Browsing by Author "Wetzel, Joseph M."

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Analysis of a Hydroacoustic Gravity Flow Facility
(St. Anthony Falls Laboratory, 1984-09) Arndt, Roger E.; Wetzel, Joseph M.; Bintz, David W.; Ripken, John F.
Two preliminary designs of a hydroacoustic gravity flow facility have been developed for a Ship Silencing Laboratory, DTNSRDC, by Dr. George F. Wis1icenus. It was desired to attain a test section velocity of 60 fps for a 90 sec time period. As the facility will be used for acoustic measurements, cavitation-free flow is a necessity. After a test run has been completed, the water is returned by a pump in a separate line back to the head tank. To ma~imize usage of the facility, the recycling time between runs should be kept short. As part of the overall development program, the Laboratory has been asked to carry out some preliminary calculations on the proposed designs to further establish feasibility and to independently evaluate the designs. The calculations included an estimate of head loss in the system and an elementary transient analysis. An alternate configuration also has been suggested for consideration.
Analysis of the Elfuel Coal Drying Facility
(St. Anthony Falls Hydraulic Laboratory, 1990-10) Rindels, Alan J.; Gulliver, John S.; Wetzel, Joseph M.; Voller, Vaughan
The ELFUEL coal drying facility is designed to utilize the high heat transfer characteristics of a moving packed bed counter-current heat exchanger to efficiently "hot-water dry" lignite coal. Past research into hot water drying of lignite indicates the process is energy inefficient, requiring greater energy input than what can be extracted from the treated lignite. The novel approach of the ELFUEL coal drying facility utilizes the high heat transfer characteristics of a counter-current solid/liquid packed bed to efficiently add and later remove heat to and from descending coal in a pressurized cylindrical vessel. This approach uses raw coal continuously descending in a vertical cylindrical refractory. Coal, upon entering the refractory at the top, gradually heats to process temperatures near the location of hot water injection through contact with hot water flowing upward. Below the point of hot water injection, cool water is forced upward past the descending coal to trap or conserve heat or energy in the system. Sufficient energy is conserved by this design to economically hot-water dry lignite coal. Design of a counter-current energy efficient system which adds and then removes heat has not been reported in the literature. Wonchala and Wynnyckyj (1986) reports counter-current packed bed processes are common in the metallurgical industries. Some important example include the iron blast furnace and iron-ore pelletizing shaft furnace which are very useful since they exhibit a very high potential heat transfer efficiency. However, the metallurgical counter-current gas-solid heat exchangers have not been found to be energy efficient due to channeling of hot gases (Wonchala and Wynnyckyj, 1986). It was the purpose of this study to determine whether the ELFUEL coal drying facility outlined in Minnesota Power's proposal "ELFUEL Demonstration of Low-Rank Coals" to the U. S. Department of Energy, Clean Coal Technology, Round #3 will perform as described and meet the objectives of the process, the economical hot-water drying of lignite coal.
Con Edison Intakes, Arthur Kill No. 2, Hydraulic Model Studies
(1987-11) Dahlin, Warren Q.; Wetzel, Joseph M.
Cooling Water Intake Model Study For Nsp's Sherco Unit 3 Electric Power Generating Plant
(St. Anthony Falls Hydraulic Laboratory, 1985-12) Stefan, Heinz G.; Voigt, Richard L.; Lennington, James C.; Wetzel, Joseph M.; Bintz, David W.
Sherco Unit 3 is a coal-fired electric power generation facility under construction for Northern States Power Company (NSP), Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is located near the town of Becker, Minnesota, on the Mississippi River approximately 40 miles northwest of Minneapolis. Upon completion, it will join Sherco Units 1 & 2, which have been on-line since the mid 1970's (Fig. l-l). For condenser cooling, the plant uses a closed cycle cooling water system with forced draft wet cooling towers. To compensate for water losses from evaporation and releases' to the Mississippi River, an intake structure with two pumps of 15,000 gpm capacity each is located on the Mississippi River. With the addition of Unit 3, it became necessary to increase the water withdrawal capacity of the system. All three units will share the existing river intake facility.
