Karman

RUIXIA QIAN
FLOW FIELD MEASUREMENTS IN A STATOR

OF A HYDRAULIC TURBINE
Thse prsente
la Facult des tudes suprieures de l'Universit Laval
dans le cadre du programme de doctorat en gnie mcanique
pour l'obtention du grade de Philosophiae Doctor (Ph.D)
FACULT DES SCIENCES ET DE GNIE

UNIVERSIT LAVAL
QUBEC
2008
Ruixia Qian, 2008

Abstract
Unsteady flows at the stator level in a reaction turbine were experimentally investigated
in a doctoral project. The goal is to develop an integrated expertise to measure the
unsteady flows at the stator level of reaction turbines using Particle Image Velocimetry
(PIV) and other measurement techniques. The experiments were conducted in two
phases called Configuration 1 and Configuration 2. Configuration 1 consisted of a
guide vane, installed in a water channel, tested at similar Reynolds numbers to those
encountered in standard model Francis turbines. Configuration 2 corresponds to the
distributor section of an actual model of Francis turbine.
In Configuration 1, flow fields were measured around an asymmetrical guide vane in

a 2D water channel, at diffrent angles of attack between 0 and 20 and at the same
order of Reynolds number as that in models of Francis turbines. The flow data obtained
include instantaneous velocity vector maps as well as averaged results regarding stream
wise velocity profiles, streamwise velocity fluctuations and Reynolds shear stresses. For
the same conditions, the head losses due to the guide vane were also measured and
compared. Based on thse data, the effects of the angle of attack and the Reynolds
number were analyzed.
In Configuration 2, flow fields between the two neighboring guide vanes were mea
sured with a PIV and a spcifie optical access. Instantaneous results such as velocity
vector maps and average results such as velocity fluctuation and velocity magnitude
contours were presented. The pressure distribution around the pressure side and suc-
tion side of the two neighboring guide vanes was measured with miniature pressure
sensors with a specially designed mounting method on the surfaces without any geom-
etry altration. Based on the measurements, the effects of opration points on the flow
behavior were analyzed.
Rsum
Des coulements instationnaires au niveau du distributeur des turbines raction ont

t exprimentalement tudis dans ce projet doctoral. Le but est de dvelopper une
expertise intgre pour mesurer des coulements instationnaires au niveau des distribu
teurs des turbines raction en utilisant une vlocimtrie par image de particules
(PIV) et d'autres techniques de mesure. Les expriences ont t effectues en deux
phases appeles configuration 1 et configuration 2. La configuration 1 est compose
d'une directrice, installe dans un canal bidimensionnel d'eau, examine aux nombres
de Reynolds comparable ceux dans les modles standards de turbines Francis. La
configuration 2 consiste en un distributeur d'un modle rduit d'une turbine Francis.
Dans la configuration 1, les champs d'coulement ont t mesurs avec un PIV

autour d'une directrice asymtrique dans un canal d'eau, diffrents angles d'attaque
entre 0 et 20. Les donnes obtenues comprennent les champs de vitesse instantane
et moyenne. Pour les mmes conditions, les pertes de charge dues la directrice ont
t mesures et compares.
Dans la configuration 2, les champs d'coulement entre deux directrices voisines

ont t mesurs avec le PIV au travers d'un accs optique spcifique. Des rsultats
instantans tels que les champs de vitesse et les rsultats moyens tels que la fluctuation
de vitesse et les iso-contours de vitesse ont t prsents. La distribution de pression
du ct intrados et du ct extrados de deux directrices voisines a t mesure avec
des capteurs de pression miniatures monts sur les surfaces des directrices. 'Bas sur
les mesures, les effets des points d'opration sur le comportement des coulements sont
analyss.
Foreword
I would like to express my gratitude to ail those who gave me the possibility to complte
this thesis. I want to thank the Department of Mechanical Engineering of Laval Uni-
versity for giving me permission to begin this thesis and LAMH for providing necessary
conditions to do the necessary research work. I hve furthermore to thank CANMET
for their financial support and GE Energy - Hydro for providing the model turbine for
this research.
I am deeply indebted to my supervisor Prof. Claire Deschnes whose guidance,

stimulating suggestions and encouragement helped me a lot during the research and
the writing of this thesis.
I would like to express my profound thanks to my co-director, Dr. Mayse Page

who gave me lots of guidance and literatures, to Dr. Gabriel Dan Ciocan for precious
guidance on the experiment design and data processing, and to Prof. Yvan Maciel for
his help on PIV application.
I wish to acknowledge to Richard Fraser who gave me a lot of help on laboratory

works and to deceased Mr. Jean-Pierre Fau who gave me many precious suggestions
on writing work. I want to thank ail my colleagues, Sven Mullr, Loc de-Kervenoael,
Hossein Shafiei, Khadija Hamoudou, Laurent Morachioli, Jean-Mathieu Gagnon and
Edwin Roman for ail their help, support, interest and valuable hints.
I would like to give my spcial thanks to my Mother, Xiuzhen Wang, for her love
and support during my thesis writing and to my daughter, Aline and to ail my families
whose love and moral support enabled me to complte this work.
Contents
Abstract
Rsum
Foreword
Contents
List of Tables
List of Figures
Nomenclature
1 Introduction
1.1 Motivation
1.2 Objectives and Methodology
1.3 Organization of the Thesis
2 Unsteadiness in Turbomachines
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Theory Basis of Flow past Bodies
2.2.1 Boundary Layer Concept
2.2.2 Flow past Circular Cylinders
2.2.3 Flow past Streamline Bodies
2.3 Unsteady Sources in Turbomachines
2.4 Unsteady Flows in Double Cascades
2.4.1 Wake Interaction
2.4.2 Potential Interaction
2.4.3 Three-dimensional Viscous Interactions . . . .
2.4.4 Karman Vortex Interaction
2.4.5 Conclusions on Unsteady Interactions at Stages
2.5 Unsteady Flows in Draft Tubes
2.6 Pressure around Stator Vane Surfaces
Contents
3 M e a s u r e m e n t Techniques in Turbomachines
3.1 Introduction '.
3.2 Measurable Properties and Measuring System
3.3 Measurement of Flow Pressure
3.3.1 Pressure Gauges
3.3.2 Inflow Pressure Measurement
3.3.3 Wall Pressure Measurement
3.3.4 Pressure Measurements in Hydraulic Turbines
3.4 Measurement of Local Velocity
3.4.1 Thermal Anemometry
3.4.2 Laser Doppler Velocimetry
3.4.3 Particle Image Velocimetry
3.4.4 Molecular Tagging Velocimetry
4 Flow Field M e a s u r e m e n t around a G u i d e Vane

4.1 Introduction
4.2 Exprimental Setup
4.2.1 Reynolds Numbers in Francis Turbines
4.2.2 Test Rig and Guide Vane
4.2.3 Instrumentation for Configuration 1
4.3 Measurement and Data Processing
4.3.1 Flow Tests at Test Section
4.3.2 Head Loss Measurement at Test Section
4.3.3 Flow Field Measurement around a Guide Vane
4.4 Measurement Results
4.4.1 Head Loss
4.4.2 Flow Field Measurement Results
4.5 Conclusions
5 Flow Field M e a s u r e m e n t s in t h e Stator of a Francis Turbine

5.1 Introduction
5.2 Exprimental Setup and Instrumentation
5.2.1 Test Rig
5.2.2 Turbine Model
5.2.3 PIV Setup
5.2.4 Miniature Pressure Sensors
5.3.1 Flow Field Measurement
5.3.2 Pressure Measurement
5.4.1 PIV Results
Contents vii
5.4.2 Pressure Measurements III

5.5 Conclusions III
6 General Conclusions and Future Work 115
Bibliography 117
A Reynolds Numbers in Francis Turbines 123
B Results of Configuration 1 ] 20
C Results of Configuration 2 129

List of Tables
2.1 Sources of unsteadiness in turbomachines [25]
3.1 Comparison of LDV and PIV
4.1 Flow rates and Reynolds numbers on the test rig (iT
4.2 Standard square errors of relative errors of U and u'
4.3 Flow rates and the backflow parameters around the trailing edge at a = 20 v -
5.1 Operating conditions and the openings

5.2 Velocity fluctuations at the two positions 107
A.l Reynolds numbers in turbine prototypes 121

A.2 Reynolds numbers in model turbines 125
List of Figures
1.1 A Francis turbine

1.2 Stator row of a Francis turbine
1.3 Velocity profiles between distributor and runner in a Francis turbine [37]
2.1 Boundary layer and transition [39], [55]

2.2 Entrance rgion, developing flow and fully developed flow in a pipe [55]
2.3 Power-law and typical flow velocity profiles in a pipe [35]
2.4 Rgimes of flow past a smooth circular cylinder [38]
2.5 St vs. Re for circular cylinders [51]
2.6 Boundary layer development on a streamline body [39]
2.7 Trailing edge effect on frequencies and amplitudes [3]
2.8 Effects of angles of attack [36]
2.9 Rotor-stator interactions [8]
2.10 Guide vane wake development and propagation [29]
2.11 Velocity decay in the stator wake [29]
2.12 Velocity triangles of axial turbomachines [53]
2.13 Classical secondary flow models [64]
2.14 A vortex rope in a draft tube
2.15 Static pressure distribution around guide vanes in a gas turbine [64] . .
3.1 Three connection methods in wall pressure measurements [52]

3.2 A runner blade with 14 pressure transducers mounted [18]
3.3 One-component dual-beam LDV system [1]
3.4 LDV measurement volume [1]
3.5 LDV application to a Francis turbine [10]
3.6 2-D PIV exprimental setup
3.7 Architecture of the PIV processor [15]
3.8 Synchronisation between the camra and laser sheet [15]
3.9 Data flow in a PIV System [15]
3.10 Data processing flowchart with cross-correlation [15]
3.11 Light scattering from spherical particles of diffrent diameters [15] . . .
3.12 Histogram of particle displacement with "peak locking" problem [40] .
List of Figures x
3.13 Displacement bias depending on seeding density [15] 51

3.14 PIV measurement channel in a model pump-turbine [8] 5(i
3.15 Instantaneous velocity field in an inter-guide vane channel [8]
3.16 Linear arrangement of turbine blades and PIV view field [61] 57
4.1 Geometry parameters of a Francis Turbine [27]

4.2 Test rig for Configuration 1 00
4.3 Coordinate of Configuration 1 60
4.4 Calibration image with a standard target 6!)
4.5 Normalized mean streamwise velocity profiles at the test section . . . .
4.6 Annulus loss and secondary loss [12] 71
4.7 Head loss measurement
4.8 PIV setup for Configuration 1
4.9 PIV image of flow field measurement around a guide vane
4.10 Standard square errors of relative errors of U and u' 71
4.11 Raw vector map of Configuration 1
4.12 Validated and masked vector map . 70
4.13 Statistics of vector map of Configuration 1
4.14 Head loss vs. angle of attack for the same surface roughness 78
4.15 Head loss vs. surface roughness at a = 10
4.16 Mean velocity distribution and velocity magnitude contours at a = 10
4.17 Mean velocity distribution and velocity magnitude contour for Q=55 1/s 8I
4.18 Normalized mean streamwise velocity component around the guide vane S2
4.19 Normalized streamwise velocity fluctuations around the guide vane . . .
4.20 Normalized Reynolds shear stress around the guide vane . . . . . . . .
4.21 Mean velocity vector map and normalized mean streamwise velocity con
tours around the trailing edge at a = 20
4.22 The filtering effects on instantaneousflowfields
4.23 Instantaneous velocity field at a = 15 and Rec = 1.8 x 105
4.24 Instantaneous vector map with zro-velocity rgions
5.1 Test rig in LAMH for Configuration 2 00

5.2 Turbine model for Configuration 2
5.3 Operating points
5.4 2D PIV measurement setup
5.5 Illuminated area 93
5.6 Calibration image and "dewarped" image map
5.7 Ten miniature pressure sensors on the two guide vane surfaces
5.8 Static calibration results and relative errors of the five pressure sensors
5.9 Ten phase positions
5.10 Mean flow field information at 7 = 20
List of Figures xi
5.11 Mean velocity vector maps at 7 = 20

5.12 Mean flow fields at diffrent opration conditions
5.13 Two positions in the middle of the inter-guide vane channel
5.14 Velocity fluctuations at Qu/Qiin 0.55
5.15 Velocity fluctuations at Qu/Qun = 0.75
5.16 Velocity fluctuations at Qu/Qun 1-0
5.17 Velocity fluctuations at Qu/Qun = 1-08
5.18 Velocity fluctuations at 7 = 20
5.19 Instantaneous velocity vector map at Phase 7 at 7 = 20
5.20 Temporal pressure signal at 7 = 13
5.21 Static pressure distribution and mean pressure fluctuation around guide
vanes
5.22 Power spectra of pressure signais around guide vanes
B.l Mean flow fields at a = 0 of Configuration 1

B.2 Mean flow fields at a = 5 of Configuration 1
Cl Mean flow fields at 7 = 22

C.2 Mean velocity vector maps at 7 = 22 .
C.3 Mean flow fields at 7 = 15
C.5 Mean flow field information at 7 = 11
C.7 Velocity fluctuations at 7 = 22 . . . .
Nomenclature
Symbol Quantity Unit
B0 Guide vane height mm

C Vane chord mm
C0 Radial velocity in distributors of turbines m/s
Cp Pressure coefficient -
D Diameter mm
Do Wicket gte circle diameter m
Dr Runner throat diamter m
d Diameter mm
ddiff Diffraction diameter of particle image ixm
dp Particle diameter lira
dT Particle image diameter jim
E Spcifie energy J/Kg
I Frequency Hz
f Camra lens aperture number -
9 Gravity acclration m/s2
H Head m
m Head loss m
h Height mm
L Length mm
L Velocity magnitude m/s
l Length mm
le Entrance length m
M Magnification factor -
N Rotation speed of turbine runner RPM
Nn Unit speed
Nomenclature xiii
NEQ IEC spcifie speed

n Rotation speed of turbine runner rev/s
nq Classic spcifie speed
P Power W
P Static pressure Pa
VQ Stagnation pressure Pa
Q Discharge m? / s
Qu Unit discharge
Re Reynolds number
St Strouhal number
t Thickness mm
t Time s
U Velocity m/s
uc Central velocity in the section m/s
u Global mean velocity m/s
u Phase average velocity m/s
U(i) Instantaneous velocity m/s
Velocities in x, y, z directions m/s
u,v,w
Vvot Voltage V
u',v' Velocity fluctuations of U and V m/s
/j<r Runner number -
Greek letters
a Angle of attack of guide vanes

7 Wicket gte openning angle
Nomenclature xiv
Symbol Quant ity Unit
Greek letters
S Boundary layer thickness mm

V Hydraulic efficiency
A Wave length fim
ijj Angular velocity of turbine runners rad/ s
V Flow coefficient
V Kinematic viscosity m2 /s
V Spcifie speed
P Density Kg/m3
(T Standard dviation
Subscripts
oo Free stream properties

h Hydraulic
cr Critical
M Model
max Maximum
min Minimal
n Nominal
opt Optimal
P Prototype
r Radial
t Tangential
Nomenclature xv
Superscripts
n Exponential constant
Abbreviatior LS
2D Two-dimensional
3D Three-dimensional
BEP Best Efficienct Point
CFD Computational Fluid Dynamics
FFT Fast Fourier Transform
HWA.HFA Hot Wire (Film) Anemometry
LDA, LDV Laser Doppler Anemometry (Velocimetry)
PIV Particle Image Velocimetry
PTV Particle Tracking Velocimetry
Chapter 1
Introduction
1.1 Motivation
Hydraulic turbines are used for converting hydraulic energy into electric energy. Their
principle is expressed by the following formula:
P = pgHQr]
where P the output of the turbine, p is the water density, g is the gravity acclration,
H the the head over the hydraulic turbines, Q is the flow rate through turbines and 7]
is the efnciency of the turbine. A hydraulic turbine consists mainly of a spiral casing, a
stator (or a distributor), a runner and a draft tube. Figure 1.1 shows a Francis turbine
which is a radial flow and reaction type turbine. Francis turbines are used widely in
the world, with the head covering a wide range, from 20 meters to 700 meters. Their
size varies up to 10 meters in runner diameters.
Spiral casing
Draft tube
Figure 1.1: A Francis turbine

Chapter 1. Introduction 2
The flow in hydraulic turbines is complex, turbulent, three-dimensional and intrin-

sically unsteady. One of the major prsent requirements on hydraulic turbines is for
more a compact design and a wide operating range, which makes the flows more complex
and enforces unsteadiness in the machines [11]. Unsteadiness in hydraulic turbines can
cause problems such as vibrations, noise, efficiency drop, and mechanical damage, etc.,
and is increasingly receiving attention. The causes of unsteadiness are numerous and
complicated: e.g. flow sparation, wakes and Karman vortices encountered at trailing
edges of vanes or at runner exits, draft tube rope-vortices at partial load, non-uniform
flow between static and moving parts such as at the distributor exit or at the inlet of the
draft tube, etc. Therefore it is necessary to understand the unsteadiness in hydraulic
turbines, and exprimental data are extremely important for improving our knowledge
of it and for verifying numerical results.
The stator of reaction turbines has three rles: guiding flows into the runner uni-
formly with the necessary swirl component, regulating the discharge through the tur
bines by changing the wicket gte opening and closing the turbine properly to prevent
pressure surges in order to protect the units in case of rejecting load. For reaction tur
bines, the structure of stators of Francis turbines is more complex than that of Kaplan
turbines: e.g., the height of the stator of Francis turbines is much smaller; the gap
between the guide vane trailing edge and the runner inlet is much smaller; the run
ner of Francis turbines has more blades and the blades are enclosed by a crown and a
band. This makes us expect that the flow behavior at the stator level is more complex
in Francis turbines than that in axial turbines. An example stator row of a Francis
turbine is shown in Figure 1.2.
Figure 1.2: Stator row of a Francis turbine
The flow leaving the guide vane trailing edges is not uniform in either circumferen-
tial or span-wise directions [7]. It is influenced by Reynolds numbers, vane geometries,
angles of attack, inter-blade distances, roughness, etc. Sometimes, Karman vortices
develop and they can cause serious damage if the excitation frequency of the vortices
coincides with one of the eigen frequencies of the vanes. Cracks were found on stay
vanes of large turbines and it was thought to be caused by the rsonance induced by
Karman vortices [20], [21]. The flow leaving the distributor and entering the runner
prsents some complex phenomena such as non-uniform velocity distribution, wakes,
vortices, etc. The runner is the heart of a hydraulic turbine, where the potential energy
of the water is transfered into the mechanical energy of the machine. The interface
effects between the runner and stationary components, e.g., the distributor or the draft
tube, hve a great influence on the overall performance of the turbine. Figure 1..'! illus
trtes the velocity profiles between the distributor and the runner of a Francis turbine.
They are the combinations of two effects: flow field distortion due to guide vane wake
and flow field distortion due to runner pressure field. The loss caused by the stator is
a concern because the disturbance in the flow from the guide vane wakes cause losses
in the runner and affects the machine performance [7]. The wakes from the distrib
utor may interact with the downstream runner blades, affecting pressure distribution
and boundary layer transition. Thse interactions, called rotor-stator interactions (see
Chapter 2) are considered as the principal cause of the unsteadiness in turbomachines
and makes the flow fields even more complex. Some investigations on axial turboma
chines (compressors, pumps and gas turbines) show that the smaller the gap between
the guide vane trailing edge and the runner blade, the stronger the influence to the flow
field in the vicinity of the stator and the runner [45], [64].
- Flow field distortion due Flow field distortion due Combination of both effects
to runner pressure field to guide vane wake
m\\w^^\\\\\\uu^ w^W^W^W*
Figure 1.3: Velocity profiles between distributor and runner in a Francis turbine [37]
The flow behavior at stator level dpends on machine types, geometries, opra
tion points, etc. According to Rus, T. and Velensek, B. (1994) [45], for a high head
pump-turbine, the flow behavior in the guide vane level dpends mainly on operating
conditions, guide vane opening and the structure at the stator level. The gap between
the guide vane exit and the runner entrance has a large influence on torque oscilla
tions for both the turbine mode and the pump mode. The unsteady effects connected
with trailing edge vortices and wakes are not entirely understood and consequently not
yet properly modeled by CFD. Besides, the vast amount of Computing time and space
necessary to simulate unsteady flows in turbines makes unsteady analysis difficult for
most of practical applications. Boundary conditions at runner inlets are usually ax-
isymmetric velocity profiles that may vary with wicket gte height. However, in most
of numerical models, thse conditions were replaced by the mean velocity profile exiting
the distributor. To qualify the representating of this mean approximation, more prcise
exprimental data would certainly be useful to turbine designers.
For the unsteadiness induced by the distributors in turbomachines, not much in

vestigation exists due to its complexity and access difficulties. Vortex shedding from
turbomachine blades, as well as structural vibration, has been a challenging problem
since the early works of Von Karman on this subject [30]. Throux, E. (2003) [53] per-
formed numerical modeling of unsteady flows in radial hydraulic turbomachines with the
method of the reduced frequency parameter. Recently, with the development of mea
surement techniques, some exprimental investigations hve been done on this subject.
Zaccaria, M. and Lakshminarayana, B. (1997) [64] studied the steady and unsteady
flow fields in an axial gas turbine with a LDV. Lang, H., More, T., and Woisetschlager,
J. (2002) [30] investigated the flow field in the stages of an axial gas turbine with a
stereoscopic PIV. Woisetschlager, J., Mayrhofer, N., Hampel, B., Lang, H., and Sanz,
W. (2002) [(il] investigated the vortex street of a gas turbine blade profile with a PIV.
Ciocan, D.G. (1998) [8] investigated the unsteady flow field in the whole machine of
a pump-turbine, specially for the pump mode. As reviewed above, most of the rcent
investigations were focused on compressible or axial machines, such as compressors and
gas turbines, little on hydraulic machines, even less on radial hydraulic turbines. Based
on the analysis above, flows at the stator level of radial turbines should be more complex
than axial turbines due to the geometry and structure of the machines. So a detailed
measurement of the unsteady flow at the stator level for radial hydraulic turbines will
be of practical sens.
1.2 Objectives and Methodology
The goal of our study is to develop an integrated expertise to measure unsteady flows
at the stator level of reaction turbines using a PIV and other measurement techniques.
We hve four objectives:
1. To develop a measurement methodology with a PIV and other measurement tech

niques;
2. To measure diffrent flow patterns at the distributor level for diffrent operating
conditions;
3. To analyze the effects of diffrent parameters of the stator, including geometry,

roughness, Reynolds number, angles of attack, etc., and
4. To build an exprimental database for validation of boundary conditions necessary

for the numerical simulations.
The project was conducted in two phases called Configuration 1 and Configuration
2, respectively.
In Configuration 1, flow fields were measured around an asymmetrical guide vane in

a water channel, at diffrent angles of attack between 0 and 20 and at Reynolds num-
bers similar to those encountered in standard models of Francis turbines. The goal was
to develop a necessary expertise for characterizing the flow field around a single vane
and to document the effects of varying flow conditions. The flow data obtained include
instantaneous velocity vector maps as well as averaged results regarding streamwise ve-
locity profiles, streamwise velocity fluctuations and Reynolds shear stresses. Under the
same conditions, the head losses through the guide vane were measured and compared.
Based on thse data, the effects of angle of attack and Reynolds number were analyzed.
A discussion is included regarding measurement results and measurement quality.
Configuration 2 corresponds to measuring the flow at the distributor section of an

actual model of Francis turbine at diffrent operating conditions. The goal is to de
velop the expertise to measure the unsteady flow at the stator level of reaction turbines.
Flow fields between two neighboring guide vanes are measured with a PIV and a sp
cifie optical access. Instantaneous results such as velocity vector maps and average
results such as velocity fluctuation vs. phase angle and velocity magnitude contours
are presented. The pressure distribution around the pressure side and suction side of
the two neighboring guide vanes was measured with miniature pressure sensors with a
specially designed mounting method on the surfaces without any geometry altration.
Static and dynamic pressure distribution and spectral analysis are presented. Based on
the measurements, the effects of opration points on the flow behavior are analyzed.
1.3 Organization of the Thesis
There are six chapters in this thesis:
Chapter One is an introductory part including motivation, objectives of this research

and organization of the thesis;
In Chapter Two, rcent investigations on unsteady flows in turbomachines are re-

viewed;
In Chapter Three, measurement techniques used in turbomachines, especially PIV,

are introduced and compared in detailed;
In Chapter Four, measurement methods and results of Configuration 1 are presented;
In Chapter Five, measurement methods and results of Configuration 2 are presented;
Conclusions on this research are made and future work is proposed in Chapter Six.
Chapter 2
Unsteadiness in Turbomachines
2.1 Introduction
The flow in turbomachines is very complex, often fully turbulent, highly three-dimensional
and unsteady. Due to this complexity and to difflculties to access the flow in turboma
chines, especially in the double cascades, there was few rfrences on flows at the double
cascades of turbomachines. Some investigations were conducted very recently thanks to
the development of measurement techniques and numerical simulation techniques. In
this chapter, literature from the basic thories, for example flow past bodies, to rcent
investigations on flow in turbomachines, is reviewed.
2.2 Theory Basis of Flow past Bodies
In this part, we will review previous investigations on flow past bodies from classical
cylinders to streamline bodies so as to understand some basic phenomena and param-
eters influencing unsteadiness of flow past guide vanes.
2.2.1 Boundary Layer Concept
First, some important phenomena related to flow past bodies are reviewed hre.
Boundary layer: due to viscosity, as an object moves through a fluid, or as a fluid

Chapter 2. Unsteadiness in Turbomachines 8
moves past an object, a thin layer of fluid is created near the object surface in which the
relative velocity changes from zro at the surface to the free stream value away from the
surface [47], as shown in Figure 2.1 a). This layer is called the boundary layer because
it occurs on the boundary of the fluid, after L. Prandtl [47]. Inside the boundary layer,
flow momentum is low since it expriences a strong viscous flow rsistance.
a) Boundary btytr ''j Baundary laver transit ion c| SrpuraLJDii
Figure 2.1: Boundary layer and transition [39], [55]
Boundary layer transition: boundary layer may be either laminar, or turbulent.

