Kaplan Turbine

Kaplan Turbine
• The Kaplan is of the propeller type, similar to an airplane
propeller.
• The difference between the Propeller and Kaplan turbines
is that the Propeller turbine has fixed runner blades while
the Kaplan turbine has adjustable runner blades.
• It is a pure axial flow turbine uses basic aerofoil theory.
• They are 90% or better in efficiency and are used in place
of the old (but great) Francis types in a good many of
installations.
• They are very expensive and are used principally in large
installations.
• The Kaplan turbine, unlike all other propeller turbines, the
runner's blades were movable.
 Classification of Kaplan Turbines

• The Kaplan turbine can be divided in double and single

regulated turbines.
• A Kaplan turbine with adjustable runner blades and adjustable
guide vanes is double regulated while one with only adjustable
runner blades is single regulated.
• The application of Kaplan turbines are from a head of 2m to
40m.
• The advantage of the double regulated turbines is that they can
be used in a wider field.
• The double regulated Kaplan turbines can work between 15%
and 100% of the maximum design discharge;
• the single regulated turbines can only work between 30% and
100% of the maximum design discharge.
Major Parts of A Kaplan Turbine
 Design of Guide Wheel
D0

60kug 2 gH
D0 
N
kug 1.3 to 2.25 : Higher values for high
specific speeds

Number of guide vanes : 8 to 24 : Higher number of vanes

for large diameter of guide wheel.
 Outlines of Kaplan Runner

Guide Vanes Whirl Chamber

The space between guide wheel outlet and kaplan runner is

known as Whirl Chamber.

a=0.13 Drunner & b=0.16 to 0.2 Drunner.

Design of Kaplan Runner

Drunner

Dhub
Wicket Gates for Kaplan Turbine
Blades of Kaplan Turbine
Cavitation Stages in Kaplan Turbine
Runner Case
Regulating Blade Angles in
Kaplan Turbines
 Specific Speed of Kaplan Turbine
• Using statistical studies of schemes, F. Schweiger and J. Gregory
established the following correlation between the specific speed
and the net head for Kaplan turbines:

2282.53
Ns  0.486
H

N P
Ns  5
H 4

P in kilo watts.
 Example of Rotational Speed
Suppose we have a head of 36m. Flow of 300 m^3/s
P =0.90* 9.81 *36*300 kW =95353.2 kW
Ns = 2282.53/ 36^.486 =400.0

N = Ns* H^1.25/ P^0.5 = 6.887*36^1.25/(95352.2^0.5)

N = 280 rpm
Selection of Speed
 Runner diameter section

The runner diameter De can be calculated by the

following equation:

 84.5   0.79  1.602  N qs  

H
Drunner
60  N
Nqs =(N/60) Q^0.5/(gH)^0.75
 Hub diameter

• The hub diameter Di can be calculated with the following equation:

 0.0951 
Dhub   0.25    Drunner
 N 
 qs 
Dimensions of Kaplan Systems
Dimensions of Kaplan Systems I
Dimensions of Kaplan Systems II
DRAFT TUBE
 DESIGN OF THE BLADE

Two different views of a blade

Hydrodynamics of Kaplan Blade
 Design of Blade
• Many factors play significant roles in design of blade.
• The leading edge is thicker than the trailing edge for a
streamlined flow.
• Furthermore, the blade should to be as thin as possible to
improve the cavitation characteristics;
• It is thicker near the flange becoming thinner and thinner
towards the tip.
• In addition, the blade has to be distorted on the basis of
the tangential velocity.
• The “Tragflügel theorie” is also an important factor in
defining the shape of the profile and the distortion of the
blade.
Details of Blade Uwheel
Arrangement
Vfi

V ai
V ri

Uwheel l
 0.9 to 1.05
Vfe t
V ae

V re
Drunner
t
Z
Z : Number of blades : 8 to 24
Proportional to Specific Speed
Blade Design
Vri
 CAVITATION
• Cavitation occurs especially at spots where the pressure is low.
• In the case of a Kaplan turbine, the inlet of the runner is quite
susceptible to it.
• At parts with a high water flow velocity cavitation might also
arise.
• The major design criteria for blades is : Avoid Cavitation.
• First it decreases the efficiency and causes crackling noises.
• The main problem is the wear or rather the damage of the
turbine’s parts such as the blades.
• Cavitation does not just destroy the parts, chemical properties are
also lost.
 The suction head

• The suction head Hs is the head where the turbine is installed;

• if the suction head is positive, the turbine is located above the trail
water;
• if it is negative, the turbine is located under the trail water.
• To avoid cavitation, the range of the suction head is limited.
• The maximum allowed suction head can be calculated using the
following equation:

patm  pvap Vdes

2
Hs    H net
g 2g
2
V
  1.5241 N 1.46
s  de
2 gH net
 Characteristics of Blades

• Blade lift coefficient:

 blade 
 
Vre2  Vri2  2 g patm  H s  pmin   draft Vae2  Vde2 
KVrl2

draft: Efficiency of draft tube: 0.88 to 0.91

K : Profile characteristic number: 2.6 to 3.0
When the lifting coefficient is known, the sufficiency of ratio
l/t can be established as follows:

l gturbine H V flow 1 cos 


t Vri 2
U blade  blade sin 180   i   
 Methodology of Testing the Design
• The following are steps, which must be undertaken in
order to successfully complete design testing:
– 1) Numerical model – full geometry of the turbine including
– - Intake
– - Spiral casing
– - Distributor (all stay vanes and wicket gates)
– - Runner
– - Draft tube
– 2) Tuning-up the numerical model
– - Grid quality: verification and refinement. Based on couple
of runs of the flow analysis, the nodes distribution is adjusted
according to the velocity/pressure field.
– - Operating parameters. In the non-dimensional factors, the
CFD results must be within a certain range from the field
measurements.
– 3) CFD analysis – flow solver
– 4) Analysis of results
– - Energy dissipation field (losses).
– - Pressure gradients – estimate possibilities for cavitation
– - Determination of the flow areas, where the velocity field has
highest non-uniformity
– 5) Strategy for upgrade based on expected cost/benefit ratio
– - Intake shape
– - Distributor (wicket gates profile, stay vanes set-up)
– - Runner design
– - Draft tube shape
CFD Model
Verification of Velocity Distribution
Verification of Pressure Distribution