construction completion and starting up of a new universal testing rig in the ČKD Blansko Engineering hydraulic laboratory

On 8 December, 2011 an inauguration ceremony took place at the presence of Mrs Smiljana Knez,Ambassador of the Slovenian Republic, and other prominent guests;  the ceremony was  held on the occasion of the  construction completion and starting up of a new universal testing rig in the ČKD Blansko Engineering hydraulic laboratory in Blansko.

ČKD Blansko Engineering provides services not only in the area of outline and detail design documentation, assembly and installation of equipment, guarantee measurements and hydraulic machine commissioning, but it also enjoys considerable international success in the field of research and development of hydraulic turbines and pumps. The results of the current experimental research in the ČKD Blansko Engineering, a. s. continue the success achieved by the company ČKD Blansko in the past years.

New hydraulic solutions are verified in the modern hydraulic laboratory of the ČKD Blansko Engineering, a.s. on physical models of hydraulic turbines, pump turbines, and pumps. 
The hydraulic machine measurements in a model scale are necessary parts of the theoretical and experimental research of large and medium-sized hydraulic machines; they are used to verify the parameters of newly designed hydraulic solutions before the “big” machine, which is then delivered to the building site, has been fabricated. At the first stage of the construction, the laboratory was equipped with one universal testing rig for hydraulic machines; as the sole laboratory in the Czech Republic, it complies with IEC 60193 standard requirements in full scope.  The investment costs amounting at 88,5 million CZK were paid from own funds and from the credit provided by the Komerční banka.

In the time from the first testing rig commissioning in 2008 till the present day measurements have been performed on more than twenty different models of hydraulic turbines and pumps, including guarantee measurements at the clients´ witnessed´ attendance.   Reference projects worth mentioning are e. g. acceptance tests of irrigation pump model for Gangaram pump station in India; Francis turbine model tests for HPP Toro 3 in Costa Rica and HPP Doblar 1 in Slovenia; model measurement of Kaplan turbine for Khoda Afarin project in Iran and Lieksankoski in Finland; measurement of a newly designed diagonal pump turbine for the pumped storage HPP Koyna in India, and other projects in Bolivia, Costa Rica, Finland and Poland.
Newly designed solutions for the rehabilitation of the Kaplan turbine at HPP Slapy were tested for a prominent electricity supplier in the Czech Republic; experimental verification was performed of the new runner hydraulic parameters of the reversible Francis turbine for the pumped storage HPP Dlouhé Stráně.
The guaranteed parameters of the hydraulic machines have been met for all these projects.

Currently the preparation is under way for measurement of new Pelton runners for HPP Ngoi Hut in Vietnam, model measurements for hydro power plants in Sweden, Canada, Czech Republic, and verification of hydraulic machine parameters developed under the internal Science and Technology Plan.
As a result of the clients´ increasing interest in the services of the ČKD Blansko Engineering, a.s. in hydro power, necessity has arisen to extend the hydraulic laboratory capacity with another testing rig. At the beginning of this year, production of equipment for the next universal testing rig was commenced.

The hydraulic laboratory extension with the second testing rig is a part of the project “Establishment of industrial research, development and innovation center for hydraulic machines and hydrotechnological equipment of the ČKD Blansko Engineering, a.s.“, which was adopted and included in the OPPI Potenciál III program of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic. The construction financing at amount of 50 million CZK in the course of execution is provided from own resources with the support by the mother company  Litostroj Power and by means of a credit provided by the Komerční banka. After a successful commissioning of the testing rig and after meeting the particular conditions, up to 40% of tax-deductible  costs can be refunded from the European Union´ s funds under the Potenciál program.

This modern experimental workplace has contributed to the development of science, research and development in hydrotechnology in the region of Blansko, and enables to supply hydraulic machines of a competitive standard comparable with the companies renowned worldwide.