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Sediment erosion of Francis turbine runners in the Himalayan region of India

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 Sediment erosion of Francis turbine
runners in the Himalayan region
of India
J.H. Masoodi and G.A. Harmain, National Institute of Technology Srinagar, India
T
Hydropower is the major source of energy in the northern Himalayan belt of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, with an estimated
potential of 20 000 MW. Because of the mountainous topology in the region, a large volume of sediment is present in the river water and
sediment erosion of hydro turbines a challenging problem for hydro plants in the area. The erosion of the turbine components causes an
increase in maintenance related issues, and also a reduction of power generation. This paper presents a detailed comparison of two
sediment-laden rivers and the effect on the runners at their respective power stations.
he erosion of turbine runners at hydropower
plants occurs because of sediment present in the
river water (fragments of rock loosened from the
earth’s surface because of weathering processes and
the impact of rain and snow [Lysne et al., 20031]).
Sediment concentrations can be as high as 20 000 ppm
and it becomes difficult to remove all such matter
before the water passes through the turbine. Silt main-
ly consists of quartz (70 per cent – 98 per cent), which
is extremely hard (hardness 7 on Moh’s scale) and
causes severe damage to the turbine components as
cited in Padhy and Saini [19872]. The severe erosion of
turbines, leading to a reduction in energy generation,
poses a challenge for many hydropower stations
[Pradhan, 20043].
The process of erosion on turbines is influenced by
many factors including: the concentration of erodents;
the average speed of silt particles; the shape, size,
hardness and incidence angle of such particles; the fre-
quency of contact between particles on the turbine sur-
face; and, the properties of the turbine material [Duan
and Karelin, 20024]. The effects of sediment particle
shape, density and hardness have been investigated by
numerous researchers [Desale et al., 20065; Bahadur
and Badruddin, 19906; Hutchings, 19797; Goodwin et
al., 19698; Padhy et al., 20129; Zhong and Minemura,
199610].
The concentration of silt is one of the dominating
factors for erosive wear [Truscott, 197211; Neopane,
201012]. Some studies [Truscott, 197211; Padhy and
Saini, 200913] suggested that erosive wear was propor-
tional to concentration based on a power law of veloc-
ity. The effect of the shape of sediment with sharp
edged particles compared with blunt and round edged
particles and their characterization of different dimen-
sions were reported by Bahadur and Badruddin
[19906] and Hutchings [19797]. The dependence of
erosion damage on silt particle size has been the sub-
ject of many studies [Goodwin et al., 19698; Padhy and
Saini, 200913; Herbich, 196614; Worster and Denny,
195515; Lynn et al., 199116], which have found that the
rate of erosion rate increases with particle size.
The damage caused by plastic deformation depends
on the velocity and impingement angle of erodent par-
ticles in relation to the material’s surface [Bardal,
200417]. The effect of the velocity of the sediment par-
ticles on the erosion rate has also been found to be gen-
erally proportional to a power law of velocity by an
exponent, which Goodwin [19698] found to be equal to
82
2.3. The most common value of the exponent reported
is 3, as given by Truscott [197211]. The effect of the
impingement angle on erosion has been reported in
many studies [Finnie, 196018; Finnie, 197219; Finnie
and McFadden, 197820; Finnie et al., 197821; Bitter,
196322; Bitter, 196323; Neilson and Gilchrist, 196824].
Edwards et al. [200125] studied particle-fluid interac-
tion and the resulting particle wall impingement
(direct and random) and found that the geometry
selected in the design can cause a gradual change in
flow direction and contribute to a reduction in the ero-
sion rate. Goodwin et al. [19698] found that the erosion
rate varied with the hardness of the erodents and was
also dependent on the amount of quartz present. The
erodent particles with a hardness of more than 5 Moh
