HydroFlex webinar #4 on design optimization of a variable speed turbine is available

The future electricity market will have large contributions from renewable energy sources such as solar and wind. The intermittent nature of these energy sources creates a need for highly flexible operation of hydropower stations, and challenges the structural integrity of the turbines of the future.

In this webinar, Erik Tengs and Maria Rolstad Jordal from EDRMedeso present a framework for variable-speed Francis turbine design. To ensure that the turbine is less prone to fatigue, even at off-design operation, it must be optimized from a hydraulic point of view, as well as considering the structural integrity.

The presented process is fully automated, with no need for human interaction. A MATLAB design code and ANSYS simulation processes are coupled using the optimization software optiSLang.