Guide Vane Opening Research Articles

Guide-Vane Closing Schemes for Pump-Turbines Based on Transient Characteristics in S-shaped Region

During the transitional processes of load rejection in a pumped-storage station, the S-shaped characteristics of the pump-turbines can result in relatively large water-hammer and pulsating pressures. These pressures and the high runaway speed during transient processes may directly damage the penstocks and shorten the life of the turbine. In this study, different guide-vane closing schemes for reducing the maximum transient pressures, including the water-hammer and pulsating pressures, and runaway speed were investigated, and the principles for improving the closing schemes were theoretically analyzed based on the transient characteristics in the S-shaped region. First, an analytical expression for the rate of change of relative water head during the transitional processes was deduced based on a simplified mathematical model. It reveals the relationship between the slopes of the trajectory at the pump-turbine operating points (defined as trajectory slopes) and the rigid water-column pressure, which approximates the water-hammer pressure considering compressibility. Then, based on the characteristics of the rigid water-column pressure during the transient process and the effects of guide-vane closure on the trajectory slopes, the selection method for a two-phase guide-vane closing scheme was proposed. The method included the technique for choosing the coordinates of the turning point and the closing speed of the guide vane. Furthermore, the pulsating pressures of pump-turbines were discussed under different working regions and guide-vane openings (GVOs). Considering the characteristics of the pulsating pressures and the runaway speed during the transient processes, the advantage of three-phase valve-closing schemes in controlling the pulsating pressures and the runaway speed was clarified. Finally, a series of model tests were conducted on a pumped-storage station model and the measured data fully validated the correctness of our analyses in this work.

An adaptively fast fuzzy fractional order PID control for pumped storage hydro unit using improved gravitational search algorithm

With increasing wind or solar farm and pump storage plant integrations, more and more large-scale renewable energy integration systems are taking shape gradually, which brings up challenges to optimized control these systems. Especially, due to the reversible properties of pumped storage hydro unit (PSHU), it is apt to fall into the ‘S’ characteristic area which can lead to a wide range of unit rotational speed oscillation under no-load condition at middle-low water head. In order to solve these unstable running problems effectively, an adaptively fast fuzzy fractional order PID (AFFFOPID) control method for PSHU is proposed in this paper. A combination of fuzzy logic controller and fractional order PID is adopted by the proposed control method, and error tracking element of PSHU guide vane opening is added to improve the regulation rate. Then, an accurate mathematical model of pump-turbine with complete characteristic curves is established for the PSHU regulating system (PSHURS). Meantime, a novel bacterial-foraging chemotaxis gravitational search algorithm (BCGSA) is used for optimized parameters selection of AFFFOPID method. The BCGSA which is based on the standard gravitational search algorithm accelerates convergence speed with a combination of the Pbest–Gbest-guided strategy and adaptive elastic-ball method. Chemotaxis operator of bacterial foraging algorithm is also added into the BCGSA which is devised to step out the local optimal with a certain probability. Furthermore, simulation tests under different running conditions are utilized to demonstrate the feasibility and robustness of the AFFFOPID. The results are analyzed in detail, which demonstrates the pump-turbine model and the proposed AFFFOPID method are practicable. Comparison with other methods clearly shows that AFFFOPID using BCGSA outperforms the others in most cases.

Numerical Investigation in the Vaned Distributor under Different Guide Vanes Openings of a Pump Turbine in Pump Mode

The performance of a pump turbine in pump mode is of great importance to a pumped storage power plant. In order to obtain the pump characteristics of a pump turbine, 3D steady simulations were carried out by solving rans using different two-equation turbulence models. Compared with the experimental data, SST k-ω turbulence model was chosen to simulate external characteristics curves under 32mm, 22mm and 18mm guide vanes openings. The results show a good agreement with the experimental data, especially near the best efficiency point. Finally, the detailed analysis was conducted within vaned distributor for these three guide vanes openings. The variation of flow field, pressure filed, energy characteristic and loss with the discharge and guide vanes opening were obtained through the analysis. This research could provide a basic understanding on pump characteristics of a pump turbine for designer.

GS0522 ポンプ水車特性に与えるガイドベーン開度の影響に関する実験

In order to clarify the mechanism of the vibration phenomenon which occurs when a pump-turbine stops suddenly, the experiment of the pump-turbine were performed in this research. The pressure are measured at inlet and outlet with changing flow rate, rotating speed and guide vane opening. "S-shape curve" was observed in the turbine characteristic curve. The past research clarifies that appearing "S-shape curve" means vibration phenomenon occurs. The experimental result shows that as the guide vane opening is smaller, ψ is larger. In the value of φ/φ_d from 0.3 to 0.6, the fluid vibration occurs with the 20 degree GV and the 34 degree GV. On the other hand, with the 8 degree GV, the fluid vibration doesn't occur.