are considered detrimental and turbine components
made from stainless steels have good erosion resist-
ance compared with other materials. The critical tur-
bine components should comprise 13 per cent Cr and
4 per cent Ni stainless steel and appropriate coatings
have been reported by Naidu [199926], Chattopadhyay
[199327], Mann [199828; 200029] and Mann and Arya
[200130].
The research discussed in this article is focused on pre-
1. Background
dicting the erosive wear rate of Francis runners for
hydropower stations at two locations in the Himalayan
belt of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) (with different tex-
ture and composition of erodent particles) using a new
model, which incorporates the relative velocity
(instead of characteristic velocity [Masoodi and
Harmain, 201631] as used by IEC-2013 [201332]) for
the Francis runner. Erosive wear has been calculated
using the IEC-2013 [201332] and the new model. The
results obtained have been compared with a physical
examination (during the scheduled maintenance relat-
ed to erosion) of the loss of thickness of the runners
installed at the two power stations.
The study includes petrographic analysis of the sites
and the effect of sediment-related parameters, which
have been introduced into the wear models used in
this investigation. The wear rate analysis of the
selected hydropower stations reveals that the wear is
caused by the presence of large (0.075 to 0.3 mm)
hard minerals including quartz, feldspar, hornblende,
garnet and so on, which have a hardness greater than
that of the turbine runner material. The shape of sed-
iment particles (ranging from conical to sub conical
Hydropower & Dams Issue One, 2017
pattern) also has a significant impact on wear results.
The study makes the detailed comparison of two sed-
iment-laden rivers, the Jhelum and Chenab, in rela-
tion to their effect on the erosion of runners at the
Dulhasti and Uri power stations respectively. The
Dulhasti plant (with one 130 MW unit) can be con-
sidered in the ‘extensive damage’ category as the tur-
bine needs maintenance each year because of the
large amount of silt (about 500 to 600 ppm) present
in the Chenab river, while Uri (with one 120 MW
unit) can be considered in the ‘substantially high’
damage category as the turbine needs maintenance
every three to four years because of the silt concen-
tration (about 300 to 350 ppm) in the Jhelum river.
The high concentration of large sediment particles
consisting of hard minerals (3 to 7 Moh) and rela-
tively sharp and angular sediment particles in the
Chenab river compared with the Jhelum river are the
main causes of the severe erosion damage at Dulhasti
relative to that at Uri. The average loss in thickness
observed at Dulhasti is 4.5 mm/year of operation,
while the average loss of thickness at Uri is 5.9
mm/four years of operation, which agrees to within a
15 per cent range with the on-site measurement
results obtained at the two stations.
The wear rate may be described as a function of the
2. Erosion models
concentration, velocity, hardness, size, shape of
impinging particle, impingement angle and the fre-
quency of contact between silt particles and the sur-
face of material being eroded. Various erosion models
have been proposed in literature based on the param-
eters involved. Finnie [196018] proposed the erosion
model for ductile material for single and multiple par-
ticles. Bitter [196322; 196323] and Nelson and Gilchrist
[196824] presented erosion caused by two types of
wear: deformation during repeated collision; and, the
cutting action of free moving particles. These process-
es occur simultaneously and are independent of each
other. The basic erosion models include parameters
such as velocity, impingement angle, mass of the ero-
dent particles and the properties of material being
eroded. Bardal [200417] reported that erosive wear
was usually the dominating deterioration process
(with respect to the corrosive wear and the synergy
effect of erosive and corrosive wear) and proposed the
erosion rate as being influenced by material, environ-
mental factors (such as shape, hardness, size and con-
centration of erodent particles), erodent particle
velocity and the geometrical factor of the wall surface
on which the sediment would strike.
