水斗式水轮机基准斗安放位置对水斗性能影响研究

常规水斗式水轮机在设计过程中主要依据比转速、水头等参数,结合水轮机型谱、经验公式进行选型设计,在设计过程中未对基准水斗安放位置进行限制。本文通过对水斗式水轮机的选型过程进行分析,发现基准水斗不同安放位置对水斗性能具有重要影响,应在设计中予以考虑。采用ANSYS CFX流体仿真软件分析表明:水斗分水刃顶点、圆心连线与水平轴夹角的改变将引起转轮扭矩的变化,增加转轮扭矩的波动程度,使水斗内流态、水斗表面压力场偏离原始水斗,易造成切水边工作面压力降低引起局部脱流,水斗背面附壁效应增强引起水斗局部空化。该研究结果可为大型水斗式水轮机选型设计提供理论指导,提升冲击式水轮机设计水平。

Entropy Production Analysis for Hump Characteristics of a Pump Turbine Model

The hump characteristic is one of the main problems for the stable operation of pump turbines in pump mode.However,traditional methods cannot reflect directly the energy dissipation in the hump region.In this paper,3D simulations are carried out using the SST k-ω turbulence model in pump mode under different guide vane openings.The numerical results agree with the experimental data.The entropy production theory is introduced to determine the flow losses in the whole passage,based on the numerical simulation.The variation of entropy production under different guide vane openings is presented.The results show that entropy production appears to be a wave,with peaks under different guide vane openings,which correspond to wave troughs in the external characteristic curves.Entropy production mainly happens in the runner,guide vanes and stay vanes for a pump turbine in pump mode.Finally,entropy production rate distribution in the runner,guide vanes and stay vanes is analyzed for four points under the 18 mm guide vane opening in the hump region.The analysis indicates that the losses of the runner and guide vanes lead to hump characteristics.In addition,the losses mainly occur in the runner inlet near the band and on the suction surface of the blades.In the guide vanes and stay vanes,the losses come from pressure surface of the guide vanes and the wake effects of the vanes.A new insight-entropy production analysis is carried out in this paper in order to find the causes of hump characteristics in a pump turbine,and it could provide some basic theoretical guidance for the loss analysis of hydraulic machinery.

中国水电设备的技术进展

水力发电属清洁的可再生能源。水电设备在电力工业中承担着发电与电力调节的重要任务,对我国的能源结构转型具有重要的支撑作用。本文对我国水电设备及技术的发展进行了综述,探讨了水电设备今后的一些发展趋势。

High-amplitude pressure fluctuations of a pump-turbine with large head variable ratio during the turbine load rejection process

Large-head variable-amplitude pump turbines(PTs) encounter serious transient hydraulic instability issues. To explore the evolution mechanisms of pressure fluctuations(PFs) and flow patterns inside large-head variable-amplitude PTs, the load rejection process(LRP) was investigated using a one-and three-dimensional coupled flow simulation approach. The temporal,spatial, and frequency characteristics of the fluctuating pressures were analyzed for four monitoring points using a combined time-frequency analysis approach. The results indicated that PFs during the LRP of large-head variable-amplitude PTs had a new fluctuation frequency component related to Dean vortices(DVs) in the volute, in addition to the common fluctuation frequency components related to rotor-stator interaction phenomena and local backflow vortices near the impeller inlet. The PF frequency component existed throughout the LRP and had a significant influence on the transient maximum pressure at the volute end. This study provides a useful theoretical guide for the design and optimization of large-head variable-amplitude PTs.

涡动力学诊断在贯流式水轮机数值模拟中的应用

为了研究贯流式水轮机中涡结构、涡演化和涡的相互作用,基于RNG k-ε湍流模型和涡动力学诊断方法的正则化螺旋度、边界涡量流(boundary vorticity flux,BVF)诊断等,对贯流式水轮机某工况下的涡旋运动进行数值研究。研究发现:水轮机转轮正面叶片进水边和轮毂靠近出水边处存在旋转方向和水流流动方向相反的涡旋,背面处轮毂靠近进水边存在旋转方向和流动方向相同的涡旋,水轮机转轮叶片上存在流动分离区以及BVF峰值区。涡动力学诊断在贯流式水轮机上的应用为水轮机转轮优化提供了全新的视角,为改变水轮机内流动情况提供了新的思路。

Pressure fluctuation propagation of a pump turbine at pump mode under low head condition

