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- Conventional Hydro
Cold Spray
Lead Companies
PNNL
Lead Researcher (s)
- Chris Smith
Technology for cavitation repair, cold spray repairs involve the impact of high-velocity particulates with the subject material, which strike with such a high speed that they bond with the chemical structure of the substrate. This has the promise of improved performance and ease of repair over other conventional applications.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Powerhouse Equipment
Research Sub-Category
Turbine
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
TBD
- Conventional Hydro
Cold Spray Process Development in -situ Repair of Hydroturbines
Lead Companies
PNNL
Lead Researcher (s)
- Chris Smith
The first goal of this project is to produce an optimized cold spray process for cavitation resistance that represents an additional 50% improvement over cold spray processes tested in PNNL’s current cavitation repair program. The second goal is to include the optimized cold spray process, developed as part of this TCF project, in field testing that is being developed as part of a Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) Technology Innovation (TI) project.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Powerhouse Equipment
Research Sub-Category
Turbine
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
TBD
- Link
Collegiate Competitions Spark Curiosity and Careers in Water Power
Lead Companies
NREL
Lead Researcher (s)
- Elise DeGeorge
- Arielle Cardinal
- Bree Mendlin
Hydropower is the oldest renewable energy source, and marine energy may be the youngest. Regardless of whether they are old or young, both forms of water power will play a significant role in helping the United States reach a 100% carbon-free energy sector by 2035. To meet the challenge, we need a strong water power workforce. To inspire and grow a new generation of skilled workers to lead the country’s energy revolution, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) partners with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO) to run two competitions—one for hydropower and the other for marine energy. Both provide undergraduate and graduate students with hands-on experience in each industry as well as the opportunity to devise innovative solutions to complex challenges that pave the way to a clean energy future.
Technology Application
Research Category
Research Sub-Category
Status
complete
Completion Date
2022
- Conventional Hydro
Commissioning Guide for Hydroelectric Generating Stations
Lead Companies
CEATI International
Lead Researcher (s)
- #0386
to provide general guidelines, best practices, and typical reference procedures to assist engineers in understanding, planning, and carrying out the commissioning of major equipment for hydroelectric stations.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Powerhouse Equipment
Research Sub-Category
Status
complete
Completion Date
2020
- Conventional Hydro
Commissioning Guide for Hydroelectric Stations Auxiliary Systems and Equipment
Lead Companies
CEATI International
Lead Researcher (s)
- #0398
This guide will provide general guidelines, best practices, and typical reference procedures to assist engineers in understanding, planning, and carrying out the commissioning of auxiliary systems and equipment for hydroelectric stations.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Powerhouse Equipment
Research Sub-Category
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
Expected 2020
- Pumped Storage
Commissioning Prize for Pump Storage
Lead Companies
PNNL
Lead Researcher (s)
- Bo Saulsbury
Furthering Advancements to Solve Time to Commissioning Prize (FAST Commissioning Prize) that will seek innovative ideas on ways to reduce the time and costs associated with PSH from concept to commissioning. PNNL supports the technical analysis, as well as the voucher program to be supplied to prize finalists and winners.
