Experimental Study of the Pressure Fluctuations in a Pump Turbine at Large Partial Flow Conditions

Frequent shifts of output and operating mode require a pump turbine with excellent stability. Current researches show that large partial flow conditions in pump mode experience positive-slope phenomena with a large head drop. The pressure fluctuation at the positive slope is crucial to the pump turbine unit safety. The operating instabilities at large partial flow conditions for a pump turbine are analyzed. The hydraulic performance of a model pump turbine is tested with the pressure fluctuations measured at unstable operating points near a positive slope in the performance curve. The hydraulic performance tests show that there are two separated positive-slope regions for the pump turbine, with the flow discharge for the first positive slope from 0.85 to 0.91 times that at the maximum efficiency point. The amplitudes of the pressure fluctuations at these unstable large partial flow conditions near the first positive slope are much larger than those at stable operating condtions. A dominant frequency is measured at 0.2 times the impeller rotational frequency in the flow passage near the impeller exit, which is believed to be induced by the rotating stall in the flow passage of the wicket gates. The test results also show hysteresis with pressure fluctuations when the pump turbine is operated near the first positive slope. The hysteresis creates different pressure fluctuations for those operation points even though their flow rates and heads are similar respectively. The pressure fluctuation characteristics at large partial flow conditions obtained by the present study will be helpful for the safe operation of pumped storage units.

Transient simulation of a pump-turbine with misaligned guide vanes during turbine model start-up

Experimental studies of a model pump-turbine S-curve characteristics and its improvement by misaligned guide vanes （MGV） were extended to prototype pump turbine through 3-D transient flow simulations. The unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations with the SST turbulence model were used to model the transient flow within the entire flow passage of a reversible pump-turbine with and without misaligned guide vanes during turbine model start-up. The unstable S-curve and its improvement by using misaligned guide vane were verified by model test and simulation. The transient flow calculations were used to clarify the variations of pressure pulse and internal flow behavior in the entire flow passage. The use of misaligned guide vanes can eliminate the S-curve characteristics of a pump-turbine, and can significantly increase the pressure pulse amplitude in the entire flow passage and the runner radial forces during start-up. The MGV only decreased the pulse amplitude on the guide vane suction side when the rotating speed was less than 50% rated speed. The hydraulic reason is that the MGV dramatically changed the flow patterns inside the entire flow passage, and destroyed the symmetry of the flow distribution inside the guide vane and runner.

Study on Energy Conversion Characteristics in Volute of Pump as Turbine

A volute is a curved funnel with cross-sectional area increasing towards the discharge port.The volute of a centrifugal pump is the casing hosting the fluid being pumped by the impeller.In Pump-as-turbine devices(PAT),vice versa the volute plays the role of energy conversion element.In the present analysis,this process is analyzed using CFD.The results show that in the contraction section of volute the conversion between dynamic pressure energy and static pressure energy essentially depends on the reduction of flow area,while in the spiral section,frictional losses also play a significant role.From the throat to the end of the volute,the flow decreases in a wave-like manner.

Noise comparison of centrifugal pump operating in pump and turbine mode

Investigations regarding the relation of noise performance for centrifugal pump operating in pump and turbine modes continue to be inadequate.This paper presents a series of comparisons of flow-induced noise for both operation modes.The interior flow-borne noise and structure modal were verified through experiments.The flow-borne noise was calculated by the acoustic boundary element method(ABEM),and the flow-induced structure noise was obtained by the coupled acoustic boundary element method(ABEM)/structure finite element method(SFEM).The results show that in pump mode,the pressure fluctuation in the volute is comparable to that in the outlet pipe,but in turbine mode,the pressure fluctuation in the impeller is comparable to that in the draft tube.The main frequency of interior flow-borne noise lies at blade passing frequency(BPF)and it shifts to the 9th BPF for interior flow-induced structure noise.The peak values at horizontal plane appear at the 5th BPF,and at axial plane,they get the highest sound pressure level(SPL)at the 8th BPF.Comparing with interior noise,the SPL of exterior flow-induced structure noise is incredibly small.At the 5th BPF,the pump body,cover and suspension show higher SPL in both modes.The outer walls of turbine generate relatively larger SPL than those of the pump.

