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RESEARCHA DRIVING FORCE

In penstock construction the emphasis ison otimum hydraulic flow with minimum

Top performance

head losses. With this aim in mind hydrau- lic model tests for bifurcations/manifolds are performed in our own labs, often in collaboration with universities. In many model studies for gates, new insights into their hydrodynamic behaviour could be gained, securing structures with high operational safety. Processing of materials has highest priority as well. Welding of any type of steels, including high-strength Q&T grades, poses no problem for us. VA TECH HYDRO recently developed anautomatic welding process for in-situ welds of steel tunnel linings, using the TIG hot wire technique. This technique combi- nes highest quality with efficieny, and can be used for welding of all materials inclu- ding Q&T steels up to 890 MPa yield point. Numerical flow analysis (CFD) and hy-draulic model testing ensure the top level performance of VA TECH HYDRO turbine types. This will be done in the company's own hydraulic laboratories in Linz, Vevey and Zurich on a regular basis to keep the top position of our company's technology.
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