Research on Modal Behavior of Large Francis Turbine Runner

Abstract

The water-added-mass can affect the modal behavior of the Francis turbine runner largely. The sealing rings in the band-chamber and the crown-chamber outside of the runner are utilized to prevent leakage of water around the Francis turbine. The sealing rings and the chambers filled with water can also affect the modal behavior of the turbine. When the turbine runner operates in the power plant at various operating conditions, the seal clearances of the band-chamber and the crown-chamber filled with water may change the modal behavior of the large Francis turbine runner. Firstly, the 3D geometrical structure of the studied large-scale Francis turbine runner was constructed, and then the CAD model was meshed to establish the finite-element model for numerical analysis. Next, the modal shapes and the natural-frequencies of runners in the air were calculated, which is the traditional method used for the structural modal behavior analysis of the turbine runners. Finally, this paper investigates the modal behavior of a large-scale Francis runner prototype with the combined effects of sealing rings and water added-mass by direct water-structure coupled analysis via the finite element method (FEM) to obtain more realistic results. The results reveal that the effects of water-added-mass and sealing rings cause a significant decrease in the natural-frequency of the large Francis turbine runner, which may lead to an increase in the amplitude of vibrations and even cracks. Technical suggestions are proposed to improve the monitoring and maintenance in the power stations to maintain the safe and efficient operation of the large Francis turbine units.