated, their innate quasi-steadiness have attested a controversial performance for
high flow unsteadiness, as it is the case in the draft tubes mishmash of part load flow structures
(Hosein and Savas, 2016; Sebastiano thesis, 2002).
Nowadays, the flow unsteadiness propagated by the vortex breakdown substantiates the plurality
of unsteady state evaluation that requires hair-splitting meshing of countless nodes (millions) and
somewhat sophisticated turbulence models. Nonetheless, in design and experimental
engineering, one seeks for rapid and actual determination of most characteristic global situation
rather than exhaustive scrutiny of locally discrete behaviours as it is for unsteadiness details.
Therefore, moderately straightforward computation can be chosen to reflect the validation of
experimental process which is not an all-embracing point by point process but an averaged or
interpolated method over a certain survey plane. The present article intends at

NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF AXISYMMETRIC TURBULENT SWIRLING FLOW:

ANALYSIS AND CONTROL OF DECELERATED TURBULENT SWIRLING FLOW IN
FRANCIS TURBINE DRAFT TUBE CONESusan-resiga Romeo, Muntean Sebastian, Anton
Ioan, Avellan Francois, Analysis and control of decelerated turbulent swirling flow in Francis
turbine draft tube cone, 2006
The flow sophisticatedness triggered by the swirl unsteadiness as encountered in the draft tube
has been also exhaustively scrutinized through experiential surveys and numerical simulations in
Ruprecht S, Heitele M, Helmrich T, Numerical Simulation of a Complete
Francis Turbine Including Unsteady Rotor/Stator Interactions. Institute of
Fluid Mechanics and Hydraulic Machinery, Germany.
H. Ying, C. Heming, H. Ji, L. Xirong, Numerical simulation of unsteady turbulent flow through a
Francis turbine, J. Nat. Sci. 16 (2) (2011) 179e184.
J. Li, J. Yu, Y. Wu, 3D unsteady turbulent simulations for transients of the Francis turbine, in:
25th IAHR Symposium of Hydraulic Machinery and Systems, IOP Conf, Series: Earth and
Environmental Science, 12, 2010.
A. Ruprecht, T. Helmrich, T. Aschenbrenner, T. Scherer, Simulation of Vortex
rope in a turbine draft tube, in: Proceedings of the Hydraulic Machinery and
Systems 21st IAHR Symposium, 2002. Lausanne.
These studies were based on tunable operating conditions; that is, various regimes from part-to-
runoff loads governed by angle tilt of the guide vanes, including or not the cavitation model and
opting dissimilar turbulence models. The conclusive oneness of all these up-mentioned works
was about the obvious triplex dependence of the vortex rope intensity, viz., the operating regime
and the runner shape and the turbine specific speed.

The intensity of blade-exit/crown tip swirl defines the vortex rope size and movement, which
calls for more advanced turbulence model able to track down its presence. Hence, the selection
of the turbulence model strongly influences the shape and the predictive exactness of the vortex
rope.

Fig.: Effect of turbulence model on shape of vortex rope

Owing to the adaptive inadequateness of harnessed turbulence model, the rope motion may be
inordinately softened or not at all singled out.
Plenty individual and joint studies have been also carried out to substantiate CFD accuracy in
flow feature description, of whom the majority have put under question the predictive
achievement of k- models for vortex shedding, however its extended version of Kim and

Chen with association of realizable k- model works well on rotating vortex rope.

Reasonably persuading upshots are attributed to the study of

D. Jost, A. Lipej, Numerical prediction of non-cavitating and cavitating vortex
rope in a francis turbine draft tube, J. Mech. Eng. 57 (2011) 445e456: the approach of fore
simulations and hind experiments to evince the accuracy of numerical finding has been
conducted with help of turbulence models (SAS-SST: scale adaptive simulation, -RSM: specific
turbulence dissipation-Reynolds stress Model and LES: Large eddy simulation)

Fig.; draft tube mid-section flow streamline at different flow rates and flow separation at part
load
The experimental results show that the largest on-axis recirculation region, the largest precessing
vortex rope, and the highest level of velocity fluctuations occur at the lowest rotational speed,
and the precessing vortex rope counter-rotates the runner. The experimental results of 600 rpm
operating condition show the lowest level of velocity fluctuations and a swirl that counter-rotates
the runner in the onaxis stagnant region and corotates the runner in the outer region. The flow at
920 rpm presents the narrowest on-axis recirculation region with a high level of velocity
fluctuations in the draft tube. There is a strong vortex breakdown and a plunging motion of the
vortex rope