There are other parameters, such as the design
specifications of turbines, which are particularly
suited for modelling erosive wear of turbines.
Several erosive wear models proposed specifically
for hydroelectric turbines report sediment erosion
rate as a function of these parameters. Naidu
[199926] and Tsuguo [199933] presented the erosion
rate as a function of sediment concentration, hard-
ness, size, shape, wear resistance of the base materi-
al and the relative velocity of water and sediment
particles in relation to the runner. Bajracharya et al.
[200834] gives the erosion rate as a function of sedi-
ment particle size at different quartz content levels,
while Padhy et al. [20129; 200913; 201135] proposed
that erosion depended strongly upon the silt charac-
teristics including particle size, sediment concentra-
Hydropower & Dams Issue One, 2017
tion, jet velocity as well as the operating hours of the
turbine. There are some erosion models which are par-
ticularly suitable for Francis runners such as the ero-
sion model, which is recommended by IEC-2009
[200936] and IEC-2013 [201332] and which give the
following expression for the abrasion depth E in tur-
bines
...(1)
where PL is the particle load integrated over time t.
W is the characteristic velocity defined for each tur-
bine component (m/s), C is the particle concentration
(kg/m3), and Khd, Ksh, Ksz are the coefficients for parti-
cle hardness, particle shape and particle size (mean
diameter, mm) respectively. In the case of a Francis
runner, the value of n is taken as 3. The constant, Kfl,
for each turbine component provides for impingement
angle and flow turbulence, RS is the reference turbine
diameter, which as per IEC-1999 [199937] is the inner
diameter of the runner, p is the exponent for each tur-
bine component and Kmt is the constant for the materi-
al. The description of the IEC-2013 [201332] model is
given in Table 1.
3. Sediment-related problems on Francis turbines
The erosive wear study on Francis turbine runners in
in Jammu and Kashmir
the northern region of the Himalayas in India has not
been reported in the literature, although it is a severe
problem for hydro turbines. The Uri and Dulhasti
powerplants, in the northern state of Jammu and
Kashmir, have been chosen for assessment of erosive
wear damage of turbine runners because of the pres-
ence of hard erodents in the rivers in this region. Both
stations are run-of-river schemes and include desilt-
ing basins, headrace tunnels, pressure shafts, under-
ground powerhouses and tailrace tunnels. The desilt-
ing basin at the Uri scheme comprises two parallel
chambers, each 45 to 60 m wide, and 300 m long, and
the plant has an installed capacity of 480 MW from
four units (net head of 228 m and a total discharge of
59.4 m3/s for one unit running at 333.3 rpm)
[McWilliams et al., 200838]. Dulhasti also has two
desilting chambers, both with an area of 15 ¥ 15 m
and a depth of 240 m. The plant has an installed
capacity of 390 MW from three units (net head of 207
m and a total discharge of 71 m3/s for one unit run-
ning at 300 rpm).
Based on the categorization of erosive wear damage
of power stations given by Naidu [199926], Uri is cat-
egorized as ‘substantially high damage’ as the runner
is taken for maintenance after every four years, while
the Dulhasti plant can be categorized as ‘extensive
damage’ as the runner is taken for maintenance every
year. Fig. 1(a) shows the typical areas of massive ero-
sive wear damage of Dulhasti at the outlet of the run-
ner after a year of operation, while Fig. 1(b) shows
erosive wear damage of Uri at the outlet of the runner
after four years of operation. Several maintenance
strategies including sediment trap mechanisms, have
been used at Uri and Dulhasti to control the erosion
problem, however, a sufficient amount of silt to cause
damage still reaches the turbine parts. Based on the
data available, the silt content which id trapped in the
desilting basin at Uri is about 25 to 35 per cent of the
total silt present in the Jhelum river and for Dulhasti
it is about 45 to 50 per cent of the total silt present in
the Chenab river, as shown in Fig. 2.
83
 Parameters Equations (Units) Definition
Table 1: Description of IEC-2013 [201332] model-related parameters

