Transient simulation of the rapid guide vane adjustment under constant head of pump turbine in pump mode

Abstract

In order to understand the flow mechanism of pump turbine during the rapid guide vane adjustment (RGVA), the shear stress transition (SST) k-ω turbulence model was used for transient simulation. The dynamic mesh technique was used to simulate the closing process of the guide vane. Combined with the verification of grid independence and the validation of experimental results, the variations of performance parameters (head, flow, torque), entropy production rate and pressure pulsation were calculated. And this process can be basically divided into three stages, including the preparation stage before the guide vane closing (Stage I), the guide vane closing stage (Stage II) and the completion stage of the guide vane closing (Stage III). The numerical simulation results showed that the performance parameters were varying in the form of exponential function during RGVA. The variation trend of the torque of each guide vane in the Stage II is basically the same, but the pulsation intensity in Stage III is different. In the Stage II, the guide vane is the component with the largest change in hydraulic loss, rising by about 362.5 %. The high energy dispersion sites are filling the flow passages of the guide vanes and the static vanes. The position with high pressure pulsation amplitude in the vaneless region also shifted, and the offset angle was 2–3°. The composition and evolution of the vortex structure in the vaneless region and the flow passage are determined by the Q-criterion. These structures, including horseshoe vortex and spanwise vortex, are the main reasons for the increase of pressure pulsation amplitude.