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Concept

Low-head hydro power

Related publications (28)

Enhancing Wind Farm Performance through Axial Induction and Tilt Control: Insights from Wind Tunnel Experiments

Fernando Porté Agel, Guillem Armengol Barcos

Static axial induction control and tilt control are two strategies that have the potential to increase power production in wind farms, mitigating wake effects and increasing the available power for downstream turbines. In this study, wind tunnel experiment ...

MDPI2024

Study of flexible operating conditions in variable-speed hydraulic turbines : advanced models and experimental validation

Martin Seydoux

The global imperative to transition from fossil fuel-based energy sources to renewable alternatives has become increasingly urgent in the pursuit of sustainable and renewable power generation. This paradigm shift necessitates innovative approaches to manag ...

EPFL2024

Simulation of fine sediment deposition on floodplains

Giovanni De Cesare, Carmelo Juez Jiménez

Rivers extend beyond the channels that are typically associated with this word. Of particular interest are flood plains, where important hydro- and morphodynamic processes occur as a result of recurrent flooding. Ecologically, they also support the establi ...

2023

Structural impact of the start-up sequence on Pelton turbines lifetime: Analytical prediction and polynomial optimization

Mario Paolone, Elena Vagnoni, Aldo Leonardo Alerci

Hydropower plants play a crucial role in the power system facing ambitious renewable energy targets. Due to their inherent controllability, they are well suited to provide flexibility to the grid. However, an increased flexibility provision leads to a prol ...

Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd2023

An experimental study on the upper part-load elliptical vortex instability in a Francis turbine

François Avellan, Elena Vagnoni, Andres Müller, Arthur Tristan Favrel, Ali Amini

This paper presents preliminary results of an experimental study on the occurrence and development of the upper part-load instability in a reduced-scale Francis turbine. The study includes draft tube pressure measurements, high-speed flow visualization, an ...

IOP Publishing2021

Optimal CAM Computation of Kaplan Turbines Accounting for Wear and Tear Originated by Frequency Control

Mario Paolone, Sidi-Rachid Cherkaoui, Elena Vagnoni, Francesco Gerini

Nowadays, the importance of providing frequency stability to power systems with hydropower units is significantly increasing due to the growing proportion of volatile renewable energy sources. However, the provision of such services, as frequency containme ...

IEEE2021

Numerical simulations of Pelton turbine flow to predict large head variation influence

François Avellan, Cécile Münch-Alligné, Siamak Alimirzazadeh

In the framework of the new feed-in-tariff system in Switzerland for Small Hydropower Plants (SHP), the aim of the SmallFLEX project, led by HES-SO Valais and performed in collaboration with EPFL, WSL, EAWAG, PVE, and FMV, is to show how SHP can provide wi ...

IOP Publishing2021

GPU-accelerated numerical analysis of jet interference in a six-jet Pelton turbine using Finite Volume Particle Method

François Avellan, Ebrahim Jahanbakhsh, Audrey Paulette Solange Maertens, Sebastián Camilo Leguizamón Sarmiento, Siamak Alimirzazadeh, Christian Vessaz

The Pelton turbine is an impulse turbine typically installed for high head hydroelectric power plants. For a site with a rated head H and discharge Q, a higher specific speed turbine results in a more compact generating unit with reduced manufacturing cost ...

Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd2020

Computational parametric analysis of the design of cross-flow turbines under constraints

François Avellan, Sebastián Camilo Leguizamón Sarmiento

The cross-flow turbine is an attractive technology for small-scale hydropower generation thanks to its low capital cost and relatively high efficiency even under partial discharge operating conditions. It has been proposed that this kind of turbine can be ...

Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd2020

Hill chart modelling using the Hermite polynomial chaos expansion for the performance prediction of pumps running as turbines

François Avellan, Loïc Andolfatto, João Nuno Gomes Borga Delgado

Pumps running as turbines are suitable hydraulic machines for micro hydropower applications. The selection of the proper pumps to install in a given site still remains a major challenge, as pump manufacturers do not provide the characteristic curves data i ...

