Ph.D. Candidate: Mr. Hari Prasad Pandit
Most of the Himalayan rivers are characterized by young and fragile geology with steep catchment. The incessant and stochastic character of rainfall in the mountain catchment generates enormous amount of sediment in these rivers. Irregularity in plan and bed forms, heterogeneity in sediment load, debris and mudflows make hydraulics of river channel flow quite complex and withdrawal of sediment free water from these rivers a very challenging task. The conventional methods of sediment handling found to be satisfactory in other regions of the world have been experienced to be inadequate here. Sediment related damage due to wear and tear in most of the hydropower projects, but in medium and high head plants have been found to be quite alarming. Therefore, the present research aims to investigate into non-conventional method and particularly use of a cyclone type separator for excluding sediment from the flow. An experimental test rig consisting of an 8” diameter hydrocyclone has been established to study its behavior. 54 tests have been carried out under different flow and sediment characteristics. The separation efficiency observed through these tests has been found to be promising. Further tests integrating with a hydropower system are envisaged in order to ascertain its viability.