STRESS--STRAIN STATE OF FRANCIS TURBINE BLADES

I. P. Ivanchenko, L. L. Smelkov, UDC 621.224

T. E. Pupko,* A. Ya. Timashkov,
and B. K. Vapnik

Full-scale strength tests of the blades were carried out on a Francis turbine having
the following parameters: runner diameter 6 m, design head 34 m, rated power 85 MW, rotational
speed 88.25 rpm, number of guide vanes 24, number of runner blades 15. The runner was of a
weld--cast design. The blades were made of steel 20 GSL and faces on the rear side with stain-
less steel. The tests were performed with the use of the strain-gauge method and had the
purpose: to determine the dependence of the static and dynamic stresses on the operating
regime of the turbine; to compare the actual stresses with the theoretical values obtained
by calculation by the finite-element method; to develop a method of protecting the transducers
from the entry of water in connection with setting up analogous experimental investigations
of high-head turbines (H = 150 m).
Works on installing the transducers on the blades and laying the measuring cables were
performed without dismantling the unit. Compensation strain gauges cemented on individual
plates were installed next to the working strain gauges. The transducers were protected from
the entry of water by a special paste (mixture of wax, petrolatum, etc.) on which two layers
of epoxy-impregnated fiberglass fabric were then applied.
To pick up the signal from the rotating parts of the turbine it was first amplified and
only after this did it go to the slip ring and was recorded on a light-beam oscillograph.
For this purpose 16 amplifiers were installed on the turbine shaft, which made it possible to
simultaneously record 16 transducers without stopping the unit. A schematic diagram of laying
the cables and arrangement of the measuring apparatus is shown in Fig. i. The accuracy of mea-
suring the stresses is estimated to be 5 MPa.
In addition to measuring the stresses, the pressure fluctuations in the flow passage
and rotational speed of the unit were recorded.
The first cycle of strength tests was carried out on unit No. 2 on two oppositely located
blades (8 and 13). To determine the character of the stress--strain state, the strain gauges
were installed in the same places on the front and rear sides (Fig. 2).
Experiments at head H = 39.65 m showed that the maximum level of stresses is observed
in the zones of the trailing edge and hub. The stresses near the lower rim and in the region
of the leading edge and middle of the blade are extremely negligible and do not exceed 20
MPa (Table i). But even these negligible values were recorded only by the transducers installed
in a longitudinal direction of the blade, whereas in a transverse direction (blade 8, strain
gauges ii, 13, 15, etc.) the stresses did not exceed i0 MPa. With consideration of the low
level of stresses recorded by the majority of transducers, further investigations were con-
ducted mainly with strain gauges located in the region of the trailing edge and hub.
The data of additional tests at a lower head H = 33 m are given for these same strain
gauges also in Table i.
The following conclusions can be made from the test results.
The stresses from the centrifugal forces in a synchronous capacitor regime have a
bending character. The level of stresses is small: it does not exceed +6.0 MPa on the rear
side (strain gauge 25, blade 13) and--6.0 MPa on the working surface of the blade (strain
gauge 6, blade 13).
The stresses in the blades increase with increase of power of the unit. The maximum
level of static stresses Ost = 82.6 MPa was observed on blade 8 at a head of 33 m and maximum

*Deceased.
Translated from Gidrotekhnicheskoe Stroitel'stvo, No. 12, pp. 29-33, December, 1981.

0018-8220/81/1512-0755507.50 9 1982 Plenum Publishing Corporation 755

 Fig. i. Diagram of measurements, i) Slip
ring; 2) amplifiers; 3) measuring cable;
4) rpm indicator; 5) zones of attaching
strain gauges; 6) pressure transducers; 7)
transducers for determining bending stresses
of shaft.