Elsevier2019

Physical Mechanism of Interblade Vortex Development at Deep Part Load Operation of a Francis Turbine

François Avellan, Arthur Tristan Favrel, Keita Yamamoto

For seamless integration of growing electricity production from intermittent renewable energy sources, Francis turbines are under increasing demand to extend their operating range. This requires Francis turbines to operate under off-design conditions, wher ...

ASME2019

Prediction of hydro-acoustic resonances in hydropower plants by a new approach based on the concept of swirl number

François Avellan, Christophe Nicolet, Arthur Tristan Favrel, Christian Landry, Sébastien Alligné, Loïc Andolfatto, Joao Gomes Pereira Junior

Hydropower plant units operating in off-design conditions are subject to cavitation flow instabilities, potentially inducing hydro-acoustic resonances under certain conditions. They can be predicted by using one-dimensional numerical models of hydropower p ...

Taylor & Francis Ltd2019

Multiple Inflow Branches at Supercritical-Type Vortex Drop Shaft

Michael Pfister, Jean-Marc Ribi, Gaetano Crispino

Vortex drop shafts serve to overcome important elevation differences in drainage systems. If well designed, they are performant in terms of energy dissipation and safety. However, the standard design requires well-defined approach flow conditions to ensure ...

ASCE-AMER SOC CIVIL ENGINEERS2018

Monitoring a Francis Turbine Operating Conditions

François Avellan, Loïc Andolfatto, Joao Gomes Pereira Junior

Francis turbines are designed for a specific set of operating conditions that is particular to each hydropower plant site. It allows this type of turbine to extract as much hydraulic power as possible, as long as they are operating in the right conditions. ...

2018

Flow measurement for the design optimization of fish pass entries in a run of river hydropower plant

Giovanni De Cesare, Pierre Bourqui, Cédric Bron

The International Commission for the Protection of the Rhine (ICPR) has set the objective of guarantying the upstream migration of the salmons up to Basel, Switzerland, at horizon 2020. One of the last dams to be equipped is the one of Rhinau, in France. T ...

2018

New insight in Francis turbine cavitation vortex rope: role of the runner outlet flow swirl number

François Avellan, Christophe Nicolet, Arthur Tristan Favrel, Andres Müller, Christian Landry, Joao Gomes Pereira Junior

At part load operation, Francis turbines experience the development of a cavitation vortex rope in the draft tube, whose precession acts as a pressure excitation source. In case of resonance, the resulting pressure pulsations lead to unacceptable torque an ...

Taylor & Francis Ltd2018

RANS computations of a confined cavitating tip-leakage vortex

Mohamed Farhat, Matthieu Dreyer

Cavitating tip-leakage vortices appear in several hydrodynamic flows such as marine propellers or Kaplan turbines. Cavitating computations are a challenging topic since several keys issues are an ongoing work such as the definition of a universal mass sour ...

2018

On the Efficiency Alteration Mechanisms Due to Cavitation in Kaplan Turbines

François Avellan, Sebastián Camilo Leguizamón Sarmiento

A transport-equation-based homogeneous cavitation model previously assessed and validated against experimental data is used to investigate and explain the efficiency alteration mechanisms in Kaplan turbines. On the one hand, it is shown that the efficiency ...

2017

Experimental Hydro-Mechanical Characterization of Full Load Pressure Surge in Francis Turbines

François Avellan, Arthur Tristan Favrel, Christian Landry, Andres Müller, Keita Yamamoto

Full load pressure surge limits the operating range of hydro-electric generating units by causing significant power output swings and by compromising the safety of the plant. It appears during the off-design operation of hydraulic machines, which is increa ...

2017

Flow characteristics and influence associated with inter-blade cavitation vortices at deep part load operations of a Francis turbine

François Avellan, Arthur Tristan Favrel, Christian Landry, Keita Yamamoto

At a deep part load operation, Francis turbines are subject to the formation of inter-blade cavitation vortices inside blade channels, however its characteristics are not fully understood yet. The present study aims to investigate the development of the in ...

2017