PULCHOWK CAMPUS ,IOE,TU

PULCHOWK,LALITPUR

A PROJECT REPORT
ON
DESIGN AND SIMULATION OF CONICAL TYPE DRAFT TUBE

SUBMITEED BY:

DHIRAJ NAYAK (074BME615)

KESHAB PUN(074BME617)
NIPESH LAMSAL(074BME622)
SUBASH ARYAL(074BME642)

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL AND AEROSPACE ENGINEERING

PULCHOWK CAMPUS ,IOE,TU

PULCHOWK,LALITPUR

November 9, 2020

i
 PULCHOWK CAMPUS ,IOE,TU
PULCHOWK,LALITPUR

A PROJECT REPORT
ON
DESIGN AND SIMULATION OF CONICAL TYPE DRAFT TUBE

SUBMITTED TO:

NEERAJ ADHIKARI
ASST. PROFFESOR

SUBMITEED BY:

DHIRAJ NAYAK (074BME615)

KESHAB PUN(074BME617)
NIPESH LAMSAL(074BME622)
SUBASH ARYAL(074BME642)

APPROVED BY:

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL AND AEROSPACE ENGINEERING

PULCHOWK CAMPUS ,IOE,TU

PULCHOWK,LALITPUR

November 9, 2020

ii
 PREFACE

Draft Tube is a diverging tube fitted at the exit of runner of turbine and used to utilize the
kinetic energy available with water at the exit of runner. This draft tube at the end of the
turbine increases the pressure of the exiting fluid at the expense of its velocity. Draft Tube is
an important component of a reaction turbine.The component is like a pipe in which area
increasing gradually that connects the outlet of the runner to the tail-race.There are two ends
in which one end is connected to the runner outlet and the other end is submerged below the
level of water in the tail-race.

The reason for choosing conical type of draft tube is that this type of draft tube are highly
efficient and have a efficiency of upto 96%. In this project work efficiency and pressure
recovery factor have been calculated . This was done after the 3d models of draft tube was
calculated for various heights and divergence angle. Then simulation was done using CFD
FLUENT in ANSYS Software.

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 ABSTRACT

Draft tube is a very important part of hydropower plant mainly for reaction and mixed flow
turbines. The design of draft tube has always been a major concern for engineers and project
members. A good draft tube should be able overcome the problem of cavitation,back flow,
surging ,swirl flow ,and erosion of metal part .

The purpose of this project of designing draft tube was to know about various parameters and
related problems which a good draft tube should be able to handle. The design should be
done with any one CAD software and then simulation was carried out using ANSYS
software. CFD analysis was done using Fluent . Various parameters were fitted to realize the
real working condition of the draft tube such as inlet velocity , flow pattern ,outlet pressure
and velocity,etc.Then the result from the ANSYS can be analyzed to draw conclusion.

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We would like to express our deepest appreciation to all those who provided us the
possibility to perform this project and complete this report. A special gratitude we give to our
Fluid Machine teacher and project manager, Assistant Professor. Neeraj Adhikari, whose
contribution in stimulating suggestions and encouragement, helped us to coordinate our
project as well as in writing this report.

Furthermore, we would also like to acknowledge with much appreciation the crucial role of
the staff of Department of Mechanical Engineering, who gave the permission to use all
required equipment and the necessary materials to complete the project. Last but not least,
many thanks go to the senior students as well as faculty members whose inspiration and
advices showed us the correct path in successfully conducting this project and whose efforts
have guided the team in achieving the goal. We have to appreciate the guidance given by
other supervisor as well as the panels especially in our project preparation and presentation
that has improved our presentation and knowledge on the course matter skills thanks to their
comment and advices.