load N u = 76 MW. A rapid increase of stresses along the trailing edge toward the hub was
observed. For transducer 3 (blade 8) the static stresses at H = 39.65 m and N u = 82.5 MW
are equal to +5.7 MPa, whereas i00 mm from the place of its installment they are +6.6 MPa
(strain gauge 4) and at point 6 Ost = +56.0 MPa. An analogous character of the increase of
stresses toward the trailing edge is observed also along the root section of the blade.
The dynamic stresses in the blades depend on the operating regime of the turbine (Fig.
3). The optimal (with respect to efficiency) zone of the operating characteristic of the
unit nu = f(Nu) at H = const corresponds to minimum dynamic stresses. On departing from
regimes with a high level of efficiency the dynamic component of the stresses increases and
reaches maximum values when Nu = 30-50 MW. A further reduction of the load of the unit is
accompanied, however, by a decrease of Od, since the input power of the flow in these regimes
is small.
The dynamic stresses change not only from the load of the unit but also from the head.
The character of the dependence of ~ on the head is determined by the selection of the tur-
bine parameters (rotational speed n and runner diameter DI) with the use of the principal
universal characteristic n~-Q~. For the investigated turbine the parameters n and D were
selected so that the optimally efficient zone of the universal characteristic corresponds to
the maximum head and the zone of lower efficiencies corresponds to the design head and head
close to it, H = 33 m. As a result, an increase of o d with decrease of head is observed
(Fig. 3). However, the dependence of o d on the head could be different with a different
arrangement of the heads in the field of the characteristic ni-Q
' I' (i .e. , with a different
selection of the parameters of the equipment).
The absolute value of the range of dynamic stresses is small (the maximum value o d =
6.0 MPa); however, in relative values it amounts to 15% of the level of the static stresses.
The dynamic component of the stresses is displayed in partial load regimes (when
N u < 6 0 MW) with a frequency mainly equal to the difference of the frequency of revolution
and the conductor frequency. Since the conductor frequency changes from regime to regime,
the frequency of dynamic stresses also changes. For instance, in regime N u = 40 MW the
frequency of dynamic stresses is f = 1.17 Hz and at a load N u = 60 MW, f = 1.47 Hz. Oscilla-

756
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758
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Fig. 2. Diagram of the arrangement of the strain

gauges, a) Front side; b) rear side.

Od, MPa 8u/~max

08! ! . :f \
5,o - ' i I .'~ .-'~ i )
u,,v ' ~/ I/I '\ '~il i

I~ nfxx) 40 ao ~o $0 8o 70 Nu, ~vg

Fig. 3. Dependence of o d on the load of

the unit and head (gauge 6, blade 8, unit
No. 2): i) Head H = 33.0 m; 2) head H =
39.65 m; 3) operating characteristic of
unit n u = f(N u) at H = 39.65 m in relative
values of efficiency.

tions of higher order (35 Hz and 60 Hz) observed in almost all regimes are respectively the
blade frequency and the natural oscillations of the blade~
The dynamic stresses in the blades are due to the effect of flow fluctuations and reach
maximum values in regimes with maximum pressure fluctuations, in which case oscillations
with a conductor frequency occur even in the spiral casing.
In addition to steady regimes the strength investigations were carried out also in
transient regimes: during starting of the unit and marked change of the load (conversion of
the turbine from a generator regime with N u = 82.5 MPa to a synchronous capacitor regime).
An analysis of the oscillograms did not reveal any anomalies in the work of the blades: the
level of dynamic stresses in transient regimes does not exceed the values obtained at partial
loads.
During the experimental investigations it was found that blades 8 and 13 of unit No. 2
have a different level of stresses in the region of the trailing edges. This circumstance
compelled a second cycle of strength investigations to determine the stresses in the zone
of the trailing edge on a larger number of blades.
Such investigations at heads H = 37-40 m in a wide range of operating loads were per-
formed on unit No. i0. Strain gauges were installed on the front and rear sides of 12
blades in the same place where gauge 6 was located on unit No. 2 (Fig. 2). The character of
the change in the dynamic stresses from the load is analogous to the results obtained earlier.
The level of the static stresses on the blades of unit No. i0 is on the whole the same as on
unit No. 2, although a greater scatter is observed for individual blades (Table 2). An

759
 Root
-~D-- ,o,ol I / L I L.. I__L
a b
Fig. 4. Graph of the change in total stresses.
Along the root section (a) and along the trailing
edge (b). i) Front side; 2) rear side.

attempt to associate the stresses in the blades with manufacturing deviations (in thickness
of the trailing edges, distance between blades, and blade angle) was unsuccessful owing to
the limited experimental data and large number of combinations of manufacturing deviations.
From the results of measurements on individual blades we calculated the arithmetic mean
values of the stresses in the zone of the trailing edge on rear and front sides and from
them the portion of bending stresses in the total stress state of the blades.
Experimental investigations permit estimating the level of stresses only in places
where gauges are installed. A theoretical calculation is needed for determining stresses
over the entire blade.
The theoretical part consisted of two stages: calculation of the distribution of pres-
sure on the blade on the basis of an approximate solution of the problem of three-dimensional
fluid flow in the wa~er passage and calculation of the stress--strain state of the blade sys-
tem.