Pressure fluctuation at the vaneless space and vanes passages is one of the most important problems for the stable operation of a pump turbine.The fluctuation appears in any operating condition.Much research has been done on the pressure fluctuation of hydraulic machinery.However,the details of pressure fluctuation propagation of the pump turbine at the pump mode have not been revealed.The modern pump turbine with high water head requires the runner to be"flat",which would induce pressure fluctuation more easily than the low head pump turbine.In this article,a high head pump turbine model is used as the research object.As the pressure fluctuation at off-design point is more serious than at the design point,the low head condition is chosen as the research condition.Pressure fluctuation at the vaneless space and vanes passages is predicted by the computational fluid dynamics method based on k-?shear stress transport model.The experiment conducted on the test rig of the Harbin Institute of Large Electrical Machinery is used to verify the simulation method.It proves that the numerical method is a feasible way to research the fluctuation under this operating condition.The pressure fluctuation along the passage direction is analyzed at time and frequency domains.It is affected mainly by the interaction between the runner and vanes.In the circumferential direction,the influence of the special stay vane on the pressure fluctuation is got.The amplitude in the high-pressure side passage of that vane is lower than that in the other side.The study provides a basic understanding of the pressure fluctuation of a pump turbine and could be used as a reference to improve the operation stability of it.

Application of entropy production theory to hydro-turbine hydraulic analysis

The understanding of hydraulic behavior in the hydro turbine requires the detailed study of fluid flow in the turbine. Previous methods of analyzing the numerical simulation results on the fluid machinery are short of intuitiveness on energy dissipation.In this paper, the energy dissipation was analyzed based on the entropy production theory. 3-D steady flow simulations and entropy production calculations of the reduced hydro turbine were carried out. The results indicated that the entropy production theory was suitable for evaluating the performance of the hydro turbine. The energy dissipation in the guide vanes area weighted nearly 25% of the whole flow passage, and mainly happened at the head and tail areas of the vanes. However, more than half the energy dissipation occurred in the runner, mostly at the leading edge of runner blade and the trailing edge of run-ner blade. Meanwhile, close to 20% of the energy dissipation occurred in the elbow. And it can be concluded that the method of entropy production analysis has the advantages of determining the quantity of energy dissipation and where the dissipation happens.

Investigation of the unstable flow phenomenon in a pump turbine

Instability of pump turbine with S-shaped curve is characterized by large fluctuations of rotational speed during the transient processes.For investigating this phenomenon,a numerical model based on the dynamic sliding mesh method(DSSM)is presented and used to numerically solve the 3D transient flow which is characterized by the variable rotation speed of runner.The method is validated by comparison with measured data for a load rejection process in a prototype pump turbine.The results show that the calculated rotation speed agrees well with the experimental data.Based on the validated model,simulations were performed for the runaway process using an artificially assumed operating condition under which the unstable rotation speed is expected to appear.The results confirm that the instability of runner rotational speed can be effectively captured with the proposed method.Presented results include the time history profiles of unit flow rate and unit rotating speed.The internal flow characteristics in a typical unstable period are discussed in detail and the mechanism of the unstable hydraulic phenomenon is explained.Overall,the results suggest that the method presented here can be a viable alternative to predict the dynamic characteristics of pump turbines during transient processes.

Dynamic analysis on pressure fluctuation in vaneless region of a pump turbine

As the pump turbine tends to be operated with high head and high rotational speed, the study of stability problems becomes more important. The pump turbine usually works at operating conditions where the guide vanes experience strong vibrations. However, most traditional studies were carried out based on constant GVO(guide vane opening) simulations. In this work, dynamic analysis on pressure fluctuation in the vaneless region of a pump turbine model was conducted using a dynamic mesh method in turbine mode. 3D unsteady simulations were conducted where GVO was closed and opened by 1° from the initial 18°. Detailed time domain and frequency domain characteristics on pressure fluctuation in the vaneless region under different guide vane rotational states compared with constant GVO simulations were investigated. Results show that, during the guide vanes oscillating process, the low and intermediate frequency components in the vaneless region are significantly different. The amplitudes of pressure fluctuation are higher than those with constant GVO simulations, which agree better with the experimental data. In addition, the pressure fluctuation increases when GVO is opened, and vice versa. It can be concluded that pressure fluctuation in the vaneless region is strongly influenced by the oscillating of the guide vanes.

