Water and Energy Abstracts
Year : 2004, Volume : 14, Issue : 1
First page : ( 13) Last page : ( 14)
Print ISSN : 0021-1672.

25. Countermeasures to Reduce Hydro Abrasive Wear at Hydro Turbine Parts

Engelhardt M., Oechsle D.

(Proceedings, Hydro 2003, Vol. I, Croatia, pp. 111–118).

Abstract

Hydro power plants located at rivers where the content of abrasive materials reaches an extremely high level during the seasons, e.g. in the Himalaya region, the European Alps, the Andes or the Yellow River in China, have to deal with the severe situation of hydro abrasive erosion. Silt erosion is still a major obstacle to the economical utilization of hydro power resources. During the last years, Voith Siemens Hydro – together with partners from all over the world, did different examinations and developments to overcome this problem. Especially the San Men Xia power plant in Henan Province, PR China which had been chosen for a joint research and rehabilitation project, shows the different aspects of the selected protection mechanism. The aim of the research project had been a comprehensive program to develop up-to-date measures against silt erosion. Apart from CAT – treatment (catchment area treatment) and other measures to reduce the amount of sand and silt going through a hydraulic unit (which are not discussed in this paper), suitable solutions had been found to fulfill the requirements of reducing damages on hydraulic components and thus also reducing cost for maintenance of hydro power turbine. A process was developed to modify the hydraulic shape of turbines to reduce hydro abrasive erosion significantly. This is done by optimizing the hydraulic design in a way that “hot spots” of hydro abrasive wear are determined by further developed CFD – tools (Computational Fluid Dynamics). These measures can only reduce the erosion but not completely prevent it. As the protection of existing units can not be done by design changes without doing a rehab, a materialbased solution to protect the surface of hydraulic components was also examined. Material tests had been done to examine available base materials and coatings to obtain a rating about wear related properties. The material examinations lead to two different solutions which now have already shown their potential on pilot projects as well as on commercial projects. The paper will describe the different approaches and their background. Finally the measures are summarized in a strategy for reducing hydro abrasive wear on hydro power components, based on the results of the research project as well as pilot and commercial applications.

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Keywords

Abrasive, Silt erosion, CAT-treatment, Material-based.

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