Design of a Hydraulic Turbine Based in a Pressure Swirl Chamber using Ansys CFD

Abstract

This study presents the simulation of internal flow of a hydraulic turbine using CFD based on pressure-swirl atomizer technology, typically used in combustion chambers of rocket engines. The proposed model is equipped with a swirl chamber with stabilizer included, dual manifold system and a rotor, each of these elements will be simulated to validate its functionality, prior to implementation and subsequent experimental testing. The results show that it is possible to produce the spray output jet even if there are interferences within the swirl chamber such as the rotor itself and the stabilizer. In addition, due to the tangential speeds produced within the atomizer may be viable to place a rotor to produce mechanical power. This study serves as a starting point to carry out future experimental tests to validate the generated power and efficiency of the proposed system. The results presented in the document were validated using mathematical equations and numerical simulations using the Ansys Fluent software.