Hydrodynamic Loads on the Walls of a Turbine Block With a Counter Vortex Damper

The article discusses the use of a counter vortex water flow energy dissipater when using a medium-pressure hydroelectric power station's conduit as a spillway. A design of a counter vortex damper in the chamber of a hydraulic turbine impeller with damping of excess flow energy in the cone of the draft tube is proposed. Research was carried out on pressure pulsations on the walls of a hydraulic model of a turbine block, as a result of which spectra and standards of pressure pulsations on the walls of a draft tube cone were obtained during operation of the model with and without a damper. It has been shown that passing water through a turbine unit of a medium-pressure HPP with the working impeller removed is unacceptable and leads to the destruction of the structure. It was found that the installation of a counter vortex damper in the impeller chamber reduces the dynamic loads on the walls of the draft tube cone by 6–7 times compared to the mode without a damper. It is concluded that the flow of water through a turbine unit of a medium-pressure HPP with a counter vortex damper installed in the impeller chamber satisfies the safety standards of hydraulic structures. The need to supply atmospheric air to the counter vortex damper via a special air duct has been established.