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.

Research on windmill starting characteristics of MTE-D micro turbine engine

Micro turbine engine （MTE） is an important kind of propulsion system for miniature unmanned aircraft or missiles, because of its better high-speed performance （than propeller propulsion） and higher propulsion efficiency （obviously than rockets）. Windmill start is a common air-starting mode used in micro turbine engine. The windmill starting characteristics are important to the practical use of micro turbine engine. In this paper, the windmill starting characteristics research for a 12 cm diameter （MTE-D） micro turbine engine is carried out by experiment and numerical simulation. The characteristic of rotor mechanical losses at low-speed condition is stud- ied, and the engine common working line of windmill starting process is obtained. Based on the engine windmill characteristics, the propane ignition characteristics under different inflow conditions are researched, and the envelope of propane ignition and propane flameout is determined. The experimental research of fuel supply and ignition characteristics is completed, and the envelope of fuel supply and ignition is obtained. The windmill stage, propane ignition stage, fuel ignition stage and acceleration process from idling-speed to 80% full speed of MTE-D micro turbine engine is optimized, and the optimization windmill starting parameters are collected. The successful wind-mill starting experiment under this condition with engine speed up to 80% full speed indicates that these starting parameters are reasonable. All the starting parameters of MTE-D micro turbine engine obtained in this work are dimensionless parameters, and the conclusions obtained in this study have some reference to other micro turbine engines with the similar structural form and starting process.