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface……………………………………………………………………..…………..III

Abstract…...……………………………………………………………………… …...IV
Acknowledgement....…………………………………………………….………… ….V
Table of Contents…………………………………………………………………… ...VI
List of Figures………………………………………………………...……………. …VII
List of Tables…….……………………………………………………………………VIII
List of Symbols….………………………………………………………………….......IX
List of Acronyms and Abbreviations……….….....……………….……………………..X

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………..1

1.1 Background……………………………………….……………................1
1.2 Objectives…………….……………..…………………………….……...3
.

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW………………………..……………...4

2.1 Background…………………………………………………………………..4

CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY…………………………..6

3.1 3D Model of draft Tube..…………………………………………………......6

3.2 Simulation……...……………………………………………………………..8

CHAPTER FOUR : RESULT AND DISCUSSION…………………………………….…….11

4.1 Result of each cases………………………………………………..…… …..11
4.2 Pressure recovery…………………………………………………………….14
4.3 Calculations………………………………………………………………….15

CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSION AND RECOMENDATIONS…………………….……..16

LIST OF REFERENCES……………………………………………….……...….……17
BIBLIOGRAPHY ………………………………………………………………..……18
GLOSSARY ………………………………………………………………………….…19

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 LIST OF FIGURES

Figures 1.1 : Types of Draft Tube……………………………………………….…..2

Figure 3.1 : Work Flow Diagram……………………………………………….……6
Figure 3.2: Schematic diagram of draft tube………………………………………………………..….7
Figure 3.3: 3D model of the draft tube ……………………………………………………………………8
Fig3.4: Meshing of conical draft tube ……………………………………………….8
Fig 4.1: Velocity contour………………………………………………………..…..10
Fig 4.2 Pressure contour………………………………………………………….....10
Fig4.3 : Velocity streamline…………………………………………….…………..11
Fig 4.4: Pressure contour………………………………………………….………...11
Fig 4.5: Velocity contour…………………………………………………………....12
Fig 4.6 : Velocity Streamline………………………………………………….…….12
Fig 4.7: Velocity contour……………………………………………………… ……….13
Fig 4.8: Pressure contour…………………………………………………………….13
Fig 4.9 : Velocity streamline………………………………………………………...14

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LIST OF TABLES

Table no.1: Design parameters………………………………………………… ………… …6

Table no.2: Details of Meshing…………………………………………………………… …8

Table no.3 : pressure recovery………………………………………………… ….….… ..14

Table no. 4 : Efficiency calculations…………………………………………………………15

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 LIST OF SYMBOL

Q flow rate (m^3/sec)

Li length of duct i or part i( i= 1,2,3….)

hi height of duct/part i
Di diameter of circular section i
w width of rectangular section
ri radius of arc
A cross sectional area
Cp pressure Recovery Factor
P in inlet pressure
P out outlet pressure

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 LIST OF ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

ANSYS Analysis Simulation

CFD Computational fluid dynamics

CAD Computer Aided Design

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 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background
The draft tube is a conduit which connects the runner exit to the tailrace where the water is
being finally discharged from the turbine. After passing through the turbine runner, the
exiting fluid still has appreciable kinetic energy, and perhaps swirl. To recover some of this
kinetic energy which would otherwise be wasted, the flow enters an expanding area of the
diffuser called as draft tube, which turns the flow horizontally and slows down the flow
speed, while increasing the pressure prior to discharge into the tailrace. The draft tube is very
important component in mixed flow and hydraulic turbines. The efficiency of each
component of turbine affects the performance of hydro-power plant. The draft tube allows
the turbine to be connected with tail race without being immersed in water. The objective of
present work is to study the draft tube and the important phenomenon taking place in the
flow path by considering the study carried out in available literatures on the various types of
draft tube. The draft tube causes the pressure at the runner outlet to be lower than it would
have been without the draft tube, by increasing the change in pressure from the inlet to the
outlet of the turbine, it causes the pressure at the outlet of the runner to decrease below the
atmospheric pressure, thereby enabling the turbine to utilize the available head most
efficiently.

The draft tube has two functions to perform:

1. It permits suction head to be established at runner exit which makes turbine to be
installed above tail race without loss of head.
2. It converts large portion of kinetic energy rejected from runner into useful pressure
energy.

