Optical Measurement Techniques for Experimental Analysis of Hydraulic Turbines Rotor - Stator Interaction

The progress of optical experimental techniques, LDV and PIV, allows to access the unsteady 3D velocity field and the complete Reynolds stress tensor, in real configuration of hydraulic test models. A description of the rotor/stator interaction, at the runner inlet and outlet, is presented for a hydraulic turbine industrial model. The experimental results lead to a better understanding of the rotor-stator interaction and of the influence of the unsteady components in a hydraulic machine operation.