The master´s thesis contained basic information about the method of thermodynamic efficiency of hydraulic machines. The first part briefly mentioned our opinion on the most widely used method for determining the efficiency of hydraulic machines. Another section of thesis is characterization and measurement procedure using the thermodynamic method. Another section describes measurements of water plants and laboratory measurements, which took place in the past. The final part describes the results of laboratory measurements, which took place in the lab of VUT FSI Brno, and evaluating and comparing the results.

Master's thesis deals with possibility of simplifying calculation hydraulic machines by converting the three-dimensional geometry in the plane. The aim is to create modifications of a trailng edge and determine their effect of the hydraulic parameterso of the machine.

A geração de energia limpa e sustentável ocupa, cada vez mais, lugar de destaque nas preocupações da humanidade. A otimização da utilização dos recursos naturais para essa finalidade, assim como para produção de alimentos, consumo de água, transportes e outras necessidades, torna-se a cada dia um desafio maior. Assim, a geração de energia elétrica, tendo como matriz os recursos hidrícos, ainda principal matriz energética instalada no Brasil, encontra-se no seu limiar de disponibilidade no que se refere a aproveitamentos por grandes plantas geradoras. A instalação de micro e miniprojetos de geração de energia encontrou, em recente legislação do setor elétrico nacional, a possibilidade de conexão de seus geradores ao sistema de distribuição através da Geração Distribuída, pela modalidade de compensação de energia consumida e gerada. Tal possibilidade inaugura uma nova realidade para a geração de energia hidrelétrica a medida em que viabiliza a implantação de projetos para mananciais de pequena expressão, que até então estavam relegados a geração em sistemas isolados. Se por um lado a legislação derrubou um histórico impedimento a esses projetos, por outro lançou o desafio de torna-los viáveis. A compensação de quantidades consumidas de energia elétrica por energia gerada e entregue a rede de distribuição, com a realidade de isenção de impostos em vigor, por si é uma alavanca no sentido dessa viabilidade. Não obstante não é suficiente. Barreiras tais como a complexidade técnica e operacional, aliada aos elevados preços de aquisição, operação e manutenção das máquinas geradoras de energia hidrelétrica disponíveis no mercado ainda são muito impeditivas. Nesse sentido esse trabalho traz uma proposta de alternativa técnica para colaborar na viabilidade da implantação de pequenos projetos de geração de energia hidrelétrica, bem como na repotenciação de plantas antigas, depreciadas e geralmente ineficientes, inúmeras delas abandonadas pelo país. Trata-se da proposta de utilização de um perfil alternativo para turbinas hidráulicas, a máquina geradora de fluxo em lugar das turbinas. O trabalho relata a experiência na repotenciação de uma antiga central hidrelétrica de 600 kW, repotenciada para 3.000 kW, pela substituição de seus equipamentos por máquinas hidráulicas geradoras de fluxo (bombas) acionando geradores síncronos, com unidades de 500 kW. / The generation of clean and sustainable energy is increasingly prominent in the concerns of humanity. The optmization of the use of natural resources for this purpose, as well as for food production, water consumption, transport and other necessities is becoming a major challenge. Therefore, a generation of electric power, with hydropower resources, main source of energy installed in Brazil, is at its availability limit without reference to large power plants. The installation of micro and mini power generation projects has found, in the national electricity sector recent legislation, the possibility of connecting their generators to the distribution system through Distributed Generation, through the compensation modality of consumed and generated energy. This possibility inaugurates is a new reality for the generation of hydroelectric power as it allows the implementation of projects for small-scale water sources, which until then were relegated to generation in isolated systems. On the one hand legislation has overthrown a historic impediment to such projects, on the other it has launched the challenge of making them viable. The quantities compensation of electricity consumed by energy generated and delivered to the distribution network, with the reality of tax exemption in force, in itself is a lever in the direction of this viability. Nevertheless it is not enough. Barriers such as technical and operational complexity, allied with the high prices of acquisition, operation and maintenance of the hydroelectric generating machines available in the market are still very preventable. In this sense, this work proposes a technical alternative to collaborate in the viability of the implantation of small hydropower generation projects, as well as in the repowering of old, depreciated and generally inefficient plants, many of them abandoned across the country. This is about the proposal to use an alternative profile for hydraulic turbines, the flow generating machine instead of the turbines. The work reports the experience of repowering a former 600 kW hydroelectric plant, repowered to 3,000 kW, by replacing its equipment with flow-generating hydraulic machines (pumps) powering synchronous generators with 500 kW units. / Tese (Doutorado)