The process of a laminar boundary layer becoming turbulent is known as boundary
layer transition. The transition in a boundary layer on a solid body dpends on many
parameters, the most important of which are the pressure distribution in the external
flow, the nature of the body surface (roughness) and the nature of the disturbances
in the free flow (turbulent intensity) [47]. For flat plates, the transition of boundary
layer from laminar to turbulent occurs at a critical value of the Reynolds number, Recr,
based on the oncoming velocity and the plate length, at the order of 2 x 105 to 3 x 106,
depending on the roughness of the surface and the amount of the turbulence in the
upstream flow [35]. The transition becomes clearly discernible by a sudden and large
increase in the boundary layer thickness and in the shear stress near the body surface,
as shown in Figure 2.1 b). Measured by Hansen, a boundary layer on the flat plat
becomes turbulent at Recr 3.2 x 105, which should be regarded as a lower limit [47].
It is wide-spreadly accepted that the edge of the boundary layer is defined as the
point at which the fluid velocity equals 99% of the free-stream velocity U. The boundary
layer thickness S is the distance from the body surface to the edge of the boundary layer:
u\y=s = 0.99U
The thickness of the laminar boundary layer could be estimated by [47] :
where Rei reprsenta the Reynolds number based on the length of the body and u is
the kinematic viscosity. For turbulent boundary layer, the thickness calculation is much
more complex. Generally speaking, the thickness of a turbulent boundary layer is larger
than that of a laminar boundary layer due to greater energy losses. The thickness of a
turbulent boundary layer is estimated by Schlichting, H. [47]:
S = 0.37 ( ^ ) - & = 0.37 Rer^
Sparation: the possible consquence of the boundary layer is that the main stream
may "separate" from the surface and form a wake downstream from the body [35]. The
boundary layer flow is sensitive to the external pressure gradient. As shown in Figure 2. !
c) [55], if the pressure is increasing in the direction of the flow (dp faix > 0), this pressure
distribution being brought about independently by some particular configuration of the
main flow, (i.e. not being directly caused by the boundary layer), with such an adverse
pressure gradient, the slow moving fiuid in the boundary layer is further retarded, as
shown at B, and may eventually corne to at rest near the surface, as shown at C, after
which it reverses its direction at points downstream, as shown at D. Hre C is the
sparation point, where the ordered flow stops, and downstream from it, there exist
eddies in the flow. If the pressure decreases in the direction of the flow, a favorable
pressure gradient, the pressure force can assist the fluid movement and there is no flow
retardation and consequently no sparation occurs. Boundary layer sparation is always
associated with the formation of vortices and with large energy losses in the wake of
the body [47].
Wake: the disturbance in the flow downstream of a structure. Wake behind sta-
tionary structures in a flow are characterized by the dficit of momentum generated as
a resuit of the fluid dynamic drag on the structure.
Fully-developed flow: in pipe flow the boundary layer builds up from the entrance.
If the pipe is sufficiently long, two opposite boundary layers may meet and yield a
complte cross section where the flow is subject to shear stresses. Figure 2.2 shows this
process: the fluid enters the pipe with a nearly uniform velocity profile at A. Between A
and D, the boundary layer develops inward from the pipe walls, leaving an area in the
center where the velocity is uniform, accelerated by virtue of the continuity principle.
At D, the boundary layer coalesces at the axis, and the velocity profile is in the form of
a continuous curve across the section. Behind D the velocity profile remains the same,
where the flow is called fully-developed.
The distance from the entrance A to the point of fully-developed flow D is called
entrance length le. Typically entrance lengths are given by the following formulas [35]:
for laminar flows
j - = 0.06i?e
for turbulent flows

^ = 4A-Re^
where Re is based on the hydraulic diameter in the two cases.
Figure 2.2: Entrance rgion, developing flow and fully developed flow in a pipe [55]
The velocity profile dpends on whether the flow is laminar or turbulent. For the
turbulent flow, the velocity distribution varies with the Reynolds number: an often
used corrlation is the empirical velocity profile, called power-law, expressed in
{
Uc R}
where is the time-averaged velocity in flow direction, n is a function of the Reynolds
number. Typical laminar flow and turbulent velocity profiles and power-law exponent
n are shown in Figure 2.3 [35]. It is noted that the turbulent profiles are much flatter
than the laminar one and this flatness increases with n.
10 1 ^"-"-^^^ v n= =10
n=6 Ns
9 y
Laminar
1
"R "\n=8
8 0.5
Turbulent \i
7
;?
n
e JL 0.5
icr Re 10
a) Power-law exponent b) Typical flow velocity profiles
Figure 2.3: Power-law and typical flow velocity profiles in a pipe [35]
2.2.2 Flow past Circular Cylinders
Flow P a t t e r n s
The flow pattern varies with Reynolds number when it is past cylinders. In gnerai, the
larger the Reynolds number, the smaller the rgion of the flow field in which viscous
effects are important. Depending on the Reynolds number, exprimental observations
show various types of flow patterns, see Figure 2.4, where Red is based on the cylinder
diameter.
Red < 5, Rgime of unseparated flow
5 to 15 < Red < 40, A fixed pair of separated bulbs in the wake
40 < Red < 150, Two rgimes in which the vortex street is laminar
150 < Red < 300, Transition range to turbulence in vortices

and transition to turbulence in the wake
300 < Red < 3 x 105, The vortex street is fully turbulent
3 x 105 < Red < 3.5 x 106, Laminar boundary layer has undergone
turbulent transition and the wake is narrower and disorganized
3.5 x 106 < Red, Re-establishment of turbulent vortex street
Figure 2.4: Rgimes of flow past a smooth circular cylinder [38]
According to Curie N. and Davies H.J. (1968) [14], the Reynolds number range of
Karman vortices is 40 < Re < 4000; according to Hermann Schlichting [47], Karman
vortices exist at two range of Reynolds number, that is, 60 < Re < 5000 (or< 106) and
& < 3 x 10 6 , and at about Re = 106 Karman vortices disappear.
Relationship between Strouhal and Reynolds numbers
For the vortex shedding in the wake of bodies, the dimensionless factor , Strouhal
number (St) is an important factor describing oscillating flow mechanisms. It is defined
as
S = f ' L
U
where / is the frequency of the vortex shedding, L is characteristic length (for example,
the cylinder diameter) and U is the velocity of the upstream flow. The Strouhal number
is a function of the Reynolds number and the body shapes. The relationship between
St and Re for circular cylinders, found with exprimental investigations, is shown in
Figure 2.5 [51].
0.30
0.28
5
y 0.26
0.2i
0.22
0.20 i >
-:
0.18
0.16
O.H
0.12 i
i t
w
Figure 2.5: St vs. Re for circular cylinders [51]
In the range of about 40 < Re < 300, St increases linearly with Re basically.
At Re = 150 to 300, discontinuities exist. And when Re is in the range of 300 <
Re < 3 x 105, St is about 0.20 without obvious variation. According to Hermann
Schlichting [47], in the range of 3 x 105 < Re < 3 x 106 (supercritical rgime with very
low drag), Karman vortex does not exist. At Re > 4 x 106, the regular vortex pattern
forms again and the range of St gets higher about St 0.26 to 0.30. So based on the
dfinition of the Strouhal number and Figure 2.5, one can estimate the frequency of the
vortex shedding in a spcifie flow by the formula:
2.2.3 Flow past Streamline Bodies
Streamline bodies are designed to keep the flow attached to the body and in order to
guide the flow. Its application includes guide vanes, runner blades in turbomachines,
airfoils in aeronautics, etc. Flow past a streamline body is shown in Figure 2.G. The
flow acclrtes over the leading edge introducing a favorable pressure gradient in the
free stream. When the Reynolds number is low and the static pressure increases slowly,
a laminar boundary layer develops over the body surface. When the Reynolds number
increases, at a certain distance from the leading edge, the laminar boundary layer
becomes unstable and develops into a turbulent flow with random fluctuations. Thse
fluctuations can be of the order of a twentieth to a tenth of the main stream velocity [39].
At the trailing edge, the boundary layer then spartes to form a free shear layer in
the wake. When the static pressure increases very rapidly in the streamwise direction,
a dramatic and undesirable change in the flow pattern, called sparation, occurs.
Laminar Turbulent
Figure 2.6: Boundary layer development on a streamline body [39]
According to Blake, W.K. (1984) [3], at least three flow rgimes may exist on stream
line bodies. The first one occurs at the leading edge due to the passage of inflow un
steadiness or vorticity. It results in a time-varying angle of attack of the surface and
the gnration of unsteady forces on the surface. Thse leading edge flow interactions
are fundamentally inviscid phenomena and the induced forces may be predicted using
the theory of two- and three-dimensional potential flows. The other two flow rgimes
involve the viscous interactions.
The second flow rgime is due to the boundary layer developing on the surface. It
could excite the flexural vibration of the surface in much the same manner as may occur
on shell structures. The flow-induced vibration provides a lower bound on the excitation
which may occur on surfaces at high Reynolds number. This excitation occurs without
stimulus from unsteady inflow. A related phenomenon is well known in aeroacoustics
as trailing-edge noise and related forces may contribute to the vibration of structures
in hydroelastic applications.
The third flow rgime is due to the disturbance generated at the trailing edge because
of the viscous wake. Thse disturbances are caused by the instabilities which are natural
to shear flow generated in the near wake. It does not require the prsence of a boundary
layer on the surface, but it is very sensitive to the characteristics of the upstream flow
history: The phenomenon related is well known as vortex street from circular cylinders
as described in the previous section. The unsteady periodic forces dpend on Reynolds
number, the inflow turbulence, the surface roughness and any vibration of the cylinder.
For the streamline bodies, the trailing edge geometry also affects the flow. Vortex
shedding and phenomena related to trailing edge flows are responsible for most of
vibrations, sound, and fatigue problems in hydraulic machinery, which are still of serious
concern for propellers and turbines.
Frequency of Vortex Shedding
The Karman vortex street is a bluff body effect and it happens on streamline bodies
when they hve a blunt trailing edge or when they are operated out of the narrow angle
of attack zone. It has been found that blades with sharpened trailing edges are less
prone to singing than those with thick, blunt cut-off trailing edges.
Some exprimental investigations hve been done to dtermine the frequency of

the vortex shedding induced by streamline bodies. It has been found that Strouhal's
formula is valid for the flow past bluff bodies (for example, circular cylinders), but is not
applicable to flow past streamline bodies [26]. Exprimental investigations found that
the frequency of the vortex shedding is related not only to the trailing edge thickness
but also to the boundary layer thickness. Depending on whether the boundary layer
is laminar or turbulent, the formula varies. The flow over a streamline body may be
laminar at Reynolds numbers based on the chord less than roughly 106. The exact upper
limit dpends on the body shape, the surface roughness, the free-stream turbulence
level, the surface vibration and the angle of attack.
Generally, the relationship between the Strouhal number and the laminar boundary
layer is expressed by
7
2<5
where St is in the range of 0.11 0.16 and is the laminar boundary layer thickness
calculated with the formula described in Section 2.2.1. For a laminar boundary layer
and blunt trailing edge, the vortex shedding frequency is determined by the thickness
of the boundary layer and the trailing edge thickness:
+
^ " > * 0.2 - 0 . 2 6
where S = 2.96*, Us = U^^l Cpb, and Cpb ~ 0.3 is the base pressure coefficient.
When the boundary layer becomes turbulent on one or on both sides of a streamline
body with a sharp trailing edge on which there is no sparation, no singing will occur [3].
Investigating on slender diamond shape vanes, Gongwer found that the characteristic
length has to be modified as the sum of the trailing edge thickness and an experimentally
determined fraction of the boundary layer thickness [24]. His formula is represented by
J
s
where St = 0.18, U is the velocity of the upstream flow, and S = d + S' where d
is the trailing edge thickness and 5' is the following virtual-thickness addition: S' =
0.0297[C/i?e 1 / 5 ] = 0.0297[C/(UC/u)1^} where C is the chord, or calculated as 0.643
times the turbulent-boundary layer thickness. Gongwer's formulas excluded the effects
of trailing edge geometry and this greatly simplified the problem.
An important parameter related to the geometry of the streamline bodies, the ratio
of trailing edge thickness to the distance between the sparation point and trailing edge,
was found to greatly affects the frequency of the vortex shedding. But no sufficient
and accurate data were available for the dtermination of a modified Strouhal formula
considering this effect [26].
In the early 1960s, the rcognition of the relationship between the trailing edge ge
ometry and vortex shedding became widespread and modification of the trailing edge
geometry became frequently-used solutions for flow induced vibration and fatigue in
turbine bladings [3], The trailing edge effect was quantified in some hydroelastic ex-
periments in which some hydrofoils with various trailing edge geometries were tested.
Figure 2.7 summarized the effects of the trailing edge on frequencies and amplitudes [3].
Until now, modification of the trailing edge geometry is still an effective remedy to re
duce or eliminate the vibration induced by Karman Vortex. For example, cracks were
found on ail runner blade outflow edges of the first Francis turbine after only a very short
opration (72 hours) in Daochaoshan hydropower plant, and an unusual high frequency
noise occurred when the machine operated above 40% of the rated output [48]. The
reason was found to be the hydraulic elastic rsonance at high complex blade vibratory
mode, induced by Von Karman vortex shedding from runner blades. The problems were
well solved by modifying the trailing edge with a rounded chamfer shape. Big cracks
on ail runner blades of a Francis turbine of Xiaolangdi hydropower plant were found
and one of the causes is related to Karman vortex. The effective solution to eliminate
Karman excited blade hycroelastic rsonant vibration is to bevel the trailing edges of
the blades [19].
Effect of Angles of Attack
The angle of attack has a large effect on the flow behavior and the lift on the body.
Figure 2.8 shows the effect of the angle of attack for thin airfoils. The flow is attached
on the body surface and the lift is directly proportional to the angle of attack for small
angles (within 10). At high angles of attack, for example a = 20 in Figure 2.8, the
boundary layer may lift off or "separate" from the body and that crtes a large shape
much diffrent from the physical shape. This sparation of the boundary layer explains
why aircraft wings abruptly lose lift at high angles to the flow. This phenomenon is
called a wing stall. Depending on the shape, the stall occurs at diffrent angles of
attack. For NACA 63-006, for example, it occurs at about 10, for NACA 63-009 at
about 11, for NACA 63-012 at about 14, for NACA4412 at about 15, etc [36].
DONALDSON HESKESTAD & OIBERTS IPPEN BLAKE ET A t

RIL. BEL RU. REL
GEOMI rnv AMP.
GEOMETRY
A M h1 f/U GEOMETRY
AMP.
GEOMETRY
AMP.
'h Ur, -.,
360% r.', 83% ^ 60* j > yyy -
r^>
240
230 : W.) 96
o
100
i'i
i: 100
117
i 'xi 1 0
1 b
I lli:
; .
31 103 > ~ <$90' 80
M 38 112
~^\
> 132
i.,i 5 3 1 : ! i'j
> 1 < 149
i :j
> 1 < 182

R-6n
o > i ; 12
159 2?
<
Figure 2.7: Trailing edge effect on frequencies and amplitudes [3]
Based on numerical investigations on the stay vane flow sparations in hydraulic

turbines, Zhang, B. and Zhang, Y. (1999) [65] concludes that the angle of attack and the
vane geometry hve great effects on the flow structures and on the development of the
separated vortex. Vortex shedding from the stay vane surface excites the vibrations of
stay vanes and may lead to rsonance sometimes in the machine. Small changes of vane
geometry in the trailing edge can lead to great variation of the vortex structure. The
angle of attack dtermines the sparation point and the sparation scale. The turbulent
viscosity is also an important factor that influences the flow sparation structure. The
flow rate does not hve a great influence on flow sparation for a fxed angle of attack.
Since the location of the sparation point influences greatly the vibration frequency,
they found that modifying the profile of the trailing edge may eliminate the rsonance
of stay vanes.
Figure 2.8: Effects of angles of attack [36]
Effect of Surface Roughness
Roughness effect is well known on drag forces around a sphre. Abrupt changes on drag
coefficients appear at lower Reynolds number (4 x 105) on rough bodies than on smooth
bodies [35]. Little literature has been found on roughness effect on vanes or blades. This
is probably because they are made as smooth as possible when manufacturing. However,
the roughness effect on turbine performance due to the dtrioration of blades surfaces
with time is well known and reported from users, but it is difficult to quantify precisely.
2.3 Unsteady Sources in Turbomachines
The flow in turbomachines is intrinsically unsteady [53]. Greitzer (1985) gave the causes
of unsteadiness in compressible turbomachines based on the analysis of a compressor
with 50 blades, 12000 RPM, chord 5 cm, ratio gap/chord=l and axial velocity 10 m/s,
shown in Table 2.1 [25].
Some of the unsteadiness are encountered in hydraulic turbomachines as well. The

relative movement between the stator and the runner of the turbomachines causes rotor-
stator interactions that are considered the first and principal causes of the unsteadiness.
Thse unsteady interactions can be divided mainly into the following catgories [53]:
1. Wake interaction, resulting from the boundary layers of vanes transporting to-
wards the downstream;
2. Potential interaction, affecting the pressure field and the velocities upstream and
the downstream because of the proximity of adjacent relative moving components;
and
3. Viscous three-dimensional interactions.
Table 2.1: Sources of unsteadiness in turbomachines [25]
Cause of unsteadiness "Extent" Typical time scale (s) Periodic or not

Turbulence < 1 chord N/A no
Wake (rotor/stator) 1 chord 10" 4 yes
Potential interaction 1 chord (gap) 10" 4 yes
Inlet distortion Circumference (radius) 5 x 10~ 4 no
Rotating stall Circumference (radius) 10" 4 yes
Surge Length of machine 10" 2 yes
The unsteady phenomena in turbomachines could be classified into two classes:

periodic and non-periodic. The rotor-stator interactions are associated to periodic
phenomena which do not rely on the opration points. A strong unsteady phenomenon
relying on the operating points often occurs in hydraulic radial turbines. A big vortex
rope and cavitation are observed at the exit of the runner and in the cne of the draft
tube of radial turbines at part loads. Typically, the rope is rotating with a frequency of
about 20% up to 40% of the runner rotational frequency. The vortex rope is frequently
accompanied with enforced pressure pulsations, which might restrict the opration of
the hydraulic turbine in this range [54].
Unsteadiness associated to non-periodic and transient phenomena occurs often at

the starts and stops of machines. Compared to the opration of the machines, thse
unsteady phenomena generally last a short time, but they hve a significant impact on
the lifetime of the machine. For example, big cracks were found on ail the 13 runner
blades of the first unit of the Xiaolangdi Project only after 1000 hours of opration. It
was found that thse cracks were related to two causes: a postulated coupled torsional-
axial rsonance at unit start and Karman vortex exciting hydroelastic rsonance of the
blades with the wicket gtes closed, both of which were sumciently intense to cause
independently the rapid initiation and growth of the cracks. A third contributing cause
was a Karman exciting blade hydroelastic rsonant vibration involving only a single
higher complex blade mode [19].
2.4 U n s t e a d y Flows in Double Cascades
The flow in the double cascades of turbomachines is strongly unsteady for many complex
reasons. The most important is related to the relative motion of rotors and stators.
Other unsteady phenomena can hve significant effect on the double cascades, especially
at off-design conditions, i.e. the vortex shedding at trailing edges, the tip leakage vortex
which can be unstably interacting with other unsteady and unstable situations in the
flow passage [33]. In turbines, rotor-stator interactions mean the interactions between
the stator wakes and the rotor and the interaction of the stator and rotor potential flow
fields [64]. It includes periodic phenomena at any operating conditions which could be
classified into two classes: dpendent or independent on the relative movement of the
diffrent components. The first class includes wake interaction, potential interaction
and viscous three-dimensional interactions. Karman vortex is the main phenomenon
independent on the relative movements of the diffrent components. Figure 2.9 shows
thse rotor-stator interactions. The mechanisms of the rotor-stator interactions are
common to ail turbomachines, but their forms and intensifies are very sensitive to the
type of machines and the geometry [8].
Wake interaction
Figure 2.9: Rotor-stator interactions [8]
2.4.1 Wake Interaction
For axial turbomachines and centrifugal pumps, the wake is a purely viscous phe-
nomenon and consists of the prolongation of the boundary layers developing on the
surface of the vanes. It causes a dficit velocity zone after the vanes [53]. The wake
is not uniform in either the circumferential or span-wise directions (Figure 2.10). In
axial turbomachines, the transportation of the wake to downstream introduces an un
steadiness source of multiple frequencies related to the rotation frequency and number
of the runner blades. This unsteadiness influences strongly the downstream flow. In
axial machines with small gaps, the velocity fluctuations caused by the wake interaction
with the downstream cascade are stronger than those produced by the other types of
interactions.
Based on the exprimental investigations of Lakshminarayana, B. and Davino, R.

