Abstract Numerical simulations were performed to investigate how the design and the operation conditions of a Pelton turbine injector affect its vulnerability to hydro-abrasive erosion, alongside with its flow control capacity. Use was made of a Volume Of Fluid (VOF) model for simulating the free nozzle jet, a Lagrangian particle tracking model for reproducing the trajectories of the solid particles, and two erosion models for estimating the mass removal. The comparison against earlier studies and the experimental evidence, integrated with a careful sensitivity analysis, gave strength to the reliability of the numerical model. Nozzle seat and needle were the injector components most vulnerable to erosion. As the valve was closing, the erosion of the needle strongly increased, whilst that of the nozzle seat remained broadly constant. The influence of the injector design was also explored, suggesting that a reduction of the needle vertex angle is likely to enhance the risk of erosive wear. Finally, it was found that the possibility to condense the effects of the needle stroke and the needle vertex angle in a single parameter (i.e. the effective opening area) is no more allowed when hydro-abrasive erosion is considered, thereby assessing the need for case-specific wear prediction analyses.

中文翻译：

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佩尔顿涡轮喷射器的水磨蚀侵蚀：数值研究

摘要 进行了数值模拟以研究 Pelton 涡轮喷射器的设计和运行条件如何影响其对水磨蚀的脆弱性及其流量控制能力。使用了流体体积 (VOF) 模型来模拟自由喷嘴射流，拉格朗日粒子跟踪模型用于再现固体粒子的轨迹，以及两个侵蚀模型用于估计质量去除。与早期研究和实验证据的比较，结合仔细的敏感性分析，加强了数值模型的可靠性。喷嘴座和针头是最容易受到侵蚀的喷油器部件。当阀门关闭时，针头的腐蚀强烈增加，而喷嘴座的腐蚀基本保持不变。还探讨了注射器设计的影响，表明针头顶角的减小可能会增加侵蚀磨损的风险。最后，发现当考虑水磨蚀时，不再允许将针行程和针顶角的影响浓缩在单个参数（即有效开口面积）中的可能性，从而评估需要案例-特定的磨损预测分析。