Our multidisciplinary consortium addresses various aspects
of hydro power generation to improve the design, manufacturing
and operation of hydropower plants. 

Following the strong synergy and promising results achieved in the project HydroNET, HydroNET2 pursues the multidisciplinary research by strengthening the monitoring issue and opening the investigation portfolio to hydropower schemes other than pumped-storage plants.

► In the hydrodynamic field, the issue of instability of pump turbines at off-design conditions will be pursued with different specific speeds in both numerical and experimental way. The project will also address the modeling, simulation and monitoring of sand erosion in Pelton turbines as well as tip vortex cavitation in axial turbines.

► In the civil engineering field, further investigations will be performed on the issue of pressurized shafts and tunnels while a new topic related to hydropower design under uncertainties will be initiated.

► Regarding the environmental impacts of hydropower schemes, HydroNET2 will pursue the research on the fate of suspended particles in the reservoirs and natural lakes to better predict the ecological impact of the strong increase of pumped water in pumped storage plants.

► The monitoring issue will be pursued along three axes. The project team plans to deploy the monitoring strategy in a power plant in Switzerland. The goal is to increase the expertise by instrumenting various types of hydropower plants with online and remote access to measured quantities. They will also develop wireless sensing network technologies to improve the monitoring approach.

► Besides, a new monitoring method, based on real-time simulation of the entire power plant will be investigated.

► Finally, monitoring technologies and market assessment will be performed through a worldwide survey of ongoing and future projects.