CFX Users Conference, Munich, 29 – 31May 2000

Family Hydro - a propeller type micro turbine

Matthias Bissig, Antonio Di Miele, Fluidmechanik und Hydromaschinen
HTA Luzern, Technikumstrasse 21, CH 6048 Horw

Abstract
A student's project with the aim to check the design of a Vietnam produced micro turbine is presented.
The flow through the turbine is modeled and losses are analyzed. It is shown on the basis of the CFD
calculations, confirmed by experiments, that the original design point is far off the best efficiency point.
Two goals where achieved with this project, on one hand a technical and on the other an educational.
The technical result is that the data will be of value for the producer of this propeller type turbine in
Vietnam. The educational result is that it could be shown that CFX-TASCflow and grid generation with
ICEM/HEXA became user friendly enough that students with a sound experience in CAD may solve
complex problems within a reasonable time period.

Project
The Swiss company ENTEC, St.Gallen, involved in projects with developing countries asked the HTA
Lucerne, Fachstelle Fluidmechanik und Hydromaschinen, to have a look at the design of a series of
micro turbines produced in very large numbers in Vietnam. These turbines with types of 200W up to
2000W are used in rural regions to satisfy family needs for electricity. The week points of these
turbines are the much too short life cycle duration, not constant frequency, and safety risks. The life
cycle problems arise from demagnetization of generator magnets and from bearing wear.
Demagnetization of magnets is coupled with too high revolution speeds during operation. Goal should
be for this reason to have the turbines design point with 50Hz not in the best efficiency point of the hill
chart but in an over speed range making sure that hydraulic losses will limit the maximum speed. To
improve the design in such a sense CFD calculations are best suited.

CAD view of assembled turbine without draft tube Family Hydro in operation (courtesy by ENTEC)

Efficiency measurement
In the laboratory of the HTA Lucerne efficiency testing was performed showing that the overall turbine
efficiency reached for optimum operation a value of 46 percent. Separate generator efficiency
measurements showed that the generator has an efficiency of less than 56 percent, leading to the
conclusion that the hydraulic efficiency of the turbine must be near 81 percent in its best operating
point. This would be an acceptable value if not speed and head were far off the designed point of the
originally planed turbine. This means that either the frequency is much too high or the head and the
produced power is much too low in the actually measured best efficiency point.

1
 CFX Users Conference, Munich, 29 – 31May 2000

CFD – computational fluid dynamics

In order to get a better understanding of the experimental findings numerical flow simulations were
performed. Since no drawings of the turbine were available, data for CAD had to be taken from the
tested prototype. The runner was measured in a 3D measuring machine and co-ordinates were
directly exported to the Unigraphics (UG) programs which were used to model the turbine. Flow
surfaces extracted from UG were exported to ICEM/HEXA for grid generation.
The three separately modeled zones with guide vanes, runner, and draft tube were attached to each
other employing frozen rotor interfaces. The complete grid consists of about 600’000 elements. Since
the geometry of the turbine is rather simple,
this number was sufficient in a way that the
grid could be adjusted fine enough in the
vicinity of the walls that the modified wall
function (new wall function) could be
employed. Great care was taken to ensure
that the Yplus value determined by the
closest grid points to the wall was below
the acceptable limits. This is essential since
the mechanical power of the turbine was
evaluated integrating pressure and wall
shear stress distribution on the runner
surfaces.
Computations were performed in parallel
using four Sun Ultra 60 (360MHz, 256MB
RAM) or one Sun Ultra 80 (2 processors,
450MHz, 2GB RAM).
Four different operating points were
simulated including the design point of the
turbine, the measured best efficiency point CAD (UG) model of runner and guide vane ring
and one overload point.

100.0

90.0
measured best point

80.0
CFD calculated points CFD calculated
70.0 at 1500 rmp

60.0
η [%]

50.0
measured best point:
head : 1.3 m
40.0 flow rate : 34 l/s
rotating speed: 1380 rpm
30.0

20.0 design discharge

coefficient
10.0

0.0
0.30 0.32 0.34 0.36 0.38 0.40 0.42
ϕ [-]
Hydraulic efficiency as a function of the discharge coefficient ϕ = cm /u

In the diagram showing the hydraulic efficiency three calculated points of operation with constant
speed of revolution, but varying head, are connected by a solid line. The maximum efficiencies exceed
76 percent. The measured best efficiency point and its calculated pendant at 1380 rpm are also
included. The maximum measured efficiency is at 81 percent, about 5 percent higher than the
corresponding calculated point. However due to the uncertainty of hydraulic efficiency measurement
the discrepancy could easily be explained by measuring errors. Obviously the original design point of
the turbine is far off from calculated and measured best efficiency discharge.

2
 CFX Users Conference, Munich, 29 – 31May 2000

Simulation of the original design point (left) and of the measured best efficiency point (right)

The simulation of the original design point (left image) corresponds to a part load operation what can
be clearly shown on the basis of streakline visualization. The calculation of the operational data
(revolutionary speed, discharge) of the measured best efficiency point (right image) shows that this
point corresponds in the numerical simulation to an overload point.
Streaklines and the cutting planes in the draft tube are color coded with the total pressure (not
identically scaled). The total pressure is more equally distributed at the runner exit in the simulation
corresponding to the measured best efficiency point. The calculated hydraulic efficiencies in the
original design point is 40 percent and the simulation of the measured best efficiency point results in
76 percent.

Simulation of the total pressure distribution (circumferentially mass flow averaged) on cutting planes for
the original design point (left) and the measured best efficiency point (right)

The continuous decay of total pressure over the runner is an important indicator for the quality of the
machine design. The graphs below show fringe plots with the circumferentially mass flow averaged
total pressure. The runner blades are displayed transparently. The difference between the distribution
of the original design point and the measured best point is obviously in a sense that the pressure is
radially much more equally distributed in the right hand graph of the best efficiency point.

3
 CFX Users Conference, Munich, 29 – 31May 2000

On the graph on the right side the static pressure

distribution is displayed for the calculations of the
operating conditions of the measured best efficiency
point. At least on the suction side of the runner blades
the pressure is quite equally distributed. This is ps
important to avoid cavitation.

ss

Simulation of the static pressure

distribution

ps

ss ps

ss

Simulation of the static pressure distribution along the runner blades at 75% span for the original
design point (left) and the measured best efficiency point (right)

Conclusions
The numerical calculation confirmed the experimental finding that the design point of the turbine does
not correspond to the best efficiency point. The calculated hydraulic efficiencies (76 percent in the best
point) are in acceptable agreement with the measurements. In order to ensure that hydraulic losses
limit the over speed of the directly coupled generator either the generator or the turbine designs must
be adjusted in future. On the basis of the performed CFD simulations clear and quantitative
recommendations can be given to the manufacturer of the turbine.
The presented project of a student was considered to be a test case whether CFX-TASCflow may be
considered as a suitable tool in education at the HTA Lucerne. The results are encouraging in a sense
that a student having already good experience in CAD is able to use the programs for grid generation
and flow simulation within one semester. With some enthusiasm and support rather complex problems
may be solved in course of a second semester (1.5 day per week). Generally, questions of energy
transfer, pressure and flow distributions, momentum exchange, and wall shear stress become rather
transparent on the basis of the simulated data.

Acknowledgement
The authors thank Peter Holbein and Thomas Staubli for having provided the needed knowledge basis
in their courses allowing to realize this project and for their valuable inputs during supervision of the
project. Furthermore they thank Daniel Meyer and Martin Duss for making the experimental data
available.