Calculation of strength was realized in a program using one of the powerful computational
methods -- the finite-element method [i]. To improve the calculation program of refinement
was introduced into the available algorithm which took into account the variation of thick-
ness within the finite elements approximating the surface of the runner.
The calculated stresses were determined from centrifugal and hydrodynamic loads. As
is known, the thickness of the trailing edge has a substantial effect on stresses from the
centrifugal load. Therefore, instead of a theoretical thickness its average value was used
in the calculation. The level of stresses from centrifugal forces along the root section
of the blade proved to be insignificant; the stress--strain of the blades is determined mainly
by the hydraulic load.
The results of calculating the total stresses respectively along the root section and
along the trailing edge of the blade are shown in Fig. 4 at equidistant points. Maximum
stresses occur in the region of intersection of the trailing edge with the upper rim. A
state of plane stress (tensile) has the predominant effect. The remaining part of the
stresses is determined by the total effect of bending stresses from hydrodynamic and centri-
fugal loads.
A comparison of the calculation and experimental data for the same point (place of
attaching strain gauges on 12 blades of unit No. !0) shows a satisfactory agreement of the
results.
Thus, the experimental stresses from centrifugal forces vary (depending on the blade)
on the rear side from +4.0 to +17.0 MPa and on the front side from --5.0 to --15.0 MPa. Accord-
ingly, the calculation gives on the rear and front surfaces +i0.0 MPa and --7.0 MPa.
The measured total stresses for H = 37.1 m and N u = 86.0 MW range for individual blades
from +14.0 MPa to +56.0 MPa on the front side and from +28.0 to +52.0 MPa on the rear. The
calculation gives for this regime, respectively, +57.0 P~a and +45.0 MPa.
When analyzing the comparability of the calculated and experimental stresses it is neces-
sary to bear in mind a number of circumstances: the hydrodynamic load was determined on the
basis of a simplified potential flow scheme; deviations of the geometry of the runner from the
design drawing were not taken into account when calculating the load; the strength calculation
was performed on the basis of the geometry of the drawing with a correction of thicknesses
only of the trailing edge.

760
 ~L.,,I ,I L J ,~_1_
'~ J ~ ": ;~ h.10 a
Fig. 5. Change in the failure
rate of turbine blades with time.

It should be noted that theoretical and experimental investigations do not reveal large
static stresses by means of which one could explain the occurrence of damages on certain
blades in the zone of the junction of the trailing edge and upper rim even when operating
in regimes with a high level of the dynamic component (o d = 15%dst).
Stresses in the zone of the trailing edge probably play a major role in the formation
of these crackse The stresses measured in the region of the welded joint in the middle part
of the blade (at a distance of 700 mm from the leading edge and 60 mm from the hub) were
tensile and amounted to 60.0 M2ao The residual stresses were determined by drilling out the
place of installing the strain gauge with a 3.6-mm drill to a depth of 30 mm with a thick-
ness of the land between holes less than 0.5 mm. With this method it was not possible for
technical reasons to measure the stresses directly at the trailing edge, where their level
is apparently considerably higher.
A second important feature was certain defects in the structure of the material, which
were revealed during dressing of the cracks.
The complex combination of these factors (working and residual stresses, and also the
low strength properties of the material) resulted in some blades having, probably, a rather
high level of static stresses. The operation of such blades in regimes with a relatively
high level of dynamic stresses, although small in absolute value (~ = 6.0 MPa), led to the
formation of cracks.
The important role of dynamic stresses in the formation of cracks is confirmed by the
experience of operating machines. Regarding the occurrence of a crack as "failure of the
blade" and taking as the time to failure the number of hours of operation before detecting
the damage, in Fig. 5 we plotted the graph of the change in the failure rate of the blades
from the data of all units of the hydrostation. By failure rate ~(T) is meant the ratio of
the number of blades damaged the first time in unit time to the number of blades continuing
to operate properly. The quantity ~(T) is calculated under the condition that all blades
that failed are not restored. The absence of cracks on blades in the first years of opera-
tion indicates that blade failures are related to a gradual accumulation of fatigue phenomena.
On the turbines of the investigated hydrostation blade damages were found after 6 x 103 h of
operation and occurred in the time interval 6 x 103-12 x 103 h with rate ~(T) = 15 x l0 s 1/4
(see Fig. 5).
An analysis of the operation of turbines with consideration of daily regulation [2]
showed that during the first 12 x 103 h of operation the operating regime of the units re-
mained constant, i.e., the law of distribution of the head and power of the unit in this
period remained practically constant. The weighted average (with respect to duration) values
of the head and power of the unit were in these years m h = 36.0 m and mNu = 79.5 MW and the
standard deviations were Oh = 2.5 m and GNu = 6.0 ~ . With such a scatter with respect to
aNu the units of ten fell into the zone of operation with partial power, where according to
the data of the full-scale tests the maximum level of dynamic stresses is observed. If the
operating regime of the units were to remain constant also later on, then the failure rate
~(T) of the unrepaired blades would also have remained constant.
After 1971 the operating regime of the hydrostation changed markedly. The units ceased
to participate in regulating the frequency in the power system, and their operating regime
was shifted to an ~xtremely narrow range of loads (the probability of operation of the unit
with N u = 80-82.5 MW is 99%). Simultaneously there was a shift in the head distribution law
toward higher values (m h = 37.5 m) with a decrease of the value of scatter (oh = 1.5 m) o
The optimally efficient zone of the operating characteristic with a minimum level of
dynamic stresses corresponds to this operating regime. As a result, as seen in Fig. 5, a
marked decrease of blade damage is observed.

