Performance evaluation of variable speed Francis turbine with sediments in flow

Objectives:
Develop a method for erosion modeling in hydro turbine
using an opensource tool.
Compare the performance and erosion resistivity of
Francis runner blades in variable speed operation mode.

pawan (1)

Summary/ Expected Outcomes:
Conventional hydropower plants are designed with a compulsion to run turbines at a specific rotational speed to match the grid frequency. However, due to flow availability and demand-supply balance, power plants are often operated at off-design conditions. When it comes to the sediment laden flow, it
is seen that the sediment erosion is found to be aggravated at off-design operating conditions. The concept of variable speed operation arises with a hypothesis that erosion can be
minimized by operating turbines at different speed than synchronous speed, as with varying rotational speed the streamlined flow of designed condition can be achieved even at off-design operating conditions. In this work the use of opensource tool is emphasized in the field of research. OpenFOAM is used to conduct numerical study of the sediment laden flow. Two different designs of Francis runner blades for Jhimruk hydropower plants were taken under study, and their
performance, and sediment erosion resistivity is being compared. Steady state efficiency and
volume of material eroded by particles is calculated for both the blade designs. Design
parameters contributing to favorable or adverse effects on efficiency and erosion are being
analyzed.


Supervisors from host and Partner Universities
 Hari Prasad Neopane,
Prof., Kathmandu University, Nepal
 Sailesh Chitrakar,
Asst. Prof., Kathmandu University, Nepal
 Ole Gunnar Dahlhaug
Prof., Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway


About myself:
Hi, I’m Pawan Lal Bijukchhe, Doraemon as my colleagues would say because I always find a
way to deal with things. I am a Masters by research student, and research assistant at Turbine Testing Laboratory. My workplace is full of passionate researchers who are always motivating me to keep up during the ups and downs of the research. It’s a fun filled work environment. I grew up in a big joint harmonic family of 13 members. So, I got to learn a small habit from each individual which I didn’t know until I started to realize those habits were building my characters. My grandma taught me Vedic stories and teachings. Mom and Aunts taught me cooking. When I was a young child, I used to help them with the kitchen chores and later started adding spices on my own. And that’s when I started love cooking. Inspired by cousin brother and with his valuable guidance, I learnt graphite sketching. During my free time I would rather catch a pencil and start smudging graphite on a piece of paper. I enjoy doing portraits and feel fulfilled on seeing the happiness on the face of those who get a surprise sketch gift. I am into sports as well. Every time when we have a family or friends gathering, we play Carroms and also have Chess competition at home. Even at the lab, we often gather together to play Futsal, Cricket, and Table Tennis. I once got the chance to teach engineering drawing to some students, where I learned the perspective of a teacher and got to compare it with my experience as a student. I used to place myself as a student while teaching and remember the days when I used to do those drawings. I always find something to learn from them as well. In essence, I would like to take myself as a learner, learning from everyone and everything.

Pawan Lal Bijukchhe
Master By Research
bijukchhepaw@gmail.com
batch 2021

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