More advanced turbulence models like RNG k have been adopted in

H. Ying, C. Heming, H. Ji, L. Xirong, Numerical simulation of unsteady turbulent flow through a
Francis turbine, J. Nat. Sci. 16 (2) (2011) 179e184.
J. Li, J. Yu, Y. Wu, 3D unsteady turbulent simulations for transients of the Francis Turbine, in:
25th IAHR Symposium of Hydraulic Machinery and Systems, Conf. Series: Earth and
Environmental Science, 12 (2010), 2010.
Z. Wang, L. Zhou, Simulations and measurements of pressure oscillations caused by vortex
ropes, J. Fluid Eng. 128 (2006) 649e655.

Considering the buoyancy contribution unimportant, the equations for k and transports are
as below stated:

k
t
k kui
xi x j


t Pk
k x j

t 2
ui C P C *

x j 1 2
t xi x j
k k k

C 3 1 0 Sk
C *2 C2 , ; S 2 Sij Sij
1 3

For;

Model constants:
C1 =1.42 ;C 2 =1.68 ;C =0.0845 ; k =0.7194 ; =0.7194 ; a=1.39 ; =0.012 and
0=4.38 (values from Yakhot, V., Orszag, S. A., Thangham, S., Gatski, T. B., and
Speziale, C. G., 1992, Development of Turbulence Models for Shear Flows by a
Double Expansion Technique, Phys. Fluids A, 47, pp. 15101520. And 12 Zhang, Y.,
and Orszag, S. A., 1998, Two-Equation RNG Transport Modeling of High Reynolds
Number Pipe Flow, J. Sci. Comput., 134, pp. 471483)

To steer clear with LES computational time due to fine meshing in wall vicinity and high shear
zone; Wang et al, 2006 has used RANS equation closed with RNG k- turbulence modelling

and Log-law wall treatment and affirmed that RANS + RNG k- acceptably estimates the
amplitude and procession frequency of the vortex strip within partial running corresponding to
the range of 0.67 0.83 of the pick/optimum guide vane vent. However small frequencies were
comparatively well predicted and their amplitudes couldnt be nicely predicted with absence of
cavitation model.
Romeo Susan-Resiga, Sebastian Muntean, Peter Stein, and Franois Avellan Axisymmetric
Swirling Flow Simulation of the Draft Tube Vortex in Francis Turbines at Partial
Discharge, 2009
Numerical simulations of the precessing vortex rope have reached the level of accuracy where
the main features of the phenomenon (e.g. vortex rope shape, precession frequency, pressure
fluctuation) are accurately described, Ruprecht et al. [4], Sick et al. [5], Stein et al. [6], and
Ciocan et al. [7]. However, such 3D unsteady turbulent flow computations are very expensive
both in terms of computing time and resources. As a result, more computationally tractable
techniques are required for performance evaluation and design optimization purposes.
The main goal of this paper is to develop a methodology for analyzing the swirling flows with
helical vortex breakdown by using an axisymmetrical swirling flow model. Obviously, the axial
symmetry hypothesis is a major simplification having the main benefit of dramatically reducing
the computational cost. On the other hand, it introduces important limitations as far as the three-
dimensionality and unsteadiness are concerned. Essentially, an axisymmetric flow solver
provides a circumferentially averaged velocity and pressure fields, to be further used as a base
flow for linear, Olendraru and Sellier [9], or non-linear, Szeri and Holmes [10], stability analysis.
An alternative approach is to use specialized flow solvers in cylindrical coordinates, (e.g.
Blackburn [11]), where Fourier expansions in the circumferential direction are used to obtain a
set of coupled two-dimensional problems defined for the meridional semi-plane. As a result, the
circumferential variation of the flow field, as well as the unsteadiness, could be obtained with
computational costs smaller than the full three-dimensional unsteady flow solver, but this
approach has not been tested for the complex swirling flows with precessing vortex rope.
The axisymmetric flow field provides a good indicator for the vortex breakdown occurrence and
development through the extent of the central quasi-stagnant region, although the unsteady
velocity and pressure fluctuations cannot be directly captured. However, based on the theory of
helical vortex in a pipe, Alekseenko et al. [12], Kuibin et al. [13] estimate the frequency and
amplitude of oscillations caused by the precession of the helical vortex by using four integral
characteristics of the axisymmetric steady base flow: vortex intensity, liquid flow rate, and
moment and moment of momentum fluxes.
Usually, when employing a simplified flow model one has to check that the model assumptions
are in reasonable agreement with the actual flow. In our case, although we are dealing with a
swirling flow in an axisymmetrical geometry (the draft tube cone) the inherent flow instability
leads to a fully three-dimensional unsteady flow field with precessing vortex rope when the
Francis turbine is operated at partial discharge. As a result, the axial symmetry assumption is
obviously violated. One can only conjecture that an axisymmetrical flow model can represent the
circumferentially averaged three-dimensional unsteady flow. It is this conjecture we investigate
in the present paper. In other words, instead of circumferentially averaging the 3D unsteady
computational results we would like to perform the circumferentially average on the governing
equations in cylindrical coordinates, thus solving a 2D problem in a meridian half-plane. The
results obtained with an axisymmetrical turbulent swirling flow model are compared and
validated with Laser Doppler Velocity measurements for axial and circumferential velocity
profiles, Ciocan et al. [7], as well as with Particle Image Velocimetry investigations of the vortex
rope shape, Iliescu et al. [14].

