Selected Experiences with Optimization Tests of the Kaplan-Type Hydraulic Turbines

The paper presents selected experience of the authors resulting from the optimization tests of double-regulated water turbines. Among the methods for measuring the discharge through the turbine used in such tests, particular attention was paid to index methods allowing to measure the relative discharge through the turbine-the index current meter method and the methods based on measuring the differential pressure between two points properly located at the turbine flow system （i.e., Winter-Kennedy method）. These methods contribute to effective reduction of the cost of optimizing the turbine that is extremely important for small hydropower plants regarding installed capacity. The paper presents selected examples of the optimization tests and experiences that arise from these tests.     

Numerical Simulation of Water Flow through Nano-Hydraulic Turbine Driven by Rapid and Shallow Stream

This study is concerned with the numerical simulation of the flow through an open type cross-flow runner of a nano-hydraulic turbine driven by rapid and shallow stream. It employs the two-dimensional particle method, which was used for the flow simulation of a small-scale hydraulic turbine of impulse-type in the prior study. The tip speed ratio 2, defined as the ratio of the runner tip speed to the water stream velocity upstream of the runner, ranges from 0.1 to 0.8. The simulated flow at 2 = 0.5 is confirmed to agree well with the experimentally visualized one. The effect of 2 on the flows inside the rotating cascade as well as around the runner is clarified. The turbine performance, calculated by using the simulated flow, is also highlighted to agree almost with the measurement. These demonstrate that the present simulation method is indeed applicable to the development of open type cross-flow runner of nano-hydraulic turbine utilizing rapid and shallow stream.     

Analytical Solution for Evaluation of Voltage Surge Distribution along Transformer Windings through the Method of Residues

Computer programs have definitely become indispensable for designing power transformer. Among several applications, computer programs are mostly used for electric field calculation and thus electrical insulation concerns. In consequence, studies based on analytical approach to basic studies of correlated problems have become even more important because they form the very basis of knowledge that is necessary to every transformer designer in view of taking all the advantages of computational analyses. On the other hand, one of the most important basic studies consists in the evaluation of voltage surge distribution along transformer windings for which the method of separation of variables has been extensively used thanks to some simplifying assumptions. With this aim, authors have developed and previously published works that show the applicability of an alternative and useful analytical method that is the method of the residues, which requires no simplification to be assumed. In this work, another important step is taken towards proofing the total applicability of this promising method that is through a practical problem. A comparison to the numerical method TLM （transmission line method） is also performed and concordance with TLM and experimental data confirms the proposal of the method of residues can be also applicable to several others problems of electromagnetism.     

Induction of Internal Capacitance Effect in Performance Measurement of OPV （Organic Photovoltaic） Device by RTOSM （Real-Time One-Sweep Method）

The advantages of OPV （organic photovoltaic） are low cost, little pollution and flexible. But challenge for OPV manufacture still is lacking of accurately performance measurement due to capacitance issue. Firstly, characterization of OPV requires considering the slowly temporal response due to capacitance effect, and the relative I-V （current-voltage） curves are strongly dependent on the voltage sweep direction, even for the sweep time only in few seconds or less. Secondly, the IPCE （incident photon-to-electron conversion efficiency） also shows the slowly temporal response due to capacitance effect and is dependent on the wavelength of the incident light. Furthermore, the related features for measuring I-V curves are more sensitive with temperature due to non-linear characteristics issue, but current IPCE spectra of OPV are similar to that happened in conventional crystalline Si or amorphous silicon devices. In this work, we developed a RTOSM （real-time one-sweep method） applied both in I-V and IPCE to analysis different electronic transport materials, and result showed this new approach proposed a good way to slow down testing time and having better accuracy for OPV measurement by eliminating acceptance effect instantly.     

Excess Heat Power Registration in Experiments with High Voltage Electric Discharge Systems

The author review results on LENR （low-energy nuclear reaction） processes in the cathodes of a high current glow discharge and a HVEC （high-voltage electrolysis cell）. The cathodes used in the experiments were made of Ni foil, Pd foil, Pd coated Re and solid-state nanostructured Pd. Up to 300 W of excess heat power, with a power gain up to 340%, was observed in experiments using a high-voltage electrolysis cell. Based on these experimental results, we propose a phenomenological model for LENR.     

