Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis of Pelton runner of Khimti Hydro-power Project of Nepal

Nepal, with its diverse topological features and rich water resources, boasts a huge hydro energy potential with ability to generate 42000 MW of electricity. Higher mountains providing higher heads and seasonal variation in flow rates appropriates thechoice of Pelton turbines for hydro power projects in the country. The flat efficiency curve maintained by Pelton turbine on wide operating ranges counters for the seasonal variations seen in the rivers of Nepal. However, the design and manufacturing cost of actual Pelton prototype is very high. Redesigning and optimization process becomes even more costly and time consuming. However, the introduction of numerical tools has changed the design engineer's procedures in the process of new Pelton turbines design. The research was carried out in order to perform CFD analysis of Pelton runner of Khimti Hydropower. The runner was scaled down by meeting IEC 60193 standard. Whole simulation was performed in ANSYS-CFX. The results obtained from simulation showed high pressure in splitter and deep face of the bucket. The torque calculation was further used to calculate the efficiency and analytical validation of the runner.