Evaluation of Hydraulic Loads on the Runner Blades of a Kaplan Turbine using CFD Simulation and Model Test

CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamic) is today a standard procedure for analyzing and simulating the flow through several hydraulic machines. In this process, the fluid flow domain is divided into small volumes where the governing equations are converted into algebraic ones, which are numerically solved. Computational results strongly depend on the applied mathematical model and on the numerical methods used for converting the governing equations into the algebraic ones. The goal of the paper is to evaluate, by numerical simulation, the hydraulic loads (forces and torques on the runner blades) of an existent Kaplan turbine and to compare them with the experimental results obtained from model test