Investigation on reversible pump turbine flow structures and associated pressure field characteristics under different guide vane openings

The use of reversible pump turbines(RPT) within pumped storage power plants goes with prolonged periods of off-design operating conditions, which leads to the onset of operating mode-dependent instabilities. In order to decrease the gravity of RPT flow instabilities and associated damages or even completely eliminate them, a deep understanding of its onset and development mechanism is needed. In line with this, the present study seeks to numerically investigate the onset and development mechanism of RPT unsteady flow structures as well as the evolutional characteristics of associated pressure pulsations throughout the RPT complete flow passage, under off-design conditions for three GVOs namely 17, 21, and 25 mm. The study results showed that low torque operating conditions and associated vaneless space back flow structures were the trigger of flow unsteadiness onset within the RPT vaneless space, the instabilities which grew to cause the S-shape characteristics appearance. Moreover, the runner flow unsteadiness was found to decrease with the GVO increase. On the other hand, the GVO increase worsened the pressure pulsation levels within RPT flow zones, where pressure pulsations within the vaneless space and flow zones in its vicinities were found to be the most sensitive to GVO changes.

Dynamic instability of a pump-turbine in load rejection transient process

Load rejection is one of the most crucial transient processes in pump-turbines. However, only a few achievements on the internal flow mechanism of pump-turbines in load rejection processes have been presented. In this study, firstly, the load rejection process in a pump-turbine was simulated with a three-dimensional unsteady turbulent numerical method using the technology of dynamic mesh and the user-defined functions in the FLUENT software. The rotational speed predicted through numerical simulation agrees well with experimental data. Secondly, based on numerical simulations, a dynamic instability in the load rejection process was found and presented that the pressure and performance characteristics, including hydraulic torque on the runner and the discharge, fluctuate in the overall trend. Meanwhile, all the performance characteristics and the pressure fluctuate sharply near the operating condition points, where hydraulic torque on the runner is equal to zero or reverse flow is maximum at reverse pump conditions. Finally, the time-frequency features and formation mechanism of the dynamic instability were analyzed emphatically. The analysis of the internal flow in the pump-turbine reveals that dynamic instability in the load rejection process are mainly caused by the vortex flow in the tandem cascades regions. Furthermore, the possible methods to improve the dynamic instability in the load rejection process were recommended.

Runner cone optimization to reduce vortex rope-induced pressure fluctuations in a Francis turbine

Pressure fluctuations induced by a vortex rope are the major causes of hydraulic turbine vibration in partial load operating conditions. Hence, an effective control strategy should be adopted to improve rotating characteristics of the vortex rope and reduce the corresponding pressure fluctuation. In this study, two new types of runner cones(i.e., abnormally shaped and long straight cones) were proposed to optimize the pressure distribution in the draft tube, and unsteady numerical simulations were performed to determine their mechanism of action. Numerical results were validated using flow observation and pressure fluctuation experiments. Detailed analyses were conducted to understand the effects of the helical vortex rope operating conditions. The results indicated that pressure fluctuations in the draft tube at partial load operation result primarily from low frequency fluctuations induced by the rotation of the helical vortex rope, whose amplitudes are related to the rotating radius of the helical vortex rope. Both runner cone types could effectively reduce the pressure-fluctuation amplitude. The long straight type could reduce the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation induced by vortex rope to a maximum of 74.08% and the abnormalshape type to 38.31%. Thus, the effective optimization of the runner cone can potentially reduce pressure-fluctuation amplitudes.Our research findings were applied to a real hydraulic plant in China.

Flow excitation mechanisms of unbalanced impeller forces after pump power-trip of ultra-high head pump-turbines

To elucidate the dynamic mechanisms of unbalanced impellers in ultra-high head pump-turbines(PTs),this study employed a one-and three-dimensional coupled method to simulate the pump power-trip(PPT)process of an ultra-high head PT.The investigation revealed two novel pulsation frequency components,denoted as fDVand fINFT,associated with impeller forces.The pulsation intensities of these components were markedly higher than those of rotor-stator interaction frequency components in ultra-high head PTs.Notably,the fDVcomponents exhibited pulsations at 1–2 times the rated rotation frequency of the impeller,spanning the entire transition period.Meanwhile,the fINFTcomponents constituted a complex frequency band with various frequency values,primarily occurring near conditions(Q=0,n=0,M=0,and d M/dt=0).These two pulsation frequency components were predominantly linked to the unsteady evolution of dean vortices inside the volute and complex transitions of the flow pattern within the impeller,respectively.It is crucial to note that these unbalanced flow-induced impeller axial forces can elevate the risk of accidents where the rotor is subjected to significant upwind axial forces.These findings offer valuable insights into mitigating the risk of rotor lifting due to axial forces during PT events in ultra-high head PTs.