The Application of the Combined Method for Selection of Optimal Excitation Parameters

The quality as well as reliability of electrical energy transmitted to consumers is one of the main parameters of successful operation of the power system. The searching of optimal coefficient＇s combination of PSS （power system stabilizer） is the main goal of this article. The possibility of application of the new combined approach for the optimal excitation＇s settings search is presented. MC （Monte Carlo） method, in order to search and select the optimal combination of excitation system, was applied. The proposed method has been researched with a mathematical model of the power system. This model has been built using Matlab/Simulink software. Paper shows advantages and disadvantages of the proposed methods.     

Partial Discharge Simulations Used for the Design of a Non-Intrusive Cable Condition Monitoring Technique

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of PD （partial discharge） activity within medium voltage XLPE （cross-linked polyethylene） cables. The effect of partial discharge was studied by means of a number of simulations. The simulations were based on the well-known three capacitor model for partial discharge. An equivalent circuit was derived for partial discharge due to a single void in the insulation material of a power cable. The results obtained from the simulations will form the basis of the design proses of a non-intrusive condition monitoring technique. The technique is based on the classification of discharge activity according to five levels of PD. Future work will include the improvement of the simulation model by investigating the high frequency model of a power cable as well as the statistical nature of PD activity. This will improve the accuracy of the simulation results when compared to actual measurements. The work discussed in this paper will be used to construct and calibrate a practical model which will make use of PD measurements for non-intrusive condition monitoring of medium voltage electrical cables.     

Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell Stack Modelling in VHDL-AMS Language with Temporal and EIS Experimental Validations

This paper deals with two basic issues of fuel cell research： modelling and experimental validation. In particular, the EIS （electrochemical impedance spectroscopy） technique is applied to a PEMFC （proton exchange membrane fuel cell）. Experiments have been performed using a low-cost test bench and instrumentation developed around a 1,200 W Ballard Nexa fuel cell system. An electrical and dynamic model in VHDL-AMS language for PEM fuel cell stack is described. The privileged approach in this paper is an electrical method. Few papers deal with the modelling of a fuel cell in VHDL-AMS language with an electric approach. The fuel cell is characterised cell wise in VHDL-AMS; AC and DC measurements show the good agreement between the simulation results of the model and those measured in experiments. The model is capable to predict accurate stack profiles. The model is validated using temporal and impedance spectroscopy method; the impedance spectroscopy is performed at low and high frequencies. The experimental and simulated Nyquist plots show that the frequency response of the fuel cell stack can be predicted by the proposed fuel cell stack model. At high frequencies, comparisons between experimental and model impedance results are performed and show some similarities between the two Nyquist. Error between the two approaches is below 1.5%.     

Comparison between Conventional and Improved Gas Engine-Driven VRF under Same Climate Conditions

This paper reports the on-site performance evaluation of conventional and improved gas engine-driven VRF （variable refrigerant flow） units and （abbreviated as GHP） units. The study aims to elucidate two actual GHP units by using the probe insertion method. There is a tendency to decrease energy efficiency compared to a high loading factor. GHP operation was almost all part load operation. This on-site evaluation indicates a clear difference between conventional and improved GHP.     

A Battery Life-Cycle Estimation Method Based on Degradation Test Data

LiB （lithium-ion battery） has become serious concern for energy management systems, especially in Japan, where the argument on a nuclear power plant problem is active. Including reuse of LiB, long-term use is expected, however, method to ensure LiB life has not been developed thus the users of LiB are forced to accept the uncertainty of LiB life. Therefore this study suggests an evaluation method for LiB life using degradation experimental data. This method has three elements, defining indexes, preparing degradation speed database from the result of experiment, and setting up the use patterns of LiB. In order to be usable under non-experimental conditions, degradation speed database has the data in all conditions by complementing the experimental result. Finally, this evaluation model was verified by comparing model estimates and the experimental measurements.     

Design Methodology Research of the Floating Foundation for the Offshore MW-Rating Wind Turbine

With the rapid growth of the offshore wind industry, the innovative floating offshore wind turbine is chosen as the most feasible device to harvest the vast wind energy in deep water area. However there is no practical design guide for the floating wind turbine especially the floating foundation. In this paper, based on the investigation on the worldwide floating wind turbine and current available expertise on floating platforms accumulated in offshore O/G （oil and gas） industry, an integrated design methodology is presented according to the specialized characteristics of wind turbine, including the type selection of foundation and mooring system, design standard, design procedure, design conditions, key technologies involved. Finally a semi-submersible floating foundation is designed to support certain megawatt-rating wind turbine of Goldwind and also performance analysis and code checks are performed to validate the design. The design method of the floating foundation provided in this paper is proved feasible and can be adopted in practical engineering design.     