A Study on the Unsteady Flow Characteristics and Energy Conversion in the Volute of a Pump-as-Turbine Device

To study the unsteady flow and related energy conversion process in the volute of a pump-as-turbine(PAT)device,six different working conditions have been considered.Through numerical calculation,the spatio-temporal variation of static pressure,dynamic pressure,total pressure and turbulent energy dissipation have been determined in each section of the volute.It is concluded that the reduction of the total power of two adjacent sections of the PAT volute is equal to the sum of the power lost by the fluid while moving from one section to the other and the power output from the two adjacent sections.For a fixed flow rate,the percentage of static pressure energy at the outlet of the PAT is roughly similar to that of the corresponding volute section,and both show a gradually increasing trend.The turbulent dissipation rate on each section of the PAT volute displays a similar a spatio-temporal behavior for different flow rates.

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.

Vibration Control of Vertical Turbine Pump by Optimization of Vane Pitch Tolerances of an Impeller Using Statistical Techniques

The objective of the study is to find the tolerance on vane pitch dimensions of a Vertical Turbine(VT)pump impeller.For this purpose,the study is divided into two parts viz.to find the critical hydraulic eccentricity of a VT pump impeller by way of numerical simulations and design of experiments to find the vane pitch tolerance using critical hydraulic eccentricity.The effect of impeller vane pitch deviations on hydraulic unbalance is examined for a vertical turbine pump using Design of Experiments(DOE).A suitable orthogonal matrix has been selected with vane pitch at different axial locations of an impeller as the control factors.Hydraulic eccentricity,which is the output of the DOE experiments is analyzed using S/N ratio,ANOM and regression analysis to find the significant control factor effecting the hydraulic unbalance and hence vibrations.The vane pitch deviation at outlet and inlet of impeller shroud geometry are found to be the most critical factor affecting the pump vibrations.

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.

Study on S-shaped region of pump turbine based on Omega vortex analysis method and entropy production theory

In order to comprehensively analyze the operation instability of the pump turbine S-shaped region,this paper uses DDES turbulence model to calculate the model pump turbine from the perspective of the evolution law of runner vortex and draft tube vortex rope and entropy production rate,combined with experiments.The results show that the numerical simulation is in good agreement with the experiment.Omega vortex analysis method is more accurate than other vortex recognition methods because it is not affected by the threshold value.The vortices at the runner region under the runaway condition and the turbine brake condition develop towards the vaneless space and the blade pressure surface respectively,which will cause the flow obstruction and blade separation.The overall vorticity of the reverse pump condition is the largest.The vortex rope of the draft tube under runaway and turbine brake conditions is columnar in shape and has very high rotational strength.The vortex rope under reverse pump conditions is prone to fracture and form scattered vortices,impeding the normal movement of the fluid.The entropy production rate of the spanwise surface near the upper ring and the lower crown is greater than the middle spanwise surface due to the boundary layer effect.And the energy dissipation in the runner under reverse pump conditions is characterized by high at both ends of the runner and low in the middle.The energy dissipation near the wall of the straight cone section of the draft tube is large due to the squeezing effect of the vortex rope on the flow.

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 modem 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 re- search 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 computa- tional fluid dynamics method based on k-co shear stress transport model. The experiment conducted on the test rig of the Har- bin 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 fluctua- tion of a pump turbine and could be used as a reference to improve the operation stability of it.

Analysis of the vortices in the inner flow of reversible pump turbine with the new omega vortex identification method

Reversible pump turbines are widely employed in the pumped hydro energy storage power plants. The frequent shifts among various operational modes for the reversible pump turbines pose various instability problems, e.g., the strong pressure fluctuation, the shaft swing, and the impeller damage. The instability is related to the vortices generated in the channels of the reversible pump turbines in the generating mode. In the present paper, a new omega vortex identification method is applied to the vortex analysis of the reversible pump turbines. The main advantage of the adopted algorithm is that it is physically independent of the selected values for the vortex identification in different working modes. Both weak and strong vortices can be identified by setting the same omega value in the whole passage of the reversible pump turbine. Five typical modes（turbine mode, runaway mode, turbine brake mode, zero-flow-rate mode and reverse pump mode） at several typical guide vane openings are selected for the analysis and comparisons. The differences between various modes and different guide vane openings are compared both qualitatively in terms of the vortex distributions and quantitatively in terms of the areas of the vortices in the reversible pump turbines. Our findings indicate that the new omega method could be successfully applied to the vortex identification in the reversible pump turbines.

