Enhancing Bulb Turbine Performance Assessing Air Injection for Vibration Mitigation and Hydrofoil Cavitation

Small hydro technology is playing a crucial role in advancing sustainable, clean energy policies as part of the global hydro development strategy. Its contribution to social and economic development is becoming more prominent, particularly in ensuring electricity access for rural communities and supporting industrial expansion. The main causes of bulb turbine failures under high operating conditions are frequently attributed to variations in pressure in the draft tubes, which are aggravated when a spinning vortex rope is formed under load operation. Different fluid injection techniques, namely compressed air and water jet injection, address these issues and reduce the negative results of cavitation. The investigation covers the flow visualization on the suction side of a single hydrofoil utilizing a cavitation tunnel and a bulb turbine. This study assesses the effectiveness of compressed air injection in reducing vibration generated by cavitation in bulb turbines. Positive results of the experimental studies suggest a decrease in noise and vibration by air injection that prevents oscillations of the vortex rope. This research also considers how the hydrofoil design of bulb runner blades influences flow characteristics. Hence, it provides knowledge on cavitation structures in diverse cavitation numbers. Different studies that compare the original and modified hydrofoil designs reveal remarkable improvements that may be due to changes in the key parameters of the hydrofoil, such as later cavitation initiation and reduced intensity. To obtain the optimal output of a bulb turbine by considering air injection for vibration reduction and hydrofoil design changes to limit the negative effect of cavitation, the Reynolds number and cavitation number are to be defined. This multidisciplinary approach possesses enormous potential to increase the reliability and efficiency of bulb turbines in challenging operating conditions.