A. TYPES OF DRAFT TUBE

1. Simple Conical draft tube-
The draft tube has the shape of a frustum of a cone. This is generally provided for low
specific speed. The cone angle is not to exceed 8. For greater value of the cone angle it is
seen that the flowing body of water may not touch the sides of the draft tube (Leaving the
boundary). This will lead to the eddy formation bringing down the efficiency of the draft
tube.

2. Simple Elbow Draft Tube- The draft tube consists of extended elbow type tube used when
turbine has to be placed close to tail race. It helps to cut down the cost of excavation and
their exit diameter should be as large as possible to recover kinetic energy at the outlet of
the runner. Such draft tubes are approximately 60% efficient.

3. Elbow Draft Tube with Varying Cross Section- This is further improvement of Simple
Elbow Draft Tube. The outlet of draft tube should be situated below the tail race.

4. Moody Draft Tube or Hydraucone- It is bell mouthed draft tube with a solid conical
central core. The whirl of discharged water is very much reduced in this arrangement.

1
 Fig 1.1: Types of draft tube

B. PRINCIPLE AND CAVITATION EFFECT ON DRAFT TUBE

The principle of a draft tube can be outlined by aid of Bernoulli’s equation between section
2-2 and 3-3 (inlet and outlet, respectively)

Figure 1.2: Schematic View of Draft Tube

Here p is the absolute pressure, z the height, V the mean velocity. The absolute pressure p
atsection3 is atmospheric pressure or more in case of submergence. Let Hs be the height of
the draft tube. Hence, Pressure head2 =Patm head – difference in velocity head - Hs .
Hence, the pressure head at section 2 is less than atmospheric pressure thereby increasing the
total power output. One of the most remarkable feature of draft tube is that it enables us to
use pressure head below the atmospheric pressure (suction or vacuum) for power production.
However, there is a limit upto which we can recuperate the negative pressure head i.e. vapour
pressure. If the pressure at any point in the draft tube reaches below the vapour pressure at a
particular temperature, bubble formation takes place. The phenomenon of bubble formation

2
leads to an important phenomenon called Cavitation. Cavitations occur when the local
absolute pressure falls below the saturated vapor pressure of the water for the water
temperature. The height of draft tube is an important parameter for avoiding cavitation.
Applying Bernoulli's equation between outlet of the runner and discharge point of the draft
tube neglecting any head loosed in draft tube)

z2 = z (Height of draft tube)

z3 = height of tail race which is referenced as datum line (=0)
p2 = pressure at the outlet of the runner
p3 = gauge pressure

Since draft tube is a diffuser V3 is always less than V2 which implies p2 is always negative
thus height of the draft tube is an important parameter to avoid cavitation.

1.2 Objectives:
The main objectives of this project are as follows:

1. To design the draft tube in CAD software and perform simulation in ANSYS.
2. To vary the free geometric parameters of draft tube to obtain the optimization of design.
3. To find out the effect of variation of different parameters of draft tube on its efficiency.
4. To determine the efficiency of draft tube at various design parameters.
5. To find out the optimal design parameters of draft tube for maximum efficiency by
analyzing the data obtained from simulation in ANSYS.

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 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Background

