ANALYTICAL EVALUATION OF CRACK PROPAGATION FOR BULB HYDRAULIC TURBINES SHAFTS

Abstract

The Hydroelectric Power Plants uses the regenerating energy of rivers. The hydraulic Bulb turbines running with low heads are excellent alternative energy sources. The shafts of these units present themselves as massive pieces, with cylindrical shape, manufactured from low-alloyed steels. The paper analyses the fatigue cracks occurring at some turbines in the neighbourhood of the connection zone between the shaft and the turbine runner flange. To obtain the tension state in this zone ANSIS and AFGROW computing programs were used. The number of running hours until the piercing of the shaft wall is established as a useful result.

Keywords

• bulb turbines
• horizontal shafts
• fatigue cracks
• crack propagation