The above axisymmetric swirling flow model, which is implemented in the FLUENT 6.3 code, is
used for the present computations together with the realizable k- (RKE) turbulence model. The
term realizable means that the model satisfies certain mathematical constraints on the
Reynolds stresses, consistent with the physics of the flow. When compared with the standard k-
and RNG k- models, the RKE model is predicting more accurately the spreading rate of both
planar and round jets. Shih et al [17] argue that the RKE turbulence model is also likely to
provide superior performance for flow involving rotation, boundary layers under strong adverse
pressure gradients, separation and recirculation. When compared with the standard k- and RNG
k- models, the RKE model is predicting more accurately the spreading rate of both planar and
round jets. Shih et al [17] argue that the RKE turbulence model is also likely to provide superior
performance for flow involving rotation, boundary layers under strong adverse pressure
gradients, separation and recirculation.
One important issue to be addressed is the effect of neglecting the actual precessing vortex rope
when computing directly the circumferentially averaged flow. Both experimental data (e.g. Nishi
et al. [18], Kirschner and Ruprecht [19]), and theoretical models (e.g. Keller et al. [20]), suggest
that when a vortex breakdown occurs a quasi-stagnation region is developed near the axis.
This stagnant region must be understood as the average of the highly fluctuating flow field inside
the vortex rope. As a result, we have enforced a stagnation condition on top of the FLUENT
axisymmetric flow solver whenever a negative (i.e. upstream oriented) axial velocity occurs. The
actual implementation of the above Stagnant Region Model (SRM) is done via the User Defined
Function
The inlet section for the computational domain is located just downstream the runner blade
trailing edge (Half reaction simulation). The actual draft tube cone region is shown in detail in
Figure 1, and it corresponds to the domain used by Stein et al. [6] for 3D unsteady flow
simulation with vortex rope. The cone length is 3Rthroat , and the cone half-angle is 8.5o . Two
survey sections are also shown in Figure 1, where the axial and circumferential velocity profiles
were measured using Laser Doppler Velocimetry, Avellan [15], Ciocan et al. [7], further denoted
in this paper as S1 and S2. The computational domain is discretized with 90,000 quadrilateral
cells, using a boundary layer mesh near the wall. The circumferentially averaged velocity
components and turbulence quantities correspond to the data from Stein et al. [6], Figure 2, for a
partial discharge operating point Q /Qopt= 0.692
Fig. 5 Streamline pattern and the location of the vortex rope. Numerical results for axisymmetric
turbulent flow model without SRM (left half-plane and with SRM (right half-plane)
Romeo Susan-Resiga, Sebastian Muntean, Peter Stein, and Franois Avellan Axisymmetric
Swirling Flow Simulation of the Draft Tube Vortex in Francis Turbines at Partial Discharge,
2009

