Using Winter-Kennedy Method in Performing Hydraulic Turbine Performance Tests – Case Study

Abstract

Various energy sources have been used for different reasons throughout human history. However, with the breakthroughs made in the 18th century, the use of energy resources reached a completely different dimension. The invention of steam engines, the invention of the dynamo, the discovery of electricity have been the harbinger of great revolutions for humanity. Major breakthroughs in technology, transportation and industry have together made the development and welfare of societies dependent on energy and has turned energy into an indispensable phenomenon of life. The increase in the demand for energy day by day necessitates strong and sustainable energy policies.

Electrical energy is a secondary energy type obtained as a result of transformations. It can be produced by using fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas and oil, as well as by using renewable energy sources such as solar wind and biofuels. Hydroelectric power plants are power plants that produce electricity by using the hydraulic power of water, which is among the renewable energy sources. Due to factors such as the high installed efficiency of these power plants, the absence of any harmful waste and the critical role they play in balancing the national grids, their use is widespread. In these power plants, which are kept in an intensive operation program, conditions such as wear, destruction and metal fatigue occur in their equipment depending on the working conditions, age and condition of the equipment. Because of these, the performance losses of the power plant increase and the efficiency of the equipment decreases. Events such as cavitation and vortex that occur during production further increase these losses. The place where the losses occur the most is the turbine and turbine components. For this reason, regular monitoring of turbine efficiency in particular and power plant efficiency in general and continuous analysis of the current situation will prolong the life of the power plant and keep its losses at a minimum level.

In this study, field performance tests were carried out in order to examine the effect of the turbine on energy efficiency and to determine the efficiency losses in the Alpaslan-1 Hydroelectric Power Plant. In this context, index tests were carried out using the Winter-Kennedy method, which is a relative flow measurement method. In the tests, the data was collected through the efficiency monitoring system, which was previously installed in a unit. In the tests, it was determined that there was a 3.5% loss in turbine efficiency.