Theoretical and Experimental Studies of Hydraulic Characteristics of Discharge Tunnel with Vortex Drop

The velocities at given points in the volute chamber, the contracted section and the vertical dropshaft of a discharge tunnel with vortex drop were measured by a small specially designed L-shaped tube, as Laser Doppler Velocimetry (LDV) or Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) would not work there due to the special structure of the discharge tunnel with vortex drop. Hydraulic empirical formulas were proposed to predict the velocities and the angles of the velocities made with the vertical direction θ. The theoretical analysis results were in good agreement with experimental data. Therefore, the method proposed in this paper can be used to analyze related characteristics of discharge tunnels with vortex drop. Additionally, different model scales were considered to predict the cavitation characteristics on the wall of a dropshaft in practical engineering.