Culver-Goodman Tunnel Control Structure Model Studies
(St. Anthony Falls Laboratory, 1980-06) Wetzel, Joseph M.; Dahlin, Warren Q.
The City of Rochester plans to excavate the Culver-Goodman tunnel and connect it to the existing Cross-Irondequoit tunnel through a control structure which will limit the flow diverted for treatment to about 1050 cfs. A 16 ft diameter entrance tunnel with a round to square transition at the downstream end conveys the incoming flow to a distribution chamber. The original design, Type A, distribution chamber is 100 ft long by 76 ft wide, contains 1:1 side slopes, blocks at the upstream end to dissipate some of the energy of the incoming flow, and an ogee crested weir at the downstream end. The floor of the distribution chamber is at elevation 285 ft and the weir crest at elevation 315 ft. Six sluices each 5 ft x 2.5 ft direct the diverted flow downward into the drop chamber. To enter the sluices the incoming flow has to make a 90 degree turn. The 100 ft long by 20 ft wide drop chamber also turns the flow 90 degrees towards the 12 ft diameter exit tunnel. The drop chamber is required to be of sufficient size to dissipate the energy of the falling water and to reduce the flow velocity so that the entrained air in the water-air mixture can rise to the surface and escape. Blocks at the downstream end assist in this process. The floor of the drop chamber is at elevation 216 ft and the top is open to the ground surface. A transition at the entrance to the exit tunnel guides the flow smoothly into the tunnel.
Culver-Goodman Tunnel Dropshaft Exit Conduit Model Studies
(St. Anthony Falls Laboratory, 1979-09) Wetzel, Joseph M.; Dahlin, Warren Q.
The City of Rochester plans to excavate the Culver-Goodman tunnel and connect it to the existing Cross-Irondequoit tunnel through a control structure. Several dropshafts will convey the effluent from surface collection facilities to the storage and conveyance tunnel. The function of these dropshafts is to transport the water from one elevation and energy level to a lower elevation and energy level and, in the process, to dissipate energy and remove the entrained air. The term "dropshaft" is sometimes used collectively to include the various components of the structure. Conduits at or near the ground surface collect the water and convey it to an elbow which deflects the flow about 90 degrees into the vertical drop shaft. The vertical shaft is divided by a slotted wall which separates the falling water-air mixture and the released air returning to the surface. In the elbow and vertical shaft the falling water entrains considerable amounts of air and gains kinetic energy. The vertical shaft terminates in a sump, which is a large excavated and lined chamber. The purpose of the sump is to dissipate some of the energy, to remove and co~lect the entrained air, and to direct the water at a reduced velocity into the exit conduit. The sloping roof of the sump guides the collected air back to the vent side of the vertical shaft. A portion of the rising air is drawn through the slots in the divider wall and re-· entrained in the falling water; the excess air returns to the surface. The exit conduit conveys the water into the tunnel. A typical model including all of these components
Effect of Air Ingestion on performance of a Centrifugal Pump
(1981-07) Killen, John M.; Wetzel, Joseph M.
The full scale model test described here was initiated to examine the effect of suspended air bubbles on the performance of a CGN 38 seawater circulating pump. A Carver pump*Type 13N, Serial No. 110709, was chosen as the test model. This is a single suction, vertical discharge, horizontal suction pump. It has a single stage impeller and is capable of delivering 3000 gpm at a total dynamic head of 10 psi at 1150 rpm. The impeller was trimmed by the pump manufacturer to provide the desired head-discharge curve near the rated flow condition.
Experimental Study of a Novel, Jet Booster Pump
(St. Anthony Falls Laboratory, 1985-12) Wetzel, Joseph M.; Johnson, Thomas R.; Bintz, David W.