Stiffness Evaluation of the Welded Connection between Guide Thimbles and the Spacer Grids for 16 × 16 Fuel Assemblies Types,Using the Finite Element Method

The present work aims to evaluate the increase in the number of spot welds in the 16 × 16 type fuel assembly structure that connects guide thimbles and spacer grids, in order to provide a proper joint for this connection. This new and improved process can provide more stiffness to the whole structure, since the number of spots raised from four to eight. A 3-D geometric model of a guide thimble section was generated in a CAD （computer aided design） program （SolidWorks）. After that, the geometric model was imported to a CAE （computer aided engineering） program （ANSYS Mechanical APDL, Release 14.0）, where the finite element model was built, considering the guide thimble geometry assembled with the spacer grid through the welded connections. Boundaries conditions were implemented in the model in order to simulate the correct physical behavior due to the operation of the fuel assembly inside the reactor. The analysis covered specific loads and displacements acting on the entire structure. The method used to solve this finite element analysis was a linear static simulation in order to perform the connection between a spacer grid cell and a guide thimble section. Hence, four models was evaluated, differing on the spot weld number in the spacer grid and guide thimble connection. The rotational stiffness results of each model were compared. The results acquired from four and eight spot weld were validated with physical test results. The behavior of the structure under the acting force/displacement and the related results of the analysis, mainly the stiffness, were satisfied. The results of this analysis were used to prove that the increasing spot welds number is an improvement in the dimensional stability when submitted to loads and displacements required on the fuel assembly design. This analysis aid to get more information of extreme importance such as, the pursuance to develop better manufacturing process and to improve the fuel assembly performance due to the increasing of the bum-up.     

Parallel Open Source CFD-DEM for Resolved Particle-Fluid Interaction

A parallelized resolved method for the simulation of the dynamics of immersed bodies within fluids is presented. The algorithm uses a FDM （fictitious domain method） and combines the Lagrangian DEM （discrete element method） for tracking the bodies with a CFD （computational fluid dynamics） method for calculating the dynamics of the fluid phase. First the CFD-calculation is carried out, disregarding the solid bodies. Afterwards, the velocity information from the bodies is included and the force, the fluid imposes onto the bodies, is computed. The last step consists of a correction-operation which ensures the fulfillment of the conservation equation. Dynamic local mesh refinement is used for minimizing the number of fluid cells. The CFD-DEM coupling is realized within the Open Source framework CFDEMcoupling （www.cfdem.com）, where the DEM software LIGGGHTS （www.liggghts.com） is linked against an OpenFOAM~-based CFD solver. While both LIGGGHTS and the CFD solver were already parallelized, only a recent improvement of the algorithm permits the fully parallel computation of resolved problems. This parallelization permits the treatment of large-scale problems. The enclosed validation and application examples show the dynamics of the flow around settling and rotating spheres as well as an investigation of the settling of spheres regarding the Boycott effect.     

Field Method Research for Leak-off Coefficient Analysis Using Instantaneous Shut-in Pressure

The accurate monitor and prediction of fracturing pressure for formation is very important to hydraulic fracturing treatment operation, but whether hydraulic fracturing is successful or not, the fracturing fluid plays a very important role, leak-off coefficient is the most leading parameters of fracturing fluids. Mini-frac test was the most commonly used tools for leak-off coefficient analysis, but it has the shortcoming of time-consuming and costly that can not meet the requirement of the production. The main purpose of this paper is to introduce a simple and convenient leak off coefficient analysis method with more inexpensive and time-saving than former methods. Based on ISIP （instantaneous shut-in pressure） method, a new field method of leak off coefficient field analysis model was presented. According to twice ISIP of the fracturing treatment in field operation, therefore, fluid leak off coefficient and formation characteristic can be studied quickly and reliably. More than 40 wells were fractured using this field method. The results show that average liquid rates of post-fracturing was 20 m3/d which double improvement compared with the past treatment wells. It had an important role for fracturing treatments in low permeability used in field application. reservoirs, the new model for real time analysis and adjust is successful     

