A new design for desilting chambers of hydro power plants

C. Ortmanns Laboratory of Hydraulics, Hydrology and Glaciology ETH-Zentrum, VAW E35 CH-8092 Zrich H.-E. Minor Laboratory of Hydraulics, Hydrology and Glaciology ETH-Zentrum, VAW E 31 Ch-8092 Zrich

1. Introduction
At Hydro Power Plants desilting chambers are built behind the water intakes in order to reduce the fraction of solids (silt, sand, grit) in the waterways. The biggest portion of sediments which enters the waterways via the intake is transported in suspension, with diameters between 10 to 500 m. The desilting chamber itself is a simple widening of the channel cross sectional area, see figure 1. The flow velocity and turbulence intensity is reduced so that suspended particles can settle out to the chamber bottom. The efficiency of the chamber has a major effect on the durability of the hydraulic machinery, because particles which still remain at the chamber end in suspension and enter the waterway system, lead to wear and tear damage of turbines and waterways which in case of power plants with high head and/or high sediment concentrations put in risk the economic efficiency of the whole plant. Because of the prevailing turbulent flow conditions the sedimentation of fine particles becomes more and more difficult with decreasing particle diameter. The knowledge concerning the effective settling efficiency is therefore an important basis for economic considerations of the whole power plant. Within this research Project desilting chambers of hydro power plants which was funded by the fund for projects and studies of the Swiss electric utilities (PSEL), the laboratory of hydraulics, hydrology and glaciology (VAW) has investigated the flow and turbulent conditions at three desilting chambers in situ. In this paper the influence of the particulate material on the abrasion of turbine types Francis and Pelton is quantified. Afterwards the experimental setup, the execution of tests and the major findings are presented.

Fig. 1. Parallel desilting chambers (BIERI Hydraulic, AG 1996).

2. Abrasion of hydraulic machinery

Water used for the hydrodynamic drive of Francis or Pelton turbines always contains a certain amount of suspended particles. According to Giesecke, Mosonyi (1997) the concentration C of solids amounts for steeper mountain rivers of the alpine region 2 10 g/l, for low land rivers 0.1 -1 g/l. For rivers in the catchment area of the Himalaya, the particle concentration can reach values during the monsoon of more than 80 g/l. Due to these particle concentrations the hydraulic machinery suffers more or less from abrasive wear. The processes which occur during the abrasive wear are: crenation, disruption and corrosion. A reduction of wear can be achieved by the application of more resistant materials as the typical turbine steel X5 Cr/Ni 13/4, (Fhl, Sommer 2000 or

