ABSTRACT
The modelling of the hydrostatic pressure machine was done in several steps. Since flow conditions within a channel are complex in 3-D, the initial step consisted of setting up a 2D model for the wheel with straight blades. The 2D model of the wheel was contained in a zone with the blades and hub modelled as lines. The bed of the channel was modelled as a wall with a constant roughness. The 2D computational domain modelled represents a part of the whole system of the rotor in the flume, from the points of water level measurements upstream and downstream of the wheel. The aim of the numerical models was to understand better the physical processes involving free surfaces in the hydrostatic pressure machine using the Computational Fluid Dynamics simulation software. The 2D representation considers only the gap between the wheel and the bed of the flume.