(1980) on an axial flow compressor, the velocity decay and axial velocity profiles in the
wake are shown in Figure 2.1J [29]. We can see that the wake decays rapidly close to the
trailing edge and less rapidly farther downstream. The pressure gradients in the inter-
blade channel, the geometrical effects of diverging or converging of the blades, and other
factors were considered to modify the form of the wake during its transportation [53].
The rapid decay rate close to the trailing edge was thought to be due to the pressure
gradients, high turbulence intensifies and wake centerline curvature. Wakes with an
adverse pressure gradient decay faster. Also, the increased loading on the stator vanes
could cause an increase in the wake decay. The prsence of the rotor downstream with a
small rotor-stator gap and the relative motion between the rotor and stator also causes
the wake to decay faster [64].
Figure 2.10: Guide vane wake development and propagation [29]
yTrailingedge egicm
/ i Near wake j_ Far wake
1.0 1
T T "
0.6 > 6 Tangential Velocity -
O Axial Velocity
0.4
a O Radial Velocity

"^V~ Xi.
0.2 a .
"" - o
_ _ _ o_
on 0 0 O .o 7o-
0.0 0.2 0.4 . 0.6 0.8
Axial distance nomalized by blade chord Z/C
04 r*
0.3 -0.2 -0.1 0 0.1 0.2 0.3
Tangential location
Figure 2.11: Velocity decay in the stator wake [29]

By analysis of the wake transportation in axial turbomachines and centrifugal

pumps, the wake is always accompanied with two contra-rotating vortex structures
in the downstream inter-blade channel where the wake is convected by the average
flow, shown in Figure 2.12 [53]. The two contra-rotating vortex structures bring the
wake towards the pressure sides for compressors and towards suction sides for turbines.
Some methods were suggested by Throux, E. (2003) [53] to visualize the wake:
secondary velocity vectors meaning the diffrences between the instantaneous velocity
and the temporal average velocity, vorticity iso-contours and turbulent kinetic energy
contours, etc. The turbulent kinetic energy is higher in the wakes according to some
researchers. But the magnitude of velocity in the wake is almost at the same order as
the ones outside the wake and it was thought that the wake of axial turbomachines can
not be classified as weak energetic. The exprimental investigation showed that the
wake behind the stator of axial machines is strongly three-dimensional [29].
/ ' suction side

J
y Ptranspa
suction side
vortex
o\,o
pressure side
Stator Rotor Rotor Stator

Turbine Compressor
Figure 2.12: Velocity triangles of axial turbomachines [53]
By the survey on the stator wake at several axial locations at midspan in an axial gas
turbine of Zaccaria, M. and Lakshminarayana, B. (1997) [64], the stator wake decays
much faster than that of a compressor. It is thought to be due to the prsence of a
rotor in a close vicinity, as well as the influence of a favorable pressure gradient. The
radial variation of stator wake velocity defect shows larger velocity defects near the hub
and near the casing. The larger velocity defects near the hub is thought to resuit from
the interactions of the passage vortices.
Based on the review of the investigations on compressors and pumps, wakes of radial
turbomachines are very diffrent with those of axial machines [53]. Generally, the wake
of radial machines is a zone of weaker kinetic energy compared to the flow outside the
wake, and consequently it is thought that the wake of radial machines is the source
of the energy losses. In most exprimental and numerical investigations on centrifugal
pumps, the weak energy wake is at the suction side, near the volute.
Several factors dominate the flows in turbomachines, such as, geometry, sparation,
secondary flows. It is important to analyze thse factors separately to dtermine the rle
of each. Thse flows are strongly three-dimensional and often represented by jet-wake
models. Ciocan, D.G. (1998) [8] and Throux, E. (2003) [53] analyzed and summarized
in dtail other factors that influence the wakes of centrifugal pumps including the Cori-
olis force. The Coriolis force has two important effects: a) it favors the sparation of the
boundary layer on the suction side; b) It helps to maintain the jet-wake structure in the
inter-blade channel. The Coriolis force has a stabilizing effect on the flow turbulence.
The camber of the blades contributes also to the sparation of the boundary layers on
the surfaces (for example, pressure sides for a centrifugal pump).
The transportation of the wake of radial machines is in some way similar to the one
of axial machines. By analysis of the velocity triangles of the centrifugal pumps, it is
noticed that the absolute velocity of the wake is comparable to the one out of the wake.
Consequently the wake is thought to be classified as strong energetic. The wake in the
inter-blade channel of the distributor moves towards the pressure side accompanying
with two contra-rotating vortices [53]. It was found that the wake of radial machines,
based on analysis of centrifugal pumps and compressors, is related to a strong turbulent
kinetic energy from the outlet of the rotor to a certain location in the diffuser. In many
cases, the unsteadiness in the diffuser is strongly attenuated when the wake is eut out by
the leading edge of the diffuser and the wake is isolated inside the inter-blade channel.
Practically, an axisymmetric flow at a distance of 10% to 20% of the rotor radius to
the rotor outlet is often observed. The reasons suggested to explain this passage to
an axisymmetric flow in the diffuser are the action of the convective mixture and the
transfer of turbulent energy of the flow [53].
For wakes of radial turbines, some numerical investigations hve been done, while
exprimental data are very few. The unsteady simulation of the flow in a Francis turbine
by Billdal, J.T., Andersson, H.I., Brekke, H., Holt, B. (1994) [2] showed that several
wakes coexist in the runner passage and the number of wakes is related to the Strouhal
number. A three-dimensional study on a Francis turbine concluded that the influence
of the rotor-stator interaction remained weak, that the flow was strongly accelerated
near the entrance of the band of the runner, and that the wakes resulting from the
distributor were mixed very quickly [43].
The 2D unsteady simulation of pressure fluctuations in the gap of a high head pump-
turbine was conducted by Blanc-Coquand, R., Lavigne, S. and Deniau, J.L. (2000) [4]
and it was concluded that:
1. The main dominant frequency was the runner blade passing frequency Zr /o and
the excited frequency is m Zr / 0 where m varies with runners;
2. The fluctuations was higher in the stay ring in turbine mode;
3. The volution of the fluctuations with increasing flow rate showed a minimum
value for the nominal discharge; and
4. The fluctuations in turbine mode decreased with increasing radial gap, which
meant that the field was more disturbed when the radial clearance was small.
However, others showed that the boundary layers on runner blade surfaces were
thin and that the flow accelerated in the inter-blade channels, which could indicate
that the flow in the runner is only slightly influenced by the wakes coming from the
upstream. Throux, E. (2003) [53] verified this phenomenon by an unsteady simulation
of the flow in a Francis turbine with a small gap of 8% and it is concluded that which
of the wake and potential interaction was more predominating on the stator-rotor in
teractions dpends on the geometry of the machines. For his case, with a very small
gap, the unsteadiness was principally of potential type. Its influence is limited to the
neighborhoods of the minimal gap between the runner and the distributor.
The numerical three-dimensional study of Ruprecht, A., Heitele, M. and Helmrich,

T., Faigle, P., Moser, W. (1998) [43] on the rotor-stator interaction in a complte Francis
turbine showed that the flow accelerated strongly near the band of the runner, and the
wakes produced from the guide vanes were mixed very quickly so that just a weak
influence on the flow at the entrance of the runner remained. This conclusion coincided
with the bi-dimensional study on a pump-turbine in turbine mode of Blanc-Coquand,
R., Lavigne, S. and Deniau, J.L. (2000) [4], The analysis of the vortex structures of
the secondary flows showed that the unsteadiness of the wake was attenuated quickly
in the runner and that the perturbation of the velocity and pressure fields due to the
wake were weak.
Throux, E. (2003) [53] showed that the boundary layers on the runner blade surfaces
were thin, and consequently, the flow in the runner was only weakly influenced by the
wake from the upstream.
As we can see from the literature review above, the wake in Francis turbines should
be more complex than the one of the axial turbomachines, the radial compressors or
pumps. Furthermore, it is greatly influenced by the geometries. Exprimental inves
tigation of the wake in the radial turbines is needed to complte the dataset of flow
in turbomachines, in comparison between the diffrent types of machines, and also
between the numerical data and exprimental data for Francis turbines.
2.4.2 Potential Interaction
Potential interaction is induced by the flow resulting from the relative movement be
tween the components [53]. It is characterized by a non-uniform pressure distribution
and velocity distribution in the rotor-stator rgion [8], [53]. Diffrent from the wake
transporting downstream, the potential interaction is not convective and it has influ
ences both downstream and upstream, with stronger effects upstream. However, the
decay of the potential interaction is very fast and it seems significant only for small
gaps between the rotor and the stator [53].
The potential interaction is sensitive to the type of machines and geometries. For
centrifugal pumps, the gaps are almost always small and the runners undergo a variation
of azimuth pressure induced by the stator. Therefore in centrifugal pumps, the potential
interaction affects greatly the velocity field and pressure field around the gaps, bringing
an unsteady variation of the load. For turbines, the gaps vary in a wide range; the
influence of the rotor on the flow coming from the upstream is practically blurred at a
distance of approximately half the gap and the angle of attack has little influence to this
position. According to the 2D incompressible calculation on an axial compressor [53],
the variation of the static pressure was significant close to the blades and the static
pressure variation attnutes rapidly upstream of the cascade. The loading of the
compressor largely influenced the amplitude of the variations of pressure.
An exprimental study on an axial turbine performed by Dring, R.P., Joslyn, H.D.,

Hardin, L.W. and Wagner, J.H. (1982) [16] showed that the potential interaction of the
rotor on the stator decreased quickly when the gap between the stator and the runner
was increased and the exprimental data agreed well with the tendencies of potential
calculations. On the contrary, the influence of the stator on the cascade downstream
of the rotor moved away from the purely potential behavior. Dring, R.P., Joslyn,
H.D., Hardin, L.W. and Wagner, J.H. (1982) [16] showed whereas that the dominating
interaction was not potential but that of the wake. This diffrence became increasingly
obvious when the gap became large and this proved the great extent of the interaction of
the wake on the cascades downstream. The potential interaction in the axial machines
was significant for gaps smaller than approximately 50% of the pitch of the rotor and
this interaction was propagated both upstream and downstream.
Like the wake interaction, there exist very few studies of the potential interaction in
radial turbomachines. For most of compressors and axial pumps, the gaps are small and
potential interaction affects strongly velocity fields and pressure fields. However, for a
radial hydraulic turbine, the gap varies a lot and the potential interaction influence on
the blades varies also.
With simulation on a three-dimensional Francis hydraulic turbine, Sato, K. and He,

L. (2001) [46] confirmed the importance of the proximity of the physic components
on the potential interaction and the influence of the runner passage on the flow in
the inter-channel of the guide vanes, by tracing the iso-contours of the instantaneous
velocity fluctuations. The principal conclusion was that the importance of the potential
disturbances on the flow in the inter-guide vane channel was much more remarkable for
a configuration with a small gap. In this way, a turbine with a smaller gap will produce
more loss by mixing of non-uniformities of the flow in the inter-guide vane channels and
the efficiency will be reduced.
Although the stator and the gap are bi-dimensional, the potential flow generated by
the runner introduces non-uniformities into the pressure distribution. The comparison
of the pressure distribution on diffrent gaps showed that the pressure gradient was
located much more upstream for a configuration with a larger gap. The variation of
the pressure gradient with the gap suggests an interaction behavior of the guide vanes
with the potential flow generated by the runner. Furthermore, the flow undergoes this
gradient at a longer distance; this tends to introduce a non-uniform transverse flow
at the entrance of the runner, thus leading to the migration of the flow towards the
casing of the turbine. Sato, K. and He, L. (2001) [46] showed the effect of the gap
on the temporal variation of the tangential force on the turbine blades. When the
gap is 5% of the radius of the runner, the variation of the force could reach 7% of
the average value. The related fluctuations are especially important near the leading
edge of blades. This may lead to a dgradation of the mechanical characteristics of the
turbine and may affect its lifespan. However, the fluctuations decrease quickly when
the radial gap increases, and the temporal variations of the force reach 2% to 3% of the
average value when the gap is 15% of the radius of the runner.
By the review above, we can conclude that the potential interaction is strongly
dpendent on the machine types and geometries. Its effect is more profound when the
two cascades in relative movement approach. With the small gap 8% of the radius of the
runner, the simulation reached a conclusion that the unsteadiness for the turbine studied
was principally due to the potential interactions with its influence limited around the
gap between the runner and the distributor.
2.4.3 Three-dimensional Viscous Interactions
The viscosity is at the base of the cration of boundary layers and wakes. It is also
responsible for the formation of the three-dimensional viscous interaction. In the same
way as the wakes, this interaction is transported to the cascades downstream. Viscous
interaction of developing boundary layers on blades, hub, and casing surfaces leads
to the gnration of secondary flow rgions, highly three-dimensional and containing
several vortices. This kind of interaction is related to secondary flows in the inter-blade
channel. There exist several classical secondary flow models.
Hawthorne's model (Figure 2.13 a)), proposed in 1955, includes passage vortices,
the trailing filament and trailing shed vortices, corner vortex, etc.;
Klein's model (Figure 2.13 b)), proposed in 1966, refined Hawthorne's model by
adding a horseshoe vortex; and
Langston's model (Figure 2.13 c)), proposed in 1977, modified to Klein's model
by including the merging of the pressure side horseshoe vortex with the passage
vortex.
a) Hawthorne's model b) Klein>s m o d e l
c) Langston's model
Figure 2.13: Classical secondary flow models [64]
The passage vortex is a resuit of the flow turning in the blade passage. Its strength
dpends on the main turning, the thickness of the incoming end-wall boundary layer,
velocity gradient, etc. The trailing filament vortices and the trailing shed vortices
compose the vortex street at the trailing edge with rotation opposite to that of the
passage vortex. The trailing filament vortices are generated due to the stretching of
the inlet vortex filaments when passing through a cascade with the velocity diffrence
between the suction and the pressure side. The trailing shed vortices is caused by the
spanwise change of the blade circulation. Horseshoe vortex is due to the rolling up of
the inlet boundary layer as it approaches the leading edge of blades. The corner vortex
is caused by the extrme overturning of the flow. It rottes in a direction opposite to
the passage vortex and is located right in the endwall/suction side corner; it is small
and very diffcult to detect. The interactions of thse vortices make the flow in the
inter-blade passage very complex and highly three-dimensional [64].
According to exprimental and numerical investigations on the three-dimensional

flow fields in a gas axial turbine, the secondary flow is much stronger in the casing-
suction corner due to the strong transverse pressure gradient, thicker inlet boundary
layer and earlier lifting of the passage vortex from the wall on the casing-suction surface
corner that hub-suction corner [04]. The secondary flow rgion near the suction-casing
surface corner indicates the prsence of a passage vortex detached from the blade sur
face. The corner vortex and the passage vortex in the hub/suction surface were found
to be very weak. Just upstream the trailing edges of the guide vanes, the casing passage
vortex is very strong. A vortex rotating in the opposite direction to the hub passage
vortex is visible above the passage vortex. Casing and hub passage vortices hve been
also identified on the suction side of the wake of the stator. There are also other vor
tices in the wake center, near the casing and the hub which rotate opposite to the
passage vortices and are probably caused by the interaction of the passage vortices and
wake. According to their research, the prsence of a closely spaced rotor downstream
introduces considrable unsteadiness in the blade passage.
2.4.4 Karman Vortex Interaction
Karman vortex is self-generated unsteadiness. It may occur around trailing edges of the
guide vanes or the runner blades. This vortex shedding affects the downstream blade
rows and is often the source of noise in compressible machines. It is also an important
cause of the cracks on stator vanes and runner blades in hydraulic turbines. The
shedding frequency and the stability of the vortex street dpend highly on the boundary
layer conditions [61] and hydraulic and gomtrie factors. As it was mentioned before,
for the simplest case, circular cylinders, St is about 0.2 for the most range of Re less
than 105. At about Re = 106, no vortices exist, and near 107 vortices reappear with a
higher Strouhal number. For turbomachines, in a certain range of the Reynolds number
(from 60 and 104), the characteristic Strouhal number is 0.21 to 0.4 (/ = St j is the
characteristic frequency of the vortex [8]).
Unstable vortex pressure possibly occurs when the shear layers on the suction and
the pressure sides hve diffrent thicknesses, leading to a diffrence in formation of suc
tion and pressure side vortices. Some researchers found that the stator-rotor interaction
can modify the vortex shedding frequency, locking the phase of vortex shedding behind
the stator to the rotor passing frequency [61]. Measurements with a PIV and a laser
vibrometer showed the effects of Reynolds numbers on the vortex shedding behavior
for a high range of Re (2.9 x 105 to 11 x 105) as follows: at Re < 7 x 105, a fully
laminar boundary layer shedding at the trailing edge was observed with St > 0.3; at Re
about 7 x 105, a turbulent boundary layer began; for Re > 7 x 105, mainly two more
pronounced frequencies with higher harmonies took place to the vortex shedding; at Re
about 9.5 x 105, the two possible branches of shedding frequencies merged into a stable
one, accompanied with pronounced higher harmonies; finally, at Re about 11 x 105,
fully turbulent boundary layer with St about 0.25 was observed [61].
2.4.5 Conclusions on Unsteady Interactions at Stages
The flow in turbomachines is strongly unsteady and the sources of the unsteadiness
are wide and complex. The rotor-stator interactions are considered the first and the
most important sources of the unsteadiness, which includes three unsteady interactions:
wake interaction, potential interaction and three-dimensional viscous interaction. The
wake interaction results mainly from the viscosity of the ffuid and it propagates towards
the cascades downstream and influences their performances periodically. Potential in
teraction is mainly caused by the relative movement of the components of the machine
and it propagates indistinctly towards upstream and downstream. Three-dimensional
viscous interaction is the main cause of the secondary flow in the inter-blade channel.
It propagates towards downstream and influences the flow on the following stages. Ail
thse interactions mixed together and form a strongly complex and three-dimensional
flow. Thse interactions become stronger and more complex for machines with small
gaps between the mobile parts and the fixed parts. Most of the conclusions above are
based on numerical simulations and exprimental data on axial turbomachines. For
radial turbines, more data are needed to understand the interactions.
Measurement with a LDV and a PIV at the runner inlet of a pump-turbine showed
that around 20% of the nominal flow, the guide vanes can correctly guide the mean
flow. Back flow or detachment zones do not exist. The unsteady velocity distribution
shows that the fluctuation of the velocity components at the runner inlet is the same
as in ail the guide vane channels. The fluctuating components are similiar in tangential
and radial direction and correspond to 30% of the mean velocity [il].
2.5 U n s t e a d y Flows in Draft Tubes
To use the hydroelectric grid more rationally, some turbines should work in a wide
range of flow rates and heads. For radial turbines, when working with partial loads, a
vortex accompanied possibly with cavitated core may be observed (Figure 2. ] I), and
low frequency pressure pulsations (20% to 50%) can be measured in the draft tubes.
The pressure pulsations in the draft tube are accompanied by discharge fluctuation and
power swing during Francis turbine partial load opration [5], [54].
The draft tube vortex at part load can cause damage to hydraulic turbines and
even to the plants. The problems are mainly the drop of the efficiency and output of
hydropower plants, vibration, noise, mechanical damage. They can also act dynamically
on the shaft of the runner, and in some situations lead to vibrations of the shaft.
One effect of the draft tube vortex is a variation in the power output of the turbine.
The problems become worst when the pressure fluctuations coincide with the natural
vibration frequencies of some mechanical parts. If this problem (which is also known as
pressure surge in hydraulic turbines) occurs, little can be done to alleviate it, other than
the injection of air into the cavity to reduce the strength of the pressure fluctuations
when the cavity collapses.
Figure 2.14: A vortex rope in a draft tube
The cause is thought to be related to the instability of the swirl flow in the draft tube.
Low value of static pressure hre prdtermines the conditions for rise of cavitating
vortex rope. It is a serious problem to find out the frequencies and amplitudes of the
pressure and flow pulsations and avoid the critical values of the natural frequencies of
the whole hydraulic system in the turbine design.
2.6 Pressure around Stator Vane Surfaces
The pressure coefficient Cp is based on the upstream axial velocity (Uxi), the local static
pressure (p), the stagnation pressure (po), and the fluid density (p) as:
r _P-Po
P
~ \pUli
The static pressure distribution along stator vane surfaces of gas turbines, repre-
sented by Cp, was measured and compared with computed results using MacFarland's
(1981) panel code and the quasi-three-dimensional inviscid code of Katsanis (1977) at
diffrent heights (Figure 2.15) [41], [64].
According to Figure 2.15, the static pressure on stator vane surfaces was better
predicted with the three-dimensional inviscid code of Katsanis than with Panel Code.
Along the suction side surface, however, larger influence of the secondary flow is ap
parent through the radial pressure gradient beyond about X/C = 0.4. At the locations
measured, the Panel Code matched well the exprimental data at h/BQ = 0.30 and
h/B0 = 0.50, where h is the height measured from the bottom of the stator and B0 is
the span of the stator vanes. This was expected to be as no major secondary effects at
the midspan exist. The decrease of static pressure in the hub rgion is much greater
than the decrease in the tip rgion.
Rus, T. and Velensek, B. (1994) [45] worked on an exprimental optimization of

a guide vane apparatus for a high head pump-turbine, by considering the energetic
characteristics, pressure pulsations and torsional oscillations. With a pressure sensor
installed in the vicinity of the runner, the pressure was measured and analyzed. Only
the first harmonie of the runner blade passing frequency had great amplitude while the
higher harmonies were found heavily damped. It is concluded that pressure pulsations in
the guide vane apparatus dpend mainly on the operating points, guide vane opening
and the gap between the guide vane exit and the runner inlet. Thse three factors
are in good corrlation with guide vane torque oscillations. The maximum torque on
guide vane occurs near BEP in the turbine mode. The guide vane torque oscillation is
considered to be caused by variable hydraulic force which results from pulsating and
nonstationary velocity and pressure changes in the flow field. The runner rotation has
a dominant influence on guide vane oscillations.
T 1
1
-^*-.
<^*.
- V*
\ \ A
*5;s4>.
A
Kotsonis
^^L A A
t. i
Ponel Code
* Exprimental ~
i 1 1 i 1
0.4 0.6
x/c
a) h/B0 = 0.10 b) h/B0 = 0.30

^""1 1 '
r
'
- " * ^> "
Vs.
'\ A -
S
** N
\ \ . 4
V
i
A
L/'
A
* f"S " '
Kotmonis
Kotaonis Ponel Code
Ponel Code
* CxperunetHot - * Euperimentoi
l i ' l 1
0.* 0.6
x/c x/c
c) h/B0 = 0.50 d)h/B0 = 0.90
Figure 2.15: Static pressure distribution around guide vanes in a gas turbine [G4]
The pressure fields in the double cascade zone were analyzed with numerical sim
ulations and measurements in a Francis turbine with a very small gap between the
runner and the distributor [53]. The dimension of the gap, potential or wake effect, the
influence range and both sides of the blades were taken into account. With one pressure
sensor installed on the pressure side of a runner blade near the leading edge and near
the band, and another installed in the distributor between two guide vanes and near the
bottom, the pressures at the distributor exit and the runner entrance were measured.
For the signal at the entrance of the runner, the dominant peak was found at the guide
vane passing frequency, and no high harmonies were found. For the signal at the exit of
the distributor, the only vident peak frequency was found at the runner blade passing
frequency. The absence of high harmonies at the runner entrance was thought to be
caused by the absence of wake interaction, or blockage of wake transportation.
The turbulent kinetic energy contours in a sectional plane of the double cascades
confirmed that the wake was indeed dissipated before entering the runner [53]. The
turbulent kinetic energy, higher in the boundary layer of guide vanes, decreased rapidly
around the trailing edges. No wake unsteadiness was presented in the runner for the
configuration studied. However, there exists an unsteadiness effect in the gap. It was
expected that the potential effect due to the proximity of components in relative move-
ment affected the pressure distribution. Therefore, the unsteadiness was principally of
the potential type, and its influence was limited in the neighborhoods of the minimal
gap between the runner and the distributor in the case studied.
Comparison of numerical pressure volution along a pseudo-line on the runner blade

surface near the leading edge and near the band was performed at four diffrent po
sitions. Steady and unsteady calculations gave similar results except from the leading
edge to 25% of the chord on the pressure and suction sides. The maximum pressures on
the pressure side were positioned near the leading edge with a variation of 6 kPa, and
the minimal pressures for the suction sides with a variation of 20 kPa near the leading
edge.
Throux, E. (2003) [53] also presented numerical pressure distributions on runner

blades and guide vanes. The average pressure distribution showed that the pressure
level and its distribution varied considerably on the first quarter of the blade close to
the band. Approaching the crown, the variation of the average pressure became smaller,
or, the pressure distribution became more even. So with the gap becoming smaller, the
pressure distribution became more complex. And the pressure fluctuation reached about
10% of the average value at both sides. The pressure fluctuation distribution on the
two sides confirmed the conclusion that the potential unsteadiness due to the relative
movement of the components was limited on the blades and concentrated especially at
the runner entrance, close to the band.
The numerical pressure distribution on guide vane surfaces showed that the potential
unsteadiness seemed to be concentrated on the bottom, in the rgion of the minimal
gap. Various pressure results in a horizontal plane of the distributor near the bottom
were given, including average pressure distributions, RMS fluctuation distributions,
and instantaneous pressures. Two diffrent positions of runner blades relative to the
guide vanes were considered:
1. when a runner blade is in the middle of an inter-guide vane channel, and