Schneider, Kchele 1999) and of course by an advantageous hydraulic turbine design. On the other hand, a reduction of the sediment concentration can be achieved by the construction of desilting chambers, which are often also called sand traps. The most relevant parameters which cause wear are: relative velocity v between fluid and turbine component, mineral hardness compared to the one of turbine material, particle concentration in g/l, particle diameter and grain size distribution respectively. Investigations on the influence of the relative flow velocity v on wear V in hydraulic model tests of Keiser (1999), and Grosse, Kchele (1995), as well as the investigations of Nozaki (1990) in situ revealed a stringent exponential interrelationship V = K v z . The exponent z varies between 1.5 and 3.4 depending on the turbine component. In respect of the influence of the mineral hardness, only particles with a hardness exceeding the one of turbine material X5 Cr/Ni 13/4 cause abrasion. These are particles with a hardness bigger than three on Mohs scale. The correlation between concentration of particles and wear was investigated in model tests by Krause, Lang (1993). They show a clear linear increasing of wear with increasing particle concentration. From his investigations on wear at numerous Chinese and foreign hydro plants, Zu-Yan (1996) concluded that the design of any hydro power plant shall fulfil the requirement that the product of Head H and concentration C should always be smaller than 7, to guarantee an economic operation. In terms of the dimensioning of desilting chambers, the influence of particle diameter on wear of hydraulic machinery is of major interest. The model tests of Keiser (1999) show for all relative velocities in the range of 30 to 80 m/s a significant maximum of wear for a particle diameter of d50 = 0.05 mm. For smaller particles wear decreases rapidly whereas for particles in the range of 0.05 to 0.25 mm wear remains nearly constant. Jacoby et al (1995) studied the influence of particle size on wear of hydraulic machinery numerically using large eddy simulation. The results of the calculation show for the exterior part of a bended tube section, representing the conditions at guide vanes of Francis turbines or buckets of Pelton runners, a minimum of wear for particle diameters of 0.1 to 0.3 mm. For smaller and bigger particles than this minimum, wear increases. Due to the centrifugal forces coarse particles with diameters bigger than 1 mm can not follow the curve and impinge early on the metal surface. For particles which are smaller than the before mentioned minimum 0.1 0.3 mm wear increases again due to the turbulence. At the bottom and top surface of the bended tube section, wear increases with decreasing particle diameter. This can be attributed to the influence of turbulence whereupon small particles easily follow the turbulent velocity fluctuations, which are generated in the rough layer and therefore impinge much more often onto the metal surface than coarser ones. Thereby stress peaks are produced which destroy the material surface in the long run. Against this background it shall be underlined here, that a reduction of abrasive wear can mainly be achieved by reducing the particle concentration and by eliminating particles with diameters > 1 mm. According to the findings of Jacoby (1995) the received opinion, wear decreases linearly with decreasing particle diameter can no longer be maintained. Concerning this matter, particles between 0.03 0.6 mm lead at least to a similar material destruction. Because deformation energy of particles, when they impinge on the metal surface, increases in the third power, particles with grain sizes bigger than 1 mm should never enter the pressurized water line. The construction of sand traps should therefore guarantee the elimination of coarse particles and on the other hand should reduce the sediment load. This is often not always achieved in the desired extent, because the solids flux consists of 60 -100 % of particles having diameters smaller than 0.1 mm. Nozaki (1990) quantified the influence of wear generating parameters and net head on the interval of revision of the hydraulic machinery components and states the functional interrelationship: wear = f (PE, v z ) whereas PE is termed as the modified suspended sediment concentration in g/l, v the relative velocity and z a factor to account for the nature of circulation around the turbine component. PE is calculated according to equation 1. P is the mean sediment concentration in gram per litre.
PE = P a k1 k 2 k 3

(1)

The correction factors a, k1, k2, k3 are given in table 1. If for a certain project representative data about the mean sediment concentration P, as well as about the particle characteristics (size, hardness and form) are available at the site of the intake, the interval of revision can be determined in advance from figure 2 and figure 3 if net head and turbine type are given.

Table 1. Correction factors (Nozaki 1990)

An extension of the revision interval can according to this only be achieved by a reduction of sediment concentration which is achieved by the construction of desilting chambers. It still should be kept in mind that the overbalancing solid fraction is entrained in suspension into the sand trap. Only in case of vertical intakes a fractional amount enters the sand trap as bed load. To reduce the suspended sediment load desilting chambers must be designed to settle out coarse silt to fine sand particles. For these particle diameters the influence of turbulence on the settling behaviour is very important. Therefore investigations on the flow and turbulence conditions in different desilting chambers were carried out to study if and to what extent the real conditions differ from the assumptions which are typically made for the dimensioning.

Fig. 2. Repair cycle of runner (left) and guide vane (right) of Francis turbines, 13 Cr 4Ni, Nozaki (1990).

Fig. 3. Repair cycle of buckets (left) and nozzles (right) of Pelton turbines, 13 Cr 4Ni, Nozaki (1990).

3. Experimental Setup
Three dimensional flow measurements using acoustic Doppler velocimeter technique (ADV) combined with the determination of settling efficiency were carried out at the three Swiss desilting chambers Tavanasa (Ilanz Power Company), Pradella (Engadine Power Company) and Schweiben (Mattmark Power Company). The geometrical dimensions of the three chambers are, together with the constant discharges and the resulting mean flow velocities, given in table 2. The measurements were carried out under steady state conditions. The measurements reveal the actual flow and turbulence conditions at desilting chambers in situ. The experimental setup is explained in detail see Ortmanns (2006). Flow velocities were recorded with the ADV probes using a sampling frequency of 25 Hz in a narrow grid so that for each chamber at least at 50 measuring points per cross section with 30 second time series of the fluctuating velocity are available. The distance between each cross section of measurement was one tenth of the chamber length. The fluctuating flow velocities u, v, and w in x, y and z direction are therefore available in a dense grid (at least 500 measuring points for each chamber and each option of measurement) in a high timely resolution. Table 2. Dimensions, discharge Q and flow velocity U of test facilities