A new form of a low head, jet booster pump was evaluated. The jet pump consisted of a constant diameter pipe fitted with two wall jets energizing the flow and a constant area diffuser consisting of a slotted wall portion of the pipe where water and solid fines were withdrawn. The withdrawn water was pressurized and recirculated to the j~ts by an external centrifugal slurry pump, thus performing a pressure 1 booster operation on the main line flow. The jet pump was evaluated in a 3 inch pipe recirculating flow facility. Extensive tests were conducted with water flow to evaluate and optimize performance characteristics. The best efficiency obtained was about 17 percent. Addition of solid particles to the flow in sizes up to 3/4 inch resulted in plugging of the screened diffuser for concentrations above about 20 percent by weight. Coal particles were rapidly eroded to very small sizes due to the action of the high velocity side jets. Problems associated with the screened diffuser limit the pumps' usefulness.
Extended Phase A-2, Large Cavitation Channel, Davld Taylor Naval Ship Research and Development Center
(St. Anthony Falls Laboratory, 1984-08) Arndt, Roger E. A.; Song, Charles C. S.; Silberman, Edward; Killen, John M.; Wetzel, Joseph M.; Yuan, Mingshun
It was suggested that a mild contraction located immediately upstream of the pump may improve the quality of flow which is expected to be quite nonuniform coming from the diffuser and the first and second elbow. To investigate the effect of the contraction ratio, the AROl computer model previously used in the Phase A-2 studies for the Large Cavitation Channel (LCC) main contraction design was applied to the pump contraction. As shown in Fig. 1, the contraction is assumed to be 5.563 m long and of circular cross section. Area contraction ratios of 0, 10, 20 and 30 percent were used. There is a fixed shaft of constant diameter along the centerline of the contraction. Two different shaft diameters, 0.508 m and · 1.016 m, were used based on information available at the time the study was conducted~ Initially, a fifth order polynomial was used for the contraction profile. The profile was later changed to a straight line because the contraction is so mild that the flow is not significantly affected by the boundary shape. Due to symmetry about the vertical plane, only half of the flow region was modeled. Different types of nonuniform inflow velocity profiles were studied. A total of 46 modeling runs covering various geometrical and flow conditions as well as different modeling parameters were made.
Feasibility Study of a Hydrodynamic Test Facility at the Detroit Dam
(St. Anthony Falls Laboratory, 2002-06-30) Wetzel, Joseph M.; Arndt, Roger E. A.
In considering the technology necessary to develop ships in the 70 to 100 knot range, it becomes evident that some form of drag reduction will be necessary to achieve this goal. Several viable drag reduction techniques have been studied for many years. These include surface striations, polymer injection and micro-bubble injection. The latter technique shows great promise with drag reduction of about 80% having been demonstrated. In order to adapt a drag reduction concept in the fleet, it is essential that studies be made that simulate, as closely as possible, prototype conditions. This leads to the need for a test facility that can achieve flow velocities in the 70-knot range. At present there are no hydrodynamic test facilities that fall in this category. However there is an existing Corps of Engineers test facility that could be adapted and modified to suit the Navy’s test requirements. This facility is located at the Detroit Dam and Lake on the North Santiam River near Detroit, Oregon. This is a multipurpose facility designed for flood control, navigation, irrigation and power. A powerhouse is situated at the base of the dam that has two 50 MW units installed. In addition to the two penstocks for power production, there is an additional, gated bottom outlet that supplies water to an eight-foot diameter penstock. A rudimentary flume is fitted to the outlet this penstock that discharges directly into the tailwater of the plant. At high water elevation, approximately 320 feet of head is available at the test site. In the absence of losses this equates to a maximum velocity of 83 knots. Maximum head is available for about 4 to 5 months out of the year. The conduit has not been used for over 20 years, and very little information regarding its performance is available. The conduit consists of an 8 ft diameter steel pipe with its intake located about 225 ft below the summer water level and its exit 320 ft below the summer water level. The winter reservoir level is about 115 ft lower. A small rectangular test section has been attached to the exit of the 8 ft diameter pipe about 25 years ago. It was used for a particular purpose and abandoned after the work was completed. It is assumed that this section has no further use, and is subject to removal. It is the purpose of the present investigation to determine the hydrodynamic capabilities of such a facility. Preliminary results of the study are summarized in the following sections.
