code_saturne User's Forum

Hello,

I am learning to use "Code Saturne" and I'd like to study/optimize water wheels, do you have any advises to make it work please?

Many thanks

Good evening,

Assuming that "Neptune_CFD", that I don't have, is mandantory for a bi-phasic experimentation, I tested "only" immerse parts of the wheel with the followings conditions:

Test Conditions

Flow Velocity: 2.0 m/s, static wheels.
Blade Configuration: 16 blades, 20 cm maximum submergence
Analysis Focus: Pressure distribution (ΔP) as an indicator of applied force on the blades

1. Straight Blades in Free Flow ("Au Fil de l'Eau")

Configuration: Straight blades, open water
Observation: Minimal thrust (low ΔP).

2. Circular Profile Blades (R:30 cm) in Narrow Channel.

Configuration: Blades with circular cross-section, confined channel
Observation: Higher ΔP compared to free flow.
Analysis: Channeling increases flow velocity and pressure differential

3. Straight Blades in Narrow Channel

Configuration: Straight blades, confined channel.
Observation: Moderate ΔP, improved over free flow.
Analysis: Channel walls accelerate flow, increasing pressure on blades; still drag-limited but more efficient than free flow.

Any idea to improve it? How can I get Neptune_CFD please?

And the last picture with 16x straight blades, open waters

Hello,

This topic should be in "general usage", as it contains questions relative to code usage, and not discussions on development, roadmap, .... exxcept for the question about neptune_cfd.

AS for the question, neptune_cfd is provided to some industrial or academic partners, and this is subject to approval by all neptune_cfd owners (EDF, CEA, Framatome, ASNR), so this usually involves some form of partnership between your organization and EDF. So no guarantees here, but you can send me a private message that I can relay to the proper contacts (who are colleagues in the same group), or you can send an e-mail directly to neptune-support at edf.fr. But this is only a first step...

Is you flow multiphase ? If the wheels are completely immersed in water, code_saturne should do fine. Otherwise, code_saturne's VoF features might be combined with the turbomachinery module if part of the wheel is outside the water. Since the VoF feature is work in progress, I would recommend the latest (v9.1) or development version in this case, but I can check with colleagues more familiar with VoF.

Best regards,

Yvan

Good evening,

Thank you for your response, and my apologies for the confusion regarding the topics. I am seeking to optimize partially immersed water wheels across various configurations. These wheels are typically employed in mills, as shown below:
Could you recommend or assist in identifying/getting the most suitable tools for this purpose?

Thanks for the support and have a nice day,

Simon