4. Turbulence conditions
The classical theory for the dimensioning of desilting chambers only accounts for the hindering influence of turbulence by reducing the settling velocity of a particle in quiescent water w0 by a constant value U , see Giesecke, Mosonyi (1997) or Vischer, Huber (1993). For the complex process of settling of a particle in turbulent flow conditions ideal flow conditions and a depth constant turbulence level are assumed over the whole chamber length. In practice the turbulence conditions differ considerably from the above mentioned simplification. To clarify the distribution of the turbulence in the desilting chamber Schweiben the measured values of the turbulent kinetic energy ekin,t are shown for the cross section x/L = 0.1 to 0.7 for different discharges in figure 4. The turbulent kinetic energy ekin,t is calculated from the kinetic energy variation in all three directions in space and is given in equation 2.
e kin,t = 0.5 (u '2 + v '2 + w '2 )

(2)

ekin,t is calculated from the sum of variances and a factor of 0.5. The turbulent kinetic energy is related to the unit of mass and therefore its dimension is a squared velocity. The distribution of all four options follows an exponential law. At the beginning of the chamber the energy head is more than ten times bigger than at the chamber end. As far as the sedimentation process of fine sediments is concerned, the intensity of the vertical vortex structures is of main interest. It is expressed by the vertical turbulence intensity w 'rms = w '2 . According to Bagnold (1966) the hindering influence of turbulence on the settling velocity is: w = w 0 w 'rms . The settling velocity of a particle in quiescent water w0 is reduced by the influence of the vertical turbulence intensity w 'rms . For all options of measurement the mean vertical turbulence intensity w 'rms was determined in each cross section, normalized with a factor K and plotted over the relative chamber length x/L, see figure 5. The normalizing parameter K accounts for the most relevant turbulence generating factors: mean flow velocity in the chamber U, in the approach channel UE and the slope of the vertical transition from the approach channel to the full chamber depth. R is the hydraulic radius of the chamber cross section and g the earth acceleration. The optimal curve fitting was achieved for K given in eq. 3.
K= 1 1 m 0.15 U 0.4 U E 0.3 (g R )

[s / m ]

(3)

The curve progression of the normalized vertical turbulence intensity K w 'rms can be well expressed by the exponential function in eq. 4.

K w 'rms = a e bx / L + c

(4)

The best fitting of the function to the data resulted for a, b and c the values: a = 0.25, b = 3.14 and c= 0.13. Consequently it is now possible to predict the curve progression of the vertical turbulence intensity of a horizontally flown through desilting chamber. Therefore the mean flow velocity in the chamber U, in the approach channel UE and the slope of the vertical transition from approach channel to the chamber m have to be known.

Fig. 4. Decrease of turbulent kinetic energy ekin,t plotted over the normalized chamber length x/L for the chamber Schweiben.

Fig. 5. Normalized vertical turbulence intensity K w 'rms plotted over the relative chamber length x/L.

5. The new design

At the beginning of each desilting chamber design the critical particle dcr has to be determined so that all particles with bigger diameters are held back in the chamber to 100%. The decision for an economic interval of revision from figure 2 or figure 3 first gives the design engineer the modified suspended sediment concentration PE and a maximum allowable sediment concentration from eq. 1. From the difference between the maximum allowable sediment concentration and given mean annual at the site of the water intake, the critical particle diameter dcr results from the grain size distribution. The mean flow velocity U in the chamber is limited so that all particles greater or equal than the critical grain dcr are neither transported as bed load nor resuspended once they reached the bottom. The relationship between dcr and U is given in figure 6. The smaller value is decisive. Because the well known shields-curve has a certain band the plots in figure 6 also have a certain band. The cross sectional area of the chamber can be computed from the simple equation of continuity A = Q / U . Q is the design discharge. For the dimensioning of the chamber length L the settling velocity w0 of the critical grain dcr has to be reduced by the value of the vertical turbulence intensity w 'rms (x / L) , which is decreasing exponentially from the beginning of the chamber to its end. The settling velocity of a particle in turbulent flow conditions is therefore expressed as: w = w 0 w 'rms (x / L) . To settle out all particles with diameters d d cr the horizontal travelling time t h = L / U of a particle is set equal to the vertical settling time t v = H / w . A simple equation to determine L is obtained and given in eq. 5.
L= HU 0.21 w0 K