2. when a runner blade is faced to one guide vane.
The flow around guide vanes presented a considrable temporal variation. A light
positive angle of attack resulted in a dpression on the suction side that varies on the
whole guide vane surface when the runner rottes.
The instantaneous pressure in the rgion of the last 25% of the pressure side of blades
suffered from relatively important pressure variations. The fluctuation was important
for the distributor vanes in the zone mentioned above. It was noticed that the flow
around the stay vanes was not influenced by the prsence of the runner downstream.
So it was concluded that the potential unsteadiness was limited to the wicket gte circle.
It was also noticed that the average pressure presented a very strong fluctuation in the
gap, even stronger than in the inter-guide vane channel. But the potential interaction
was not so strong downstream and the pressure RM S fluctuations in the entrance of the
runner were relatively weak compared to the ones upstream. The potential fluctuations
were specially concentrated at the runner leading edges.
So based on the study of Throux, E. (2003) [53], we can conclude that:
1. The dimension of the gap has a great effect on the pressure field. The pressure
fluctuation is more important for small gaps. For the turbine studied, the pressure
fluctuation was found to be more important near the band, both in the stator
rgion and the runner rgion;
2. The frequency domain analysis shows no high harmonies at both stator and run
ner;
3. Pressure distribution and turbulent kinetic energy contours confirm that the po
tential effect is more important than the wake effect; and
4. The potential effect is limited to the zone between the wicket gte circle and the
runner entrance.
Chapter 3
Measurement Techniques in
Turbomachines
3.1 Introduction
The fiow in turbomachines is very complex, as reviewed in the preceding chapter, and it
is very difficult to access due to the geometry. This causes difRculties in measuring the
flows in turbomachines. However, the development of information and measurement
techniques in rcent years makes it possible to do extensive exprimental investigations.
In this chapter, we review thse measurement techniques in turbomachines.
3.2 Measurable Properties and Measuring System
The measurable properties in fluid mechanics could be classified into four gnerai cat
gories [52]:
1. Material properties of the fluid, such as mass, density, spcifie volume, etc., are
usually not the subject of exprimental fluid mechanics, as they could be found
in handbooks;
2. Kinetic properties describe the motion of a fluid regardless of applied forces, such
as position, displacement, velocity, fiow rate, acclration, vorticity, strain rate,
momentum, etc;
Chapter 3. Measurement Techniques in Turbo-machines 36
3. Dynamic properties are properties related to applied forces, such as force, stress,
torque and pressure (mechanical dfinition); and
4. Thermodynamic properties relate to heat and work, such as temprature, internai

energy, enthalpy, entropy, heat flux, work, energy and pressure (thermodynamic
dfinition).
The kinetic and dynamic properties, especially velocity and pressure are more con-
cerned with hydraulic turbomachines. Temprature is necessary as well to get water
density and viscosity.
To conduct any fluid mechanics experiment, three essential and distinct Systems
are included: a physical System, a measuring System and experimenters. The main
processes involved in a measurement System are usually sensing, conversion and condi-
tioning, transmission, and prsentation and storage [52].
Among undesirable influences introduced during the opration of instruments, the

most common ones are flow distortion, loading, and instrument cross-talk [52]. Any
instrument inserted in a flow can causes distortion, such as blockage, streamline dis
placement, vortex shedding, instability, phase change, and turbulence or shock waves.
Flow distortions are difficult to correct and it is advised to minimize them by proper
design of the apparatus. When a measuring component extracts significant power, thus
changing the values of the measured properties, loading occurs. Using a large turbine
meter to measure flow rate may introduce sufficient rsistance and then reduce the
flow rate. When a measuring component is coupled with another one, such that the
output of one acts as an undesirable input to the other, instrument cross-talk occurs.
Instrumentation in fluid Systems may be subjected to thermal cross-talk and to me
chanical cross-talk. To ensure accurate measurement, any significant cross-talk should
be removed.
In the following sections, the rcent measurement techniques for flow pressures and
local velocities are reviewed.
Chapter 3. Measurement Techniques in Turbomachines 37
3.3 M e a s u r e m e n t of Flow Pressure
3.3.1 Pressure Gauges
The rcent often-used pressure transducers are the mechanical and electrical types.
Deadweight gauges and elastic-element gauges are the mechanical type. Deadweight
gauges are often used as calibration standards for other pressure gauges because they
are highly accurate. Elastic-element gauges are general-purpose pressure gauges and
are widely-used. They are available for both absolute and gauge pressures. They hve
a relatively low response and require calibration.
Electrical pressure transducers output an electrical signal related to the pressure,

including piezo-electrical crystal, variable-capacitance transducers, strain-gauge trans
ducers, and small sized silicon-based pressure transducers. The most important advan-
tage of electrical transducers is their superior frequency response, which make them
suitable for measuring unsteady and turbulent pressures.
Piezo-electrical crystals usually require frquent calibration checks and when they
are used in liquid, care must be taken to remove gas bubbles from the transducer cham-
bers and ail Connecting lines. An vident feature of piezoelectric transducers is their
relatively high sensitivity to vibrations and acclration. To reduce the sensitivities,
various compensation methods, such as two crystals in tandem, hve been proposed.
Variable-capacitance transducers hve a wide frequency response ranging from a

few hertz to nearly 100 kHz. A common type of variable-capacitance transducers used
in fluid mechanics laboratory is the barocell and condenser microphones or capacitor
microphones. They are also available in miniature forms.
Strain-gauge transducers may be subject to considrable drift and temprature sen

sitivity. They could be made very thin, as low as 1 mm, suitable as wall-pressure
sensors. In linear-variable differential transformers, pressure-induced dformation of an
elastic lment is transmitted to a transformer. When pressure is applied, imbalance in
the circuitry produces an output voltage proportional to pressure.
Silicon-based pressure transducers could be made much smaller than the correspond-
ing conventional ones. Transducers with sizes about 1 mm are usually referred to as
miniature-type, whereas the term micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) is applied
to device with size between 1 u.m and 1 mm. Silicon-based transducers are classined
into three catgories:
1. Piezo-electric transducers hve relatively low sensitivity and high noise level;
2. Piezo-resistive transducers hve relatively high sensitivity to pressure variation,

but are also sensitive to temprature variation and stress. They are usually con-
nected to a Wheatstone bridge and are compensated for temprature variation.
The miniature pressure used in Configuration 2 is of this kind; and
3. Capacitive transducers hve high sensitivity to pressure variation but low sensi
tivity to temprature variation.
The frequency response of MEMS transducers extends to several tens of kilohertz,

which is adquate for the measurement of pressure fluctuations in many turbulent flows.
That is why they are suitable for the simultaneous measurement of pressure fluctuations
over surfaces.
Extrme pressures can be measured only with spcial transducers. Vacuum pressure
could be measured as low as to 0.1 Pa with liquid-in-glass micro-manometers with
spcial design. Strain-gauge and elastic-element transducers can be used to measure
high-pressure exceeding 108 Pa. For even higher pressures, up to about 10 12 Pa, the
only transducers available are of the variable-rsistance type.
3.3.2 Inflow Pressure Measurement
For inflow pressures, there is no available non-intrusive measuring method, except for
estimating them from other measurement properties. The in-stream pressure can be
monitored with the use of thin tubes of spcial designs, which could be classified into
the following catgories depending on their functions:
Static tubes, used for monitoring the local static pressure;
Pitot tubes, used to measure the local total pressure; and
Pitot-static tubes, combinations of the two preceding tubes and providing the local
dynamic pressure, from which the local flow velocity can be easily calculated.
At relatively large Reynolds numbers and relatively low Mach numbers, the flow
upstream of the tube may be accurately described by the Bernoulli quation,
P + ^pU2 = Po
Then we may use the measured total pressure p0 together with the local static
pressure p to compute the flow velocity with the following formula:
In Configuration 1, we installed this device upstream the test section to measure

the local flow velocity as the rfrence velocity.
Flow direction information can be provided with multiple-hole probes that are tubes
with two or more orifices at the tip. The local flow velocity may also be measured in
combination with total- and static- pressure orifices. The examples are yawmeters and
cobra probes. Velocity profiles in wake and other two dimensional flows can be mea
sured with arrays of parallel Pitot tubes (Pitot rakes). Pitot tubes are simple, versatile
instruments with the additional advantage of not requiring calibration. Nevertheless,
their application is limited by a number of factors, such as, misalignment effect, shear
effect, wall-proximity effect, turbulence and vibration effects, viscous effect, and com-
pressibility effect.
The response of static-pressure tubes dpends on the shape of the nose, number, size,
location of holes, the location of the stem, possible damage during usage, and possible
hole blockage due to the impurities in the stream. Typically, even well-aligned, right-
angled static-pressure tubes could hve an error up to 1% of \pU2. It is recommended to
calibrate each tube separately with a well-constructed static tap, when high accuracy
is required. Other factors affecting the response of static tubes are flow turbulence,
internai motions, cavitation, viscosity and compressibility effects. For turbulence levels
greater than 15%, the errors are likely to be significant. Vibration due to turbulence
or vortex shedding from the stem would tend to cause a higher reading than the true
static pressure. Pressure fluctuations hve been measured with static tubes in which
a fast-response pressure transducer was placed near the static orifices. More recently,
in-flow fluctuating pressure has been measured by the placement of miniature piezo-
resistive pressure transducers inside pressure tubes and multi-hole probes. A diffrent
concept is exploited in bleed-type pressure tubes which contain a hot-film sensor and
are connected to a constant-pressure air supply whose pressure is regulated to produce
a laminar flow. Ail probes are subjected to errors that are due to vibrations, internai
motions and external turbulent fluctuations.
3.3.3 Wall Pressure Measurement
Machining a small tap facing the flow and connected to a transducer is the simplest and
widely-used method to measure the static pressure at a solid wall. The wall pressure is
measured accurately only with an infinitesimally small tap due to the fact that flow over
a cavity induces a squence of counter-rotating vortices. The use of extremely small
taps, however, is not practical for the technical difficulty of machining. To combine the
benefits of a small tap diameter and a reasonably fast response time, it is common to
connect the tap to a larger-diameter cavity, which may contain a transducer or a tube
leading to remotely located instrumentation. Early measurements hve demonstrated
that the error increases with increasing tap length-to-diameter ratio l/d, but becomes
insensitive to this parameter for l/d > 1.5. The free-stream Reynolds number also has
an effect on the error. Geometrical imperfections may introduce unpredictable errors
that are much larger than the finite hole error. Even slight imperfections in the shape
or orientation of the hole are likely to introduce additional systematic errors, typically
up to 1% of \pU2 in magnitude. Tap errors become unpredictable with rough walls.
Turbulence effects on wall pressure measurement hve not yet reached a satisfactory
conclusion.
Three common connection methods of pressure transducers are used in measuring

wall pressures. Remote Connecting (Figure 3.1 a)) is the simplest one and can be used to
any kind of transducers and also multi-port measurement through a single transducer
to a sries of pressure taps. To use it better, the transducer should be mounted as
close as possible to taps because dynamic response of the pressure-measuring System
dtriortes due to the interfrence of tubing, connectors, valve, etc., which sometimes
dictate the frequency response of the system. Cavity mounting (Figure'>.I b)) improves
the dynamic response of the system by eliminating tubing, but it is unable to exploit the
full capacities of the transducer. Compared with. flush mounting (Figure ! I c)), cavity
mounting has the advantages of improved spatial resolution and slection of a wide
range of transducers, regardless of size or quality of sensing surface. Flush mounted
transducers are the only ones that offer their full dynamic response, but it is subjected
to two restrictions: the size of transducers should be so small that only the miniature
and MEMS could be used, and the transducers must match closely the shape of the
surface in order to avoid local pressure distortion. Cost should be also considered for
choosing a pressure-measuring Connecting method.
Chapter 3. Measurement Techniques in Turbo-machines 41
a) Remote mounting b) Cavity mounting c) Flush mounting
Figure 3.1: Three connection methods in wall pressure measurements [52]
3.3.4 Pressure Measurements in Hydraulic Turbines
Farhat, M., Avellan, F., et al. introduced the exprimental procdures for onboard
measurement of pressure and strain fluctuations on the runner blades of a low head
Francis turbine [18]. Twenty-eight miniature piezo rsistive pressure sensors were fitted
in the pressure and suction sides of two conscutive runner blades and protected with
a plastic compound having the same density of water. The wires of each sensor are led
through cable paths which were first drilled in the runner blade surface into the annular
chamber located in the runner crown for signal conditioning. This procdure leads to
a high measurement quality. It makes possible to mount a pressure sensor in a blade
area as thin as 2 mm without any geometry altration which could induce pressure
fluctuations. Figure 3.2 shows one of the two runner blades equipped with 14 pressure
sensors at its pressure side.
Figure 3.2: A runner blade with 14 pressure transducers mounted [18]
With this mounting method, the measurement error in the static calibration was
found to be less than 0.5% of the measurement range. For the dynamic calibration, an
excellent cohrence was observed in the range of 0 Hz to 150 Hz with a fluctuating

flow rate of the flow in a pipe and in the range of 150 Hz to 25 kHz with the help
of a spark generated bubble device. The observation and comparison prove that the
measurements made both on prototype and on model are valid and accurate [18].
An unsteady five-sensor probe has been developed and applied to hydraulic machines
to measure the unsteady pressure field [9]. Two designs were made for runner-stator and
draft tube investigations, respectively. Five miniature pressure sensors were fitted into
a pyramidal head of dimensions of 4>probe = 7 rnm and (f)probe = 4 mm which minimize
flow perturbations for runner-stator investigation. The other one, a cylinder one, allows
to measure instantaneously in draft tubes far away from the wall. The comparison of
velocity measurements with unsteady pressure probe and those of 3D LDV shows a
good agreement.
The pressure fluctuations around the two neighboring guide vanes in a Francis tur
bine were measured with 10 piezo-resistive miniature pressure transducers in Config
uration 2 of this project (see chapter 5). Pressure transducers provided by Unisensor
were mounted on the pressure side and suction side of the two facing guide vanes. The
transducers, 2 mm in diameter and 1.5 mm high, were mounted in holes of 2 mm in
diameter firstly drilled on the surfaces. Wires of each sensor were led through cable
paths into the guide vane shaft for signal conditioning. The mounting procdure makes
it possible to get a good quality without any geometry modification, which is obvi-
ously very important because any modification in the guide vane profile would hve an
unpredictable influence on the velocity fields and pressure fluctuation.
3.4 M e a s u r e m e n t of Local Velocity
The measurement of local flow velocity is a main objective of exprimental fluid me-
chanics in turbomachines. Flow velocity measurement methods may be classified into
the following catgories:
Pressure diffrence methods: they use the analytical relationship between the local
velocity and the static and total pressures. For example, Pitot-static tubes are com-
bination of a Pitot tube and a static tube. The diffrence between the total pressure
and the static pressure provides the local dynamic pressure from which one can easily
calculate the local flow velocity. Multi-hole probes consist of combinations of several
tubes arranged which measure the local static and total pressures as well as the local
velocity in both magnitude and direction.
Thermal methods: they compute flow velocity based on the relationship between
the local velocity and the convective heat transfer from heated lments. Common
instruments of this type are hot-wire anemometers (HWA), used in gas flow and hot-film
anemometers (HFA), used in both gas and liquid flows. A related method, pulsed-wire
anemometry, in a strict sens, is also a thermal tracer method. Until the development
of Laser Doppler Velocimetry (LDV) in the 1970s, thermal anemometry was essentially
the only method providing space, time, and amplitude resolution that are sufficiently
high for measuring turbulent characteristics down to the smallest scales of dynamic
interest.
Frequency-shift methods: They are based on the Doppler phenomenon, the shifting
of the frequency of waves scattered by moving particles. The main instrument is the
Laser Doppler Velocimetry and Ultrasonic Doppler Velocimetry, using light and sound
waves respectively.
Marker tracing methods: they trace the motion of the flow markers, optically or by
other means. Common optical methods include Particle Tracking Velocimetry (PTV)
and Particle Image Velocimetry(PIV), whereas pulse-wire anemometry traces heat emit-
ted from local sources.
Mechanical methods : they use the forces and moments that a moving stream applies
on immersed objects. Sample instruments of this type are the vane, cup and propeller
anemometer.
3.4.1 Thermal Anemometry
Thermal anemometry measures the local flow velocity through its relationship to the
convective cooling of electrically heated mtairie sensors, including hot-wires, hot films.
A related method, pulsed-wire anemometry, is included in this type since it utilizes
instrumentation in a similar way to the other thermal anemometers. Turbulence mea
surement was made possible only with the frequency compensation circuits. The major
development in thermal anemometry was the design of a workable constant-temprature
electronic circuit. Various effects and error sources that should be considered are ve
locity, orientation effect, heat conduction effects, compressibility effects, temprature-
variation effects, composition effects and reverse flow and high-turbulence effects.
Multi-sensor probes hve been used to measure two or three velocity components.
Spcial multi-sensor probe designs hve been used to measure velocity derivatives and
vorticity components. The construction and use of multi-sensor probes are very compli-
cated. They require a multi-dimensional calibration and a sophisticated signal analysis.
The pulsed-wire anemometer has been developed to measure flow velocities in high-
turbulence intensity and reversing flows. They are capable of measuring both the mag
nitude and direction of the velocity component, but their spatial and temporal resolu
tions are markedly inferior to the conventional hot-wire probes. Their main advantage
of measurement in reversing flow has also been largely undermined by optical methods,
such as, LDV and PIV.
3.4.2 Laser Doppler Velocimetry
Laser Doppler Velocimetry (LDV), or Laser Doppler Anemometry (LDA), is a point-

based measurement technique. It is a widely accepted tool for fluid dynamic investi
gations and has been used for more than three dcades. It estimtes flow velocity by
measuring the Doppler shift of particles suspended in the flow: the particles are illu-
minated by a laser beam and the light scattered to various angles is compared to light
in a rfrence beam to dtermine the Doppler shift of the scattered light. The Doppler
shift of the light dpends on the speed of the particles and the angle of measurement.
Figure 3.3 shows a one-component dual-beam System.
Photodetector
Receiving lens
Beam Splitter Sending lens

A
Laser n
Measurement
Mirror volume
Bragg Cell
Figure 3.3: One-component dual-beam LDV System [1]
The beams are generated from a single laser using a half silvered mirror (the 'beam
splitter'). They are then focused with a lens (called the sending lens). The lens also
changes the direction of the beams causing them to cross at the point where they are
focused. The rgion where the beams intersect is where the velocity measurement is
made. It is called the measurement volume. The interfrence of the light beams in the
measurement volume crtes a set of equally spaced fringes (light and dark bands) that
are parallel to the bisector of the beams (Figure 3. l).When a particle in the flow passes
through thse fringes, the amount of light received by the particle fluctutes with the
fringes and the amount of light scattered by the particle therefore also fluctutes. The
frequency of this fluctuation is proportional to the velocity of the particle normal to
the fringes.
Figure 3.4: LDV measurement volume [1]
The light scattered by the particle is collected by the receiving lens and focused onto
a photo-detector which couverts the fluctuations in light intensity into fluctuations in
a voltage signal. An electronic device known as a signal processor is then used to
dtermine the frequency of the signal and therefore the velocity of the flow. Using
trigonometry, the spacing between the fringes, S, is calculated by the formula
S= \/(2sin(a/2))
where is the wavelength. The relationship between the velocity of the particle and
the frequency can be determined by
f = U/S = 2Usin(a/2)/X
where U is the velocity component of the particle normal to the fringes and in the
plane of the beams. This important expression, known as the LDV quation, can be
used to estimate the frequency produced by a particle traversing a typical measurement
volume [1].
LDV is a velocity measurement technique with the following features: non intrusive,
no calibration required, instantaneous and time averaged, velocity range from 0 to
supersonic, multiple velocity components simultaneously, measurement distance from
centimeters to meters, flow reversais can be measured and high spatial and temporal
resolution.
Recently, LDV has been used to measure the flow in turbomachines by some re-
searchers: Chen, X. measured the flow field behind the guide vane cascade at the
optimum opening and showed that the inlet flow of the runner is neither uniform in the
circumferential or in the spanwise direction [7]. Zaccaria, M., and Lakshminarayana, B.
investigated steady and unsteady flows in an axial gas flow turbine with a 2D LDV [64].
Ciocan, G.D. analyzed the complex flow in a pump-turbine with LDV and PIV mea-
surements [10]. His LDV arrangement is shown in Figure 3.5. A non-orthogonal ar
rangement was used at the runner inlet to obtain the 3D components of the flow velocity
using a 2D laser probe.
Figure 3.5: LDV application to a Francis turbine [10]
Ultrasonic Doppler Velocimetry is based on the Doppler frequency of ultrasonic

waves scattered by moving particles. It has been widely used to measure flow rate in
pipes. It has recently been extended to measuring local flow velocity along the path of
an ultrasonic beam. It can provide instantaneous velocity profiles and average profiles.
Its advantage over optical methods is that it can be applied to opaque fluids and its
limitation is that it cannot measure directly the streamwise velocity component, but
this value can be estimated by combining readings of transducers oriented in diffrent
directions.
3.4.3 Particle Image Velocimetry
Flow marker imaging techniques compute the marker displacement and hence velocity
by recording the locations of markers at a time interval. Ail particle displacement
methods are non-intrusive, although, at sufficiently high concentrations, particles may
cause some loading of a flow. The measurement accuracy dpends on the relative
velocity of particle properties and flow conditions. Flow marker imaging techniques
include Particle tracking, Laser Speckle Velocimetry (LSV) and PIV. Particle tracking
is restricted to relatively low speeds and may only be applied to easily visible, isolated
particles. With a variant of the particle tracking method, line-tracking method, flow
velocity profiles can be available. But this approach is not effective in highly turbulent
flows, in which the line would become untraceable because of mixing, or in strongly
three-dimensional flows, containing significant velocity components tangential to the
line. LSV measures the local flow velocity in very heavily seeded flows, such that the
light scattered by each particle would interfre significantly with light scattered by
others. It does not gain popularity because of the too high particle densities.
Like LSV, PIV provides the velocity of groups of particles illuminated by planar
light. But, in PIV, the particle density is sufftciently low for the images of individual
particles to the distinct and not to interfre with each other. PIV setups hve witnessed
great variety and are still in the development stage. Measurement of flow velocity vari
ation over a plane section, rather than a single point, is the great advantage of PIV
over LDV, HWA, and other probe methods that require multiple Systems for simulta-
neously measuring multipoint velocities. This is the main reason why PIV has gained
popularity over the other methods. On the other hand, the spatial and temporal reso
lutions of PIV are markedly lower than those of LDV and HWA. Faster data-sampling
rates, exceeding 1 kHz, hve been achieved in configurations referred to as time-resolved
PIV. A limitation of PIV methods is the relatively low light energy per puise, which
reduce their application range. With two camras and stereo setup, stereoscopic PIV
can measure ail three components of the velocity.
PIV Principle and Components
PIV, as an important tool for fluid mechanics and aerodynamics, has received extensive
attention since its introduction in the late 1980's. In contrast to LDV and other point-
based techniques, PIV can provide instantaneous velocity of the whole flow field (bi-
dimensional or three-dimensional). It is especially valuable in the characterization of
unsteady and turbulent flow fields. Its basic principle is the well-known quation of
Speed=distance/time.
In PIV, the property actually measured is the distance traveled by particles in the
flow within a known time interval. In practice, two successive images of the particles,
illuminated by a light sheet, are recorded by a digital camra. Generally, a laser is used
to generate a thin and intense light sheet for illuminating. A schematic reprsentation
of a 2-D PIV exprimental setup is shown in Figure :!.(>.
Five stages are included in the PIV data acquisition process: seeding, illuminating,
recording, processing and analyzing [15]. Correspondingly, the components of a PIV
system include:
1. Seeding particles;
2. PIV laser and light sheet optics;
3. CCD camras (Charge Coupled Device) and calibration target;
4. PIV processor with the corresponding software; and
5. A computer with the PIV system software.
Figure 3.6: 2-D PIV exprimental setup
LAMH (Laboratoire de mcanique des fluides, Laboratory of Hydraulic Machines)

purchased a Dantec Dynamics FlowMap 3D-PIV system, with a configuration as follows:
-
Seeding particles: polyamid of diameter 50 //m and silver glass of diameter 10
/ira;
Light sheet with maximum input puise energy 120 mJ, double-cavity, mini-Nd:
Yag laser operating at 532 nm with 3 to 5 ns puises, bandpass filters at 532 1 5
nm, 15 Hz maximum sampling frequency;
Two 12-bit, double-frame 80C60 CCD HiSense PIV/PLIF camras with a resolu
tion of 1280 x 1024 pixels, pixel size 6.7 x 6.7 /j,m, 150 mm, 60 mm and 28 mm
Nikor lenses, synchronized with the laser with time sparation down to 0.2 fis,
together with the Hisense camra controller;
2100 FlowMap processor featuring dedicated hardware for FFT-based on-line cor-
relation analysis; and
FlowManager software providing a user-interface for centralized control of FlowMap

PIV measurements; on-line display of data; data validation and analysis; and data
storage.
The individual components are configured in a PIV System with the core hardware,
PIV processor. A synchronization unit in the PIV Processor and the software on the
computer provide mechanisms for System intgration. Inside the Processor, the syn
chronization unit provides a physical platform for communication signais to and from
illumination Systems (comprising lasers, laser shutters and so on) and camras (CCD
based camras via the personality module) and the trigger devices. Figure 3.7 shows
the architecture of the PIV processor.
Figure 3.7: Architecture of the PIV processor [15]
A measurement squence can be initiated by generating input data, image maps.

