Analysis of the Pump-turbine S Characteristics Using the Detached Eddy Simulation Method

Current research on pump-turbine units is focused on the unstable operation at off-design conditions, with the characteristic curves in generating mode being S-shaped. Unlike in the traditional water turbines, pump-turbine operation along the S-shaped curve can lead to difficulties during load rejection with unusual increases in the water pressure, which leads to machine vibrations. This paper describes both model tests and numerical simulations. A reduced scale model of a low specific speed pump-turbine was used for the performance tests, with comparisons to computational fluid dynamics（CFD） results. Predictions using the detached eddy simulation（DES） turbulence model, which is a combined Reynolds averaged Naviers-Stokes（RANS） and large eddy simulation（LES） model, are compared with the two-equation turbulence mode results. The external characteristics as well as the internal flow are for various guide vane openings to understand the unsteady flow along the so called S characteristics of a pump-turbine. Comparison of the experimental data with the CFD results for various conditions and times shows that DES model gives better agreement with experimental data than the two-equation turbulence model. For low flow conditions, the centrifugal forces and the large incident angle create large vortices between the guide vanes and the runner inlet in the runner passage, which is the main factor leading to the S-shaped characteristics. The turbulence model used here gives more accurate simulations of the internal flow characteristics of the pump-turbine and a more detailed force analysis which shows the mechanisms controlling of the S characteristics.

3D Two-way Coupled TEHD Analysis on the Lubricating Characteristics of Thrust Bearings in Pump-turbine Units by Combining CFD and FEA

The thermal elastic hydro dynamic （TEHD） lubrication analysis for the thrust bearing is usually conducted by combining Reynolds equation with finite element analysis （FEA）. But it is still a problem to conduct the computation by combining computational fluid dynamics （CFD） and FEA which can simulate the TEHD more accurately. In this paper, by using both direct and separate coupled solutions together, steady TEHD lubrication considering the viscosity-temperature effect for a bidirectional thrust bearing in a pump-turbine unit is simulated combining a 3D CFD model for the oil film with a 3D FEA model for the pad and mirror plate. Cyclic symmetry condition is used in the oil film flow as more reasonable boundary conditions which avoids the oil temperature assumption at the leading and trailing edge. Deformations of the pad and mirror plate are predicted and discussed as well as the distributions of oil film thickness, pressure, temperature. The predicted temperature shows good agreement with measurements, while the pressure shows a reasonable distribution comparing with previous studies. Further analysis of the three-coupled-field reveals the reason of the high pressure and high temperature generated in the film. Finally, the influence of rotational speed of the mirror plate on the lubrication characteristics is illustrated which shows the thrust load should be balanced against the oil film temperature and pressure in optimized designs. This research proposes a thrust bearing computation method by combining CFD and FEA which can do the TEHD analysis more accurately.

Flow-Induced Instabilities in Pump-Turbines in China

The stability of pump-turbines is of great importance to the operation of pumped storage power （PSP） stations. Both hydraulic instabilities and operational instabilities have been reported in PSP stations in China. In order to provide a reference to the engineers and scientists working on pump-turbines, this paper summarizes the hydraulic instabilities and performance characteristics that promote the operational instabilities encountered in pump-turbine operations in China. Definitions, analytical methods, numerical and experimental studies, and main results are clarified. Precautions and countermeasures are also provided based on a literature review. The gaps between present studies and the need for engineering practice are pointed out.

Power Stabilization System with Counter-Rotating Type Pump-Turbine Unit for Renewable Energy

Traditional type pumped storage system contributes to adjust the electric power unbalance between day and night, in general. The pump-turbine unit is prepared for the power stabilization system, in this serial research, to provide the constant power with good quality for the grid system, even at the suddenly fluctuating/turbulent output from renewable energies. In the unit, the angular momentum changes through the front impeller/runner must be the same as that through the rear impeller/runner, that is, the axial flow at the outlet should be the same to the axial flow at the inlet. Such flow conditions are advantageous to work at not only the pumping mode but also the turbine mode. This work discusses experimentally the performance of the unit, and verifies that this type unit is very effective to both operating modes.

Counter-Rotating Type Pump-Turbine Unit Stabilizing Momentarily Fluctuating Power from Renewable Energy Resources

It is difficult for renewable energy resources to provide constant power with excellent quality for the grid system. This serial research proposes a power stabilization system with a pumped storage to guarantee power quality and capacity, while the outputs from the energy resources are at unstable and/or fluctuating conditions. The power stabilization system with a counter-rotating type pump-turbine unit was prepared and operated at the pumping and the turbine modes. The unit composed of the tandem impellers/runners connected to the inner and the outer armatures of the unique motor/generator. The experiments have verified that this type pump-turbine unit is reasonably effective to stabilize momentarily/instantaneously the fluctuating power from the renewable energy resources.

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.

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.