761
 CONCLUSIONS
is Theoretical and experimental investigations made it possible to establish the level
of static and dynamic stresses in blades under various operating conditions.
2. The results of the blade strength calculated by the finite-element method are in
satisfactory agreement with the experimental data.

LITERATURE CITED
i. O. A. Golovin, A. P. Matveev, V. S. Postoev, and L. L. Smelkov, "Algorithm and program
for calculating the stress state of mixed-flow runners of turbines by the finite-ele-
ment method," Energomashinostroenie, No. 6 (1977).
2. Io P. Ivanchenko and V. A. Time, "Turbine regimes and their significance for reliabil-
ity and effectiveness of operation of equipment," Tr. TsKTI, No. 120 (1973).

MUDFLOW DETENTION DAM AT MYNZHILKI

Yu. N. Zinevich UDC 627.824.141.1

Alma-Ata, the capital of the Kazak SSR, is located in the piedmont zone of the Zaili-
iskii Alatau Range on alluvial fans of the mountain rivers Little and Big Almatinka. Little
Almatinka is one of the most mudflow-active rivers in the Soviet Union, and catastrophic
mudflows that caused considerable damage to the city have occurred repeatedly on it.
The headwaters of the Little Almatinka are located in the glacial zone at a height of
3500 m. ~ere there are 12 glaciers with a total area of 11.4 km 2 and several glacial lakes.
In the summer mudflow-danger period these lakes are filled with meltwaters during intense
melting of the glaciers. The bed and banks of the lakes are composed of permanently frozen
morainal material. Movements of the glaciers and weakening of the strength of the frozen
morainal materials in the warm season of the year create the prerequisites for outburst of
the glacial lakes and water-filled intraglacier cavities, which is the cause of occurrence
of mudflows of a glacial origin (glacial mudflows). In recent years all considerable mudflows
in the basin of the Little Almatinka River (1951, 1956, 1973) were of the glacial type,
although earlier, in 1921 and 1931, large mudflows of shower origin were noted.
The main link in the complex of mudflow-control measures presently being implemented in
the Little Almatinka basin is the mudflow detention dam at Medeo located at a height of 1750 m
at a distance of 9.5 km from the river headwaters. The Medeo dam is a mudflow-control measure
of a passive character -- it is intended to detain mudflows that have already formed. The I
phase of the Medeo dam, constructed mainly by massive explosions [i, 2], successfully de-
tained in 1973 a catastrophic mudflow with a volume of deposits at the dam site of 3.8 million
m [ 3 ] . But in this case the capacity of the mud storage reservoir of the I phase was prac-
tically exhausted, in connection with which it was necessary to construct the II phase of the
Medeo dam with a mud storage capacity of 12.6 million m 3. The main works on its construction
were performed in 1973-1975 [4].
Construction of the II phase of the Medeo dam solved the problem of the immediate protec-
tion of Alma-Ata from the mudflow threat and under its protection it was possible to proceed
to implementing mudflow-control measures of an active character aimed at complete stopping
of mudflow activity in this basin and requiring a long period of time and large capital invest-
ments. One of the directions of active measures is the prevention of glacial mudflows, which
is attainable by drawing down the surface glacial lakes by cutting trenches in the embank-
ments retaining them and by intercepting and regulating the floods forming upon outburst of
the englacia! water bodies.
The last group of measures is based on the following characteristic of formation of the
glacial mudflows of the Zailiiskii Alatau.
Translated from Gidrotekhnicheskoe S troitel stvo, No. 12, pp. 33-35, December, 1981.

762 0018-8220/81/1512-0762507.50 9 1982 Plenum Publishing Corporation