Influence of Blade Number on the Performance of Hydraulic Turbines in the Transition Stage

To analyze the effect of blade number on the performance of hydraulic turbines during the transient stage in which theflow rate is not constant,six hydraulic turbines with different blade numbers are considered.The instantaneous hydraulic performance of the turbine and the pressure pulsation acting on the impeller are investigated numerically by using the ANSYS CFX software.The ensuing results are compared with the outcomes of experimental tests.It is shown that thefluctuation range of the pressure coefficient increases with time,but the corresponding range for the transient hydraulic efficiency decreases gradually when theflow velocity transits to larger values.During the transition to smallflow velocity,thefluctuation range of the pressure coefficient gradually decreases as time passes,but the correspondingfluctuation range of its transient hydraulic efficiency gradually becomes larger.Thefluctuation range in the Z9 case is small during the transition.The main frequency of transient hydraulic efficiency pulsation is equal to the blade frequency.At the main frequency,Z7 has the largest amplitude of the hydraulic efficiency pulsation,Z10 has the smallest amplitude,and the difference between Z7 and Z9 is limited.As the number of blades grows,the pressure pulsation during the transition process gradually decreases,but the pressure pulsation of Z10 at the volute tongue is larger.In the steady state,Z9 has the highest efficiency and in the transient stage,the pressure coefficientfluctuation range is small.Accordingly,for the hydraulic turbine Z9,the performance is optimal.

Influence of Different Transition Modes on the Performances of a Hydraulic Turbine

In order to analyze the response of a hydraulic turbine to a variation in the operating conditions,different laws of variation in time of the massflow rate have been considered.After validating the overall numerical framework through comparison with relevant experiments,the performances of the considered turbine have been analyzed from afluid-dynamic point of view.The results show that different time profiles of the massflow rate(in this work,for simplicity,referred to as“transition functions”)have a varying influence on the transient behavior of the turbine.When a quadratic function is considered for the case of largeflow,the transient head and torque increase gradually with time,thefluctuation amplitude of the transient hydraulic efficiency at the main frequency is the largest,and thefluctuation amplitude of the radial force is the smallest.For the smallflow case,the time profile with exponential nature leads to the best results.The transient head and torque decrease gradually with time,the pulsation amplitude of the transient hydraulic efficiency is the largest at the main frequency,and the pulsation amplitude of the radial force is the smallest.

Feasibility analysis for monitoring fatigue crack in hydraulic turbine blades using acoustic emission technique

In order to investigate the feasibility of monitoring the fatigue cracks in turbine blades using acoustic emission (AE) technique, the AE characteristics of fatigue crack growth were studied in the laboratory. And the characteristics were compared with those of background noise received from a real hydraulic turbine unit. It is found that the AE parameters such as the energy and duration can qualitatively describe the fatigue state of the blades. The correlations of crack propagation rates and acoustic emission count rates vs stress intensity factor (SIF) range are also obtained. At the same time, for the specimens of 20SiMn under the given testing conditions, it is noted that the rise time and duration of events emitted from the fatigue process are lower than those from the background noise; amplitude range is 49-74 dB, which is lower than that of the noise (90-99 dB); frequency range of main energy of crack signals is higher than 60 kHz while that in the noise is lower than 55 kHz. Thus, it is possible to extract the useful crack signals from the noise through appropriate signal processing methods and to represent the crack status of blade materials by AE parameters. As a result, it is feasible to monitor the safety of runners using AE technique.

Hydraulic turbine system identification and predictive control based on GASA-BPNN

Based on the characteristics of nonlinearity,multi-case,and multi-disturbance,it is difficult to establish an accurate parameter mod-el on the hydraulic turbine system which is limited by the degree of fitting between parametric model and actual model,and the design of con-trol algorithm has a certain degree of limitation.Aiming at the modeling and control problems of hydraulic turbine system,this paper proposes hydraulic turbine system identification and predictive control based on genetic algorithm-simulate anneal and back propagation neural network(GASA-BPNN),and the output value predicted by GASA-BPNN model is fed back to the nonlinear optimizer to output the control quantity.The results show that the output speed of the traditional control system increases greatly and the speed of regulation is slow,while the speed of GASA-BPNN predictive control system increases little and the regulation speed is obviously faster than that of the traditional control system.Compared with the output response of the traditional control of the hydraulic turbine governing system,the neural network predictive control-ler used in this paper has better effect and stronger robustness,solves the problem of poor generalization ability and identification accuracy of the turbine system under variable conditions,and achieves better control effect.

