Abstract
The flow in the draft tube of the water turbine is affected by the upstream flow and the inherent structure accompanied by various undesirable characteristics, affecting the efficient and stable operation of the water turbine. Changing the flow structure downstream of the runner is an important measure to reduce hydraulic loss in the draft tube and improve stability. In this study, three downstream structures of the runner, namely, the non-locking nut, small locking nut, and extended locking nut are numerically calculated and verified using experimental results. The unstable flow characteristics of the draft tube are analyzed using variations in swirling flow, backflow, pressure gradient, and vortex strip. The results show the non-negligible effect of the locking nut, which significantly reduces the rotational momentum flux at the draft tube inlet, accelerates the decay rate of the swirling flow, and suppresses the generation of axial low pressure. The small locking nut significantly reduces the pressure gradient, shortens the backflow zone, and decreases the backflow velocity. The extended locking nut reduces the backflow zone in some sections and reduces the vortex zone of the straight section but prolongs the backflow zone and increases the backflow velocity.
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