(5)

Fig. 6. Initiation of motion and of suspension. References

Bagnold R.A. (1966). An approach to the sediment transport problem from general physics, Geolocical survey professional paper 422-I, U.S. Departement of the Interior, 1-37. Bieri Hydraulic AG (1996). Desander system with vertical flushing saves water and reduces power losses, Hydropower & Dams, 3(4), 68-70. Fhl J., Sommer J. (2000): Anforderungsgerechte Beschichtungen von Turbinenlaufrdern chinesischer Wasserkraftanlagen. Abschlussbericht, Staatliche Materialprfanstalt (MPA) Universitt Stuttgart. Giesecke J., Mosonyi E. (1997): Wasserkraftwerke. Springer Verlag, Berlin, ISBN 3-540-60993-8. Grosse G., Kchele T. (1995): Analysis of abrasion in hydraulic machinery. Hydropower & Dams, 2 (2), 34-39. Jacoby G., Kchele T., Poschwatta M. (1995): Silt erosion in hydraulic machinery. In: Conf. proc. hydro power into the next century, Barcelona, 489 499. Keiser W. (1999): Schden an Laufrdern/Turbinen. Kurs Laufrder (unverffentlicht), Sulzer Hydro. Krause M., Lang E. (1993): Abschlussbericht F&E Projekt Sandabrasion. NEFF Bericht Nr.: STT.TB93.002, Sulzer Innotec Nozaki T. (1990): Estimation of repair cycle of turbine due to abrasion caused by suspended sand and determination of desilting basin capacity. Report, Japan international Cooperation Agency. Schneider C., Kchele T. (1999): Recent research results on predicting and preventing silt erosion. In: Proc. 1th int. conf.: Silting problems in hydro power plants, New Delhi, India, III/2 III/13. Ortmanns, C. (2006). Desilting chambers of hydro power plants, Dissertation 16324 (in German), Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zrich, Switzerland. Vischer D., Huber A. (1993): Wasserbau. Verlag Springer, 5. Auflage, Berlin, ISBN 3-540-56178-1. Zanke U. (1982). Grundlagen der Sedimentbewegung, Springer Verlag, Berlin, ISBN 0-387-11672-9. Zu-Yan Mei (1993). A survey of experiences on hydraulic turbines working in silt-laden rivers, Fourth Asian Conf. on Fluid Machinery, Sozhou, China, 110. Zu-Yan Mei (1996). Review of research on abrasion and cavitation of Silt-Laden Flows through Hydraulic Turbines in China, Proc. of the XVIII IAHR Symposium on Hydraulic Machinery and Cavitation, Valencia, Spain, 641650.

The Authors
Dr. C. Ortmanns graduated in 1999 in civil engineering at the RWTH Aachen University. After a year as scientific research engineer at the Institute of Building Materials at RWTH he joined the Laboratory of Hydraulics, Hydrology and Glaciology (VAW) at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) where he was working for the past five years as research engineer and assistant lecturer in the group of hydraulic engineering. He investigated the flow and turbulence structures in desilting chambers of hydro power plants and improved the design of these desilting structures. Mr. C. Ortmanns earned his doctorate in 02/2006 and has been working since then as project manager on various physical model tests. Prof. Dr. H.-E. Minor is Professor for Hydraulic Structures and Director of the Laboratory of Hydraulics, Hydrology and Glaciology (VAW) at ETH Zrich. He studied civil engineering in Stuttgart, earning his doctorate there in 1972. After 3 years as assistant, he assumed responsibility for the department of hydromechanics and hydraulics model testing at the Institute for Hydraulic Structures of the University of Stuttgart in 1971. In 1976 he transferred to Electrowatt Engineering in Zrich where he was section head of hydraulics and later department manager for hydraulic structures and hydropower. During his 21 years as a consulting engineer, Prof. Minor was involved in a large number of projects, predominantly in Latin America and Asia.