International Scientific Journals
of Scientific Technical Union of Mechanical Engineering "Industry 4.0"

Inline pipe Francis turbine design is proposed. Spiral case is not used in inline pipe Francis turbines and the flow can enter the stay vanes directly. The flow rate can be distributed uniformly around stay vanes. Another advantage of the new design is that the static pressure drop of the flow is less than that of conventional Francis turbines, which minimize the losses. Working range of the turbine is increased in the new design, as well.

Test rigs for model hydraulic turbines are used to perform various standardized tests on model turbines by simulating characteristics of the running water, at which the actual turbine will work. Test cell is a frame structure that is placed between the high head and the low head reservoirs of a test rig. It accommodates a generator-bearing assembly and the model turbines to be tested. Since model turbines are custom made systems, the frame structure is required to be designed according to the highest possible loading condition, within the capacity of the test rig, to ensure structural integrity while also considering the ease of assembly. A custom hydrostatic bearing for generator is required to support the potentially harmful axial and radial forces, and bending moments produced by the turbine. In this study, design of a test cell for a hydraulic model turbine test rig is presented.