The camras, via their personality modules, transmit the resulting image maps to the
processor either for processing into vector maps or for subsquent uploading to the PC.
The correlator board then produces a vector map from the image, using the options
selected on the software menus. Communication between the processor and the PC
is via an Ethernet communication board. The software then stores the vector map
or image maps in a database on the hard dise of the PC. It keeps track of both the
data and corresponding data acquisition and analysis parameters using the database.
Subsquent analysis of the stored data sets can give validated vector maps, vorticity
maps, streamlines and so on.
The PIV processor synchronizes the camras and the laser sheet in a way indicated
in Figure 3.N.
Doubto-cavity Q-switchod YAQ Sync

unit
1 Pre-lamp Free run
Cavity 1 j / Flash lamp 1
Q-swilch 1
Cavity 2 _,/
T\ Flash lamp 2
Q-switch 2
Figure 3.8: Synchronisation between the camra and laser sheet [15]
Data Acquisition and Processing
The data flow in a PIV System is shown in Figure i.'J. The digital image maps recorded
by CCD camras, are transferred to the PIV processor. The PIV processor is optimized
for processing the image maps into raw vector maps and transferring thse data to be
stored in the database of the PC. It is, also, possible to transfer the image map to the
PC directly without processing. This process is more time and space consuming. An
image map can be transferred back to the processed [15]. At last, data are analyzed
and the results are displayed in the software FlowManager on the PC.
To carry out the image processing, the image maps are subdivided into a number
of interrogation areas, and within each of thse the first and second frames are cor-
related with each other to estimate the displacement and thus also the velocity. For
reasons of robustness, FFT based corrlation techniques are adopted to dtermine the
displacement of a group of particles (not individual particles). Basically two diffrent
corrlation techniques can be used: auto-correlation and cross-correlation. In the ma-
jority of cases, cross-correlation is superior to autocorrlation. The processing process
with cross-correlation is illustrated in Figure 3.10. A camra image may be consid-
ered a two-dimensional signal field analogous to a one dimensional time sries. Rather
than performing a sum over ail lments of the sampled rgion, the opration can be
reduced to a complex conjugation multiplication of each corresponding pair of Fourier
coefficients. The resulting coefficients are then inversely transformed to obtain the
cross-correlation function.
Records: Image maps,

PIV Processor J-vh -PU raw vector maps;
l^-f| Computer Already analyzed
storage data sets:
(Hard disk) Validated vector maps
Image man
Processing
of image Raw
vector Computer
map data
analysis
map
Image capturin Processing Analyze data sets

Graphical
e.g.: Validated
prsentation
Hard copy - vector maps
Vorticity maps
Figure 3.9: Data flow in a PIV System [15]
System Image 1 Image 2

nput 1 lu t tu'.At VJt Image map input
Image subsampling
at position (i, j) Dafci windowing
E ^ " ' Window function
Fast Fourier ~ (optional) I Evaluation of
transformation .jUy^prrelation plane
Corrlation in the
spatial frequency
domain Multiple
Inverse Fourier
Filter function jM~ peak
(optional) -"H|SJ* dtection
transformation
Subpixel
Peak dtection and
Subpixel interpolation interpolation
Conversion
to velocity
Vector output
System output Data file
Figure 3.10: Data processing flowchart with cross-correlation [15]

Error Sources and R e s o l u t i o n
Errors may be introduced in any stage in PIV application.
Particle Image Diameter
In gnerai seeding particles should be as large as possible in order to scatter the

most light, but too large particles will not track the flow properly. The particle diam
eter should be comparable to the wavelength of the light used. The Lorenz-Mie light
scattering theory applies considering on spherical particles with diffrent sizes, but in
practice also the shape and orientation of seeding particles play a major rle in scatter
ing of the light. Light scattering from spherical particles of diffrent diameters is shown
in Figure ,'i. I 1.
dp<X dp dp>X
Figure 3.11: Light scattering from spherical particles of diffrent diameters [15]
Particle size also affects the spatial distribution of the scattered light. For large
particles, the ratio of forward to backward scattered light can thus be in the order of
102 to 10 3 , where smaller particles scatter more evenly. In PIV, the most interesting
is the intensity of light scattered sideways, and unfortunately this is low even for large
seeding particles.
Generally, the maximum allowable particle size decreases with increasing flow veloc-
ity, turbulence and velocity gradients. For small particles of the order of a few microns
and at small magnification, the particle image diameter means diffraction diameter
which is calculated by the following formula [40]:
ddiff = 2.44 / ( M + 1)A
where fT is the f-number of the camra defined as the ratio between the focal length
and the aperture diameter Da, M is the magnification factor and is the wavelength
of the light. For larger particles and/or larger magnifications the influence of gomtrie
imaging becomes more dominant, and the following formula can be used to estimate
the particle image diameter [40]:
dT = yJ(Mdp)i + dlff
where dp is the real particle diameter.
By measurement of uncertainty in cross-correlation with respect to varying particle

image diameter, the optimal particle image diameter was found of 2 3 pixels [40].
When the particle images become too small, "peak locking" problem occurs, the dis
placements tend to be biased toward intgral values, shown in Figure 3.12, and the
effect increases as the particle image diameter is reduced.
Several solutions exist to remove the peak locking effect [40]. First, the particle
image diameter can be increased during the recording process by increasing the sampling
rate or even by defocusing the particle image. The second choice is to choose a diffrent
peak estimator which is better suited for smaller particle image diameters. The third
alternative is to pre-condition the images using filters which optimize the particle image
diameter with respect to the peak estimator.
2500
O
o 2000 i
>
< I500 ]
J3 IOOO
| 500
z 0 '
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 0
Displacement (Pixel)
Figure 3.12: Histogram of particle displacement with "peak locking" problem [40]
Seeding density
Seeding density in the flow is of great importance in obtaining a good signal peak
in the cross-correlation and signal-to-noise ratio. With a large number of seeding par-
ticles, there will be many true corrlations ensuring a high signal-to-noise ratio, and an
average displacement exceeding a quarter of the side length of the interrogation win-
dow may be accepted (see later). With a relatively small number of particles within
the interrogation area, the signal-to-noise ratio will decrease. Monte Carlo simulations
provide an effective tool in assessing the required seeding density as shown in Figure
3. 13. The displacements shown are relative to the side size of the interrogation area,
and it shows that too low seeding density will bias the displacements, and thereby the
measured velocities towards zro.
Generally, a minimum of 5 particles/region for cross-correlation and 10 for autocor-

relation is recommended to achieve reasonable results. As a rule of thumb, 10 to 25

particle images should be seen in each interrogation area for cross-correlation.
Displacement
The maximum displacement of particles is about 25% of the length of the side
of the interrogation area to ensure a good signal-to-noise ratio because the signal-to-
noise ratio in the cross-correlation decreases with increasing spatial shift. Considering
the compromise between the signal-to-noise ratio in the corrlation function and the
dynamic range of the measured velocity values, 32 x 32 for cross-correlation and 64 x 64
for auto-correlation are suggested to give a reasonable compromise between velocity
dynamic range and spatial resolution.
Seeding density
12
1 f 1 1 \ ,yC
0,30 j i. 1 1 ^JfL-^+t*.
0.25
0.20
0,15
\j^^r^r>\
0,10 L*^T !
1 lr | 1 ( |_
1 1 1 1 1 1
0,00 0.05 0.10 0,15 0.20 0.25 0,30 0,35 0,40
Actual displacement
Figure 3.13: Displacement bias depending on seeding density [15]
Velocity gradients
Velocity gradients within the interrogation area affects the calculations by [15]:
Velocity gradients effectively reduce the signal-to-noise ratio by decreasing the

height of the signal peak and increasing its width;
Velocity gradients within the interrogation area tend to bias measurements to-
wards zro with an increased risk of either the initial or the final position of fast
particles outside the interrogation area;
Velocity gradient increases spread in the measurement results.

Ail of the problems above can be reduced to some extent by increasing the seeding
density. To ensure a 95% probability of the calculated vector being valid, the following
formula is recommended regarding the acceptable velocity gradients:
Au At
<0.03
S-dx
where S is the object/image scale factor, Au is the maximum dviation from the
average velocity within the interrogation area and At is the time between the puises of
the light-sheet, meaning that Au At corresponds to the maximum dviation from
the average particle displacement within the interrogation area. The denominator d\
describes the width of the first interrogation area measured in camra pixels.
Out-of-plane motion
Out-of-plane motion could cause the corrlation peak signal to diminish. Three
methods exist to compensate for it:
1. the puise interval between the recordings can be reduced but with the side-effect
of reducing the dynamic range;
2. The light sheet can be thickened to accommodate the out-of-plane motion;
3. The mean out-of-plane flow component can be accommodated with a parallel

offset of the light sheet between the illumination puises in the flow direction.
The best results can be achieved by combining ail three of thse approaches [10].
Rcent PIV Applications in Turbomachines
Recently, PIV has successfully been applied to investigating the flow field of turbo
machines, such as compressors or gas turbines [30], [Gl], centrifugal pumps [62] and
pump-turbines [8]. In thse applications, the author gives a detailed description of the
techniques for optical access, light-sheet delivery and CCD camra synchronizing with
the rotation of the machines. This gives precious exprience for implementation of PIV
measurement on the Francis turbine in our research. For example, in the case of the
3D measurement of the flow field in the stages of an axial gas turbine [30], the test rig
allows easy exchange of blading for testing of industrial turbine stages of novel design,
enables optical access to the stator and rotor section from radial and axial directions.
The PIV measurement channel of the flow at the runner inlet of a pump-turbine is
shown in Figure 'Il I. The optical access is implemented with a transparent window
and a mirror. A CCD camra takes images under the spiral casing. The laser sheet
illumintes flow at the runner inlet through the transparent window in the spiral casing
wall. The A photosensitive cell and a phase converter are used to synchronize PIV and
the rotation of the machines. The images are transferred to PIV processor and PC to
be processed and analyzed.
Data treatment can be divided into several stages: 1) real time acquisition and
processing; 2) limination of the aberrant vectors; and 3) post-treatment. In the first
stage, both frames are divided into interrogation areas and the raw velocity vector maps
are derived by a FFT-based cross-correlation technique. In the second stage, some
validation methods and filters are used for removing false measurements (outliers), and
then velocity vector maps are available; post-treatment is done in Matlab, and some
interesting parameters, such as mean value, 2D or 3D velocity distribution, streamline,
vorticity can be obtained. Instantaneous velocity field from the measurement of a
pump-turbine are shown in Figure >. 15. At nominal flow rate, the velocity is ordered
and at 0.8Qn there are vortices in the inter-guide vane channel.
phtosensitive cell phase converter monitoring screen
Figure 3.14: PIV measurement channel in a model pump-turbine [8]
Woisetschlger, J., Mayrhofer, N., Hampel, B., Lang, H., and Sanz, W. (2002) [61]
investigated the vortex street behind the linear blades of a gas turbine with a PIV and
a vibrometer (Figure 3.16). Optical access to the flow was granted by two flat glass
Windows 100 mm x 180 mm in size and 15 mm thick, and the light-sheet probe was
inserted in the downstream section of the cascade. For data processing, a FFT based
cross-correlation technique with 32 x 32 pixel interrogation areas with 50% overlap was
used to the images pairs. Sub-pixel. resolution in detecting the corrlation peak was
provided by a three point Gauss fit. A range validation and a moving validation filter
10 to K 40 t M ?6 M > 190
0.8Qn
Figure 3.15: Instantaneous velocity field in an inter-guide vane channel [8]

in a field of 5 x 5 interrogation areas were used to reject erroneous vectors. If the
central vector exceeded the average value by three times the standard dviation, it was
refected.
flow
direction
PIV section
lightihf'et
Figure 3.16: Linear arrangement of turbine blades and PIV view field [61
Conclusions
PIV is a velocity measurement technique with the following features:
Non-intrusive and measures the velocities of micron-sized particles following the

flow;
Velocity range from zro to supersonic;
Instantaneous velocity vector maps in a cross-section of the flow;

Ail three components may be obtained with the use of a stereoscopic arrangement;
With squences of velocity vector maps, statistics, spatial corrlations and other
relevant data are available; and
Results are convenient to compare with computational fluid dynamics, i.e. large
eddy simulations, and real-time velocity maps are an invaluable tool for fluid
dynamics researchers
Comparison between LDV and PIV
As the reprsentatives of point measurement technique and planar measurement tech

nique, LDV and PIV are compared in Table 3.1. PIV and LDV both hve some advan-
tages and disadvantages. The most important diffrence between PIV and LDV is that
PIV can measure the velocity at entire section while LDV method measures velocity
components at one point of the'section [19]. The averaged measurements illustrated
that PIV can yield high accuracy velocity vector maps in much less time than traditional
LDV techniques. The LDV measurement enables flow velocity mapping by pointwise
dtection and averaging of instantaneous velocity data from which mean values and
dviations of velocity can be derived to verify the results obtained by computational
fluid dynamics (CFD) [30].
3.4.4 Molecular Tagging Velocimetry
Molecular Tagging Velocimetry, also referred to as laser-induced photochemical anemom-

etry and flow tagging velocimetry, traces the motion of photosensitive molcules in th
fluid. Compared to PIV and seed-particle tacking method, it requires no seeding, but
some spcial materials, the molcules, thus it is suitable for both single-phase and
multiphase flow. The molcules, when activated, will become distinguishable from the
background fluid.
Table 3.1: Comparison of LDV and PIV
LDV PIV
Basic A continuous wave laser; trans- PIV laser and light sheet optics;
Configura mitting optics, including a beam one or two CCD camras (Charge
tion splitter and a focusing lens; re- Coupled Device) for recording;
ceiving optics, comprising a fo calibration target for calibrating;
cusing lens, an interfrence filter PIV processor for processing and
and a photodetector; a signal con analyzing; analysis and manage
ditioner and a signal processor. ment software
Same 1. No intrusive; 2. Instantaneous; 3. Velocity range from 0 to su-
personic; 4. Three velocity components available; 5. In a transparent
fluid or interface; 6. Uniform seeding;
Diffrent Local (0.05-3 mm); Global (flow field available);
No calibration required; Calibration required;
High spatial and temporal resolu Seeding density is important;
tion ; Access to the flow structures;
High precision(l% on the velocity Results are similar to CFD: in
value); stantaneous and mean velocity
Large dynamics range 0-1000Hz vector maps, secondary velocity,
dpendent on seeding; streamlines, vorticity available
Results: velocity and turbulent
quantities at a single point avail
able
Chapter 4
Flow Field Measurement around a

Guide Vane
4.1 Introduction
Configuration 1 constitutes the first step to develop the expertise for characterizing un-
steady flows in distributors of Francis turbines. It is about an asymmetrical guide vane
in a water channel with a 2D cross section. Head loss was measured so as to get gnerai
information about the influence of the guide vane on the flow and the effects of the
surface roughness effect was also taken into account. 2D flow field measurements were
conducted with a PIV System in order to document the flow behavior. The effects of the
flow conditions such as Reynolds numbers, and angles of attack were addressed. This
chapter prsents the exprimental methods used and the results of the measurements.
4.2 Exprimental Setup
In this section we prsent the exprimental setup and the instrumentation for Config
uration 1. In order to properly reproduce the phenomena in a manner similar to those
occurring in model Francis turbines, the flow conditions on the test rig should be set
up in the same way as they are in model turbines. The 3D effects near the band and
the crown were not taken into account hre. For obtaining similar hydraulic conditions,
the range of the Reynolds number based on the guide vane chord was estimated using
the calculations of various in-service prototype Francis turbines. Based on thse calcu-
Chapter 4. Flow Field Measurement around a Guide Vane 61
lations, the validity of the water channel was checked and the measurement points were
determined considering the practical opration range of Francis turbines.
4.2.1 Reynolds Numbers in Francis Turbines
The basic geometry parameters of a Francis turbine are shown in Figure I I . Usu-
ally, the Reynolds number in Francis turbines means the one defined by IEC Code
60193.1999, calculated based on the velocity through the runner and the runner diam
eter by the formula:
UePr
Ree
where Ue is the tangential velocity through the runner, Dr is the throat diameter of the
runner which can be replaced by the runner outlet diameter D\e when the information
is missing. The velocity Ue is calculated by the following formula:
7NDr
Ue =
60
where N(RPM) is the rotating speed of the runner.
B0 Wicket gte height

Zo Number o wicket gtes
D0 Wicket gte circle diameter
L0 Wicket gte chord length
Du Runner inlet diameter
Zr Number of runner blades
Dr Runner (throat) Diameter
D 1e Runner outlet diameter
Figure 4.1: Geometry parameters of a Francis Turbine [27]
For this project, the Reynolds number based on the guide vane chord is also partic-
ularly important and it is calculated by the formula:
Re0 =
v
where CQ is the radial velocity through the stator, L0 is the chord of the guide vane, and
v is the kinematic viscosity which varies with the water temprature. CQ is calculated
by the following formula, assuming that there is no overlap between closed guide vanes:
C0 =
T T A0-DO
R
where Qn is the nominal discharge through the machine. So when the basic flow pa
rameters and the turbine gomtrie parameters Qn, B0, L0, N and DXe are known, the
two Reynolds numbers for spcifie turbines can be determined and those in the cor-
responding model turbines are then available by dimensional analysis. Similarity laws
between the model turbines and prototype turbines indicate:
Unit velocity
ND
Nn = /H
or
Energy coefficient
SE
u D2 2
where H is the head of the machine, E is the hydraulic spcifie energy E = g H (J/kg),
eu is the angular velocity (rad/s).
Unit discharge
Q
Qn =
DjVH
or
Flow coefficient
SQ
y? TTLOD3
For spcifie speed, there exist three diffrent dfinitions [27]:
IEC (International Electric Commission) standard spcifie speed
NEQ
-Xg~HfTA
with n(rev/s), Q(m3/s), H (m) and NEQ (NEQ is non-dimensional).
Classic spcifie speed

U
<1 ~ [3/4
3
with N(rpm), Q(m /s), H(m) and nq (nq is non-dimensional)
Scientific spcifie speed
v =
with co(rad/s), Q(m3/s), H (m) and V (V is non-dimensional)
The relationships between the three dfinitions can be deduced as following:
nq = (60 g3'4) NEQ = 332.59 NEQ
V = (2l'A TT1/2) NEQ = 2.11NEQ
nq = 157.79 V
Prom thse quations above, we can get
Np
= (HP)(DM)
NM HM Dp
Qp ,Hp i Dp
= ( )2( J2
QM HM DM
L = (*.)(.) = {SL)i
UM NM DM HM
* t _ (t )( i)(a)
L
KeM UM OM vp
where P is the subscript for prototype turbines and M is for model turbines.
So the Reynolds number in model turbines can be calculated by the formula
n ,HM\! ,D\MS O
ReM = ()* (-= )-ReP
tlp L)\p
or
UM LM
tie-M =
v
The gap between the stator and the runner can be calculated with the following
formulas:
at the crown of the runner
D0 - Du - L0 sin(3
Gapu
at the band of the runner