Further Studies of Ventilated Cavities on Submerged Bodies
(St. Anthony Falls Laboratory, 1964-10) Schiebe, Frank R.; Wetzel, Joseph M.
This report supplements an earlier report describing experimental studies conducted to determine the air requirements of ventilated cavities on hydrofoils and other submerged bodies in the vicinity of a free surface. Reentrant jet, trailing vortex, and pulsating cavities were observed. In the present report, primary attention was given to extending an analysis of the type reported by Cox and Clayden and later extended by Campbell and Hilborne for predicting the air requirements of trailing vortex type cavities and for obtaining pertinent experimental data. It was shown that good agreement with the experimental data was obtained by both theoretical and semiempirical expressions. Secondary attention was given to further verification of a correlation parameter previously derived for reentrant jet type cavities. The transition region between reentrant jet and trailing vortex cavities was also investigated. For some conditions, pulsating cavities were found in the transition region.
Hydraulic Model Studies for Modifications of the Cooling Water Intake for Unit No. 4 - Clay Boswell Plant of the Minnesota Power and Light Company
(St. Anthony Falls Laboratory, 1978-04) Wetzel, Joseph M.; Ripken, John F.
The Minnesota Power and Light Company (MP&L), an investor owned public utility, has an existing steam-electric generating plant located on Black- water Lake in Itasca County near the City of Cohasset in Northcentral Minnesota. The plant has an intake and pumping station drawing water from the lake. The intake supplies cooling and other water for existing plant Units #1 and #2, each of which is rated at 70 MW. These units employ an open circulating cooling water system and return the heated water to Black- water Lake. The station also includes service pumps which supply makeup water for plant Unit #3. Unit #3 is rated at 350 MW and employs a closed circulating water system with mechanical draft wet cooling tower. Unit #4 will employ a closed circulating water system with a cooling tower. The existing intake pumping station, comprised of two intake sumps, is to be modified to provide water for all four steam units. The modifications will necessitate the replacement of some existing pumps with larger pumps and a rearrangement of the service water pumps. The four existing main circulating water pumps and the traveling screens for intake Units 1 and 2 are not to be replaced. The proposed design modifications of the intake were prepared by Ebasco Services, Inc., Atlanta, Georgia. This report is a brief resume of hydraulic model studies which were carried out at the St. Anthony Falls Hydraulic Laboratory (SAFHL) to clarify and validate the hydraulic performance of the proposed modifications.
Hydraulic Model Studies of The Lake Avenue Control Structure Site 45
(St. Anthony Falls Laboratory, 1985-03) Killen, John M.; Wetzel, Joseph M.