Depth of metal layer that has been removed from a

Abrasion depth (E)
component because of sediment particle abrasion.
Characteristic
(0.55)×(2gH)0.5 (m/s) Defined for the turbine components used to quantify abrasion depth.
velocity inlet (W)
Characteristic
(0.25+0.003×ns)×(2gH)0.5 (m/s) Defined for the turbine components used to quantify abrasion depth.
velocity outlet (W)
Turbine head (H) (m) Available head at turbine machine terminal
Power (P) (kW) Output of turbine in a rated operating point
Specific speed (ns) ns=(n√P)/H1.25 Specific speed of a hydraulic turbine
Rotational speed (n) (rpm) Number of revolutions per unit time

The particle concentration integrated

Particle load (PL)
over the time t that is under consideration.

Particle concentration (C) kg/m3 Mass of the sediment particle per m3 of water solution.
The factor that characterizes how the abrasion relates to the size
Particle size
(mm) of the abrasive particle. It is the mean diameter of the abrasive
factor (Ksz)
sediment particle in mm
This factor characterizes how the abrasion relates to the
Particle shape
- shape of the abrasive particle. The value of Ksh varies from
factor (Ksh)
1 to 2 for round to sharp.
Particle hardness This factor characterizes how the abrasion relates
-
factor (Khd) to the hardness of the abrasive particle.

The factor that characterizes how the abrasion relates to

the material property of base material Kmt = 1 for martensitic stainless
Material factor (Kmt) -
steel with 13 per cent Cr and 4 per cent Ni and Kmt = 2 for carbon steel.
For coated components Kmt should be smaller than 1.

The factor that characterizes how the abrasion relates

Flow factor (Kfl) to the water flow around each component. For inlet of runner its
value is 0.9 × 10−6, for outlet of runner its value is 0.54 × 10−6.
Turbine reference For Francis runner, it is the reference diameter
(m)
size (RS) i.e the outlet diameter of Francis runner.
Size exponent (inlet/outlet) Exponent that describes the size exponent
-
of runner (p) effects of erosion in evaluating reference size.

concentration during that period for the Jhelum and

The concentration factor C in the present and IEC- Chenab rivers is about 325 ppm and 600 ppm respec-
3.1 Analysis of sediment concentration

2013 [201332] models has been obtained for Uri and
Dulhasti based on analysis of the sediment concentra-
tion of the Jhelum and Chenab rivers. The sediment
concentrations for both plants were obtained from
daily silt data reports. Fig. 2 shows the sediment con-
centration before and after the desilting basin at both
plants for one year of operation. It can be observed
from Fig. 2 that during the peak season the sediment
concentration of the two rivers exceeds 5000 ppm
(Uri) and 2500 ppm (Dulhasti). The average sediment
tively. The average sediment concentration, C (a factor
used in the models of erosive wear damage), that actu-
ally enters the turbine units at Uri after the desilting
basin, is 0.1509 kg/m3 (150.9 ppm) and for Dulhasti is
0.3 kg/m3 (300 ppm). The higher flow rate of the
Chenab river (800 m3/s compared with 222 m3/s for
the Jhelum) is one of the main reasons for this, and
leads to high volumes of sediment reaching the turbine
parts. The values of concentration factor C have been
provided along with other parameters in Table 2.

Fig. 1. Erosive wear

damage of blades
(a) Dulhasti Power
Station(DPS) at
outlet of runner
after 2015-2016
time period, (b) Uri
Power Station(UPS)
at outlet of runner
after 2010-2014 (b)
time period.
(a)

84 Hydropower & Dams Issue One, 2017

 Fig. 2. Sediment
concentration of
UPS and DPS
before and after
de-silting basin.

mm. Therefore the factor Ksz has been chosen as 0.085

mm.
3.2 Sediment particle size distribution for obtaining

The sediment particle size distribution and mineral Table 3 shows the different minerals identified and
Ksz and Khd

composition of Uri and Dulhasti were obtained from
the petrographic analysis of sediment present in the
Jhelum [201339] and Chenab [201240] rivers and are
used as factors Ksz and Khd in the IEC-2013 [201332] and
present models. The sediment in both rivers includes
very coarse (> 0.3 mm) to very fine (< 0.075 mm) sizes.
It was found that for Uri, the 0.075 mm part constitutes
the major part of the sample and 90 per cent of the silt
which leaves the desilting basin is 0.075 mm or less.
their hardness and modal percentages for Dulhasti,
where 82 per cent of the minerals present in the Chenab
river are hard minerals such as quartz, feldspar, horn-
blende and garnet, the hardness levels of which are
above that of the turbine runner material. The value of
factor Khd for Dulhasti has been chosen to be 0.82.
3.3 Sediment particle geometry and appearance