A real-time measuring technology for studying distortion of hydraulic turbine blade castings during heat treatment process

During heat treatment process, the distortion behavior inevitably appears in hydraulic turbine blade castings. In this research, a technology was developed for real-time measurement of the distortion in hydraulic turbine blade castings at the still air cooling and forced air cooling stages during heat treatment process. The method was used to measure the distortion behavior at the cooling stages in both normalizing and tempering processes. At the normalization, the distortion at the blade comer near outlet side undergoes four stages with alternating bending along positive and negative directions. At the tempering stage, the distortion could be divided into two steps. The temperature difference between the two surfaces of blade casting was employed to analyze the distortion mechanism. The measured results could be applied to guide the production, and the machining allowance could be reduced by controlling the distortion behavior.

Computer Simulation of Turbulent Flow through a Hydraulic Turbine Draft Tube

Based on the Naviev-Stokes equations and the standard κ-ε turbulence model, this paper presents the derivation of the governing equations for the turbulent flow field in a draft tube. The mathematical model for the turbulent flow through a draft tube is set up when the boundary conditions, including the inlet boundary conditions, the outlet boundary conditions and the wall boundary conditions, have been implemented. The governing equations are formulated in a discrete form on a staggered grid system by the finite volume method. The second-order central difference approximation and hybrid scheme are used for discretization. The computation and analysis on internal flow through a draft tube have been carried out by using the simplee algorithm and cfx-tasc flow software so as to obtain the simulated flow fields. The calculation results at the design operating condition for the draft tube are presented in this paper. Thereby, an effective method for simulating the internal flow field in a draft tube has been explored.

2D Model of Guide Vane for Low Head Hydraulic Turbine： Analytical and Numerical Solution of Inverse Problem

Low-head hydraulic turbines are the subjects to individual approach of design. This comes from the fact that hydrological conditions are not of a standard character. Therefore, the design method of the hydraulic turbine stage has a great importance for those who may be interested in such an investment. As a first task in a design procedure the guide vane is considered. The proposed method is based on the solution of the inverse problem within the flame of 2D model. By the inverse problem authors mean a design of the blade shapes for given flow conditions. In the paper analytical solution for the simple cylindrical shape of a guide vane is presented. For the more realistic cases numerical solutions according to the axis-symmetrical model of the flow are also presented. The influence of such parameters as the inclination of trailing edge, the blockage factor due to blade thickness, the influence of loss due to dissipation are shown for the chosen simple geometrical example.

Two Concepts of Guide Vane Profile Design for a Low Head Hydraulic Turbine

Two concepts of the guide vanes channels design for a low head hydraulic turbine were investigated using 2D and 3D models. Model 2D was used to generate the geometry of profiles which form a blade channel. After that by means of 3D commercial code （ANSYS/Fluent v. 15）, the designed cascades were examined. The characteristic parameters of compared guide vanes have been presented. The problem of low head hydraulic turbine design is important from the technical point of view for usually not typical environmental circumstances, in which the hydropower plants are planned.

Terminal Sliding Mode Controllers for Hydraulic Turbine Governing System with Bifurcated Penstocks under Input Saturation

Terminal sliding mode controller method is introduced to enhance the regulation performance of the hydraulic turbine governing system(HTGS).For the purpose of describing the characteristics of controlled system and deducing the control rule,a nonlinear mathematic model of hydraulic turbine governing system with bifurcated penstocks(HTGSBF)under control input saturation is established,and the input/output state linearization feedback approach is used to obtain the relationship between turbine speed and controller output.To address the control input saturation problem,an adaptive assistant system is designed to compensate for controller truncation.Numerical simulations have been conducted under fixed point stabilization and periodic orbit tracking conditions to compare the dynamic performances of proposed terminal sliding mode controllers and conventional sliding mode controller.The results indicate that the proposed terminal sliding mode controllers not only have a faster response and accurate tracking results,but also own a stronger robustness to the system parameter variations.Moreover,the comparisons between the proposed terminal sliding mode controllers and current most often used proportional-integral-differential(PID)controller,as well its variant NPID controller,are discussed at the end of this paper,where the superiority of the terminal sliding mode controllers also have been verified.

Adaptive PID Control for Hydraulic Turbine Regulation Systems Based on INGWO and BPNN

To ensure system stability,the fixed-PID(F-PID)controller with small parameters is usually adopted in hydropower stations.This involves a slow setting speed and it is difficult to realize optimal control for full working conditions.To address the problem,this paper designs a variable-PID(V-PID)controller for a hydraulic turbine regulation system(HTRS)based on the improved grey wolf optimizer(INGWO)and back propagation neural networks(BPNN).These can achieve excellent regulation under full working conditions.First,the nonlinear HTRS model containing the nonlinear hydroturbine model is constructed and the stable domain is obtained using Hopf bifurcation theory to determine the available range of PID parameters.The optimal PID parameters in typical working conditions are then calculated by the INGWO,and the optimal PID parameters are generalized through training the V-PID neural networks which take the optimal PID parameters as sample data.The V-PID neural networks with different structures are compared to determine the optimal structure of the variable-PID controller model.The V-PID controller-based nonlinear HTRS model shows that the PID parameters can be automatically adjusted online according to the working condition changes,realizing optimal control of hydropower units in full working conditions.

