NUMECA offers grid generation and CFD tools for modeling complex flow phenomena in hydraulic machine components within a short project timeframe. Our integrated CFD software packages provide analysis tools and solutions for: 

• Unsteady phenomena e.g. rotor/stator interactions

• Optimization of components e.g. optimized runner geometry

• Performance characteristics of hydro machines at the design stage

• Hydraulic and kinetic losses, prediction of energy loss, head, power consumption, efficiency, thrust and torque

• Fluid-structure interactions

• Cavitation phenomena and mixture of several fluids

NUMECA has provided industrial CFD solutions for a wide range of hydropower flow analyses from Francis turbines to hydro turbine generator simulations.

 

NUMECA's cavitation model has been validated against cavitation experiments, accurately reproducing the development of cavitation at several flow rates.

High quality unstructured meshes for spiral casings and distributors can be generated with HEXPRESS™ in less than an hour CPU time for one million cells.

An experimental HYDRO-QUEBEC alternator geometry, featuring rotor and stator parts and intricate geometry details provides a challenging CFD test case due to the geometric complexity. The flow simulation includes a rotating domain connected to a stator by a frozen rotor interface. The mesh, fully hexahedral, is generated with a total of 35 million cells. Excellent convergence speed is obtained with the parallel version of FINE™/Open.