Therefore the factor Ksz has been chosen to equal 0.075 The particle geometry and appearance of Uri and
for obtaining Ksh
mm in the present model and IEC-2013 [201332] model Dulhasti varies in shape according to extension angles
for calculation of the erosion rate for Uri. and appearance of grain structure. The study of these
The factor Khd, used in both the erosive wear models erodent particles is used as factor Ksh in the IEC-2013
for Francis runners, has been obtained on the basis of [201332] and the present model. The typical geometry
mineral composition and hardness of various con- of erodent particle images (using SEM) for Uri and
stituents of erodents. The mineral composition of silt Dulhasti are given in Figs. 3a and 3b, respectively. The
particles obtained from petrographic analysis compris- angular grains of particles at Uri have distinct sharp
es quartz, feldspar, mica (muscovite biotite), horn-
blende, magnetite and lithic fragments. About 85 per
cent of the minerals present in the Jhelum river are
hard minerals such as quartz and feldspar, which have
Table 2: The relevant data for the Uri and Dulhasti plants
Uri Dulhasti
a hardness value above 6 Moh. Quartz, which has the
Parameters Values Units Values Units
greatest hardness, is particularly abundant. Table 3
gives modal percentages of the different minerals Head (H) 228 m 208 m
identified and their hardness for the Uri plant. The Power (P) 120 000 kW 130 000 kW
value of factor Khd for Uri has been chosen to be 0.85 Rotation speed (n) 333.3 rpm 300 rpm
on the basis of the percentage of major constituents of
the sediment. Specific speed (ns) 130.3 - 136.9 -
Similarly, the factors Ksz and Khd have been obtained Concentration (C) 0.1509 kg/m3 0.3 kg/m
for Dulhasti based on the sediment present in the Size factor (Ksz) 0.075 mm 0.085 mm
Chenab river. The percentage of very coarse fractions Shape factor (Ksh) 1.5 - 1.75 -
of sediment for Dulhasti is about 2.6 per cent, whereas
the percentage of very fine sediments is about 52.2 per Hardness factor (Khd) 0.85 - 0.82 -
cent. The particle size analysis of sediments present in Material factor (Kmt) 1 - 1 -
the Chenab river shows that the very fine particle size
(0.085 mm) applies to a major part of the sample. The Flow factor (inlet) (Kfl) 0.90 × 10-6 0.90 × 10−6
minerals present in abundance are quartz, biotite,
orthoclase-feldspar, calcite, microcline-feldspar, gar- Flow factor (outlet) (Kfl) 0.54 × 10 0.54 × 10−6
net, chlorite and iron oxide. The particle size of quartz
(in very fine grains) varies from 0.002 mm to 0.178 Reference size (RS) 2.50 m 2.70 m
mm with an average size of 0.085 mm. The majority of Size exponent (p) 0.25/0.75 - 0.25/0.75 -
quartz particles are in the size range of 0.08 mm to 100

Hydropower & Dams Issue One, 2017 85

Fig. 3. Particle
geometry of silt
sample taken from
dam site of (a) UPS
(b) DPS.

(a) (a)

(b) (b)

edges, which are conspicuous at 550 times magnifica- Fig. 4. Microscopic view of mineral composition of silt taken
tion. The quartz grains and lithic fragments are angu- from dam site of (a)UPS (b)DPS.
lar to sub-angular in shape, while feldspar grains
shaped with fractured grain margins and are flaky with
appear to be sub-rounded. Fig. 4a shows loose grains
numerous fracture planes across their length. Feldspar
of fine sand to fine silt, with brownish grey sandy silt
grains are highly fractured and fragile. Lath-shaped
having a white sheen caused by the presence of white
hornblende grains with corroded margins are also
Mica. Some of the grains of quartz have veins of fer-
highly fractured, shattered and altered. A microscopic
ruginous material. Hornblende grains are pleochroic in
image of silt particles at the Dulhasti plant (see Fig.
shades of light green and are sub-angular to sub-
4b), shows these minerals in contrasting colours. The
rounded in shape. Therefore, the factor Ksh has been
factor Ksh for Dulhasti has been chosen as 1.75 on the
chosen as 1.5 for the Uri plant on the basis of angular-
basis of sharper angularity of the erodent particles and
ity of the erodent particles as per the recommendation
as per Table 1.
of IEC-2013 [201332] given in Table 1.
Fig. 3b shows the angular grains of Dulhasti with dis-
tinct sharp edges, which are clear under 500 times
magnification. The undulatory extension angle varies Various wear models for turbines have been proposed
4. Erosion modelling

