Fluid-structure interaction (FSI) and unavoidable vibrations are important characteristics in the operation of hydropower structures and must be taken into account in the analysis and design of such equipment. Hydrodynamic damping influences the amplitude of vibrations and is directly related to fatigue problems in hydraulic machines which are of great importance. The aim of this study is to investigate the coupled effects of flowing fluid on a simplified hydrofoil by using three-dimensional two-way fluid-structure interaction modeling, in order to determine its importance in predicting vibration amplitudes and damping. The effect of considering different flow velocities is also investigated in the present study. The results of this research are compared with those obtained from experiments done by ANDRITZ [1]. The influences of mesh size and time step are also studied. Our results indicate that considering FSI in predicting the frequencies of the fluctuating fluid forces in practical problems might be ignored if the main concern of the analysis is to check the possibility of resonance. However, FSI must be included in the modeling when we aim to predict the influence of the fluid on the damping behavior in the hydrofoil vibration.

Fluid loads on a variety of hydraulic structures and the free surface profile of the flow are important for design purposes. This is a difficult task because the governing equations have nonlinear boundary conditions. The main objective of this paper is to develop a procedure based on the natural element method (NEM) for computation of free surface profiles, velocity and pressure distributions, and flow rates for a two-dimensional gravity fluid flow under sluice gates. Natural element method is a numerical technique in the field of computational mechanics and can be considered as a meshless method. In this analysis, the fluid was assumed to be inviscid and incompressible. The results obtained in the paper were confirmed via a hydraulic model test. Calculation results indicate a good agreement with previous flow solutions for the water surface profiles and pressure distributions throughout the flow domain and on the gate.

This paper presents an analysis of flow parameters through a bottom outlet conduit with gated operation using physical and numerical models. A physical model of the regulating bottom outlet of Shahryar dam in Iran was used to investigate the hydraulic forces on the service radial gate and flow patterns within the conduit. The model was constructed from Plexiglas, and discharge and pressure data were recorded for different gate openings. The Froude law of similarity was satisfied in the hydraulic modelling, allowing for an investigation of the dynamic similarity of inertial and gravitational forces. The numerical scheme was based on using the natural-element method to study hydraulic forces and flow parameters within the conduit and the finite-element method to evaluate the natural frequencies of the radial gate. The results of the calculations for different radial gate openings showed good agreement with those from physical modelling for the pressure distributions throughout the flow domain and on the gate.

This paper presents the results of a coupled two-way fluid-structure interaction analysis of a slender flexible vertical cantilevered pipe hanging concentrically within a shorter rigid tube forming an annulus. The pipe is subjected to internal and annular flows simultaneously. This system has applications in brine production and salt-cavern hydrocarbon storage. In the present study, the fluid-structure problem is solved with a finite-volume-based CFD code for the fluid domain coupled to a finite-element-based CSM code for the structural domain. The numerical results obtained for the free-end displacement of the central pipe versus the annular/internal flow velocity ratio U_o/U_i are presented and compared with those obtained from experiment. The capability of the numerical model to predict the onset of the experimentally observed flutter instability in the system is also examined. This provides a better insight into the dynamics of the system.

Non-stationary signals are frequently encountered in a variety of engineering fields. The inability of conventional Fourier analysis to preserve the time dependence and describe the evolutionary spectral characteristics of non-stationary processes requires tools which allow time and frequency localization beyond customary Fourier analysis. The spectral analysis of non-stationary signals cannot describe the local transient features due to averaging over the duration of the signal [1]. The Fourier Transform (FT) and the short time Fourier transform (STFT) have been often used to measure transient phenomena. These techniques yield good information on the frequency content of the transient, but the time at which a particular disturbance in the signal occurred is lost [2, 3]. Wavelets are relatively new analysis tools that are widely being used in signal analysis. In wavelet analysis, the transients are decomposed into a series of wavelet components, each of which is a time-domain signal that covers a specific octave band of frequency. Wavelets do a very good job in detecting the time of the signal, but they give the frequency information in terms of frequency band regions or scales [4]. The main objective of this paper is to use the wavelet transform for analysis of the pressure fluctuations occurred in the bottom-outlet of Kamal-Saleh Dam. The “Kamalsaleh Dam” is located on the “Tire River” in Iran, near the Arak city. The Bottom Outlet of the dam is equipped with service gate and emergency gate. A hydraulic model test is conducted to investigate the dynamic behavior of the service gate of the outlet. The results of the calculations based on the wavelet transform is then compared with those obtained using the traditional Fast Fourier Transform.