Technology Application
Pumped Storage
Research Category
Regulatory Management Process
Research Sub-Category
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
TBD
- Conventional Hydro
Comparison of next-generation DNA sequencing to traditional morphological identification for environmental monitoring
Lead Companies
Bureau of Reclamation
Lead Researcher (s)
- Sherri Pucherelli
This research will help determine the benefits, limitations, and accuracy of next-generation DNA sequencing in comparison to traditional taxonomic methods. Macroinvertebrate samples collected from wetlands in Folsom, CA, that were previously identified by a taxonomist, will be analyzed by next-generation sequencing (NGS). DNA will be extracted from both the isopropanol supernatant, used as the fixative and storage media for the samples, and from pooled and macerated macroinvertebrate tissue.The results of this study will help determine how next-generation sequencing can be used to benefit Reclamation projects that require environmental monitoring in response to construction activities, invasive species, habitat restoration, and water treatment.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Environmental and Sustainability
Research Sub-Category
Fish and Aquatic Resources
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
2020
- Conventional Hydro
Compendium of Close Pipe Control Technologies and Options
Lead Companies
Bureau of Reclamation
Lead Researcher (s)
- Sherri Pucherelli
Reclamation must be able to manage water deliveries and generate hydro-power as its main mission. Invasive mussels impair the ability to move water in closed pipe systems. As the mussels spread in the western US, the urgent need for effective closed pipe control becomes greater. A detailed and comprehensive list of closed piped treatments will be of great benefit to facility operators.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Environmental and Sustainability
Research Sub-Category
Fish and Aquatic Resources
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
2020
- Conventional Hydro
Computation and Analysis of Cavitating Flow in Francis-Class Hydraulic Turbines
Lead Companies
The Pennsylvania State University
Lead Researcher (s)
- Daniel Leonard
Hydropower is the most proven renewable energy technology, supplying the worldwith16%of its electricity. Conventional hydropower generates a vast majority of that percentage. Although a mature technology, hydroelectric generation shows great promise for expansion through new dams and plants in developing hydro countries. Moreover, in developed hydro countries, such as the United States, installing generating units in existing dams and the modern refurbishment of existing plants can greatly expand generating capabilities with little to no further impact on the environment. In addition, modern computational technology and fluid dynamics expertise has led to substantial improvements in modern turbine design and performance.Cavitation has always presented a problem in hydroturbines, causing performance breakdown, erosion, damage, vibration, and noise. While modern turbines are usually designed to be cavitation-free at their best efficiency point, due to the variable demand of the energy market it is fairly common to operate at off-design conditions. Here, cavitation and its deleterious effects are unavoidable, and hence, cavitation is a limiting factor on the design and operation of these turbines. Multiphase Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) has been used in recent years to model cavitating flow for a large range of problems, including turbomachinery. However, CFD of cavitating flow in hydro turbines is still in its infancy.This dissertation presents steady-periodic Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokessimulations of a cavitating Francis-class hydro turbine at model and prototype scales. Computational results of the reduced-scale model and full-scale prototype, undergoing performance breakdown, are compared with empirical model data and prototype performance estimations based on standard industry scalings from the model data. Mesh convergence of the simulations is also displayed. Comparisons are made between the scales to display that cavitation performance breakdown can occur more abruptly in the model than the prototype, due to lack of Froude similitude between the two. When severe cavitation occurs, clear differences are observed in vapor content between the scales. A stage-by-stage performance decomposition is conducted to analyze the losses within individual components of each scale of the machine. As cavitation becomes more severe, the losses in the draft tube account for an increasing amount of the total losses in the machine. More losses occur in the model draft tube as cavitation formation in the prototype draft tube is prevented by the larger hydrostatic pressure gradient across the machine.Additionally, unsteady Detached Eddy Simulations of the fully-coupled cavitating hydro turbine are performed for both scales. Both mesh and temporal convergence studies are provided. The temporal and spectral content of fluctuations in torque and pressure are monitored and compared between single-phase, cavitating, model, and prototype cases. A shallow draft tube induced runner imbalance results in an asymmetric vapor distribution about the runner, leading to more extensive growth and collapse of vapor on any individual blade as it undergoes a revolution. Unique frequency components manifest and persist through the entire machine only when cavitation is present in the hub vortex. Large maximum pressure spikes, which result from vapor collapse, are observed on the blade surfaces in the multiphase simulations, and these may be a potential source of cavitation damage and erosion.Multiphase CFD is shown to be an accurate and effective technique for simulating and analyzing cavitating flow in Francis-class hydraulic turbines. It is recommended that it be used as an industrial tool to supplement model cavitation experiments for all types of hydraulic turbines. Moreover, multiphase CFD can be equally effective as a research tool, to investigate mechanisms of cavitating hydraulic turbines that are not understood, and to uncover unique new phenomena which are currently unknown.Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Powerhouse Equipment
Research Sub-Category
Turbine
Status
complete
Completion Date
2015
- Conventional Hydro
Condit Dam Removal
Lead Companies
U.S. Geological Survey
Lead Researcher (s)
- Jon Major, Cascades Volcano Observatory
Immediate sediment response to removal of Condit Dam on the White Salmon River.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Environmental and Sustainability
Research Sub-Category
Sediment Transport
Status
complete
Completion Date
2014
Don’t see your waterpower research?
Have questions about WaRP?
Contact Marla Barnes at: marla@hydro.org