from 14º to 16º with subhedral to anhedral grains,
which are well graded and homogeneously distributed.
Granulated quartz grains with conchoidal fractures and
pitted structures are also present. Biotin grains are lath
Uri
Table 3: Mineralogical composition and percentage of sediments at the Uri and Dulhasti plants
in the literature [Padhy, 20129; Padhy and Saini,
200913; Bajracharya et al., 200834; Padhy and Saini,
201135], however some of these existing models are
particularly applicable to Pelton turbines. The models
[Tsuguo, 199933; IEC, 200936; Thapa et al., 201241] that
have been proposed for the calculation of erosive wear
on Francis turbines predict high values of erosion at
the runner inlet, which is contradicted by physical
examination/measurements of blade thickness at the

Particle size
Quartz Feldspar Hornblend Mica Magnetite inlet and outlet for existing models. The values of ero-
(0.075 mm) sion are higher at the outlet than at the inlet of the
Percentage 77-79 4-6 1-3 12-14 1-3 blade. The erosion model of IEC-2013 [201332], as
Hardness (Moh) 7.0 6-6.5 5.5 2.5-4 5.5-6.5 given in Eq. 1, depends on several factors, including
Specific gravity 2.65 2.57-2.76 3.05-3.47 2.7-3.07 4.9-5.2 characteristic velocity, W, particle concentration, C,
hardness, Khd, shape, Ksh, size, Ksz, flow factor, Kfl, and
Dulhasti
the reference size of the runner, RS. The values for
Particle size
Quartz
Feldspar
Biotite Hornblend Garnet each of the factors are in accordance with the recom-
(0.085 mm) (O*+P*+M*)
mendation of IEC-2013 [201332] and are discussed in
Percentage 52-55 19 10 4 4 Table 1. The erosion rate guidelines from IEC-2013
Hardness (Moh) 7.0 6-6.5 2.5-3.0 5.5 6.5-7.5 [201332] have been adopted for calibration of the loss
Specific gravity 2.65 2.57-2.76 2.7-3.3 3.05-3.47 3.1-4.3 of thickness per unit time, E, for the Francis runners at
the Uri and Dulhasti station. Values of the factors for
*O = Orthoclase; P = Plagioclase; M = Microcline
particle load, PL, were calculated as per the properties

