Analyzing draft tube characteristics for hydraulic turbines in a VR environment

Abstract

Usually hydraulic turbines have to be designed individually according to the local discharge, head and the given geometrical situation. This requires the detailed knowledge of the flow for different points of operation, since the head and especially the discharge of the turbine vary during the year. In order to be competitive the design process must be fast and cheap. This is particularly the case for smaller low head turbines, which are frequently installed in brooks and rivers. A typical turbine is shown in fig. 1. In order to obtain efficient shapes for the components in a short time the designer needs a qualified tool for flow analysis. Since the designer is an expert in turbines and not in computers as well as simulation techniques, the tool should allow an “intuitive design” in a virtual reality environment with a nearly online response of the simulation results.