Development of a Full Parameterized FE-modeling Tool for Efficient Vibration Investigations on End Windings of Turbo- and Hydro-Generators

End windings of generators are excited to vibrations due to electromagnetic forces which can cause severe damage and noise. To avoid this, it is important to predict the natural frequencies and modes of the end windings with finite elements. Due to the complex structure and unknown boundary conditions, the conventionally calculation of stator end windings has been very difficult and time consuming up to now. This paper describes the development of a full parameterized modeling tool, which allows a quick calculation of natural frequencies during the design phase of the generator. To keep the computing time low, it is important to find a way to get exact calculation results without detailed modeling of all pans. Additionally, special attention was paid to the active part, which has been replaced by spring-damper elements, and the determination of their stiffness via experimental modal analysis combined with finite element calculations.     

Experimental Confirmation on the Calibration Curves for Preston＇s Method

The Preston＇s method is considered as one of the most commonly employed methods to measure the wall shear stress. However, it is only possible to determine the wall shear stress from measured pressure differences of the Preston tube and undisturbed static pressure, combined with calibration curves, which depend on the Preston tube diameter, fluid density, and viscosity. Since its invention, no significant advancement in theory has been made, and calibration curves proposed by Preston, Patel and Bechert are still in use. In the present study, a need to measure surface shear stress over a circular cylinder prompted us to develop our original Preston tube system. The developed system has been calibrated by measuring the wall shear stress in the fully developed turbulent flow regime in a circular pipe. The present results generally confirm the previously reported calibration curves. A slight modification of the coefficients in the calibration equation shows further improvement.     

Prediction of Core Losses of Three-Phase Distribution Transformer

Transformers are normally designed and built for use at rated frequency and sinusoidal load current. A non-linear load on a transformer leads to harmonic power losses which cause increased operational costs and additional heating in transformer parts. It leads to higher losses, early fatigue of insulation, premature failure and reduction of the useful life of the transformer. To prevent these problems, the rated capacity of transformer which supplies harmonic loads must be reduced. In this work, a typical 50 kVA three-phase distribution transformer with real practical parameters is taken under non-linear loads generated due to domestic loads. The core losses is evaluated using the three dimensional model of the transformer developed in FEM （finite element method） program based on valid model of transformer under high harmonic conditions. And finally a relation associated with core losses and amplitude of high harmonic order are reviewed ＆ analyzed and then a comparison is being carried out on the results obtained by different excitation current in transformer windings.     

Development of an Evaluation Methodology for Fuel Discharge in Core Disruptive Accidents of Sodium-Cooled Fast Reactors

The purpose of the present study is to develop a methodology to evaluate fuel discharge through the CRGT （control-rod guide tube） during CDAs （core-disruptive accidents） of SFRs （sodium-cooled fast reactors）, since fuel discharge will decrease the core reactivity and CRGTs have a potential to provide an effective discharge path. Fuel discharge contains multi-component fluid dynamics with phase changes, and, in the present study, the SFR safety analysis code SIMMER （Sn, implicit, multifield, multicomponent, Eulerian recriticality） was utilized as a technical basis. First, dominant phenomena affecting fuel discharge through the CRGT are identified based on parametric calculations by the SIMMER code. Next, validations on the code models closely relating to these phenomena were carried out based on experimental data. It was shown that the SIMMER code with some model modifications could reproduce the experimental results appropriately. Through the present study, the evaluation methodology for the molten-fuel discharge through the CRGT was successfully developed.     

Assessment of the Influence of Paper Insulation on the Discharge Initiation in Oil

The results of the assessment of the influence of paper insulation on the discharge initiation in oil were presented in this paper. This assessment based on the results of performed experimental works and on the analysis of electrical field distribution. Both types of the studies were connected with the model HV （high voltage） electrode setups covered by paper and immersed in oil. Experimental works indicated that the source of ＂weak points＂ of paper-oil model electrode setup is oil, not the surface of metal or insulation wrapping. Such hypothesis, resulting mainly from the measured times to initiations of discharges developing from bare and insulated HV electrodes, was verified by the analysis of electrical field distribution performed on the basis of finite element method applied in the COMSOL Multiphysics software. This analysis confirmed preliminary the made hypothesis. Correlation with the most stressed oil volume law was also observed.