Numerical Simulation of Pressure Fluctuations in a Large Francis Turbine Runner

The pressure fluctuation caused by unsteady flow in runner is one of the main reasons of vibration for a large Francis hydraulic turbine. It directly affects the steady operation of the hydraulic turbine unit. The existing research of the pressure fluctuation in hydraulic turbine mainly focuses on the unsteady flow in draft tube. Accurate distribution of pressure fluctuations inside a runner is not very clear. In this paper, the numerical method for predicting the pressure fluctuations in runner is investigated and the numerical simulation is performed for a large Francis hydraulic turbine. It is proved that the combination of shear-stress transport（SST） k-o） turbulence model and pressure-implicit with splitting of operators（PISO） algorithm could give more reliable prediction of pressure fluctuations in runner. The frequencies of pressure fluctuations in runner are affected by the flow in guide vane and the flow in draft tube The first dominant frequency is significantly determined by the flow in draft tube, especially at part load condition. This frequency is approximately equal to one-third of the runner rotating frequency. The evident second dominant frequency is exactly equal to the guide vane passing frequency. The peak-to-peak amplitudes of pressure fluctuations in runner at small guide vane open angle are larger than that at large open angle at the same operating head. The amplitudes at points on blade pressure surface are generally greater than that on suction surface. The research results could be used to direct the hydraulic design and operation stability improvement of a large Francis hydraulic turbine.

Quo Vadis Archimedean Turbines Nowadays in Greece, in the Era of Transition？

According to recent hydropower inventories, the first aim of this paper is to prove that Greece is a real ＂Archimedean Soft Small Hydro Development Terra Incognita＂. It is a country in the Era of Transition of nowadays, having an important unexploited hydropower potential of several TWh and thousands of MW. The second goal is to present the results of rediscovering the old screw pumps and the always-modern Archimedean cochlear screw ideas as a series of soft hydropower turbines with inclined axis rotors and floating spiral screw devices. By following the similarity methodology, a few small-scale models of cochlear rotors were designed, developed and tested in an Armfield hydraulic channel. The conventional and unconventional, low or zero-head screw turbines, could efficiently harness the important and unexploited Greek small potential and kinetic hydraulic energy of all the natural watercourses, the man-made open urban or rural channels and the most important tidal or sea currents, producing useful green electricity. The very promising low-head hydropower inventory of Greece, the preliminary experimental results and the research studies of cochlear projects in watercourses, hydraulic works, tidal conditions of Euripus Strait and in the mysterious ＂Sea River Current of Cephalonia＂, seems to give a good answer to the question ＂Quo Vadis Archimedes nowadays in Greece, in the Era of Transition？＂.

EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF CHARACTERISTIC FREQUENCY IN UNSTEADY HYDRAULIC BEHAVIOUR OF A LARGE HYDRAULIC TURBINE

The features of unsteady flow such as pressure variation and fluctuation in a large hydraulic turbine usually lead to the instability of operation. This article reports the recent in site investigation concerning the characteristic frequencies in pressure fluctuation, shaft torsional oscillation and structural vibration of a prototype 700 MW Francis turbine unit. The investigation was carried out for a wide load range of 200 MW-700 MW in the condition of water head 57 m-90 m. An extensive analysis of both time-history and frequency data of these unsteady hydraulic behaviours was conducted. It was observed that the pressure fluctuation in a draft tube is stronger than that in upstream flow passage. The low frequency with about one third of rotation frequency is dominative for the pressure fluctuation in part load range. Also the unsteady features of vibration of head cover and torsional oscillation of shaft exhibited the similar features. Numerical analysis showed that the vibration and oscillation are caused by vortex rope in the draft tube. In addition, a strong vibration with special characteristic frequency was observed for the head cover in middle load range. The pressure fluctuation in the draft tube with the same frequency was also recorded. Because this special vibration has appeared in the designed normal running condition, it should be avoided by carefully allocating power load in the future operation.