86 Hydropower & Dams Issue One, 2017

of sediment present in the two rivers and are based on
the recommendation of IEC [201332]. The relevant data
of Uri and Dulhasti are given in Table 2, while Table 4
Table 4: Calculated values of various parameters at the Uri and Dulhasti plants
Uri Dulhasti
Parameters for present
provides the wear rate values obtained for Uri after 24 investigation
Units Proposed Proposed
178 hours (equivalent to four years of operation with the
IEC-2013[32] IEC-2013[32]
model model
generation of 2737 GWh from 2010 to 2014) and for Characteristic velocity
Dulhasti after 8760 hours of operation (which corre- (inlet)(W)
m/s 36.70 - 35.1 m
sponds to one year). The erosion depth at the inlet is Characteristic velocity
10.2 mm/four years for Uri and 9.7 mm/year for (outlet)(W)
m/s 42.80 - 42.20 kW
Dulhasti and are obtained on the basis of the IEC-2013 Relative velocity
[201332] model, which is higher at the outlet for both Uri (inlet) Vr1
m/s - 15.50 - 18.5
(7 mm/four years) and Dulhasti (5.85 mm/year) than at
Relative velocity
the inlet of the blade. The values obtained from the IEC- (outlet) Vr2
m/s - 45.50 - 44.9
2013 [201332] model contradict the physical examina-
tion/measurements of thickness of the blades at the inlet Particle load (PL)
349.01 349.01 - -
at 24 187 hrs
and outlet both for Uri and Dulhasti. The cause of this
discrepancy between predicted and field values (regard- Particle load (PL)
ing erosive wear at the inlet/outlet of the blade of at 8760 hrs
126.40 126.4 320.50 320.5
Francis runners) is attributed to the use of characteristic
Erosion rate (E) at
velocity, which is one of the parameters in calculations mm 10.2 0.96 - -
24 187 hrs (inlet)
of erosive wear in IEC-2013 [201332] model.
Therefore, to remove this anomaly of the erosion Erosion rate (E) at
mm 7.00 10.9 - -
24 187 hrs (outlet)
being more at the inlet of the blade than at the outlet,
it is proposed to replace the characteristic velocity in Erosion rate (E) at
mm 4.00 0.34 9.70 1.40
the IEC-2013 [201332] model with the relative veloci- 8760 hrs (inlet)
ty of the Francis runner both at the inlet and the outlet. Erosion rate (E)
The incorporation of relative velocity instead of char- at 8760 hrs (outlet)
mm 2.40 3.30 5.85 7.30
acteristic velocity results in erosion being higher at the
outlet of the blade than at the inlet, which conforms to As the design specifications for both Uri and Dulhasti
the on site measurements. The effect of relative veloc- are similar and more erosion is observed at Dulhasti,
ity on erosion rates were studied in numerous investi- (almost 50 per cent more than the erosion obtained for
gations [Naidu, 199926; IEC, 201332]. The effect of dif- Uri), it can be inferred from these results that the high
ferent parameters on erosive wear was studied by volume of sediment in the Chenab river compared with
Thapa [Thapa et al., 201242] for turbine blades and he the Jhelum river is the main cause of the significant
predicted that one of the solutions to prevent the ero- damage to the runner at Dulhasti. The percentage dif-
sion of hydro turbine is to reduce relative velocity. By ference of particle size, shape, hardness, concentration
replacing the characteristic velocity with the relative
velocity, Eq. 1 can be modified as follows: Table 5: On-site blade thickness measurements at the Uri and

...(2)
Dulhasti plants
Uri Dulhasti
where, Vr is the relative velocity of the runner, C, Khd, Blade Thickness Thickness Blade Thickness Thickness
Ksz, Ksh, and Kmt are factors for concentration, hard- no. (mm) loss (mm) no. (mm) loss (mm)
ness, size, shape and material respectively and, the 1 9.80 7.20 1 8.5 7.2
flow pattern factor, Kf/RSp, considers the impingement
2 10.8 6.20 2 10.2 5.6
angle and the flow turbulence.
It can be seen in Table 4 that the erosion rates at the 3 6.00 11.0 3 10.1 5.7
runner inlet and outlet are 0.96 mm and 10.9 mm 4 7.70 9.30 4 10.0 5.7
respectively for Uri, after 24 187 hours of operation
5 6.54 10.4 5 8.0 7.7
(four years) and for Dulhasti the erosion rates at the
inlet and outlet of the blade are 1.4 mm and 7.30 mm 6 8.50 8.50 6 11.5 4.3
after 8760 hours (one year) of operation. Higher ero- 7 9.55 7.50 7 11.0 4.8
sion values at the outlet compared with the inlet of
8 6.50 10.5 8 12.0 3.8
runner is caused by the higher value of relative veloc-
ity at the outlet and also as a result of the fine size of 9 6.6 10.5 9 10.0 5.7
silt which is always present at the trailing edge of the 10 7.70 9.30 10 11.0 4.7
blade. Most of the silt particles will move towards the 11 9.50 7.50 11 Broken Broken
outer edge of the runner outlet and therefore increased
erosion is observed there, which is also confirmed by 12 7.50 9.50 12 11.0 4.7
the observations given in Neopane et al. [201143]. The 13 6.60 10.4 13 10.1 5.6
obtained values of erosion agree well with the practi- 14 6.80 10.2 - - -
cal examination of Francis runner blades for the loss of
thickness. The measured values of thickness at the out- 15 8.50 8.50 - - -
let of 17 blades (their corresponding loss in thickness 16 9.55 7.50 - - -
at Uri) and for Dulhasti (13 blades) are given in Table 17 6.00 11.0 - - -
5. The average thickness loss of the runner at the out-
let is 9.2 mm/four years of operation for Uri and 6.6 Average value at outlet of Average value at outlet of
runner blade = 9.2 mm runner blade = 6.6 mm
mm/year of operation for Dulhasti.

