Session: 38-01 Radial & Mixed Flow Turbines

Paper Number: 102867

102867 - Aerodynamic Design, Study, and Performance Mapping of a Radial-Axial Machine for Geothermal Power Plants in Energy Transition Applications 

Energy transition has become one of the most discussed topics of the current times. Turbomachinery still plays a key role in the power generation field, but the machines must meet higher and higher standards in terms of performance levels, compactness, and cost reduction. In this perspective, new design configurations need to be explored. This paper presents a procedure for the aerodynamic design of a radial-axial stage turbine for geothermal applications. Based on a real set of possible power plant conditions, a dedicated CFD campaign has been carried out to assess the performance of the radial-axial machine - at design and off-design conditions. One of the main goals was to exploit the benefit of combining radial and axial stage architectures, providing a flexible and efficient machine, capable to maintain high performance levels far from the design operating point, which is a crucial requirement for renewable energy applications. Since organic fluids with high molecular weight are used in these applications, in addition to the common design procedure based on RANS CFD analyses, unsteady real-gas calculations are mandatory to correctly predict the behavior of the machine. All the CFD analyses are performed using the TRAF code, while the design of the radial-axial stages is carried out based both on in-house and commercial tools as per Baker Hughes best practice.

Presenting Author: Michele Marconcini University of Florence

Presenting Author Biography: Michele Marconcini is Associate Professor of Fluid Machinery at University of Florence.

Authors:

Fabrizio Lottini University of Florence
Michele Marconcini University of Florence
Andrea Arnone University of Florence
Davide Biliotti Baker Hughes
Alice Foschini Baker Hughes