Unstable flow characteristics in a pump-turbine simulated by a modified Partially-Averaged Navier-Stokes method

Positive slope characteristics are very important for the safe and stable operation of a pump-turbine. In this study, the unsteady flows in a pump-turbine at pump mode are investigated numerically. To predict the positive slope characteristics with an improved accuracy, a modified Partially-Averaged Navier-Stokes(MPANS) model is employed to capture the unstable physics in a pump-turbine. It is confirmed that the present numerical method predicts the positive slope characteristics in the pumpturbine fairly well compared with the experimental data. It is noted that at the drooping point of the performance curve(positive slope), there are three sets of rotating stall cells in the flow passages of both the guide vanes and stay vanes. In the guide vane region, the flow is completely shut off by the rotating stall, whereas in the stay vane region, the flow passage is partly blocked at the drooping point. The numerical results also reveal that the remarkable variation and high angle of attack(AOA) values upstream the leading edge of the guide vane contribute to the flow separation at the vane suction side and induce rotating stall in the flow passage within the positive slope region. Furthermore, the propagation of the rotating stall is depicted by both Eulerian and Lagrangian viewpoints: the rotating stall blocks the flow passage between two neighboring guide vanes and pushes the flow toward the leading edge of the subsequent guide vane. The rotating stall cell shifts along the rotational direction with a much lower frequency(0.146 f_n) compared with the runner rotational frequency, f_n.

Counter-Rotating Type Pump-Turbine Unit Cooperating with Wind Power Unit

This serial research proposes the hybrid power system combined the wind power unit with the counter-rotating type pump-turbine unit,to provide the constant output for the grid system,even at the suddenly fluctuating/turbulent wind.In this paper,the tandem impellers of the counter-rotating type pumping unit was operated at the turbine mode,and the performances and the flow conditions were investigated numerically and experimentally.The 3-D turbulent flows in the runners were simulated at the steady state condition by using the commercial CFD code of ANSYS-CFX ver.12 with the SST turbulence model.While providing the pump unit for the turbine mode,the maximum hydraulic efficiency is close to one of the counter-rotating type hydroelectric unit designed exclu-sively for the turbine mode.Besides,the runner/impeller of the unit works evidently so as to coincide the angularmomentum change through the front runners/impellers with that through the rear runners/impellers,namely to take the axial flow at not only the inlet but also the outlet without the guide vanes.These results show that this type of unit is effective to work at not only the pumping but also the turbine modes.

Numerical Flow Simulation in Turbine Mode of Counter-Rotating Type Pumping Unit to Cooperate with Wind Turbine

This serial research has proposed the hybrid power system combined the wind power unit with the counter-rotating type pump-turbine unit, to provide the constant output for the grid system, even at the suddenly fluctuating/turbulent wind circumstance. In this paper, the tandem impellers prepared for the counter-rotating type pumping unit were operated at the turbine mode, and the performances and the flow conditions were investigated numerically with accompanying the experimental results. Even though providing the pumping unit for the turbine mode, the maximum hydraulic efficiency is close to one of the counter-rotating type hydroelectric unit designed exclusively for the turbine mode. Besides, the runners/impellers of the unit work evidently so as to coincide the angular momentum change through the front runners/impellers with that through the rear runners/impellers, namely to take the axial flow at not only the inlet but also the outlet, without the guide vanes. From these results, it can be concluded that this type unit is effective to work at not only the pumping but also the turbine modes.

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.

Transient simulation and analysis of the simultaneous load rejection process in pumped storage power stations using a 1-D-3-D coupling method

The load rejection imposes a danger in the pumped storage hydropower plants(PSPs),especially when two or more pump turbines reject their loads simultaneously.In this paper,the simultaneous load rejection scenarios in the PSPs are simulated and analyzed by using a 1-D,3-D coupling method.The PSP pipe system is modeled by using the 1-D method of characteristics(MOC)and one pump turbine is modeled by using the 3-D computational fluid dynamics(CFD).The simulated flow and head are transmitted between the 1-D,3-D regions through the interfaces between these two regions.By assuming that the installed pump turbines are of the same type and the corresponding branch pipes have the same properties,the variations of the transient pressures and the flowrates in different pump turbines will be identical.Therefore,only one pump turbine is modeled by the CFD in this study.A new branching junction boundary is proposed to assign the simulated dynamic pressures and flowrates obtained by the 3-D model to other pump turbines.The 1-D-3-D coupling method is validated by experiments with only one pump turbine rejecting its load.The simultaneous load rejection of two pump turbines is then simulated and validated by comparing the results with those of the 1-D simulation.By building only one pump turbine 3-D model,a large amount of computational resources can be saved.The simultaneous load rejection scenario is then analyzed and compared with the single load rejection scenario.Higher water hammer pressures and a larger rotational speed occur in the simultaneous load rejection scenario,which leads to larger pressure pulsations in the pump turbine.The larger pressure pulsations can be further explained by the flow patterns in the runner channels,in which heavier flow separations and vortexes can be observed in the simultaneous load rejection scenario.