D0 - Du - L0 sinfi
Gapie ?
where (3 is the angle between the guide vane chord and the tangential direction of the
guide vane circle. Theoretically, the maximum flow rate could be obtained at j3 = 90,
guide vanes being in the radius direction, where the distance between the guide vanes
has a maximum value. But actually, at (3 90, a very large angle of attack is formed
and a large sparation zone may develop and consequently, considrable head loss will
be caused. This conflicts with the original rle of the guide vane which is to guide
the flow and regulate the flow rate with the least head loss. More importantly, at
/3 = 90, the flow through the guide vanes can not acquire a tangential velocity in a
swirl motion before it enters the runner which is actually the real force driving the
runner to rotate. So normally, the guide vanes never operate in the radius direction.
There exists a maximum permissible opening value. For Francis turbines, this value is
usually the opening at the designed head with the nominal output or a little greater.
For Kaplan turbines, the maximum permissible opening value is determined according
to the suction head [32].
In Table A. I and Table A.2 in Appendix A, the two Reynolds numbers are calculated
for several existing hydropower projects at their nominal heads and flow rates with the
spcifie speed V covering the total range of Francis turbines from 0.1 to 0.7. Thse
calculations were conducted for both prototype and model Francis turbines. For model
Francis turbines, a constant runner diameter 0.3 m and a constant head 20 m hve
been assumed. To simplify the calculations, the following assumptions were made:
1. For prototype turbines, the average water temprature is assumed to be at 15.6

which means that the kinematic viscosity of the water is about 1.12 x 10~ 6 while
for model turbines, the average water temprature is at 20 meaning that the
kinematic viscosity of the water is 1.006 x 10~ 6 ; and
2. The angle between the guide vane chord and the tangential direction of the guide
vane circle /3 is assumed to be TT/4 which is normally near the maximum opening
position of the guide vanes. This assumption was made for both prototype and
model Francis turbines.
From the tables in Appendix A, the average Reynolds number values around the
guide vanes at the designed head and the nominal discharge are in the range of 5 x 106
to 1 x 107 in prototype turbines, and 1.6 x 105 to 2.6 x 105 in model turbines. Reynolds
numbers in the runners vary between 9 x 107 to 2.3 x 108 in prototype turbines, and
2.4 x 106 to 6.3 x 106 in model turbines. Furthermore, we may see how the runner
geometry of Francis turbines evolves with the spcifie speed. For high head machines,
like Svartisen (H = 540 m), the inlet runner diameter and guide vane circle diameter
are much greater than the runner diameter while the ratio of wicket height and chord
is less significant, with B0/Lo = 0.44. On the contrary, for the relatively low head
Francis turbines, like Itaparica project (H = 50 m), the ratio of wicket height and
chord increases, with B0/L0 = 2.09, and the inlet diameter is practically equal to the
outlet diameter. Even if it is not constant from the band to the crown, we may see that
the maximum gap is also varying.
Usually, the head varies between 15 m and 30 m and the relative flow rate Q/Qn
between 0.5 and 1.2 in model turbines. With this variation, the minimal and maximum
Reynolds numbers around the guide vanes in model Francis turbines will be
Reomin = 0.5 x ^ 1 5 / 2 0 x 1.6 x 105 = 0.7 x 105
Reomax = 1.2 x ^ 3 0 / 2 0 x 2.6 x 105 = 3.8 x 105
So with the assumption above, the maximum range of Reynolds numbers around
the guide vanes in model Francis turbines are 0.7 x 105 to 3.8 x 105 which provides us
with a criteria to check the validity of the test rig for Configuration 1.
4.2.2 Test Rig and Guide Vane
Figure i _' shows the basic structure of the test rig for Configuration 1. It consists of
a closed-loop pipeline, fed by a centrifugal pump. The centrifugal pump is powered by
an electrical motor driven by a variable frequency drive. The flow rate is up to about
0.1 m3/s. The discharge is measured with an ABB electromagnetic flow meter, which
provides an accuracy of 0.3%. To ensure the desired discharge, the rotational speed of
the motor, also of the pump, is regulated through a PLC with a man-machine interface.
A heat exchanger was installed in the basin to limit water temprature variations during
tests. Otherwise the water temprature variation would significantly affect the water
viscosity and hence the Reynolds number. A rectangular channel (360 mm wide, 51
mm high and 6.6 m long), made of acrylic, was installed on the test rig.
Calculated using the empirical formula described in Chapter 2, the entrance length
for turbulent fully-developed flow at Q=105 l/s in this water channel is
le = 4AReh1/6 Dh = 4.4(5.6 x 10 5 ) 1 / 6 0.0893 = 3.6(m)
To ensure that the flow is fully developed in the test section, a 5.5 m length is
included upstream of the test section, with honeycombs installed at the entrance and
at the exit of the channel.
Honey comb-
Feeding pump
Test section
(aerial view)
Figure 4.2: Test rig for Configuration 1
An asymmetrical guide vane, made of brass with a chord of 52.4 mm and a height
of 50 mm, was installed in the middle of the test section. A rotating device fixed in the
floor of the channel allowed angles of attack of 30.
A 3D Cartesian coordinate in the channel is defined as follows: the origin is at

bottom of the leading edge of the guide vane of the angle of attack a = 0, x is along
the flow direction, z is vertical, and y is along the right-hand rule with x and z (Figure
Cl).
*\
Figure 4.3: Coordinate of Configuration 1
With the test rig and the guide vane described above, the Reynolds number based on
the chord length varies from 0.5 x 105 to 3.3 x 105. This range is very similar to that of
the Reynolds number encountered in model Francis turbines (0.7 x 105 < Re < 3.8 x 105)
calculated in the last sub section. The average Reynolds number based on guide vane
chords length is about 2.2 x 105 in model Francis turbines. Four flow rates were selected
to carry out the measurements. The measured flow rates, mean velocities and Reynolds
numbers are shown in Table 1.1. The tests covered five diffrent angles of attack for
each Reynolds number (a = 0, 5, 10, 15 and 20).
Q (l/s) U(m/s) i?e ft (xi0 5 ) i?e c (xl0 5 )

86 4.68 4.69 2.75
68 3.7 3.71 2.18
55 3 3 1.76
35 1.91 1.91 1.12
Table 4.1: Flow rates and Reynolds numbers on the test rig
4.2.3 Instrumentation for Configuration 1
In addition to the basic equipment and instrumentation on the test rig, such as the pump
and the flow meter described above, other instrumentations were added to conduct ail
the measurements of head loss and the flow fields. Thse include:
A static Pitot tube;
A mercury thermometer;
A Endress + Hauser differential pressure transducer;
A HP oscilloscope; and
A PIV system.
Static P i t o t t u b e
A static Pitot tube was installed upstream the test section and connected to a En-
dress+Hauser differential pressure sensor to measure the dynamic pressure \pU2 =
Po p and then to calculate the central velocity Uc at the section. Direct current 0 20
mA output of the pressure transducer was converted to direct voltage with a rsistance
and displayed by an HP oscilloscope. According to the calibration and calculation with
a DH scale, the relationship of velocity vs. voltage is
/ 2 (12793.9 Vvot - 12490.0)

Uc=
y 998
The accuracy with this instrumentation is 0.1%.
Mercury Thermometer
A mercury thermometer is selected to measure the water temprature, and, conse-

quently, to dtermine the kinetic viscosity, which is necessary to calculate the Reynolds
numbers.
Pressure Transducer and HP Oscilloscope
An Endress+Hauser pressure transducer together an HP oscilloscope was used to cap

ture and display the pressure diffrence and therefore to dtermine the rfrence velocity
and the head loss.
Particle Image Velocimetry
As described in Chapter 3.
Measurements of Configuration 1 include:
1. Flow tests at the test section, so as to check if the flow condition is correct for
the following/subsequent measurements, for example, to examine if the flow is
fully-developed and symmetrical;
2. Head loss measurements with or without guide vanes, in order to obtain the
gnerai information about the effect of the guide vane on the flow; and
3. Flow field measurements around the guide vane, so as to carry out a detailed
study of the flow fields, including the instantaneous and mean quantities.
4.3.1 Flow Tests at Test Section
Two ways are used to check whether the flow is fully developed at the test section:
Flow test 1: Comparison of the shape of the measured flow profile with the one
of the theoretical turbulent fully developed flow profile ; and
Flow Test 2: Comparison of two flow profiles at diffrent positions in the flow
direction (they should be identical if the flow is fully developed).
The camras equipped with a 28 mm lens with an aperture 11 ( / = 11) were

suspended over the channel by the means of an aluminum frame fastened around the
channel. Before PIV measurement, calibration should be made to dtermine the scale
factor between the object plane and the image plane. The scale factor is directly related
to the measurement prcision. A 100 mm x 100 mm standard calibration target provided
by Dantec Dynamics with black dots evenly distributed on the white background was
used. The distance between the two neighboring dots is 2.5 mm. The calibration target
was fixed on the bottom of the channel with the calibration interface at the mid-height
of the channel. The flow rate was set at 55 l/s for calibration. Diffrent from real PIV
measurements where double frames with a suitable time interval between them were
used for later cross-correlations, single frame with a long exposure time was used for
calibration. Air bubbles should be avoided since they will change the optical access. A
calibration image is shown in Figure 1.1.
Figure 4.4: Calibration image with a standard target
Once an image of the calibration target is taken, the scale factor can be calculated
with FlowManager: two points in the same line/commn are selected and the actual
distance between them is known by counting the number of dots. By giving the actual
distance between two points, FlowManager will give the scale factor automatically. The
same calibration resuit was used for ail the measurements at the four flow rates because
the optical path variation caused by flow rate change is negligible. The scale factor
keeps constant unless the camra is moved relative to the measuring fields.
For PIV measurements, double frames and much shorter time interval are used.
This causes no enough light for image exposure and then extra illuminating is needed.
A laser sheet about 2 mm thick from one side of the channel was used to illuminate
the flow field. For flow test 1, to obtain the flow profile for the whole section along the
y coordinate, two camras were fixed in tandem on y axes with each a view field 190
mm x 152 mm. For flow test 2, two camras were fixed in tandem on x axes with each
a view field 168 mm x 135 mm. In this way, flow profiles at the four selected flow rates
were checked. Figure 4.5 a) illustrtes the normalized streamwise mean velocity profiles
at the same position and for two diffrent flow rates. Figure 4.5 b) shows two profiles
measured at diffrent positions in the flow direction with a distance about 65 mm, at
the same flow rate.
The flow test results demonstrate that the flow in the test section is fully developed,
with a certain asymmetry which is very likely caused by the channel inlet conditions.
The flow rates do not greatly influence the mean flow profiles, the maximum relative
error being at about 2%. The mean flow profiles change little in the flow direction and
the maximum relative error is at about 0.5%. With thse results, we can assume with
confidence that the flow is sufficiently uniform for our purposes, keeping in mind the
imperfection of the light asymmetry of the mean flow profile.
1 L^. I ' ..
0.9 " .1^^^ ^^^^^
0.8 \ . t -
-
C 1=551/5 tm
0.7 1=86 l/s X/C=1.05
X/C=-0.15
0.6
\
or ^ os i
a) Profiles at the same position b) Profiles at the diffrent positions
Figure 4.5: Normalized mean streamwise velocity profiles at the test section
4.3.2 Head Loss Measurement at Test Section
Based on analysis of gas turbines, Cohen, H., Rogers, G.F.C. and Saravanamutto, H.I.H.
(1996) [12] suggests that an overall blade loss cornes from the following sources:
(a) Profile loss - associated with boundary layer developing over the blade profile
(including sparation loss);
(b) Annulus loss - associated with boundary layer developing on the inner and
outer walls of the annulus;
(c) Secondary loss - arising from secondary flows; and
(d) Clearance loss - due to the clearance between the wall and the blade end.
Losses of (b) and (c), are shown in Figure l.(,i. Analysis of compressor performance
shows that loss of c) is important: it is at the same order as the loss caused by profile
drag [12]. Sometimes annulus loss b) and secondary loss c) are not easily distinguishable,
and Cohen, H. and others put them in the same category, as secondary loss, when
calculating the loss coefficient [12].
(a) Annulus drag (b) Secondary losses
Figure 4.6: Annulus loss and secondary loss [12]
The measurement of the pressure diffrence between the upstream and the down-
stream of the guide vane in the water channel makes it possible to confirm the influence
of the guide vane on the head loss. A 0.95 m long section of the channel was chosen to
conduct the measurement with wall pressure taps, the differential pressure transducer
and the oscilloscope, shown in Figure 17.
The head loss captured by the transducer includes two parts: head loss caused by
the channel wall friction and by the guide vane prsence, with the latter including
profile loss, secondary loss and clearance. To minimize the clearance loss, very small
clearances between the wall and the guide vane end were allowed. By calibration with
an air compressor, the relationship between the pressure and voltage is
p = 1.3081 Vvot - 1.277
To compare the effects of angles of attack, head losses were measured without guide
vanes and with a guide vane at angles of attack of a = 0, 10 and 20.
Figure 4.7: Head loss measurement
4.3.3 Flow Field Measurement around a Guide Vane
After initially conflrming the flow conditions, the flow fields around the guide vane at
mid-span (z = 26 mm) were measured with the PIV system. The measured rgion
covers x = 3 to 71 mm, with one camra equipped with a 60 mm lens at the aperture
11 (/ = 11). Four flow rates and five angles of attack were investigated. The PIV setup
was the same as the one used in the flow test: the camra recorded the flow fields from
the top of the channel, the laser sheet about 2 mm thick illuminated the flow field from
the side. The exprimental setup is shown in Figure 1> a). Two mirrors were placed
on the other side of the channel to reflect the laser sheet and to illuminate areas in
the shadow of the guide vane. When calibrating with the target. the view field of the
camra was at about 74 mm x 59 mm. This is shown in Figure l> b).
a) PIV system setup b) Camra view
Figure 4.8: PIV setup for Configuration 1
During the process of image acquisition, image losses were encountered at high
sampling frequency or whenever a large quantity of images were taken in one burst.
To overcome this problem, low sampling frequency and multiple bursts with a small
quantity of image pairs were used. Hre 100 image pairs for each burst at 2 Hz was used.
An amount of 600 image pairs were acquired for each flow condition and stored on the
hard disk. Although direct storage of image pairs on hard disks occupies considrable
amount of spaces, this method was used because it offers the possibility to treat data
in a safe and flexible manner. An example of a PIV image is shown in Figure 1.9.
Figure 4.9: PIV image of flow field measurement around a guide vane
The number of image pairs was selected according to the calculations of the random
errors associated with the number of image pairs for the flow test measurements. Our
calculations were conducted with 100, 250, 500, 1000, 1500, and 1750 image pairs. We
assumed 2000 to be the rfrence for making comparisons (zro error). Considering the
compromise between the accuracy and the process time and space, 500 was thought
to be the acceptable minimum number of the image pairs. With 500 image pairs, the
maximum relative error of U is at 0.2% and that of u' was found at 3%. The standard
square errors of relative errors of U and u' vary with the number of image pairs (Figure
[.]() and Table 1.2).
After the image pairs were stored on the hard disk, appropriate data processing
methods were selected to carry out the analysis. This includes slection the methods
of corrlation, validation, etc.
By using adaptive corrlation, one can obtain a number of benefits over standard
PIV cross-correlation techniques. The principle of adaptive adaption is an itrative
procdure using the shift window. Also in this way, it can capture the particle images
that leave the interrogation area during the time between the two light puises. In this
x10 Standard Square Error (SSE) of U relative Error

+
LU
o o
+
I I I 5 l _ _ JLa i i
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000
N
x10 Standard Square Error (SSE) of u1 relative Error

r i i i i 1 1 1
1 1
6 - i i
O i !
LU 4
i+ i
:o :i or
i i 1$1 J (i
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000
N
Figure 4.10: Standard square errors of relative errors of U and u'

way, the number of successful vectors can be guaranteed by minimizing the effect of "in
plane dropout". Loss of thse particle images hre is called "in plane dropout", which
reduces signal strength [15].
Number of Images (TEr.u X ( 1 0 - 6 ) aEr_u, x (lu" 4 )

100 1.34 - 2.77 5.2 - 6.5
250 1.19- 1.51 0.82 - 1.38
500 0.18 - 0.36 0.35 - 0.63
1000 0.16 - 0.24 0.33 - 0.39
1500 0.02 - 0.04 0.03 - 0.08
1750 0.02 - 0.03 0.02 - 0.03
Table 4.2: Standard square errors of relative errors of U and u'
Outliers, however, are incorrect vectors resulting from noises that may occur when-
ever PIV measurements are taken. Since PIV is an instantaneous measurement tech
nique, ail spatial information is sampled at the same time and it is possible that there
will be some rgions where there exists no meaningful input [15]. Therefore, it is nec-
essary to slect a validation method to validate the PIV vector map and to find an
appropriate filter to filter out the noises.
For Configuration 1, results are obtained using the following analysis squence:
1. Adaptive corrlation with a final interrogation area size of 32x32 pixels (1.86 x 1.86
mm2) and a 50% overlap of the image pairs to obtain raw vector maps, using both
peak and local neighborhood validations to remove noise;
2. Rcognition of the guide vane profile on the image maps by means of an image
processing technique with a Matlab script, putting zro vectors inside the guide
vane profile and saving the profile coordinates in a data file;
3. Local validation of the raw vector maps with a Matlab script by using a criterion
based on the mdian value of a 3 x 3 immdiate vicinity of each point to find and
substitute false vectors and to get validated vector maps;
4. Gaussian filtering the previous vector maps to remove high spatial frequency noise,
with a standard dviation of 16 - 22 pixels and calculating the vorticity; and
5. Statistical analysis of the final validated instantaneous data.
Examples of raw vector maps, validated and masked vector maps and vector statis-
tics are shown in Figures l.ll, 112 and 1.13.
Mn
d-era io^09A pajjs'era puis p a ^ p i r ^ '-Zl'f M
ijij'ji'ii sjvrl C9I iil SI STI Ol Sl Ol Sl 0? I il I 011 il 01
l'I'll Ilil.lililllihlilill illlinlilillli il Iill ililililililill Iillli I lll Iilllilllihll 0
os
--_^
l uopisariSiruoQ jo diaui jopaA Ave^ -H'f amSij
Oiluiui -j j 091 SSI 0S| Istl Otl SS| OC I S31 031 Sll il SI 0
'"Il lniiiHiil ihili I Iiinlii luiiiiiiil hil i.ili I iiiliiiiiiinlnhni.il i iil 0
91 9UVj\ dpm) v punojv ûduidjnsvd]^ ppjjj M-OJJ -p d^dvqQ

Num. vectors (N): 537 (of max. 60C

Mean vector (U,V): 4.143, -0.326 m/s
Std. dviation: 0.140,0.112
Corr. coefficient: 0.128 '
o ||i|l|i|i|||i|i|i|i|l|i|i|i|i|||i|i|i|i|||i|i|i|i|||i|i|i|i|m
|n h 110 |15 Uo |25 Uo ] 35 UO 4.5 I 50 | 55 Uo I 65 mmlTO
Figure 4.13: Statistics of vector map of Configuration 1
In this section, the measurement results of head loss and fiow fields around the guide
vane are presented and then conclusions are made based on thse results.
4.4.1 H e a d Loss
The friction losses along the channel wall in the test section were calculated for a
smooth wall (e = 0 mm). Without considering the effects of guide vanes, the head loss
is calculated according to the Darcy-Weisbach quation [35]:
/ U2
H,
Dh 2g
where / is the friction factor which dpends on the wall roughness e and the hydraulic
Reynolds number given by the Moody chart and Dh is the hydraulic diameter. Accord
ing to Smith, J.A. [49], as far as estimation of friction factor is concerned, the concept
of hydraulic diameters tend to work better for turbulent flow in ducts with aspect ratio
close to one. For our application, the head loss may be underestimated by about 10%
to 15%.
Our calculated and measured head losses through the test section (without and with
the guide vane at diffrent angles of attack) are shown in Figure 4.14. The measured
head loss even with no guide vanes is more substantial than the value noted in our
calculation. Head loss measured without guide vanes corresponds to that encountered
with a calculated roughness of e = 0.013 mm. Compared with the one without guide
vanes, the additional head losses caused by the prsence of the guide vane are apparent,
and this is even true for zro angle of attack. An abrupt increase in head loss was
found between a = 10 and a = 20, which may indicate the occurring of hydraulic
phenomena such as sparation or considrable blockage effects.
Figure 4.14: Head loss vs. angle of attack for the same surface roughness
We tried to dtermine the effect of the surface roughness of the guide vane on the flow
by measuring the head losses with diffrent roughnesses. The effect of surface roughness
on head losses was observed in a context where two surface roughnesses D = 2.8 /im
and D = 5.5 //m at a = 10 were measured and the results are presented in Figure
4.15. The head loss increases with an increasing surface roughness, but this diffrence
is not so vident. We may expect that the roughness variation in this range does not
change the flow pattern very much at this angle of attack. However, the phenomenon
is important enough to be measured, meaning that it could be studied at model scale.
Based on the head loss measurement results, we may conclude that the most im
portant head loss occurs at large angles of attack where boundary layer transition,
sparation or Karman vortices occur. We infer hre that the loss would become con
sidrable with a sufnciently rough surface that would change the flow patterns around
the guide vanes. Therefore, such roughness may be an important factor and attention
should be paid during turbine opration due to the fact that the surface roughness will
increase as the mechanism ges. And so finding critical values of surface roughness
above which considrable losses would occur is of particular interest to the industry.
The study is on model. Transportation effects from model to prototype will need to be
addressed.
Figure 4.15: Head loss vs. surface roughness at a = 10
4.4.2 Flow Field Measurement Results
The PIV measurement results are divided into the following sections:
1. Mean results (including mean velocity distribution, mean streamwise velocity

component U/Uc, streamwise velocity fluctuation level u'2/U^ and normalized
Reynolds shear stress u'v'/U2). The central velocity Uc defined at Section 4.2.3
is used as the rfrence velocity; and
2. Instantaneous results (including velocity vector maps and vorticity contours).
In both sections, the effects of the Reynolds number and the angles of attack are
analyzed and compared.
Mean Results
Mean flow field information were obtained by time-averaging 600 sets of instantaneous
velocity maps for each flow condition. Twenty flow conditions were measured: five
Chapter 4. Flow Field Measurement around a Guide Varie 80
angles of attack of (a = 0, 5, 10, 15 and 20) and four flow rates of (Q = 35 l/s, 55
l/s, 68 l/s, and 86 l/s) for each angle of attack.
To compare the effects of Reynolds number and the angles of attack in a summary
fashion, we prsent hre the results at one angle of attack (for example, a = 10) for
ail the flow rates (Figure 4.16) and at one flow rate (for example, Q = 55 l/s) for ail
angles of attack (Figure 4.17). For other mean flow field information, see Appendix B.
In thse two figures, the mean velocity vector distributions and the velocity magnitude
contours are shown.
a) flec= 1.1x10 b)ife f = 1.8xlo
0.10 0.20 0.31 041 0.51 0.62 0.72 0.82 0.93 1.03 1.14 1.24 1.34 1.45 1.55
Figure 4.16: Mean velocity distribution and velocity magnitude contours at a = 10
In both figures, the low velocity around the leading edge indicates the prsence of
a stagnation rgion. On the suction side, the velocity increases rapidly over a short
distance as soon as the leading edge is passed. It then attains the maximum value
within a certain distance and after that, the flow decreases until it reaches the trailing
edge. The velocity variation along the pressure side is much less complex than that
of the suction side: the flow increases and decreases smoothly with the distance from
the leading edge until to the trailing edge. The lower velocity downstream of the guide
vane indicates the existence of the wake.
When comparing the mean velocity distributions and the velocity magnitude con
tours for diffrent flow rates at the same angle of attack (see Figure 4.16), generally no
0.10 0.20 0.31 0.41 0.51 0.62 0.72 0.82 0.93 1.03 1.14 1.24 1.34 1.45 1.55
Figure 4.17: Mean velocity distribution and velocity magnitude contour for Q=55 1/s
major influence of the Reynolds number on the mean velocity distribution and the ve
locity magnitude is observed. This observation is based on the analysis of the stagnation
rgion, maximum velocity and its position, wake size, etc.
Figure 4.17 shows the mean flow information around the guide vane at diffrent
angles of attack for the same Reynolds number. Due to the asymmetry of the guide
vane, the velocity distribution around the guide vane does not reveal a symmetrical
distribution even when a = 0. We conclude that the angle of attack has a considrable
influence on the mean velocity distribution and the velocity magnitude. It has been
observed to occur in the following ways:
The stagnation rgion moves slightly towards the suction side with the increase
of the angle of attack;
The maximum velocity increases and its position moves upstream with a increas-
ing;
The wake becomes wider with the increase of the angle of attack;
At small angles of attack, such as 0 and 5, the boundary layer is always very
thin and no discernible change in the boundary layer thickness can be observed;
and
At large angles of attack, back flow zones can be observed.
To further understand the features of the mean flow fields around the guide vane,
Figures 4.18, 4.19 and 4.20 show the following parameters: the normalized mean stream-
wise velocity component U/Uc, normalized streamwise velocity fluctuation level u'2/U^
and normalized Reynolds shear stress u'v'/U^ around the guide vane for diffrent an
gles of attack and diffrent Reynolds numbers. When a =. 0, this represents the small
angles of attack and when a 15, this represents large angles of attack. In the figures,
the guide vane appears in the form of a profile. A scale is provided in the guide vane
profile for each figure, which allows numerical dtermination of the field values. Line
segment is used to connect the separate measured values to get continuous curves for
ail the figures.
Figure 4.18: Normalized mean streamwise velocity component around the guide vane
Figures 4.18 to 4.20 show that the spatial resolution is not high enough to pre-
cisely describe the boundary layer, especially for small angles of attack where not more
than two to three vectors are prsent in the boundary layer. However, a qualitative
description may yet be given.
Compared to the higher Reynolds number on the downstream part of the vane, the
flow retards in the boundary layer for the small Reynolds number. The streamwise fluc
tuation is somewhat stronger for the greater flow rate. Little influence of the Reynolds
Figure 4.19: Normalized streamwise velocity fluctuations around the guide vane
number on the Reynolds shear stress is noticed. When the angle of attack increases, the
flow rgion affected by the prsence of the guide vane becomes larger, the wake wider,
the velocity fluctuations stronger and the Reynolds shear stresses higher.
The mean flow field results do not show any obvious sparation zones around the
guide vane when a = 15 at any flow rate level, but when the angle of attack increases
(a = 20) such sparation zones do occur systematically. In order to clarify and specify
the sparation characteristics, the mean velocity vector distributions and mean stream
wise velocity contours are presented in Figure 4.21, at a = 20 for ail the four Reynolds
numbers, just covering a smaller section around the trailing edge.
In Figure 4.21, it is obvious that a recirculation zone exists for ail Reynolds numbers
at a = 20. The Reynolds number exerts an influence on the mean as it passes the
trailing edge. This influence occurs in respect to the sparation positions, sparation
vortex dimension and backflow normalized velocity values (Table 4.3). The following
conclusions could be reached for the mean flow fields around the guide vane trailing
edge at a = 20:
An obvious backflow zone and sparation vortex exist at a = 20 for ail the flow
X/C
a)a = 0
X/C
b) a = 15
Figure 4.20: Normalized Reynolds shear stress around the guide vane
L IrrVM J3fi -D33 .Ol -DIT -Di4 -D11 -DCA J M -003 Q0O
b) fe 1.8 x 106
U im'n -OU -031 4.37 023 01 -01 0 12 -0.0 -004 000 Lu-. 000 063 -047 -040 -OS -027 -010 -013 -007 000
c) li(c 2.2 x Uf <i) Ree 2.8 x 10*
Figure 4.21: Mean velocity vector map and normalized mean streamwise velocity con
tours around the trailing edge at a = 20
rates;
When the flow rate increase, it crtes the following effects: the sparation starting
position moves upstream and the backflow zone as well as the sparation vortex
become larger with the increase of the flow rates; and
The relative velocity value of backflow increases as the flow rates increases.
Table 4.3: Flow rates and the backflow parameters around the trailing edge at a = 20
Q il/s) Backflow position X/C Minimum U/Uc

