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Review
. 2024 Apr 5;10(8):e28998.
doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e28998. eCollection 2024 Apr 30.

Silt erosion and cavitation impact on hydraulic turbines performance: An in-depth analysis and preventative strategies

Tanish Kashyap  1 , Robin Thakur  1 , Gia Huy Ngo  2 , Daeho Lee  2 , Gusztáv Fekete  3 , Raj Kumar  2 , Tej Singh  4
Affiliations
Review

Silt erosion and cavitation impact on hydraulic turbines performance: An in-depth analysis and preventative strategies

Tanish Kashyap et al. Heliyon. .

Abstract

The primary issues in the Himalayan Rivers are sediment and cavitation degradation of the hydroelectric power turbine components. During the monsoon season, heavy material is transported by streams in hilly areas like the Himalayas through regular rainfalls, glacial and sub-glacial hydrological activity, and other factors. The severe erosion of hydraulic turbines caused by silt abrasion in these areas requires hydropower facilities to be regularly shut down for maintenance, affecting the plant's overall efficiency. This article provides an in-depth examination of the challenges that can lead to cavitation, silt erosion, and a decrease in the efficiency of various hydroelectric turbines, and it demands attention on the design, manufacture, operation, and maintenance of the turbines. This study's main objective is to critically evaluate earlier theoretical, experimental, and numerical evaluation-based studies (on cavitation and silt erosion) that are provided and addressed throughout the study. As a part of this study, various strategies for mitigating the effects of these problems and elongating the time that turbine may be utilized before they must be replaced have been provided.

Keywords: Cavitation; Computational fluid dynamics; Efficiency; Hydraulic turbines; Silt erosion.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Region of the Himalayas [3].
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
A schematic illustration of a river corridor with three upstream-downstream-oriented zones [7].
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Occurrence of erosion [10].
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Forces acting on a particle against a solid surface [10].
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Study for hydraulic turbine performance.
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
Failure caused due to sand erosion in the nozzle and seal ring of Pelton turbine [17].
Fig. 7
Fig. 7
Cavitation pitting damage on a Kaplan turbines surface [29].
Fig. 8
Fig. 8
Comparison between composite and steel materials: (a) turbine of 2 MW and (b) turbine of 250 kW [123].
Fig. 9
Fig. 9
SEM micrographs: (a–b) at 20 kg per cubic meter for hard-facing coatings after CSE and different flow velocities [93].
Fig. 10
Fig. 10
SEM micrographs: (a–b) 10 kg/m3; (c–d) 20 kg/m3 for hard-facing coatings after CSE and different silt concentrations [94].
Fig. 11
Fig. 11
SEM images for the coatings: (a–b) Cr3C2–NiCr; (c–d) WC-CoCr; at 23.4 m/s after cavitation erosion for 24 h [98].
Fig. 12
Fig. 12
Erosion rate density of runner at 3 MW in (a) Original runner geometry and (b) Optimized runner geometry [126].
Fig. 13
Fig. 13
Block diagram for online monitoring and diagnosis of the silt and cavitation erosion [127].
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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