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.

Optimization of a Centrifugal Pump Used as a Turbine Impeller By Means of an Orthogonal Test Approach

A prototype centrifugal pump with a specific speed of 110 is used to investigate and optimize the performances of a turbine for power generation.Particular attention is given to the design of the internal impeller.The internal flow field is simulated in the framework of a commercial computational fluid dynamics software(ANSYS).Four geometrical parameters of the impeller are considered,i.e.,the inlet diameter,the inlet width,the blade number,and the blade angle.The optimization is carried out on the basis of a three-level approach relying on an orthogonal test method.The results of the numerical simulations show good agreement with the experimental tests under different flow conditions.In accordance with the L9(34)design table,the head and efficiency under the rated flow rate of the nine designed schemes are calculated and processed with the method of range analysis to obtain an optimized model.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Simulink/MATLAB Model for Assessing the Use of a Centrifugal Pump as a Hydraulic Turbine

A centrifugal pump used as a hydraulic turbine in producing power for a microhydropower system is multifaceted. Centrifugal pumps are far more ubiquitous than turbines in the turbomachinery market, therefore being more readily available to the consumer. Additionally, they are cheaper. Hydraulic turbines undergo rigorous CFD simulation design and testing to establish their blade geometries and ranges of operation. This results in a refined but very expensive final product. Centrifugal pumps are thus presented as a logical alternative seeing that they can physically perform the same task as a hydropower turbine albeit at a reduced efficiency. This paper presents the results of an analysis and simulation to assess the use of a centrifugal pump as a hydraulic turbine.

Modeling a high output marine steam generator feedwater control system which uses parallel turbine-driven feed pumps

当轮船以高速度旅行时，平行汽轮机驱动的给水泵被需要。为了学习海洋的蒸气生成器给水，控制使用平行的系统汽轮机驱动喂泵，海洋的蒸气生成器给水控制系统的一个数学模型被开发它包括二个蒸气生成器和平行的数学模型汽轮机驱动喂给水管子的泵以及数学模型并且喂调整阀门。平行的操作条件点汽轮机驱动喂泵被 Chebyshev 曲线计算合适的方法。为蒸气发电机的一个水位控制器和一个旋转速度控制器为汽轮机驱动喂泵也在模型被包括。数学模型和他们的控制器的精确性被从一个模拟器把他们的结果与那些作比较验证。

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.

New Analytical Model for Optimal Placement of Wind Turbines in Power Network under Pool and Reserve Markets Conditions

In this paper a new market based analytical model is proposed for optimal placement of Wind Turbines (WTs) in power systems. In addition to wind turbines, thermal units (THUs) and Pumped Storage Hydro Power Plants (PSHPPs) owners participate in power market. Objective function is defined as participants’ social welfare achieved from power pool and ancillary markets in yearly horizon. Wind turbines have been modeled by probability-generation tree scenarios based on statistical information. We concentrate on investment profits of WTs numbers and its generation capacity beside to PSHPPs and THUs power plants in power systems due to increase in high flexible tools for Independent system operator into the planning and operation planning time interval. For effectiveness evaluation of proposed model, simulation studies are applied on 14-Bus IEEE test power system.

水力脉动下抽水蓄能机组扭振特性辨识方法

提出一种基于水力脉动的抽水蓄能机组轴系扭振特性辨识方法,即采用应变测试技术获取随机性动态扭矩信号;设置触发阈值,将扭矩信号和阈值的交点及其后一定长度的样本点组成样本信号;对足够多样本平均后,信号中随机响应和正/负速度冲击响应被平均掉,剩余则为幅值冲击响应信号;用指数函数拟合冲击响应信号,从中得到扭振固有频率和阻尼。将该方法应用于某抽水蓄能机组扭振特性辨识。试验结果表明:25%负荷工况下水力脉动幅度较大,触发阈值对阻尼和频率辨识结果的影响较小;负荷升高后扭矩脉动幅度减小,触发阈值对频率识别值的影响较小,但会影响阻尼识别值;该方法无需施加扭矩激励,可以实现安装状态下扭振特性辨识,具有较强的工程应用价值。

基于阿基米德螺旋转轮的自清洗泵前过滤器设计与试验

为提高泵前过滤器自清洗性能,解决过滤系统频繁中断问题,该研究将阿基米德螺旋转轮应用于泵前过滤器自清洗过程,通过数值仿真与物理试验,结合相关性分析和线性回归分析,探究叶片螺距、叶片角度、叶片数量对阿基米德螺旋转轮转速的影响规律。结果表明:转轮转速随螺距的增加逐渐下降,且降低幅度逐渐上升,随叶片角度和叶片数量的增加转轮转速的提升较小且提升幅度不断减小,对转轮转速影响程度由大到小为螺距、叶片角度和叶片数量。通过TOPSIS法(technique for order preference by similarity to an ideal solution)综合评价得到最佳结构参数组合为:螺距133 mm,叶片角度90°,叶片数量1。优化后水驱式自清洗泵前过滤器开展自清洗试验,结果显示流量经过最初下降阶段后稳定在294.9~296.6 m^(3)/h区间,流量降幅仅为1.13%~1.70%,利用水力驱动阿基米德螺旋转轮带动自清洗装置的滤网清洗效果良好。研究结果可为水驱式自清洗泵前过滤器的结构设计和优化提供参考。

水泵水轮机尾水管压力脉动特性及涡带特性分析

抽蓄电站是电网的重要组成部分,水泵水轮机长时间偏离最优工况运行会导致水力不稳定问题,其中,尾水管涡带和压力脉动问题备受关注,严重影响机组安全稳定运行。以水泵水轮机为研究对象,分析了其尾水管内流特性与压力脉动时频特性。对比了两种第二代和两种第三代涡识别方法对尾水管涡带演化过程的可视化效果,Omega-Liutex涡识别方法对阈值依赖性小且对涡带形态的识别更清晰完备,因此,采用Omega-Liutex涡识别方法研究了不同负荷工况下尾水管涡带的瞬态变化特性。研究结果可以为水泵水轮机稳定运行提供一定的理论参考。

改变导叶翼型对水泵水轮机“S”特性的影响

针对水泵水轮机“S”特性区域的不稳定性问题,提出使用改型活动导叶翼型进行性能提升.以某水泵水轮机模型为研究对象,采用SST k-ω湍流模型对水泵水轮机全流道进行三维数值计算,通过对活动导叶翼型的改型设计,得出流量-转速模拟曲线,分析水泵水轮机组“S”特性改善情况.将计算与试验结果进行对比,并对改型活动导叶翼型前后机组的无叶区进行压力脉动分析.结果表明:在保证整体效率依然保持在92%附近的前提下,新的活动导叶翼型对机组的“S”特性依旧具有改善效果;无叶区压力脉动主要是受到活动导叶叶栅区域的分流在此重新聚集影响,并且与转轮叶片的动静相互扰动引起的;改型后的活动导叶降低了无叶区的压力脉动幅值,提升了水泵水轮机运行中的并网稳定性.