The emergence of the reaction turbine draft tube comes in to consideration in the first
half of the nineteenth century. The first draft tube was used by the Herschel and Jonval
between 1837- 1841. Initially the draft tube had a cylindrical shape and were used only to
connect the runner to trail race. These turbines were constant cross-sectional area helped only
in the use of the static vacuum. i.e. were useful only for positive height of runner above the
trail race. K. P farr was first to suggest the use of straight conical tube with inlet and outlet
areas of different cross-sections. At the expense of this vacuum at the runner exit increases
with the reduction of kinetic energy and converted in to the useful pressure energy. The
Initial hydrodynamic investigations on straight draft tube were carried out between 1903 and
1907. (KRUSHNA, 2019 ) in their calculations proceeded from the assumptions that the wall
of the draft tube should be drawn as stream line of potential flow of an ideal fluid. But they
had not found any useful practical stream line of potential flow of an ideal fluid. But they had
not found any useful practical result because they had not considered the complex fluid flow
phenomenon at draft tube inlet as like swirling flow. The curved tube which showed promise
was first studies in detail by Kaplan. This tube sharply reduces the height of the exhaust and
made it possible to use the runner of 7, 8, 9 and even 10.3 meter diameter. In 1903, F. Prasil
worked out a method of draft tube design based on the assumption that the flow in the tube
was axisymmetric, irrotational with uniform velocity and pressure distribution across the
section. In 1924 Professor A.Y.Milovich, postulated, on theoretical basis, a new shape of
curved draft tubewith a continuous increase of cross-sectional area along the length with a
smooth turning in the form of elbow. Further investigations were conducted by
C.A.Chaplygin and P.A. Walter on the curved draft tube and there elements. F.F. Gubin, E.F.
Gurbich and S.V. Chernyshevskii in 1939, and thereafter Prof. V.S. Kvyatkovskii and still
later D. I. Kumin observed that draft tube of the diffuser type operated better when a certain
amount ofcirculation exist at the entrance of the tube. Skotak Ales et al. [2007] investigated
the flow for the originally installed draft tube during the process of up gradation of low head
Kaplan turbine. Prasad Vishnu et al. [2010] carried the numerical flow simulation for 3D
viscous turbulent flow in elbow draft tube. Vu T. C. et. al. [2010] has presented a validated
numerical simulation approach to evaluate global draft tube performance. Shukla Manoj
Kumar et al. [2011] has done 3-Dimensional (3-D) real flow analysis for experimentally
tested turbine and the characteristics of prototype turbine were predicted in actual operating
regimes. Khare Ruchi et al. [2012] discussed the 3D viscous steady flow simulation for the
complete flow passage of Francis turbine by using commercial Computational Fluid
Dynamics (CFD) code for three runner solidities at different rotational speeds. Tanase
Nicoleta Octavia et al. [2012] presented numerical simulation of the flow in the draft tube of
the Kaplan turbine, using the Open FOAM -1.5-dev. Bajaj Rahul et. al. [2014] finds that the
numerical simulation of elbow draft tube with dividing pier has its maximum efficiency at L=
10 * D1 length of the draft tube.

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2.2 Basic theory
The literature applicable to the draft tube comes from a number of disciplines, including fluid
mechanics, aerodynamics, and hydraulics. We also study various book to learn about the
theory of draft tube. (Modi & Seth, 2002) and (R.K.Rajput, 2014)
We took the design parameter from ‘Optimum Design of Conical Draft Tube by Analysis of
Flow Using CFD Simulation’ by Harish H V and the team from research gate. An
unstructured tetra mesh has been generated from the model using FLUENT software and
design is done using solidworks.

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 CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH IN METHOLOGY

3.1 3D MODEL OF DRAFT TUBE

We choose conical type of Draft tube for our project. The design was completed using
SOLIDWORKS software.

DESIGN PARAMETERS

Inlet diameter was chosen according to data from other standard reports. There are two
varying parameters for the design of conical draft tube. The parameters are height(h) and
divergence angle(α) or (h/D) ratio and divergence angle (α).
The design was made varying these parameters.

We made three different designs varying h/D ratio and divergence angle. Calculation for each
design is given below:

Inlet h/D ratio Divergence Height(h)(m) Outlet

diameter(D)(m) angle(α) diameter(Df)
2.252 8 4 18.016 4.772
2.252 15 4 33.78 6.976
2.252 15 6 33.78 9.352

Table no.1: Design parameters

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Here is the schematic diagram of draft tube showing top view, side view , front view and the
isometric view.

Figure 3.2: Schematic diagram of draft tube

Here is the 3D model of the draft tube.

Figure 3.3: 3D model of the draft tube

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3.2 SIMULATION

The following steps were used for simulation:

A. Geometric Model
Geometric model was created in solidworks and imported in ANSYS FLUENT.

B. Meshing
Descritization of geometric model is done and an unstructured tetra mesh has been
generated from the model using ANSYS FLUENT.