(Tanasaa, 2015) Cassidy and Falvey [12] have demonstrated that hydrodynamic instabilities are
responsible for pressure fluctuations. They have shown that once the vortex intensity exceeds a
particular value, both the Strouhal number (frequency) and the pressure amplitude are
proportional with the vortex intensity.
The numerical simulations performed by Resiga et al. [15] and validated against experimental
data [4] were proved that the vortex rope is wrapped on the central quasi-stagnant region.
[12] J. J. Cassidy and H. T. Falvey, Observations of unsteady flow arising after vortex
breakdown, J. Fluid Mech. vol. 41, 1970, pp 727-736.
[15] R. Susan-Resiga, S. Muntean, P. Stein and F. Avellan, Axisymmetric swirling flow
simulation of draft tube of Francis turbines at partial discharge, J. Fluid Machin. and Sys., 2(4),
2009, pp.295-302.
[4] G. Ciocan, S. Iliescu, T. C. Vu, B. Nennemann and F. Avellan, Experimental Study and
Numerical Simulation of the
FLINDT Draft Tube Rotating Vortex, J. Fluids Eng. Trans. ASME, 129(2), 2007, pp. 146-158,
doi: 10.1115/1.2409332.

BOUNDARY CONDITIONS
Spiral casing with guide vanes and stay vanes, and draft tube are stationary component while
runner is the rotating component. The hydraulic head in terms of relative total pressure at the
inlet of spiral casing and a free outflow of total mass flow rate at the outlet of the draft tube are
given as inlet boundary condition and outlet boundary condition respectively. For transient
analysis, the time step of 2 rotation of runner is taken for 10 full rotations of the runner. So the
time step is 0.00037037 s, corresponding to 1/180 of the runner rotational period and the total
computational time is 0.667 s of the runner. A second order backward Euler is used as a transient
scheme with a high-resolution advection scheme. The maximum loop coefficient is taken as 3.
For accuracy of results, double precision was used with CFX Solver.
(Kc et al., 2016).

Boundary and initial conditions

This research was mainly used to calculate the unsteady flow in the turbine. The model turbine of
HL220-WJ-50 was taken as the example, which rated speed is 1000rpm and working head is
44m (the optimum operating head of this turbine). The effluent from the draft tube of this turbine
was assumed to be submerged flow in the calculation process, and the water depth was 2m.
Firstly, k- model was used to calculate a steady initial value, and then the LES model was used
to calculate the unsteady flow state. In this way, the calculation time by LES model can be
greatly reduced, and the time step of this calculation was 0.0001s.

Boundary Condition. With the guide vanes included in the calculational domain, the inlet
boundary conditions were the natural flow conditions. The total pressure and the turbulence
condition were set at the inlet of the guide vanes with the inlet velocity direction defined from a
steady flow calculation including the spiral case with about 63,400 nodes, stay vanes with about
39,600 nodes, and guide vanes with 56,00060,000 nodes. The inlet turbulence kinetic energy
and dissipation rate were set to be
0.0655 and 0.0052. The model including the guide vanes was expected to capture the pressure
oscillations caused by the rotor-stator interaction. The outlet static pressure condition was set
based on the downstream water level when the measurements were taken. The interfaces
between the guide vanes, the runner, and the draft tube were modelled with a sliding interface to
model the rotating mesh in the runner domain. The upstream variables were passed to the
downstream locations by interpolation at the interfaces. The spiral case and stay vanes were not
included to reduce calculation time. Discretization. An unstructured mesh was used so that the
cell density could be controlled manually based on the flow features. The water was considered
to be incompressible. The timedependent RANS model was discretized using the control-volume
technique with the SIMPLEC scheme and a collocated grid combined with momentum
interpolation. A second-order upwind scheme was used for the convection terms with a central
difference scheme for the diffusion terms in the momentum equations. The time step was
0.008333 s, which was 1/72 of runner rotational period.
(Wang et al, 2006)

Turbines simulated specifications

The turbine under the investigation has design head of 18 m, design discharge of 0.5 m3/s, 350
guide vane angle, rotational speed (N) of 900rpm, and rotational frequency (fn) of 15 Hz. Under
the specification of design head and discharge, the turbine has an
output power of 69.8 kW at 88% efficiency.(Kc, Lee, & Thapa, 2016)
The computation domain is divided into 3 components-a spiral casing with 16 guide vanes & 8
stay vanes, a runner of 13 blades with crown and band and a single channel draft tube(Kc et al.,
2016)

The flow simulation is performed for constant guide vane opening of 80.93 mm and six
rotational speeds of runner varying from 400 rpm to 900 rpm at an interval of 100 rpm. Mass
flow rate at inlet is specified as 7200 Kg/s and kept constant throughout the simulation. As the
flow is highly rotational, shear stress transport (SST) - turbulence model has been used for
simulation. The walls of all domains are taken as stationary with no slip condition. All domains
set stationary except runner (Ruchi et al., 2012)