The tunnel system for the Combined Sewer Overflow .Abatement Project (CSOAP) for the City of Rochester, New York, requires numerous control structures. Site 45 is the designated name and location of one such control structure. It is located on the west bank of the Genesee River and receives flow from the Lake Avenue Tunnel and the Tiger Carlisle Tunnel. The Site 45 control structure performs three functions. First, it contains a centrally located chamber which provides relief from waterhammer and surge pressures that will occur in the tunnels as a result of stormwater inflows. Second, if the inflow volume is great enough, the structure provides overflow relief by directing excess stormwater to two dropshafts which lead to the Genesee River below. Third, the structure controls the rate of flow through two parallel conduits which cross over to the east side of the Genesee River, and to additional structures located downstream, including the Frank E. Van Lare Sewage Treatment Plant. The control structure at Site 45 is designed to pass up to 375 cfs across the Genesee River to the Van Lare Treatment Plant. Flows greater than 375 cfs will exceed the capacity of the treatment plant and will be directed via the overflow relief to the Genesee River. The design maximum inflow to the Site 45 structure is 3000 cfs. Control of the rate of flow to the sewage treatment plant will be accomplished by means of control gates within the Site 45 structure. The gate openings will be set automatically to pass a given flow with a range· of head differences. These head differences are dependent on the water surface elevation in the surge chamber within the structure and the head required to establish a specific flow to the sewage treatment plant. A model of the Site 45 structure was built at the St. Anthony Falls Hydraulic Laboratory from drawings of the proposed structure supplied by Harza Engineering Company (Dwg. 1330 HYD 4500 RJ). Figures 1 and 2 show the plan and elevation of the structure obtained from these drawings. Photographs of the model are shown in Photos 1 and 2. The details of the specific parts of the model will be explained as the functions of the various components are discussed. Froude law scaling was used to establish dynamic similarity between the model and prototype, as gravity is the dominant force producing motion. The following expressions were used to convert the geometric, kinematic, and dynamic quantities from the model to the prototype.
Hydrodynamic Analysis of the Hykat
(St. Anthony Falls Hydraulic Laboratory, 1987-06) Song, Charles C. S.; Wetzel, Joseph M.; Yuan, M.; Arndt, Roger E. A.; Killen, John M.
The St. Anthony Falls Hydraulic Laboratory has carried out a hydrodynamic analysis of several critical components of a preliminary design configuration of the HYKAT. A sketch of this configuration is shown in Fig. 1. The components subjected to detailed analysis were those of the upper leg, including the contraction, turning vanes of the first elbow, and the turbulent management system. Head loss computations were made for the entire flow circuit. Mathematical modeling was used extensively for analysis of the contraction and the turning vanes. Based on the results of this study, recommendations have been made for some modification to the preliminary design. Some of the results presented here have been previously included in progress reports, and results of additional studies are summarized.
Hydrodynamic Analysis of the SSL Flow Facility
(St. Anthony Falls Hydraulic Laboratory, 1987-03) Song, Charles C. S.; Yuan, Mingshun; Wetzel, Joseph M.
A preliminary concept for a gravity flow test facility was evaluated using mathematical modeling techniques. Complete specifications for the hydrodynamic performance were not available. In the absence of these values, parametric studies were carried out to determine the sensitivity of flow quality indicators to dimensional changes. The target flow conditions in a circular test section with a 4 sq ft area were a 90 second test run at a constant velocity of 60 fps.
Independent Turbine Testing and Research
(St. Anthony Falls Laboratory, 1987-08) Voigt, Richard L. Jr.; Gulliver, John S.; Wetzel, Joseph M.; Arndt, Roger E. A.
The St. Anthony Falls Hydraulic Laboratory (SAFHL) is presently upgrading their Turbine Test Facility. Completion of the upgrade, including checkout tests, is scheduled for Fall 1987. This paper will discuss the improvements being made to the Facility. The upgrades include enclosure of the upper portion of the test loop (head tank, tail tank, and dynamometer), to enable year-around operation. A temperature control system is being constructed and installed in the test loop which will provide temperature stability, necessary for cavitation testing, and required by IEC model test codes. Installation of additional instrumentation will provide for simpler, more efficient, data acquisition. The Facility is being connected to the Laboratory compressed air and vacuum facilities for pressure control. The existing Laboratory deaeration equipment will be incorporated to allow accurate dissolved gas content control not generally available in turbine test facilities. The SAFHL Turbine Test Facility will be available to undertake specific projects for the hydropower community funded by a variety of industries, agencies, and organizations. Projects might include performing model tests for small manufactures, prototype tests of micro-turbine units, model acceptance tests, comparative model tests, as well as a wide range of basic research experiments. The Facility will also be used as a demonstration tool in the instruction of students and hydropower engineers as part of SAFHL's active hydropower education program.