Meshing Parameters Related Information

Nodes 12706
Elements 52536
Mesh metric None
Physics Preferences CFD
Solver Preference FLUENT
Relevance 0
Transition ratio 0.272
Maximum Layers 5
Growth Rate 1.2
Span Angle Centre Fine
Relevance Centre Fine
Curvature Normal angle Default(18.0֯ )
Transition Smoothing Medium
Minimum edge Length 0.157080 m

Table no. 2 :Details of Meshing

Fig3.4: Meshing of conical draft tube

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C .SETUP &SOLUTION INITIALIZATION

Set up and solution initialization were based on the following parameters.

Model- viscous laminar-k-epsilon (2 equation)

Fluid- Water
Boundary condition
Inlet-mass-flow inlet-50000kg/s
Flow –Normal to boundary
Number of iterations-500
Repeating interval-1
Profile update interval-1

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 CHAPTER FOUR : RESULT AND DISCUSSION
Simulation was done for each three of the model. Its result is shown below for each three
model and various velocity and pressure contours, streamlines are shown and compared as
below.

4.1 RESULTS OF EACH CASES

A. For (h/D) ratio of 8 and divergence angle 4 degree

Fig 4.1: velocity contour

Fig 4.2 Pressure contour

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 Fig4.3 : velocity streamline

B. for h/D ratio of 15 and divergence angle of 40

Fig 4.4 pressure contour

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 Fig 4.5:velocity contour

Fig 4.6 : velocity Streamline

12
C. for h/D ratio of 15 and divergence angle of 60

Fig 4.7 velocity contour

Fig 4.8 pressure contour

13
 Fig 4.9 : velocity stremline

4.2 Pressure recovery

Pressure recovery is defined as the gain in pressure as the water flows downward inside the
draft tube .
A positive pressure is required at he end or outlet of the draft tube to avoid back flow ,
surging and cavitation problem.

INLET DIAMETER h/d ratio Divergence angle Height Outlet diameter Pressure
(α Recovery
2.252 8 4 18.016 4.772 Poor
2.252 15 4 33.78 6.976 Good
2.252 15 6 33.78 9.352 Good

Table no.3 : pressure recovery

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4.3 Calculation

Efficiency is given by

Bernoulli equation is

Where hf equals to 0.25* (v12/2*g)

On the basis of this formula for draft tube efficiency we calculated efficiency for each of the
three cases and got the result as below.

INLET DIAMETER h/d ratio Divergence angle Height Outlet diameter Efficiency η
(α
2.252 8 4 18.016 4.772 78.7%
2.252 15 4 33.78 6.976 85%
2.252 15 6 33.78 9.352 83.2%

Table no. 4 : Efficiency calculations

15
 CHAPTER FIVE : CONCLUSIONS AND
RECOMENDATIONS

We did the simulation for each of the three cases and got the result as shown above .for h/D
ratio of 8 and divergence angle of 40 , we got efficiency of 78 %. But in case of this draft
tube there was not enough pressure recovery. Pressure recovery is an important factor in draft
tube. If there is not enough pressure recovery then backflow occurs. This is not the situation
we need while designing draft tube .B ack flow also supports cavitation and surging .

For h/D ratio of 15 and divergence angle of 40, we got efficiency of about 85%. In this case
the pressure recovery was good and efficiency was also high compared to other. This specific
type of draft tube can be good importance where high efficiency is required and also where
space is more. Pressure recovery was positive so it means that problem of backflow and
cavitation along with surging is controlled upto required extent .

For h/D ratio of 15 and divergence angle of 60, we got efficiency of about 83%. In this case
the pressure recovery was good and efficiency was high . The pressure recovery was positive
in this case also. But the efficiency decreases as the divergence angle increases for a h/D
ratio greater than 13.
Divergence angle plays an important factor in designing the draft tube of conical type .This
should not exceed more than 60.

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 LIST OF REFERENCES

1) Cimbala, Y. A. (2018). Fluid Mechanics Fundamental and Applications. Tata Mc

GrawHill Publication.

2) KRUSHNA, S. ( 2019 ). INTRODUCTION AND DESIGN OF CONICAL TYPE

DRAFT TUBE. INTRODUCTION AND DESIGN OF CONICAL TYPE DRAFT
TUBE, 172-173.