NUMERICAL SIMULATION AND ANALYSIS OF PRESSURE PULSATION IN FRANCIS HYDRAULIC TURBINE WITH AIR ADMISSION

In this article, the three-dimensional unsteady multiphase flow is simulated in the whole passage of Francis hydraulic turbine. The pressure pulsation is predicted and compared with experimental data at positions in the draft tube, in front of runner, guide vanes and at the inlet of the spiral case. The relationship between pressure pulsation in the whole passage and air admission is analyzed. The computational results show： air admission from spindle hole decreases the pressure difference in the horizontal section of draft tube, which in turn decreases the amplitude of low-frequency pressure pulsation in the draft tube; the rotor-stator interaction between the air inlet and the runner increases the blade-frequency pressure pulsation in front of the runner.

NUMERICAL PREDICTION OF VORTEX FLOWIN HYDRAULIC TURBINE DRAFT TUBE FOR LES

The three-dimensional unsteady turbulent flow is studied numerically in the whole flow passage of hydraulic turbine, and vortex flow in the draft tube is predicted accurately in this paper. The numerical prediction is based on the Navier-Stokes equations and Large-Eddy Simulation （LES） model. The SIMPLE algorithm with the body fitted coordinate and tetrahedroid grid system is applied for the solution of the discretization governing equations.

Turbine efficiency test on a large hydraulic turbine unit

The flow rate measurements are the most difficult part of efficiency tests on prototype hydraulic turbines.Among the numerous flow rate measurement methods,the Winter Kennedy method is preferred for measuring turbine flow rates,since it is convenient,practical and economical.This paper describes efficiency tests on a large 300 MW Francis turbine,with the flow rate measured using the Winter Kennedy method and the Winter Kennedy flow rate coefficient calibrated using the Gibson method.The measured turbine efficiency curve is then compared with the curve provided by the manufacturer.The CFD calculations including the spiral case are then used to analyze the influence with the coefficient K and index n in the Winter Kennedy flow rate formula on the flow rate measurement.The uncertainty values of n and K are a key reason for the differences between the curves obtained from the efficiency test and the curves provided by the manufacturer.

Three-Dimensional Simulation of Unsteady Flow in a Model Francis Hydraulic Turbine

For Francis hydraulic turbines, unsteady flow caused by vortex ropes in the draft tube leads to a problem of stability in operation. The unsteady flow field of a model Francis hydraulic turbine was simulated under part-load operation. A sliding mesh model was used to calculate a time-accurate solution for the strong rotor-stator interactions between the runner and guide vanes, and the draft tube. Based on three-dimensional incompressible Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes equations and on a renormalization group k-?turbulence model, spatial discretization was obtained by using the finite volume method with unstructured grid elements, and a second order fully implicit scheme was applied for time. Pressure fluctuations in the draft tube were recorded and analyzed via a fast Fourier transform calculation. The results were compared with the experimental data, and show that the vortex rope in the draft tube and the induced pressure fluctuations are well simulated.

Numerical simulation of hydrodynamic performance of blade position-variable hydraulic turbine

This paper presents a study of the movement and the hydrodynamic performance of a new tide-powered hydraulic turbine through numerical simulations. By means of the moving mesh method, the open-closed sequences of the blades and the movement of the rotors are obtained and the angular velocity and the average energy utilization coefficient under different tip speed ratios are also obtained. Moreover, the optimum tip speed ratio is identified by integrating the output power and the energy utilization coefficient of the hydraulic turbine with different tip speed ratios, providing data support for the prototype design of the hydraulic turbine.

Numerical simulation of hydraulic force on the impeller of reversible pump turbines in generating mode

The hydraulic force on the reversible pump turbine might cause serious problems（e.g., the abnormal stops due to large vibrations of the machine）, affecting the safe operations of the pumped energy storage power plants. In the present paper, the hydraulic force on the impeller of a model reversible pump turbine is quantitatively investigated through numerical simulations. It is found that both the amplitude of the force and its dominant components strongly depend on the operating conditions（e.g., the turbine mode, the runaway mode and the turbine brake mode） and the guide vane openings. For example, the axial force parallel with the shaft is prominent in the turbine mode while the force perpendicular to the shaft is the dominant near the runaway and the turbine brake modes. The physical origins of the hydraulic force are further revealed by the analysis of the fluid states inside the impeller.

Modeling of hydraulic turbine systems based on a Bayesian-Gaussian neural network driven by sliding window data

In this paper, a novel Bayesian-Gaussian neural network (BGNN) is proposed and applied to on-line modeling of a hydraulic turbine system (HTS). The new BGNN takes account of the complex nonlinear characteristics of HTS. Two redefined training procedures of the BGNN include the off-line training of the threshold matrix parameters, optimized by swarm optimiza- tion algorithms, and the on-line BGNN predictive application driven by the sliding window data method. The characteristics models of an HTS are identified using the new BGNN method and simulation results are presented which show the effectiveness of the BGNN in addressing modeling problems of HTS.