Above the power plant roofs of Innsbruck: Günther Thurner (1st from right) guided the Smart Building Technologies cohort of 2022 through the facilities of the IKB Untere Sill power plant during their excursion as part of the "Fluid Dynamics" course taught by lecturer Manuel Berger (1st from left). ©MCI / Berger
Last Wednesday, the third-semester students of our dual study program were able to immerse themselves in the processes of a power plant: To this end, our lecturer Manuel Berger organized a guided tour of the Untere Sill power plant as part of the "Fluid Dynamics" course.
Günther Thurner, who is responsible for mechanical maintenance, guided the students through the power plant and enabled them to understand the path of the electricity from generation to the sockets. The Untere Sill power station has three Francis spiral turbines with a maximum output of 28 megawatts. A particular mechanical engineering highlight of the excursion: one of the three turbines was open for maintenance work – therefore, our students were able to take insights into the already refurbished runner.
The students will certainly look back on this excursion with fond memories of future courses, such as Energy Technology, which is scheduled for the coming winter semester.
A big thank you goes to Innsbrucker Kommunalbetriebe (IKB), especially Günther Thurner, who made this excursion possible and, last but not least, but especially to our dedicated lecturer Manuel Berger, who we have been able to welcome as a lecturer on the dual study program Smart Building Technologies since this fall semester and are looking forward to his further motivated and motivating teaching projects in our study program.
The students were taken right into the centre of the turbine dynamics during the fully engaging tour. The turbine, which is currently shut down for maintenance work, could thus be viewed in detail – in working condition, the shaft (here in the picture: vertical column, located above the turbine) delivers an output of over 12,000 hp. Photo: © Sheptim Gashi
The turbine seen from below: The students had the opportunity to see the refurbished runner and thus the structure of the open Francis turbine at the Untere Sill power plant at rest. Photo: © MCI / Berger
The noise generated during normal operation of Francis turbines was demonstrated using a running turbine. Here, the principle of cavitation was explained to the students using a practical example: the static pressure falls below the vapour pressure (cavitation), so water evaporates at low temperatures, well below 100 degrees Celsius. Photo: © Shpetim Gashi
