El rediseño de redes hidráulicas en centrales hidroeléctricas requiere garantizar eficiencia y seguridad operativa.

Mediante simulación CFD, optimizamos la geometría de una bifurcación y analizamos el chorro de descarga. Evaluamos las presiones, las pérdidas de carga y las fuerzas de impacto.

Esto no permitió validar el diseño y reducir riesgos en condiciones reales de operación.

PROJECTS

Hydroelectric power plant piping redesign and discharge jet analysis

The client needed to redesign the layout of a hydroelectric power plant’s piping network to incorporate a new discharge pipe. The main challenge was to design the branch connection into the existing penstock, selecting:

The most suitable location

The optimal connection geometry

The objective was to minimize head losses and local overpressures, while ensuring that the new line could transport the required flow rate without generating critical maximum or minimum pressures that could compromise system integrity.

Additionally, it was necessary to analyze the behavior of the discharge jet after passing through a hollow jet valve, as it would impact a nearby wall. The impact force had to be quantified in order to structurally validate the receiving element.

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PROJECT SCOPE

The project was developed in two main phases:

1. Optimization of the branch connection

Evaluation of different geometric configurations for the connection between the main pipeline and the new discharge pipe.

Analysis of:

Maximum and minimum pressures
Local head losses
Pressure fluctuations

Simulation under different plant operating scenarios, covering various operating conditions.

2. Full system modeling and jet analysis

Once the optimal branch geometry was selected:

The complete piping system was modeled.
The hollow jet valve was included under real operating conditions.
Jet velocity and the force exerted on the impact wall were quantified.
The velocity field in the space between the discharge and the wall was evaluated.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS

During the branch connection optimization phase, it was verified that:

Pressure peaks in the connection area remained within the allowable limits of the pipeline.
The selected geometry allowed the required discharge flow rate to be transported.
The final configuration presented the lowest head loss among the evaluated alternatives.
Pressure fluctuations were significantly reduced compared to other options.

In the discharge jet analysis, the following was obtained:

The maximum impact velocity on the wall.
The velocity distribution along the jet trajectory.

Given the high outlet velocities, improvements were proposed aimed at reducing the jet energy before impact, with the objective of decreasing the loads transmitted to the wall and increasing the operational safety of the system.

This study ensured a hydraulically efficient, structurally safe redesign adapted to the real operating conditions of the power plant.