Analysis of flow in the plate-spiral of a reaction turbine using a streamline upwind Petrov-Galerkin method

The prediction of the flow field in a novel spiral casing has been accomplished. Hydraulic turbine manufacturers are considering the potential of using a special type of spiral casing because of the easier manufacturing process involved in its fabrication. These special spiral casings are known as plate-spirals. Numerical simulation of complex three-dimensional flow through such spiral casings has been accomplished using a finite element method (FEM). An explicit Eulerian velocity correction scheme has been deployed to solve the Reynolds-average Navier-Stokes equations. The simulation has been performed to describe the flow in high Reynolds number (106) regimes. For spatial discretization, a streamline upwind Petrov-Galerkin (SUPG) technique has been used. The velocity field and the pressure distribution inside the spiral casing reveal meaningful results