Numerical investigation on the “S” characteristics of a reduced pump turbine model

The performance of a reversible pump turbine with S-shaped characteristics is of great importance to the transition processes such as start-up and load rejection. In order to predict the S-shaped curve accurately and develop a reliable tool for design improvement, a shear stress transport model (SST) with various numerical schemes for pressure term in the governing equation was investigated in a whole pump turbine including spiral casing, stay vanes, guide vanes, runner and draft tube. Through the computation, it was shown that different zones in the curve should employ different schemes to get the solution converged. Comparison of discharge-speed performance showed that good correspondence is got between experimental data and CFD results. Based on this, internal flow analysis was carried out at three typical operating points representing turbine mode, shut-off mode and reversible pump mode, respectively. According to the flow field concerned, the mechanism for the speed-no-load instability was explained, which provides good guidelines to take countermeasures in future design.

Numerical predictions of pressure pulses in a Francis pump turbine with misaligned guide vanes

Previous experimental and numerical analyses of the pressure pulse characteristics in a Francis turbine are extended here by using the unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations with the shear stress transport （SST） turbulence model to model the unsteady flow within the entire flow passage of a large Francis pump turbine with misaligned guide vanes at the rated rotational speed. The S-curve characteristics are analyzed by a combined use of the model test and the steady state simulation with the aligned guide vane firstly. Four misaligned guide vanes with two different openings are chosen to analyze the influence of pressure pulses in the turbine. The characteristics of the dominant unsteady flow frequencies in different parts of the pump turbine for various misaligned guide vane openings are investigated in detail. The predicted hydraulic performance and the pressure fluctuations show that the misaligned guide vanes reduce the relative pressure fluctuation amplitudes in the stationary part of the flow passage, but not the runner blades. The misaligned guide vanes have changed the low frequencies in the entire flow passage with the change of the pulse amplitudes mainly due to changes in the rotor-stator interaction and the low frequency vortex rope flow behavior.

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.

Experimental study of the flow field of a high head model pump turbine based on PIV technique

Pumped storage units are the main parts in China’s power construction,as a hot issue concerned by the industry.The pump turbine involves the two-way flows and a multiple condition operation,and its operation flow pattern is very complex.The particle image velocimetry(PIV)is a very effective test technique to determine the internal flow field of pump turbines.This paper discusses the key problems of the pump turbine,based on the PIV experiments under typical conditions of the pump turbine,especially for problems such as the S-shape problem,the hump problem,the pressure fluctuation problem and the cavitation problem.In the internal flow fields under typical conditions are determined.The vortices induced and their development are observed in the PTV test.The flow phenomenon is shown at each operating point.The typical problems of the pump turbine are closely related to the vortex distribution in the internal flow field.From the PIV test results under several working conditions and from the comparisons between the optimal condition and the part load condition,it is seen that the vortex distributions are very different.Vortices at the vane-less area between the guide vane and the runner are closely related to the strong pressure pulsation,the first hump and the S-shape curve.From the PIV results of the cavitation working points,it is seen that the flow angle is changed in the vane-less region and the runner leading edge because of the cavitation bubbles and that the flow angle deviates from the optimal setting angle.From the computational fluid dynamics(CFD)result of the second hump working points,it is concluded that the vortex shedding on the runner leading edge is the main cause of the second hump.

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.

Experimental investigations of a prototype reversible pump turbine in generating mode with water head variations

Influences of water head variations on the performances of a prototype reversible pump turbine are experimentally studied in generating mode within a wide range of load conditions(from 25% to 96% of the rated power). The pressure fluctuations of the reversible pump turbine at three different water heads(with non-dimensional values being 0.48, 0.71 and 0.90) are measured and compared based on the pressure data recorded in the whole flow passage of the turbine. Furthermore, effects of monitoring points and load variations on the impeller-induced unstable behavior(e.g. blade passing frequency and its harmonics) are quantitatively discussed. Our findings reveal that water head variations play a significant role on the pressure fluctuations and their propagation mechanisms inside the reversible pump turbine.