In the automotive industry, the Safety Function-FMEA according to ISO 26262 and its application to functional safety relevant systems is a well-established process in the form of Automotive Safety Integrity Levels (ASILs). These represent the failure mitigation that must be applied to ensure an acceptable residual risk of malfunctioning behaviour. The DIN EN ISO 13849 (ISO 13849) already describes a process to reduce risks for machines which starts with a Hazard And Risk Analysis (HARA) as described in DIN EN ISO 12100 and concludes with the Safety Requirements Specification (SRS). The SRS is a functional and technical safety concept defining requirements and guidelines to make sure the design conforms to defined safety goals. ISO 13849 lists important faults and failures for various technologies. The defined Safety Functions (SFs) can be classified in corresponding categories that lead to the particular hardware/system structure. This applies to mechatronic systems consisting of at least one sensor, one control unit and one actuator to monitor the system and effect a response in case of failure. Compared to the methods described in ISO 13849, the Safety Function-FMEA allows systematic identification of additional failures resulting from combinations of effects, rather than only listing the main failure causes. Based on the complexity of the machines it is highly recommended to perform a Safety Function-FMEA as a complementary method to assess and improve the overall safety of machinery.

<p dir="ltr">Positive displacement machines are used in various industries spanning the power spectrum, from industrial robotics to heavy construction equipment to aviation. These machines should be highly efficient, compact, and reliable. It is very advantageous for designers to use virtual simulations to design and improve the performance of these units as they significantly reduce cost and downtime. The recent trends of electrification and the goal to increase power density force these units to work at higher pressures and higher rotational speeds while maintaining their efficiencies and reliability. This push means that the simulation models need to advance to account for various aspects during the operation of these machines. </p><p dir="ltr">These machines typically have several bodies in relative motion with each other. Quantifying these motions and solving for their effect on the fluid enclosed are vital as they influence the machine's performance. The push towards higher rotational speeds introduces unwanted cavitation and aeration in these units. To model these effects, keeping the design evaluation time low is key for a designer. The lumped parameter approach offers the benefit of computational speed, but a major drawback that comes along with it is that it typically assumes fluid inertia to be negligible. These effects cannot be ignored, as quantifying and making design considerations to negate these effects can be beneficial. Therefore, this thesis addresses these key challenges of cavitation dynamics, body dynamics, and accounting for fluid inertia effects using a lumped parameter formulation.</p><p dir="ltr">To account for dynamics features related to cavitation, this thesis proposes a novel approach combining the two types of cavitation, i.e., gaseous and vaporous, by considering that both vapor and undissolved gas co-occupy a spherical bubble. The size of the spherical bubble is solved using the Rayleigh-Plesset equation, and the transfer of gas through the bubble interface is solved using Henry's Law and diffusion of the dissolved gas in the liquid. These equations are coupled with a novel pressure derivative equation. To account for body dynamics, this thesis introduces a novel approach for solving the positions of the bodies of a hydraulic machine while introducing new methods to solve contact dynamics and the application of Elasto Hydrodynamic Lubrication (EHL) friction at those contact locations. This thesis also proposes strategies to account for fluid inertia effects in a lumped parameter-based approach, taking as a reference an External Gear Machine. This thesis proposes a method to study the effects of fluid inertia on the pressurization and depressurization of the tooth space volumes of these units. The approach is based on considering the fluid inertia in the pressurization grooves and inside the control volumes with a peculiar sub-division. Further, frequency-dependent friction is also modeled to provide realistic damping of the fluid inside these channels.</p><p dir="ltr">To show the validity of the proposed dynamic cavitation model, the instantaneous pressure of a closed fluid volume undergoing expansion/compression is compared with multiple experimental sources, showing an improvement in accuracy compared to existing models. This modeling is then further applied to a gerotor machine and validated with experiments. Integrating this modeling technique with current displacement chamber simulation can further improve the understanding of cavitation in hydraulic systems. Formulations for body dynamics are tested on a prototype Gerotor and Vane unit. For both gerotor and vane units, comparisons of simulation results to experimental results for various dynamic quantities, such as pressure ripple, volumetric, and hydromechanical efficiency for multiple operating conditions, have been done. Extensive validation is performed for the case of gerotors where shaft torque ripple and the motion of the outer gear is experimentally validated. The thesis also comments on the distribution of the different torque loss contributions. The model for fluid inertia effects has been validated by comparing the lumped parameter model with a full three-dimensional Navier Stokes solver. The quantities compared, such as tooth space volume pressures and outlet volumetric flow rate, show a good match between the two approaches for varying operating speeds. A comparison with the experiments supports the modeling approach as well. The thesis also discusses which operating conditions and geometries play a significant role that governs the necessity to model such fluid inertia effects in the first place.</p>