Computational setups
Timo Krappel, Albert Ruprecht, and Stefan Riedelbauch; Flow Simulation of a Francis
Turbine Using the SAS Turbulence Model, 2013
For temporal discretisation a second order backward differencing scheme and for spatial
discretisation a bounded second order central differencing scheme [4] was used and for
turbulence quantities first order schemes were applied for temporal and spatial discretisation.
The different components of the Francis machine are (in streamwise direction): spiral case, stay
vanes and guide vanes, runner blades and elbow draft tube with expansion tank (Fig. 1). As the
model has test rig size, the overall length is roughly 2.5 m with a height of 1.5 m (this is a
scaling factor of up to 25 compared to the Francis turbines used in real power plants). The
Reynolds number based on the spiral case inlet diameter equates Re = 3.105.
Two different grids of hexahedral type are evaluated for the simulation of the Francis turbine:
one with a size of 16 million elements (16M) and a refined one with a size of 40 million
elements (40M). Although the grid size is quite large, wall resolution is still away from resolving
the boundary layer. This is one of the main challenges, as wall portion is very high for turbine
simulations.
Table 1 Description of grid size and wall resolution for different domains

As it is essential to have a Courant-number smaller than one to resolve turbulent structures to

small scales, the time steps size corresponds to 20 and 0.50 of runner
revolution for the coarser (16M) respectively for the finer mesh (40M).

Numerical method
J. Li, J. Yu, Y. Wu, 3D unsteady turbulent simulations for transients of the Francis turbine,
in: 25th IAHR Symposium of Hydraulic Machinery and Systems, IOP Conf, Series: Earth
and Environmental Science, 12, 2010.
All simulations were carried out with 3D Navier-Stokes solver Fluent-6.3. The computational
domain is divided with the unstructured tetrahedral mesh of high applicability. The governing
equations is discretized with FVM (Finite Volume Method). For temporal discretization the 2nd
semi-implicit scheme is applied. The 2nd central discretization scheme is applied for source and
diffusion items, and the 2nd forward discretization scheme is applied for convection item. For
turbulence treatment the RNG k- model is used, and the SIMPLEC method is used for coupling
solution of velocity and pressure. For the inlet boundary condition, the relative total pressure,
turbulent kinetic energy and its diffusion rate are given; For the outlet boundary condition, the
relative static pressure, turbulent kinetic energy and its diffusion rate are prescribed; No-slip
boundary condition is applied to the wall, and standard wall functions are applied to the region
near the wall.
9 operating conditions (the gate opening varies from 8mm to 24mm by 2mm) are selected for
this simulation, where 16mm is the optimal gate opening. Unit speed is 75r/min, and working
head is 20m.
Time-step is a very important parameter for unsteady simulation precision, so its independence
verification is very necessary. 5 different Time-steps were used for 3D unsteady turbulent
simulations under the optimal operating condition, and they are 0.005s, 0.002s, 0.001s, 0.0005s
and 0.0002s respectively.

Qiang Zhong-dong, YANG Jian-dong, HUAI Wen-xin, Numerical simulation and analysis of
pressure pulsation in Francis hydraulic turbine with air admission, 2007
Mathematical model: In this article, the multi-fluids model for incompressible fluid is used to
calculate the gas-liquid two-phase flow. Governing equations for liquid:

The governing equations for gas are:

where
The Renormalization Group (RNG) k turbulence model is used to enclose the governing
equations. A second order fully implicit scheme is applied for time discretization, central
difference for the diffusion term and second order upwind scheme for the convective term.
Physical model: The schematic diagram of Francis hydraulic turbine for this simulation is
shown in Fig.1. The investigated turbine is described as following:
diameter of runner D1=9.7m , hydraulic head of turbine H=64m, the rotation speed
n=7.854rad/sec. The turbine consists of a spiral case, a runner with 15 blades, 24 stay vanes, 24
guide vanes and an elbow draft tube. Considering the complex shape of the turbine, unstructured
meshes with 538059 grid node and 1972557 grid cells are made for this calculation.
The guide vane opening = 190 is used in this simulation and the air discharge are 0.25%, 0.5%
and 0.75% of water discharge (Q ). The time step 0.008s which is 1/100 of a single runner
rotation is used. During the simulation, pressure at each time step at designed Points is recorded
to show the relationship of pressure and time. The recorded data are transformed by FFT to
obtain amplitude spectrum.