Garcia, M., Duque, J., Boulanger, P. (2007) Development of a Virtual Wind Tunnel application, CARS & FOF 07, 23rd ISPE International Conference on CD/CAM, Robotics and Factories of the Future, Bogota, Colombia .
This article presents a method for the geometry reconstruction of a Francis turbine installed in a hydroelectric Minipower-station in Colombia. In order to obtain the geometrical CAD model techniques as basic metrology, surface scanning, 3D digitalization, and development of moulds were used. The modeling process was based on the measurements taken directly from the machine and matched against the original incomplete drawings. The Francis Turbine is composed for five main components: Spiral case, Runner, Covers with Fixed Blades, Regulatory Blades and Draft Tube. The importance of this reconstruction method is that the resulting CAD geometry can be use in: a) restoration and rehabilitation using robotic repairing systems through the automatic generation of CNC codes and schematic groups of profiles, b) Simulation of the fluid dynamics and structural behavior by using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and Finite Element Methods (FEM), c) Estimation of remaining life using CFD, FEM and experimental techniques in site, and d) Development of diagnostic methods from vibration measurements.
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