Abstract
The overall cost of a hydropower plant is mainly due to the expenses of civil works, mechanical equipment (turbine and control units) and electrical components. The goal of a new draft tube design is to obtain a geometry that reduces investment costs, especially the excavation ones, but the primary driver is to increase overall machine efficiency, allowing for a reduced payback time. In the present study, an optimization study of the elbow-draft tube assembly of a Kaplan turbine was conducted. First, a CFD model for the complete turbine was developed and validated. Next, an optimization of the draft tube alone was performed using a design of experiments technique. Finally, several optimum solutions for the draft tube were obtained using a response surface technique aiming at maximizing pressure recovery and minimizing flow losses. A selection of optimized geometries was subsequently post-checked using the validated model of the entire turbine, and a detailed flow analysis on the obtained results made it possible to provide insights into the improved designs. It was observed that efficiency could be improved by 1% (in relative terms), and the mechanical power increased by 1.8% (in relative terms) with respect to the baseline turbine.