Measurements of the Leading-Edge Separation Bubble for Sharp-Edged Hydrofoil Profiles
(ST. ANTHONY FALLS HYDRAULIC LABORATORY, 1966-06) Wetzel, Joseph M.; Foerster, K. E.
Measurements were made of the length of the leading edge separation bubble for sharp-edged profiles of finite span submerged below a free surface. These hydrofoils were tested under a fully-wetted flow condition. Flow visualization techniques were used to determine the separation region primarily as a function of velocity, chord length, profile shape, aspect ratio, and angle of attack. The bubble length increased with increasing angle of attack and aspect ratio. An increase in the wedge angle for wedged shaped profiles required an increase in angle of attack to attain the same bubble length. Variation of the chord length and leading-edge thickness had little effect on the ratio of bubble to chord length.
Model Studies of A Cooling Water Discharge Outlet Modification Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant
(St. Anthony Falls Laboratory, 1981-03) Wetzel, Joseph M.; Dahlin, Warren Q.
The P~airie Island Nuclear Generating Plant is located on the Mississippi River near Red Wing, Minnesota. 'The general location is shown' in Fig. 1. The plant is situated on. the right bank in the bend of the river about one mile above Lock and Dam No. 3 as shown in the frontispiece. The cooling water is presently discharged through an open canal directly into the Mississippi River. The present outlet is i.n rathe~ close proximity to the plant inlet resulting in some recirculation of the ~armer water. Northern States Power (NSP) also has need for preventing fish from entering the outlet canal where they would be subject to cold shock mortality in case of sudden winter shutdown.. Modification of the di.scharge outlet nas therefore been proposed. The discharge outlet would·be moved further downstream and the cooling water discharged into the river 500 ft downstream of Barney's Point, thus reducing recirculation. This may be seen in the frontispiece and the sketch. in Fig. 2. . Dikes buil·t across a backwater area adjacent to the plant would provide an impoundment area for the plant discharge.. Four pipes with diameters of 8, 7,· 6 ,·.and 5 ft would convey the flow through the embankment and discharge it into the river. The velocity of the flow from the open pipes would be maintained above 8 fps. This high velocity would prevent most of the fish.from swimming through the pipes and entering the impoundment pool. During .operatiop., the pipes would be either closed or wide open, and the number of open pipes would vary from 1 to 4 depending on the plant dipcharge. By proper selection of the pipes to be opened, the·head can be maintained at a fairly constant elevation, thus keeping the discharge ~elocity greater than the required 8 fps.
Model Studies of A Cooling Water Discharge Structure Modification - Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant
(St. Anthony Falls Laboratory, 1980-04) Wetzel, Joseph M.; Dahlin, Warren Q.; Dhamotharan, S.
The Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant is located on the Mississippi River near Monticello, Minnesota. The genera'l location is shown in Fig. 1- Cooling water is presently discharged through a wide canal directly into the Mississippi River. Northern states Power Company (NSP) has need for preventing fish from entering the canal where they would be subject to cold shock mortality in case of sudden winter shutdown. Modification of the canal outlet to the river has therefore been proposed. The outlet of the canal would be closed with a wall that incorporates an overflow weir. The elevation of the river crest was selected by NSP to minimize the possibility of fish jumping over the weir and entering the canal during winter.
Model Studies Of The San Lorenzo Spillway Executive Hydroelectric Commission Lempa River El Salvador, Central America
(Saint Anthony Falls Laboratory, 1978-06) Wetzel, Joseph M.; Dahlin, Warren Q.
The San Lorenzo Project is located on the Lempa River in El Salvador. It is the smallest of the Central America republics with an area of 8,260 square miles and a population of about 4 million. It is a mountainous country with many volcanoes and upland plains, bounded by Guatumala, Honduras, and a 160 mile coastline of the Pacific Ocean as shown on Chart 1. The republic is primarily agriculture but is developing its industry. The capital is San Salvador.

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