Hydropower & Dams Issue One, 2017 87

Fig. 5. Effect on
erosion rate with
the change in
relative velocity
(Vr) and sediment
concentration(C)
for UPS and DPS.
The marked points
in the plot indicates
the erosion
rate/year at the
inlet and outlet of
the runner.
between Uri and Dulhasti are 13 per cent, 15 per cent,
4.5 per cent and 50.5 per cent respectively. Therefore
the presence of a high proportion of sharp sediment
particles (0.085 mm) and the high sediment concen-
tration (300 to 350 ppm) plays a major role in the high
particle load of the Chenab river. By considering sedi-
ment properties such as particle concentration, size,
shape and the design specification (which includes rel-
ative velocity of the runner), appropriate maintenance
strategies can be developed which will provide useful
data regarding the number of hours of operation, after
which the power station may be shut down for correc-
tive maintenance. Fig. 5 shows the erosion contour
lines for the corresponding values of relative velocity
and sediment concentration for Uri and Dulhasti. The
erosion contour lines obtained for Uri show that the
loss in thickness increases up to 26 mm if the sediment
concentration goes beyond 1000 ppm while for
Dulhasti the loss in runner thickness increases to 34
mm beyond 1000 ppm of sediment concentration. The
contour plots developed show the erosion rate per year
of operation for Uri and Dulhasti at their correspon-
ding relative velocities and sediment concentration.
The erosion of Francis runners caused by sediment-
5. Conclusion
laden rivers in the state of Jammu and Kashmir in
India is a significant problem. The presence of hard
minerals, such as quartz, feldspar and garnet, in the
sediment poses problems for the hydropower sta-
tions located on the Jhelum and Chenab rivers.
Despite the de-silting basins present at these dam
sites, a large volume of sediment reaches the turbine
components.
The analysis of erosion rates for the Francis runner at
the Uri and Dulhasti plants has been proposed, using a
new model by introduction of the relative velocity of
Francis runners instead of the characteristic velocity as
used in the IEC-2013 [201332] model.
The average erosion rate of 5.9 mm/four years for
Uri and 4.5 mm/year for Dulhasti has been obtained
from the proposed model. The erosion rate of 10.9
mm/four years for Uri and 7.3 mm/year for Dulhasti at
the outlet of the runner obtained on the basis of the
new model is in agreement to within a 15 per cent
88
range of the actual site measurements (thickness val-
ues of the runner blades). The petrographic analysis of
the two rivers (Jhelum and Chenab) reveals that the
increased erosion seen at Dulhasti compared with Uri
is caused by the high concentration (300-350 ppm) of
sharp edged (~ 0.85 mm) sediment particles in the
Chenab river. The high sediment concentration of
these particles causes a significant amount of damage to
the Dulhasti runner. The contour plots developed for the
two plants will assist with determining a maintenance
schedule for the power station to assess the thickness
loss of the runner during operation. As the sediment con-
centration of the Chenab river is above 5000 ppm during
its peak season, it is recommended to shut down the
power station during that period so that extreme loss of
thickness can be avoided. ◊
1. Lysne, D.K., Glover, B., Støle, H. and Tesaker, E.,
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