35 0.75 - 0.95 -0.04
55 0.68 - 1.03 -0.08
68 0.63- 1.1 -0.09
86 0.58- 1.1 -0.12
The effect of Reynolds numbers on the sparation vortex at the trailing edge ob-
served at a = 20 is contradictory to the conventional 2D wing theory where sparation
is retarded with an increasing Reynolds number. Possible causes are:
A sparation bubble, which may form near the leading edge in some cases of low
Reynolds numbers and thus retard the sparation flow downstream. Unfortu-
nately, we did not observe this phenomena due to the coarse spatial resolution;
and
The flow around the guide vane is three-dimensional in nature. Since the chord to
channel height ratio is only about 1.0, wall effects on the flow field are certainly
important, especially at high angles of attack.
In summarizing the analysis above, we can draw the following conclusions for the
mean flow field around the asymmetric guide vane:
Reynolds number effect on the mean flow field is negligible for a certain angle of
The angle of attack has a considrable influence on the mean flow field;
At small angles of attack, the flow is ordered. At high angles of attack, backflow
or sparation may occur; and
Accurate information about the boundary layer at small angles of attack is over-
looked due to the coarse spatial resolution.
Thse conclusions are based on the analysis of the effects of the Reynolds number
and the angle of attack on the stagnation rgion, the maximum velocity rgion, the
wake size and the velocity decay ratio.
Instantaneous Flow Fields around the Guide Vane
When processing the instantaneous results, it was observed that high-frequency noise
accompanied with velocity vector distributions and velocity profiles. To remove this
noise, a Gaussian filter with Matlab script was used as follows:
h = fspecial('gaussian', [7 7], 0.75); % h = fspecial('gaussian', hsize, sigma)

U=imfilter(U,h); % filtering noise to U
V=imfilter(V,h); % filtering noise to V
The filtering effects are compared in Figure 4.22. After filtering, the velocity dis
tribution becomes more even, and the velocity profile is smoother. The vorticity was
calculated using centered finite diffrences. However, due to lack of spatial resolution,
the vorticity calculation is not accurate.
Figure 4.22: The filtering effects on instantaneous flow fields
In Figure 4.23, an instantaneous velocity vector map at a high angle of attack

(a = 15) and a moderate Reynolds number (Rec = 1.8 x 105) is shown. A sparation
zone near the trailing edge and vortices in the wake of the guide vane can be clearly
observed. This phenomenon can not be seen on the mean flow fields at a = 15. This
confirais the unsteadiness of the flow around the guide vane at large angles of attack.
In the instantaneous vector maps at high angles of attack, such as 15 and 20, a
number of small, zero-velocity rgions sometimes appeared in the wake of the guide
vane (see Figure 4.24). This problem caused difficulty in analyzing the results. It is
thought to be due to high velocity gradients in the wake, combined with insumcient
local seeding.
Figure 4.23: Instantaneous velocity field at a = 15 and Rec = 1.8 x 105
Figure 4.24: Instantaneous vector map with zero-velocity rgions
4.5 Conclusions
Flow field and head loss measurements were conducted around an asymmetrical guide
vane in a water channel, with the Reynolds number based on the chord similar to that
in model Francis turbines. This constituted a first step in developing the expertise for
characterizing unsteady flows around distributor vanes of Francis turbines, which leads
to the following results and conclusions:
The flow in the exprimental channel is fully developed with a slight asymmetry
of the mean velocity profile at the spanwise direction cross section. It was judged
to be good enough to perform flow measurements on a structure such as a 2D
guide vane located in the middle of the section;
Mean and instantaneous data of the flow field around the guide vane show a slight
dependence on the Reynolds number range encountered at low angles of attack,
whereas a strong influence was observed at large angles of attack. At small angles
of attack, the flow is ordered and steady. At large angles, the flow is unsteady,
with sparation occurring and 3D flow behavior suspected;
The PIV system and data acquisition procdure using the 600 pairs of images
and 79 x 63 vectors presented hre, were sufficient to capture large flow structures
around the guide vane. Recirculation zones near the trailing edge were adequately
captured for the large angles of attack. However, the spatial resolution was too
small at small angles of attack, where the boundary layer is thin. Large-scale
vortices were captured instantaneously; and
Head loss created by the prsence of the guide vane increases with the angle
of attack. A particularly large increase occurs between a = 10 and a = 20,
which agres with the flow field measurements that shows that sparation occurs
intermittently at a = 15 and systematically at a = 20. An trial investigation
of the effect of surface roughness was carried out and further research may be
necessary in the future.
Some of the problems experienced with the measurements described hre may be
solved by improving seeding density and spatial resolution. Three-dimensional effects
also need to be addressed properly.
Chapter 5
Flow Field Measurements in t h e

Stator of a Francis Turbine
5.1 Introduction
In previous work, we measured flow fields around the mid-span of a single guide vane of
a Francis turbine distributor in a water channel with a PIV system. That preliminary
work helped to develop the expertise to measure unsteady flows around real guide vanes.
In reality, more complex flows arise in distributors of reaction turbines but it is more
difficult to conduct a measurement. In this chapter, we prsent the exprimental efforts
and results of the flow measurement at the distributor level in a model Francis turbine
using a PIV and miniature pressure sensors. This model possesses a relatively small gap
between the distributor and the runner to make sure that interactions between those two
parts will be presented. Flow fields between two neighboring guide vanes were visualized
with the PIV system and a spcifie optical access. The pressure distribution around
the pressure side and suction side of the two neighboring guide vanes was measured
with miniature pressure sensors with a spcial mounting method on the surfaces. The
results of measurements are used to analyze the effects of operating points on the flow
behavior.
Chapter 5. Flow Field Measurements in the Stator of a Francis Turbine 90
5.2 Exprimental Setup and Instrumentation
5.2.1 Test Rig
Configuration 2 was carried out on the test rig in LAMH which is an independent
turbomachine laboratory in Laval University, Qubec, Canada, developed through the
support of the CANMET Energy Technology Center (CETC) of Natural Resources
Canada and Laval University. The test rig model is shown in Figure 5.1. It includes
two floors, together with an underground feed rservoir constructed with seepage-proof
concrte.
Figure 5.1: Test rig in LAMH for Configuration 2
The test rig can work as a closed or open loop, fed by a semi-axial pump. The
discharge is measured with an ABB Flowmaster flow meter, providing an accuracy of
0.02%. In the closed loop opration, the water can be maintained at a quasi-constant
temprature by exchanging water with the main rservoir. A supplementary vacuum
pump allows the downstream section to be de-pressurized to reveal the cavitation in
the turbine tested. The head, speed of rotation and upstream pressure are regulated
by servo-control loops, with the control and safety assured by a Texas Instruments
industrial programmable logic controller, SIMATIC TI545. The test rig can be adapted
to a variety of turbines, with diameters varying from 0.25 m to 0.5 m. Test limits are
1 m 3 /s for volume flow rate, 2000 RPM for the rotational speed of the turbine, 50 m
for the net water head and 225 kW for the power furnished. Ail the parameters such
as pressure, discharge, rotation speed, torque, etc. are monitored at the man-machine
interface on a personal computer in the control room.
5.2.2 Turbine Model
An nq = 46.2 model Francis turbine provided by GE Hydro Canada was used (Figure
5.2) and the main parameters are: wicket gte height 91.45 mm, wicket gte circle
diameter 486 mm, wicket gte chord length 80 mm, number of guide vanes 20, number
of stay vanes 19, runner diameter 406.4 mm, and number of runner blades 14. The
installed camra and laser arm are shown in Figure 5.2.
Figure 5.2: Turbine model for Configuration 2
The distributor consists of twenty symmetrical guide vanes with a chord of 80 mm

and a maximum thickness of 18% of the chord. The guide vane possesses a rectangle
trailing edge about 1.4 mm thick. The gap between the distributor exit and the runner
entrance is relatively small and varies in vertical direction and with the opening of the
guide vanes. At the best eflienct point, i.e., 7 = 20, the minimal gap, at the band, is
8.2 mm, 4% of the runner throat radius, the maximum gap, at the crown, is 14 mm,
6.8% of the runner throat radius.
The global measurements of flow rate, head and efficiency hve been carried out
before the flow field and pressure measurements. Five opration points at Qu/Qiin =
0.55, 0.65, 0.75, 1.0 and 1.08 with the corresponding guide vane opening 7 = 11, 13,
15, 20 and 22 were selected for ail the measurements. The operating conditions
and the correspondent openings of the guide vanes is shown in Table 5.1. The relative
efficiency vs. Qn/Qiin for the model turbine is shown in Figure 5.3. The best efficient
point (BEP) is at Qu/Qim = 1 and 7 = 20.
Figure 5.3: Operating points
Qll/Qlln 0.55 0.65 0.75 1 (BEP) 1.08

7() 11 13 15 20 22
Table 5.1: Operating conditions and the openings
5.2.3 PIV Setup
The 2D velocity fields between two guide vanes were investigated with the same Dantec
PIV System as Configuration 1. The PIV setup is illustrated in Figure 5.4. The camra
with a 28 mm lens was fixed on the top with a mtal frame fixed on the head cover of
the turbine. The laser sheet illuminated the mid-span plane of the guide vane through
the acrylic window in the spiral casing.
Windows made of acrylic were machined and installed into the head cover and the
spiral casing for optical access. The optical path from the recording camra to the
measuring field includes three mdia of diffrent optical indices: air, acrylic and water.
To minimize the optical distortion of the images and the laser sheet plans, the acrylic
Windows hve been machined with two flat parallel faces. To get a complte inter-guide
vane channel illuminated, the material of one of the stay vanes was replaced by acrylic.
The simulated illuminated area is shown in Figure 5.5.
Encoder l'cCD camra phase converter

runner
guide varies
stay vanes

Laser sheet
PIV
processor
monitoring screen
Figure 5.4: 2D PIV measurement setup
Figure 5.5: Illuminated area

A more complicated and prcise calibration method, Imaging Model Fit, was used in
Configuration 2. This method consists in defming the coefficients of the mathematical
transform that relates the spatial coordinates of the object plane to the correspond-
ing positions in the image plane. It takes into account the geometrical and optical
characteristics of the camra setup, the perspective distortion, lens aberrations and the
diffrent mdia refractive indices. To use this method, high quality images of a calibra
tion target should firstly be recorded. For example, the camra should be well focused,
brightness of the image should be sufficient and not vary much on the surface, and the
zro marker of the target should be in the vicinity of the center of the image view, etc.
Due to the particularity of the field of interest and the optical access, a non-standard
calibration target was designed, referring to the standard calibration target provided by
Dantec Dynamics, with zro marker 2 mm in diameter, axis markers 1 mm in diameter
and 1.5 mm for other markers, and 2.5 mm between two neighboring dots. When taking
calibration images, the calibration target was fixed in the distributor with water filled
in the turbine model.
Before performing imaging model fit, the calibration images should be masked to re-
move the areas of no interest. Three user slections in imaging model fit are: identifying
the calibration target used; selecting an imaging model and specifying the orientation
of the coordinate system. Hre a 2D model that describes the mapping of points from
the object plane to the image plane was used for our 2D measurements. With applying
a Direct Linear Transform, the geometrical transform matrix coefficients were deter-
mined through a least square fitting algorithm. The masked calibration image and the
imaging model fit resuit (the green grid) are shown in Figure 5.6 a). This green grid is
used to "dewarp" PIV image maps or vector maps. "To dewarp" means to compensate
and correct the perspective distortion ("warping") of images. After "dewarping" the
images, each pixel will again cover a square section of the flow field and the dimensions
of the object plane is automatically given. The "dewarped" image of Figure 5.6 a) is
shown in Figure 5.6 b).
Figure 5.6: Calibration image and "dewarped" image map

5.2.4 Miniature Pressure Sensors
Ten miniature piezo-resistive pressure sensors provided by Unisensor were used to mea-
sure pressure fluctuations around the two guide vanes. Their basic parameters: diam-
eter 3 mm, response frequency 50 kHz, pressure range (absolute) 0 - 5 0 psi. They
were fitted on the pressure and suction side surfaces of two conscutive guide vanes
at mid-span. One hydraulic inter-guide vane channel is thus instrumented. The wires
of the sensors are led through cable paths which were first drilled in the guide vane
body and are collected into a bundle at the pivot and led out from the shaft for signal
conditioning. This procdure makes it possible to mount a pressure sensor in an area of
3 mm without any geometry altration, which would hve an unpredictable influence
on the pressure fluctuation measurement. It leads to a high measurement quality. The
positions of the 10 pressure sensors on the two guide vane surfaces are shown in Figure
5.7. They are located at X/C=0.05, 0.25, 0.45, 0.75 and 0.9.
Figure 5.7: Ten miniature pressure sensors on the two guide vane surfaces
In order to calibrate statically the pressure sensors, the instrumented guide vane was
placed in a pressurized tank. The pressure in the tank is controlled by compressed air
and monitored with a balance DH 710 with a resolution of 10 Pa. Standard dviations
of the voltages are recorded to check the signal. The static calibration results and
the relative errors of the five miniature pressure sensors on one guide vane are shown
in Figure 5.8, where an excellent linear response is observed. The relative systematic
errors are in the range of 0.3%.
0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 12 1X

Voltage (V) P(kPa)
Figure 5.8: Static calibration results and relative errors of the five pressure sensors
5.3.1 Flow Field Measurement
After image calibration, the flow field measurements in the inter-guide vane channel
were conducted at the five selected operating conditions. Particles and laser sheet are
the same as in Configuration 1. The lighted field was recorded by the camra fixed on
the top of the head cover with a resolution of 1280 x 1024 pixels for an investigation
area about 140 mm xl20 mm.
Sries of image pairs were acquired at a time interval varying between 100 us to
150 fis depending on the flow speed and the interrogation area size. To get an accurate
measurement, the maximum displacements of particles between the successive images
should be less than 25% of the interrogation area [15] used for corrlation. Considering
the compromise between spatial resolution and velocity dynamic range, hre about 10%
was taken as a rule of thumb.
Trigging the laser and recording the image pairs were programmed with the software
FlowManager on the computer and with the PIV processor 2100. The synchronization
between the PIV system and the position of the runner blades was realized with the
help of an optical encoder installed on the shaft of the turbine. This encoder gnrtes
one puise for each rvolution of the runner. We can do measurements at any angular
position of the runner by configuring the acquisition control of the PIV system. But
we can not measure for each runner rvolution due to the fact that the acquisition
frequency of the PIV is much lower than the rotation of the turbine. Instantaneous
image pairs as well as corresponding vector maps by real-time cross-correlation were
always monitored on the screen of the computer as in Configuration 1.
For each operating condition, ten diffrent positions of the runner blades with respect
to the guide vanes (corresponding to divisions of a channel between two runner blades
into 10 parts, with an interval of 2.57), called "Phase 0", "Phase 1",..., "Phase 9",
were measured. The ten positions are shown in Figure 5.9, where the black gradient
symbol represents for a runner blade.
Figure 5.9: Ten phase positions
1200 image pairs were recorded for each phase position. Two-dimensional vector
maps were obtained by performing a FFT based corrlation algorithm on the acquired
image pairs. The following analysis squence was selected to get the results:
1. Apply a mask to image pairs to remove the area not interesting, for example, the
guide vanes, the runner, etc.;
2. Apply 16 x 16 adaptive corrlations with a 50% overlap to the masked images to

get the raw vector maps;
3. Validate the raw vector map with a universal outlier dtection method with Mat-
lab script;
4. "Dewarp" the validated vector maps with the imaging model;
5. Perform statistical analysis; and
6. Calculate phase-average velocities and fluctuating velocities.
According to Dantec Dynamics, for images suffering from perspective distortion, it is

possible either to "dewarp" the images prior to the corrlation,, or to vector maps [15].
"Dewarping" vector maps was selected in our measurements since it is usually less
time-consuming.
An "outlier" is an incorrect vector resulting from noise peaks in the corrlation

function in a PIV System [15]. A universal outlier dtection method for PIV velocity
vector maps proposed by Westerweel, J. and Scarano, F. (2005) [GO] was adopted for
validating the raw vector maps. It uses the so-called 'local mdian test' which is the
most widely used method for outlier dtection in post-interrogation validation and has
the highest efficiency compared with the global-mean and the local-mean [59]. A mdian
estimate of the velocity fluctuation u' is used that is robust with respect to the prsence
of spurious measurement data in the neighborhood. For example, a vector denoted by
UQ, its 3 x 3 neighborhood data, denoted by Ui,U2,---,U$, and Um as the mdian of
Ui, Uz,..., Ug {UQ is excluded), a residual r^, defined as: r* = \Ui Um\, is determined
for each vector U, i = 1,...,8, and the mdian rm of rj, r 2 ,..., rg is used to normalize the
residual of UQ:
, \UQ - U
r0 =
For purely uniform flow, the normalization factor rm tends to zro. In this case, it
can be compensated by assuming a minimum normalization level e, i.e.:
\U0-Um\
r'* -
rm + e
where e represents the acceptable fluctuation level due to cross-correlation. A suitable
value for e was found about 0.1 pixel, which corresponds to the typical RM S noise level
of the PIV data [60].
The criterion to reject the vector is
V r'o*u + r'o*v > threshold
where r'0*u is r'0* for U and r'0*v is r'0* for V. Hre a threshold of about 5 was used for
our measurements.
After the statistics analysis of each phase position, the mean flow information at each
phase position, taking velocity as an example, U{i), i = 0,1, ...,9, was stored. Phase-
average value U, that is, mean value of the ten phase data, and the velocity fluctuation,
that is, the diffrence between U{i) and U, were calculated with the velocity being
decomposed to:
U(i)=+U(i)
with
5.3.2 Pressure Measurement
Pressure around guide vanes were measured following PIV measurements at the same
5 operating conditions. Ten SGCM-401 signal conditioners which possess a high fre-
quency response up to 50 kHz, with amplification factors from 1 to 1000, were used to
condition the sensor signais. DASYlab software from Dasytec was selected to monitor
the acquisition process and to control PCI 6036-E data acquisition card from National
Instruments. The sampling frequency was 1 kHz.
5.4 Measurement Resuit s
In this section, the results of velocity field measurement in the inter-guide vane channel
and the pressure measurement around the two guide vane surfaces are presented and
some conclusions are reached based on thse results.
5.4.1 PIV Results
Based on the PIV measurements, mean flow field and instantaneous flow field informa
tion are presented.
Mean Flow Fields
For each operating condition, the following mean flow field information is presented,
taking 7 = 20 as an example.
1. Ten sets of phase-average flow field information by time-averaging 1200 sets of

instantaneous velocity maps at each phase position, including velocity contours
(Figure 5. 10, with the same contour legend as Figure 5.12), velocity vectors and
velocity profiles (Figure 5.11); '
2. Global mean velocity contours by averaging the ten phase positions for diffrent
operating conditions (Figure 5.12); and
3. Velocity fluctuations, means the diffrence between the phase-average flow fields
and the global flow fields (Figures 5.1 I to 5.18).
Chapter 5. Flow Field Measurements in the Stator of a Francis Turbine
mmmmBBB
Figure 5.10: Mean flow field information at 7 = 20

1m
X(mm)
50 -40 -30 -20 -10 . 0 10 20 30
-50 ' ' '-iri ' -ici ' ' '-M ' ' -cT " ' o " ' ' ' ib" % W
X(mm) X(mm)
m
X(mm)
itr s \i"
Phase 4
Chapter 5. Flow Field Measurements in the Stator of a Francis Turbine
Phase 5
X(rnin)
Phase 6
Phase 8
m itr^w
Figure 5.11: Mean velocity vector maps at 7 = 20

Ur(m/s): -1.00-0.57-0.14 0.29 0.71 1.14 1.57 2.00 2.43 2.86 3.29 3.71 4.14 4.57 5.00
Ut(nVs): -1.00-0.29 0.43 1.14 1.86 2.57 3.29 4.00 4.71 5.43 6.14 6.86 7.57 8.29 9.00
Figure 5.12: Mean flow fields at diffrent opration conditions

Figures 5.10 and 5.11 show the mean flow fields at the operating condition of the
BEP. Figure 5.12 shows the global mean flow field information at diffrent operating
conditions. For more mean flow field information at other operating conditions, see Ap-
pendix C. With the mean flow field information at diffrent phase positions of diffrent
operating conditions, the following gnerai observations are obtained:
1. A flow acclration near the distributor exit is observed towards the runner;
2. The pressure side is on the guide vane No. 2, and the suction side is on the No.
1 (see Figure 5.7);
3. The blockage effect of the runner blade on the velocity contours is obvious at some
phase positions (The stagnation rgion at runner blades is seen), for example, at
Phase 2, 3 and 4;
4. Compared to the radial velocity, the tangential velocity is more important, varying
in a range of -1.0 to 9.0 m/s, and radial velocity is in the range of -1.0 to 5.0 m/s;
5. The maximum radial velocity at the suction side is located at 1/5 to 1/4 of the
chord. The tangential velocity reaches its maximum value in the gap between the
distributor and the runner;
6. For most of operating conditions, no large unsteady flow structures are found
transporting in the inter-guide vane channel; and
7. At 7 = 20, back flows and sparation vortices are found at some phase positions
(phase 2, phase 7, and phase 9). This back flow can be detected on the phase
average velocity contours. This may mean that at 7 = 20 is near the best
efflciency point for the whole machine, but not for the distributor configuration.
The diffrence between the phase-average flow field and the global mean flow field
gives the flow velocity fluctuation information at each opration condition. Two posi
tions are selected to show this information in the middle of the inter-guide vane channel,
at the stator exit and in the channel, shown in Figure ">. 13. Velocity fluctuation distri
butions with diffrent phase positions, for diffrent operating conditions are shown in
Figure 5.1 I to 5.17. Ur represents the radial velocity, Ut the tangential velocity, and L
is the velocity magnitude L = \/U? + Uf. The maximum varying ranges of Ur and Ut
are given in Table r>.2.
5 P1
Sud on side
^ Sucticn side
P2 ,o
Pressure side
i\ Flow Pressure side
Figure 5.13: Two positions in the middle of the inter-guide vane channel
h 1
u
0
6 Ut(W)
4
. iYl
2
4
8
0
2
4
6 9 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 C : t ( 9 10 12 14 16 18 20 22
Phase angle (D egree) ' P tase angle (Degree)
a) At stator exit b) In inter-guide vane channel
Figure 5.14: Velocity fluctuations at Qn/Qiin = 0.55
- Ut (S)
m - L ( l
I ^
u- -4
o
i
>
6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 D :> i1 E 10 12 14 16 1S 20 22
Phase angle (D egree) Phase angle (Degre)
a) At stator exit
b) In inter-guide vane channel
Figure 5.15: Velocity fluctuations at Qu/Qiin = 0.75

