Experimental Aerodynamics
Scaling of Cooling Air Flow in Hydropower Generator
Hydropower is the largest source of renewable energy. The generators in the associated hydropower plants are among the largest electrical machines. Their cooling is usually realized by air circuits, which are generated by external fans or by the rotor's own pumping. This numerically designed cooling circuit has to be validated for modern designs with experimental tests on scaled-down generator models. Such model tests are performed at the Chair of Flight Mechanics and Control on test rigs developed in-house. The design of these models is based on the basic principles of similarity. Since little technical literature and public research is available in this field, additional basic research is conducted in this area. The goal of this research is to determine the key similarity metrics and derive the best scaling approaches for designing generator models for ventilation validation tests.
Research Staff:
- David Nölle