3) R.K.Rajput. (2014). Fluid Machine. Delhi: S.CHAND.

4) Som., P. S. (2015). Lecture-13. Draft Tube. Department Of Mechanical Engineering

,Indian Institute Of Technology Kharagpur.

5) Sumeet J. Wadibhasme1, S. P. (March 2016). International Journal of Science,

Engineering and Technology Research (IJSETR), Volume 5, Issue 3, March 2016.
HYDRAULIC TURBINE DRAFT TUBE:, 673-676.

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY
1) Cimbala, Yunus A. Cengel & John M. 2018. Fluid Mechanics Fundamental
and Applications. Tata Mc GrawHill Publication.

2) KRUSHNA, SHELKE. 2019 . "INTRODUCTION AND DESIGN OF

CONICAL TYPE DRAFT TUBE." INTRODUCTION AND DESIGN OF
CONICAL TYPE DRAFT TUBE 172-173.

3) R.K.Rajput. 2014. Fluid Machine. Delhi: S.CHAND.

4) Som., Professor Sankar Kumar. 2015. "Lecture-13." Draft Tube. Department

Of Mechanical Engineering ,Indian Institute Of Technology Kharagpur.

5) Sumeet J. Wadibhasme1, Shubham Peshne2, Pravin Barapatre3, Santosh

Barade4, Saurabh Dangore5,. March 2016. "International Journal of Science,
Engineering and Technology Research (IJSETR), Volume 5, Issue 3, March
2016." HYDRAULIC TURBINE DRAFT TUBE: 673-676.

6) Resiga RS, Thi CVU, Muntean S, Ciocan GD, Nennemann B. Jet Control of
the Draft Tube Vortex Rope in Francis Turbines at Partial Discharge. 23rd
IAHR Symposium. 2006 Oct, 1(14). PMid:17308691.
7) Chen C, Nicolet C, Yonezawa K, Farhat M, Avellan F, Tsujimoto Y. One-
Dimensional Analysis of Full Load Draft Tube Surge, Journal of Fluids
Engineering. 2008; 130. Crossref.

8) Miyagi O. Cavitations in and Consequent Vibration of the Draught Tube of a

Water Turbine, Journal of the Society of Mechanical Engineers Japan. 1930;
33(2):57−59.

9) Brennen CE. Bubble Dynamics Damage and Noise. Hydrodynamics of Pump.

Cambridge University Press. 2011, p. 78−95. Crossref.

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 GLOSSSARY
TERMS AND DEFINITIONS

Cavitation
Cavitation is the formation and collapsing of cavities or bubbles in a liquid mostly developed
in the areas which have relatively low pressure around the pump impeller. It occurs in the
absence of the net positive suction head the pump. It's the formation of bubbles in the liquid
flowing in any Hydraulic Turbine.

FLUENT
Fluent is the industry-leading fluid simulation software used to predict fluid flow, heat and
mass transfer, chemical reactions and other related phenomena.

No Slip Condition
In fluid dynamics, the no-slip condition for viscous fluids assumes that at a solid boundary,
the fluid will have zero velocity relative to the boundary. The fluid velocity at all fluid–solid
boundaries is equal to that of the solid boundary.

Pressure Recovery
The liquid pressure recovery factor, FL, predicts the amount of pressure recovery that will
occur between the vena contracta and the valve outlet.

Streamlines
Streamline, In fluid mechanics, the path of imaginary particles suspended in the fluid and
carried along with it. In steady flow, the fluid is in motion but the streamlines are fixed.
Where streamlines crowd together, the fluid speed is relatively high; where they open out, the
fluid is relatively still.

Swirl flow
to move around or along with a whirling motion; whirl; eddy.

viscous laminar-k-epsilon (2 equation)

K-epsilon (k-ε) turbulence model is the most common model used in Computational Fluid
Dynamics (CFD) to simulate mean flow characteristics for turbulent flow conditions. It is a
two equation model that gives a general description of turbulence by means of two transport
equations (PDEs).

19