A Design Parameter Study of Turbine Draft Tube by Viscous Flow Analysis

Viscous flow analysis based on the full Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations is being applied to predict successfully turbulent flow characteristics and energy losses in different hydraulic turbine components. It allows designer to evaluate the hydraulic performance of alternative designs before proceeding with testing in laboratory or to perform elaborate parametric study to optimize the hydraulic design. In this paper, a design parameter study by 3-D viscous flow analysis for elbow draft tube are presented and their impact on engineering design assessed.