,14 16 18 20 22
ase atit] (degree)
a) At stator exit b) In inter-guide vane channel
Figure 5.16: Velocity fluctuations at Qn/Qnn = 1-0

IU"
B Urf*
u r
Ur(%) V"l
Ut(%) 6 Ut(%)
\\ S m
, L(%1
1
-? 4
#
SN
\
5^- y /
y
I 2
^3 V y 7*
-2
*-4
:
o
7Z
f -8
-10 -10
-12 -12
-14, 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 -14,
:\ i\ t 1d"i2 18"'20 22
Phase angle (Deqree)
s l M
ingl (Dqrs)
Ph
a) At stator exit b ) I n i n t e r . g u i d e v a n e c hannel
Figure 5.17: Velocity fluctuations at Qn/Qnn = 1-08
Table 5.2: Velocity fluctuations at the two positions
at the stator exit in the inter-guide vane channel

Opening 7 () Ur ut Ur ut
11 10% 7% 2% 2%
15 7% 4% 3% 2%
20 9% 6% 2% 3%
22 13% 7% 2% 2%
In Figure >. I 1 to Figure ">. I 7 and Table -V2, we can see that:
1. At the stator exit, the velocity fluctuations covers a relatively large range, with
the form of trigonomtrie functions (sine or cosine). This is related to the rotation
of the runner;
2. In the inter-guide vane channel, the velocity fluctuations vary in a small range,
with no obvious functions, or with very complicated functions; and
3. The velocity magnitude fluctuation is determined by the tangential velocity fluc

tuation.
Fluctuating velocity contours including radial velocity, tangential velocity and ve

locity magnitude at the ten phase positions at 7 = 20 are shown in Figure > I X. For
other operating conditions, see Figures (\7 to (\() in Appendix C.
M mm)
_ utPhw2 LPhu2
^BSSi^
20 - UtPIM3
> n fc^""
^ W ^
10 ^V ^ # >
"au 'M x&5

-Al
(mm)
iPTrr- .vm-^
^ w * *
\ "
3^
X(mm) CP"^^
...
| A UrPhut7
^^L_'
-ft '-30 - 50 -15 fl Ifl "Si 58 il (mm) (mm)

X(mn4
Kftnm) X(mm) Xlmnil
-0.10-0.09-0.07-0.06-0.04-0.03-0.01 0.00 0.01 0.03 0.04 0.06 0.07 0.09 0.10 m/s
Figure 5.18: Velocity fluctuations at 7 = 20

Based on thse figures, we can conclude that: the flow at the exit of the stator is
strongly non-uniform for ail the opration points; at the BEP, the flow is more uniform
in the middle of the inter-guide vane channel but the velocity fluctuation and the
velocity gradient are stronger along the guide vane surfaces compared to light overload;
the velocity fluctuation is much stronger at the part load condition.
Instantaneous Flow Fields
A typical instantaneous velocity vector map at the BEP is shown in Figure 5.19. We see
that no vident unsteady flow structures is transported in the inter-guide vane channel
at BEP although small recirculation zones exist along the guide vane surfaces. Small
recirculation zones and back flows exist along the guide vane surfaces for a few phase
positions at BEP, and for most of phase positions at partial load positions. No back
flow or detachment zone was found at light overload condition (7 = 22) and partial
load conditions.
Figure 5.19: Instantaneous velocity vector map at Phase 7 at 7 = 20
5.4.2 Pressure Measurements
Based on the pressure measurements, the temporal pressure signal, the static pressure
distribution, the pressure fluctuations and spectral analysis around the two guide vanes
are available.
Figure 5.20 shows typical temporal pressure signal (7 = 13), where the periodicity
is well observed. Figure 5.21 shows static pressure distribution and mean pressure
fluctuation around the guide vanes for diffrent opration points, where H is for the
test head and Pmean iS the temporal average pressure head at each position. The static
pressure gives information about loading of the vane for various positions. We can
see that the pressure diffrence between the pressure side and the suction side reduces
toward the best efficiency point. It is noticed that at the guide vane trailing edges for
ail the operating conditions, the pressure drops very quickly on the pressure side. It
should be pointed out that the pressure sensor at Positions 5 has a large uncertainty
due to the very low repeatability. It was found later that the amplifier was failed. As
for pressure fluctuations, it is more important on the suction side with the magnitude
up to 3% of the test head, that is, about 0.3 m. The effects of the operating points
and the measuring positions on the guide vane surfaces are not obvious for pressure
fluctuations.
104 Pressure of Sensor 1 to 5 x 1 rj4 Pressure of Sensor 1 to 5
t 6
YwtfMwyw^^
tlTIH.l.TTHTT>7.nTTI^ 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25
10 15 20 2S
Us) t(s)
Q4 Pressure of Sensor 6 to 10 x IQ4 Pressure of Sensor 6 to 10

1 0 | ^ ^ l . . . 10
mfmmimmmmmmaBmm
8 mmmmmmmmm IMM 8 --,K^/>nfvWvx^vV^/v^
(S
a
mmmmmmm 9
10 h^n/vMMrvWwM^
IUUMUM i n l l I I I H H I I 1
10 15 20 25 0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25
Figure 5.20: Temporal pressure signal at 7 = 13
The power spectra of pressure signais are available based on FFT analysis (Figure
5.22). For most operating points and measurement positions (e.g., Position 1, 2, 6, 8,
9, 10), the only obvious peak of the frequency spectra is at the passing frequency of
the runner blades Zr * frotation- Only at positions 3 and 7 there exist second harmonies.
The amplitude of the second harmonie is much smaller, compared to the first one. This
is considered to be related to the potential effect which is transported upstream and
downstream.
11-iucton
in-pniture
HS-iucton
iis-pr*nur
i ti-iucton
J
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.S
x/c
Figure 5.21: Static pressure distribution and mean pressure fluctuation around guide
vanes
The observation of pressure fluctuation is close to the numerical results of Rus, T.

and Velensek, B. (1994) [45] and Throux, E. (2003) [53], where only the first harmonie
of the runner blade passing frequency had obvious amplitude while the higher harmonies
were found heavily damped. The prsence of the superior harmonies in the distributor
may be caused by the coupling between the potential unsteadiness and the guide vanes
or even stay vanes. It is difncult to judge which effect is more important among the
wake unsteadiness and potential unsteadiness due to lack of information on pressure
fluctuations in the runner.
Frequency cornent of 1-pl i-fqu*ncy conteni gi l-pj
0.9
g 0.6
r6
g 07
S 6
1 5
| 04 S 03
! 03
02
0.2
il 1
' il
M SO 100 150 200 250 3OT 350 M 450 50C
L 50
ii ,
100 150
J
200 250 300 350 400 450 SOC
Fiequancy Frequency
a) Position 1,2,6,8, 9 and 10 b) Position 3 and 7
Figure 5.22: Power spectra of pressure signais around guide vanes

5.5 Conclusions
Flow field and pressure distribution measurements were performed at the stator level
in a Francis turbine model with a PIV System and miniature pressure sensors. This
constituted the second step in developing the expertise to characterize unsteady flows
around distributor vanes of Francis turbines. The following conclusions are reached.
PIV measurements are effective for providing information of mean flow fields and
instantaneous flow fields in the mid-span plane of an inter-guide vane channel. It' can
instantaneously capture vortices near the guide vane surfaces and in the wake of guide
vanes. It can detect mean velocity fluctuation for diffrent phase positions.
A spcial mounting method for miniature pressure sensors on the guide vane sur
faces leads to a high measurement quality. It provides static pressure distribution, mean
pressure fluctuation percentage and the flow characteristic frequencies by spectral anal-
ysis.
Some improvements in the measurement process would facilitate the analysis of the
flow phenomena. For example, a larger view field covering lading edges and trailing
edges of guide vanes would make it possible to carry out a more comprehensive analysis.
Even for stay vanes, since the stay vanes and the guide vanes are very close, the flow
in distributor should be greatly influenced by the stay vanes. So it will be of practical
sens to observe the flow around the stay vanes. Measurement of pressure in the runner
would make it easy to analyze the rotor-stator interactions.
Chapter 6
General Conclusions and Future

Work
Flows fields and pressure distribution at the stator level in Francis turbines were ex-
perimentally investigated with a goal to develop an integrated expertise to measure the
unsteady flows in reaction turbines using a PIV System and other measurement tech
niques. This goal is fulfilled by measurements progressively more complicated from one
single guide vane in a rectangle water channel to a real distributor of a model of Francis
turbine. Based on the measurements and analysis, the following conclusions could be
made:
1. The 2D PIV configuration could well capture unsteady structures instantaneously

and statistically in a cross-section;
2. Flow field measurements with the PIV System of Configuration 1 coincides to

head loss measurements with a differential pressure sensor in the water channel;
3. For Configuration 2, at the BEP, back flow and sparation vortex are found at
some phase positions and this back flow can be detected on the phase average
velocity contours. This may mean that 7 = 20 is near the best efficiency point
for the whole machine, but not for the distributor configuration;
4. At the stator exit, the effect of the runner rotation on the velocity could be
detected with velocity fluctuations varying in a trigonomtrie functions;
5. Tangential velocity is more important for both relative velocity or velocity fluc
tuations and varying in a relative large range;
Chapter 6. General Conclusions and Future Work 116
6. A spcial mounting method for miniature pressure sensors on the guide vane
surfaces leads to a high measurement quality. It provides effective information
on static pressure distribution, mean pressure fluctuation percentage and the flow
characteristic frequencies;
7. For most of operating points and measurement positions, the only obvious peak
is at the runner blade passing frequency. Only at some positions there exist
second harmonies with a small magnitude. This is considered to be related to the
potential effect which is transported upstream and downstream. The observation
of pressure fluctuation is close to the numerical results of [45] and [53].
In future, some work could be done to hve deeper and more comprehensive under-
standing of the flows in the double stages in reaction turbines:
1. Flow field measurements in a larger area at the double stages of Francis turbines
should be interesting for understanding more clearly unsteady flows in reaction
turbines, for example, including leading edges and trailing edges of guide vanes,
and even at the stay vane exit;
2. In future, numerical simulation could be done on the same model for comparison;
3. In future, LDV could be used with a PIV to improve the measurement reliability;
4. In future, 3D PIV could be done to get more detailed information on flow fields;
and
5. We hve checked if the effect of surface roughness on the flow was measurable in
a water channel. It is true but further research is ne'cessary on this issue.
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Appendix A
Reynolds N u m b e r s in Francis
Turbines
Table A.l: Reynolds numbers in turbine prototypes
Parameters for turbine prototypes Gap

Project 77 Qn N Do Bo Zo Lo Loi Bo C'o Re0 Die Du Ue Re-e Gapie Gapu
Name (m) (m3/s) (r/m) (m) (m) (m) (m/s) (xlO 6 ) (m) (m) (m/s) (m/s) (xlO 7 ) (mm) (mm)
Svartisen 0.16 543.0 71.5 333 4.86 0.282 24 0.64 0.44 16.61 9.43 2.354 4.31 41 16.4 8.63 1028.1 51.6
Alto Lindoso 0.23 275.6 126 214 6.1 0.716 24 0.8 0.90 9.183 6.55 3.77 4.98 42.3 11.3 14.2 882.7 279.78
La Grande 4 0.39 116.7 278 128.6 6.63 1.376 24 0.87 1.59 9.7 7.52 5.55 5.05 37.3 11.5 18.5 233.2 485.7
Revelstoke 0.39 126.8 419.4 112.5 7.8 1.597 24 1.02 1.56 10.72 9.77 6.121 6.39 36.2 14.3 19.8 478.5 342.5
Cirata 0.41 106.8 132.0 187.5 4.25 0.98 24 0.56 1.76 10.09 5.01 3.485 3.46 34.2 13.8 10.6 185.8 199.8
Shiroroo 0.41 97.0 180 150 5.23 1.132 24 0.68 1.65 9.685 5.92 4.46 4.36 35 11.5 13.9 141.1 192.1
Saucelle-Huebra 0.58 59.0 243 125 5.96 1.594 24 0.78 2.04 8.142 5.67 5.226 3.61 34.1 11.3 15.9 901.2 786.9
Itaparica 0.63 50.8 539 81.8 8.76 2.4 24 1.15 2.09 8.16 8.36 7.79 7.4 33.3 11.3 23.1 79.6 274.6
3 Geoges - 92.0 1060 75 11.6 3 24 1.52 1.98 9.70 13.14 9.8 8.85 38.48 14.05 33.7 363.2 838.2
Table A.2: Reynolds numbers in model turbines
Parameters for m o d e l turbines Gap
Project V N Do B0 Z0 L0 C0 Re0 Die Du Ue Ce Ree Gapie Gapu
Name (m) (m3/s) (r/s) (m) (m) (m) (m/s) (xlO 6 ) (m) (m) (m/s) (m/s) (xlO 7 ) (mm) (mm)
Svartisen 0.16 20 0.22 8.36 0.619 0.036 24 0.081 3.19 2.57 0.3 0.549 7.88 3.15 2.35 131.0 6.6
Alto Lindoso 0.23 20 0.21 12.07 0.485 0.057 24 0.064 2.47 1.56 0.3 0.396 11.39 3.04 3.40 70.2 22
La Grande 4 0.39 20 0.34 16.42 0.358 0.074 24 0.047 4.02 1.87 0.3 0.273 15.45 4.76 4.61 12.6 26
Revelstoke 0.39 20 0.40 15.19 0.382 0.078 24 0.050 4.26 2.12 0.3 0.313 14.36 5.66 4.28 23.5 17
Cirata 0.41 20 0.42 15.71 0.37 0.084 24 0.048 4.37 2.08 0.3 0.298 14.81 5.99 4.42 16.0 17
Shiroroo 0.41 20 0.37 16.88 0.352 0.076 24 0.046 4.40 2.01 0.3 0.293 15.91 5.23 4.74 9.5 13
Saucelle-Huebra 0.58 20 0.47 21.13 0.342 0.092 24 0.045 4.74 2.11 0.3 0.207 19.88 6.60 5.93 5.2 52
Itaparica 0.63 20 0.50 22.21 0.337 0.092 24 0.044 5.12 2.25 0.3 0.285 20.88 7.10 6.23 3.1 11
3 Geoges - 20 0.46 19.04 0.355 0.092 24 0.046 4.52 2.09 0.3 0.271 17.94 6.55 5.35 11.1 26
Appendix B
Results of Configuration 1
Appendix B. Results of Configuration 1 127
a) Q=35 l/s
c) Q=68 l/s d) Q=86 l/s
Figure B.l: Mean flow fields a = 0 of Configuration 1
b) Q=55 l/s
d) Q=86 l/s
a = 5 of Configuration 1
Appendix B. Results of Configuration 1 128
iiiiif
I llllll
TR
HHI Mil IHIHIllW ''Vif
wr X(C
a) Q=35 l/s b) Q=55 l/s
c) Q=68 l/s d) Q=86 i/a
Figure B.3: Mean flow fields at a = 15 of Configuration 1
x/c x/c
a) Q=35 l/s b) Q=55 l/s
XJC
x/c
c) Q=68 //s d) Q=86 l/s
Figure B.4: Mean flow fields at a 20 of Configuration 1

Appendix C
Results of Configuration 2
Appendix C. Results of Configuration 2
Appendix C. Results of Configuration 2 131
X(mm) X(mm)
Urtm/s): -1.00-0.57-0.14 0.29 0.71 1.14 1.57 2.00 2.43 2.86 3.29 3.71 4.14 4.57 5.00
Ut(m/s): -1.00-0.29 0.43 1.14 1.86 2.57 3.29 4.00 4.71 5.43 6.14 6.86 7.57 8.29 9.00
Figure C l : Mean flow fields at 7 = 22
Phase 0 Phase 1
X|mm) X(mm)
-Phase 2
f!0
-10 t^lf
40 -io' nr X(mm)
X(mm)
Phase 4 Phase 5
Phase 6 Phase 7
Xttnm) X(mm)
Phase 8
rrcr X(mm)
X(mm)
Figure C.2: Mean velocity vector maps at 7 = 22
immi
X(nim)
X(mm)
(mm) X(tnm)
H|
Urtm/s): -100-0.57-0.14 0.29 0.71 1.14 1.57 2.00 2.43 2.86 3.29 3.71 4.14 4.57 5.00
1
Ut(m/s): -1.00-0.29 0.43 1.14 1.86 2.57 3.29 4.00 4.71 5.43 6.14 6.86 7.57 8.29 9.00
Figure C.3: Mean flow fields at 7 = 15

(UIUI)X
fmtnft ,0p- , , ,Qp-

^ 01-
rtnrtmftrg
&
iSSELId ?^5
%n
gasEMd
?
?i^ 03
(uiui)x
ni
(UIUI)X
luiiujx
ifmfert
9SBL|d
m
3 98BL|d
OL
CE
(uiiu)x (utuiix
ni-
l SELId 0 SBMd
961 Z uoiivmSyuoQ jo s^nsajj -Q xipuaddy

X(mm) Xtmmt
X(mm) X(mm)
X(mn| Xmn
X(mm) Xftnm)
Xfmml
(mm) X(mm)
Ur(m/s): -1.00-0.57-0.14 0.29 0.71 1.14 1.57 2.00 2.43 2.86 3.29 3.71 4.14 4.57 5.00
Ut(m/s): -1.00-029 0.43 1.14 1.86 2.57 3.29 400 4.71 5.43 6.14 6.86 7.57 829 9.00
Figure C.5: Mean flow field information at 7 = 11
Phase 0
Phase 1
A i i i >i tT ' ^ i T
-lu u
X(mm) X(im4
Xfmm)
inww -IU
Xlmml
Phase 5
X(mm)
X(tnm)
P"l"*i X(mm)
X(mm) X(iran)

LPhtMO
20
UtPtMMS
ÎMfc * ''-XSC"~--.~_
=10 R\TTCS t?>N^^*~* - ^
E M . V? i ^

>" K&5 rPR-^
-10
^vC*-
^v! rjpsK..vn
ggs^
-20 J \ . L^Jf|^__T
Jfl SB -
mm) X(mm )
x(mm) (mm) X(mm)
-0.10-0.09-0.07-0.06-0.04-0.03-0.01 0.00 0.01 0.03 0.04 0.06 0.07 0.09 0.10 m/s
Figure C.7: Velocity fluctuations at 7 22

(uui)x MJUIIY iwuily
u y y u y u j u u
WMd1
WuiHC (UIUIM
nt nf j y i M y ^
j y y u
CH Z uoj^vmSjuoj p s^nssy ) xipudddy

X(mm| Xftiii^
UtPhM*7
$5N ^Sssfc_: ^
*s>>^
#.:.' "?> k
* ^"""T-'> , ; ; ,
T^TÎ^Ti^l!
LPhMt9
Xfmm)
-0.10-0.09-0.07-0.06-0.04-0.03-0.01 0.00 0.01 0.03 0.04 0.06 0.07 0.09 0.10 m/s
Figure C.8: Velocity fluctuations at 7 = 15

Xfmmt
UtPhM7 u 1 Phat* 7
10
> 4 "N
-10
-20
l -Al -IL D TD 20 30 40
-0.10-0.09-0.07-0.06-0.04-0.03-0.01 0.00 0.01 0.03 0.04 0.06 0.07 0.09 0.10 m/s
Figure C.9: Velocity fluctuations at 7 = 11

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RUIXIA QIAN

FLOW FIELD MEASUREMENTS IN A STATOR

FACULT DES SCIENCES ET DE GNIE

Ruixia Qian, 2008

In Configuration 1, flow fields were measured around an asymmetrical guide vane in

Des coulements instationnaires au niveau du distributeur des turbines raction ont

Dans la configuration 1, les champs d'coulement ont t mesurs avec un PIV

Dans la configuration 2, les champs d'coulement entre deux directrices voisines

I am deeply indebted to my supervisor Prof. Claire Deschnes whose guidance,

I would like to express my profound thanks to my co-director, Dr. Mayse Page

I wish to acknowledge to Richard Fraser who gave me a lot of help on laboratory

4 Flow Field M e a s u r e m e n t around a G u i d e Vane

5 Flow Field M e a s u r e m e n t s in t h e Stator of a Francis Turbine

5.4.2 Pressure Measurements III

6 General Conclusions and Future Work 115

A Reynolds Numbers in Francis Turbines 123

C Results of Configuration 2 129

2.1 Sources of unsteadiness in turbomachines [25]

3.1 Comparison of LDV and PIV

5.1 Operating conditions and the openings

A.l Reynolds numbers in turbine prototypes 121

1.1 A Francis turbine

2.1 Boundary layer and transition [39], [55]

3.1 Three connection methods in wall pressure measurements [52]

3.13 Displacement bias depending on seeding density [15] 51

4.1 Geometry parameters of a Francis Turbine [27]

5.1 Test rig in LAMH for Configuration 2 00

5.11 Mean velocity vector maps at 7 = 20

B.l Mean flow fields at a = 0 of Configuration 1

Cl Mean flow fields at 7 = 22

Symbol Quantity Unit

B0 Guide vane height mm

Symbol Quantity Unit

NEQ IEC spcifie speed

a Angle of attack of guide vanes

Symbol Quant ity Unit

S Boundary layer thickness mm

oo Free stream properties

Symbol Quantity Unit

Figure 1.1: A Francis turbine

The flow in hydraulic turbines is complex, turbulent, three-dimensional and intrin-

Figure 1.2: Stator row of a Francis turbine

For the unsteadiness induced by the distributors in turbomachines, not much in

1.2 Objectives and Methodology

1. To develop a measurement methodology with a PIV and other measurement tech

3. To analyze the effects of diffrent parameters of the stator, including geometry,

4. To build an exprimental database for validation of boundary conditions necessary

In Configuration 1, flow fields were measured around an asymmetrical guide vane in

Configuration 2 corresponds to measuring the flow at the distributor section of an

1.3 Organization of the Thesis

There are six chapters in this thesis:

Chapter One is an introductory part including motivation, objectives of this research

In Chapter Two, rcent investigations on unsteady flows in turbomachines are re-

In Chapter Three, measurement techniques used in turbomachines, especially PIV,

In Chapter Four, measurement methods and results of Configuration 1 are presented;

In Chapter Five, measurement methods and results of Configuration 2 are presented;

2.2 Theory Basis of Flow past Bodies

2.2.1 Boundary Layer Concept

Boundary layer: due to viscosity, as an object moves through a fluid, or as a fluid

a) Boundary btytr ''j Baundary laver transit ion c| SrpuraLJDii

Figure 2.1: Boundary layer and transition [39], [55]

Boundary layer transition: boundary layer may be either laminar, or turbulent.

The thickness of the laminar boundary layer could be estimated by [47] :

S = 0.37 ( ^ ) - & = 0.37 Rer^