Numerical analysis of the sand hydro-abrasion of a Pelton turbine injector

Pelton turbines have great application prospects in the exploitation of high-head hydraulic resources. However, sediment abrasion within its components is the major challenge. In this paper, Euler-Lagrangian method is used to simulate the flow process of the sediment particles in Pelton turbines injector numerically. The hydraulic characteristics of the three-phase flow, the behaviour of the sediment particles and the abrasion distribution are also analysed in detail. Calculation result shows that the predicted motion characteristics of the particles are in good agreement with theoretical model, and the predicted abrasion distribution also matches well with the measured results.