Proposal of a Parameterized Methodology for the Hydrodynamic Design of High‐Efficiency Pelton Rotors Validated by Multiphase CFD Simulations

This work presents and validates a direct analytical methodology for the parametric hydrodynamic design of Pelton rotors. The proposed approach combines a one‐dimensional theoretical framework for defining global geometric rotor parameters with an inductive method for generating bucket geometry, formalized from a comprehensive mapping of a high‐efficiency commercial reference bucket. The reliability of this integrated design methodology is assessed via high‐fidelity unsteady Reynolds‐averaged Navier–Stokes (URANS) computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations, coupled with the volume of fluid (VOF) multiphase model and the k − ω SST turbulence model on a rotating five‐bucket domain. A theoretical efficiency of 93.4% was estimated, closely aligning with the 91.4% total efficiency obtained from the CFD model. Furthermore, simulations under part‐load conditions demonstrated the designed rotor′s high performance, with efficiency remaining above 85% in all off‐design scenarios. Finally, the proposed methodology provides a practical, reproducible, and computationally efficient tool for generating high‐performance geometries, serving as a robust foundation for integrating into future optimization workflows, fluid‐structure interaction analyses, and advanced research in Pelton turbine design.