Development of a Submerged Propeller Turbine for Micro Hydro Power

This paper aims to develop a submerged propeller turbine for micro hydropower plant which allows to sustain high values of efficiency in a broad range of hydrological conditions (H=2~6 m, Q=0.15~0.39 m³/s ). The two aspects to be considered in this development are mechanical simplicity and high-efficiency operation. Unlike conventional turbines that have spiral casing and gear box, this is directing driving and no spiral casing. A 10 kW class turbine which has the most high potential of the power generation has been developed. The most important element in the design of turbine is the runner blade. The initial blade is designed using inverse design method and then the runner geometry is modified by classical hydraulic method. The design process is carried out in two steps. First, the blade shape is fix and then other components of submerged propeller turbine are designed. Computational fluid dynamics analyses based on the Navier-Stokes equations have been used to obtain overall performance data for the blade and the full turbine, respectively. The results generated by performance parameters(head, guide vane opening angle and rotational speed) variations are theoretically analysed. The evaluation criteria for the blade and the turbine performances are the pressure distribution and flow

Fluid flow analysis of drooping phenomena in pump mode for a given guide vane setting of a pump-turbine model

The energy-discharge characteristics of pump-turbines in pump mode with a hump region are significantly im- portant for operating stability. To investigate the flow characteristics, 3D steady numerical simulations are conducted for a given guide vane opening of 32 mm by solving Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations using the shear-stress transport (SST) k-ω turbulence model. Based on the validation of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) results using experimental bench- marks, the part-load (0.45φBEP), drooping zone load (0.65φBEP), near best efficiency point (BEP) (0.90φBEP), BEP (1.00φBEP), and overload (1.24φBEP) regions are chosen to analyze how and why the fluid properties change in the runner. The causes of flow separation and spatial characteristics of flow at different load points are obtained through the analysis of flow angle and hydraulic losses. The results show that flow angle at the leading and trailing edge from the crown to the band distributes differ- ently among these five operating points. Then, the reasons for drooping are investigated based on the Euler theory. It is found that drooping behavior comes from both the incidence/deviation effect and frictional losses. In addition, the runner losses are more consequential to drooping as shown by hydraulic loss analysis.

Numerical investigation on transient flow of a high head low specific speed pump-turbine in pump mode

Transient process of a pump-turbine, in which the inlet discharge decreases rapidly in pump mode, usually appears due to its frequent switch between pump mode and turbine mode. In order to ensure safe and stable operation, the mechanism of flow characteristics during the transient process was investigated combining numerical and experimental methods. First, steady and unsteady simulations were carried out using the shear-stress transport (SST) k-ω turbulence model under 19 mm guide vane opening. External and internal characteristics under different discharges were presented using numerical simulations based on experimental validation. The results show that the position and area of flow separation as well as appearance of vortices vary with time in the transient process. Finally, the variation of the transient frequency characteristics was obtained through short time Fourier transform. It indicates that main frequencies are blade passing frequency and its harmonic frequencies at the beginning of the transient process, then other complicated frequency components occur as the discharge is reduced, which may come from the vortex motion within the runner.

Computational fluid dynamics simulation and geometric design of hydraulic turbine draft tube

Any hydraulic reaction turbine is installed with a draft tube that impacts widely the entire turbine performance, on which its functions are as follows: drive the flux in appropriate manner after it releases its energy to the runner; recover the suction head by a suction effect; and improve the dynamic energy in the runner outlet. All these functions are strongly linked to the geometric definition of the draft tube. This article proposes a geometric parametrization and analysis of a Francis turbine draft tube. Based on the parametric definition, geometric changes in the draft tube are proposed and the turbine performance is modeled by computational fluid dynamics; the boundary conditions are set by measurements performed in a hydroelectric power plant. This modeling allows us to see the influence of the draft tube shape on the entire turbine performance. The numerical analysis is based on the steady-state solution of the turbine component flows for different guide vanes opening and multiple modified draft tubes. The computational fluid dynamics predictions are validated using hydroelectric plant measurements. The prediction of the turbine performance is successful and it is linked to the draft tube geometric features; therefore, it is possible to obtain a draft tube parameter value that results in a desired turbine performance.

A Mathematical Model and Its Application for Hydro Power Units under Different Operating Conditions

This paper presents a mathematical model of hydro power units, especially the governor system model for different operating conditions, based on the basic version of the software TOPSYS. The mathematical model consists of eight turbine equations, one generator equation, and one governor equation, which are solved for ten unknown variables. The generator and governor equations, which are different under various operating conditions, are presented and discussed in detail. All the essential non-linear factors in the governor system (dead-zone, saturation, rate limiting, and backlash) are also considered. Case studies are conducted based on one Swedish hydro power plant (HPP) and three Chinese plants. The simulation and on-site measurements are compared for start-up, no-load operation, normal operation, and load rejection in different control modes (frequency, opening, and power feedback). The main error in each simulation is also discussed in detail. As a result, the model application is proved trustworthy for simulating different physical quantities of the unit (e.g., guide vane opening, active power, rotation speed, and pressures at volute and draft tube). The model has already been applied effectively in consultant analyses and scientific studies.

Transient hydrodynamic analysis of the transition process of bulb hydraulic turbine

In this paper, a semi-implicit method for solving pressure coupled equations used to calculate the flow field, and dynamic mesh were employed to simulate the three-dimensional dynamic turbulent flow of whole flow channels, in start transition process and runaway transition process of bulb hydraulic turbine. In above processes, the transition process of pressure field and flow field were realistically modeled and simulated, which reflects the influence of water flow state, after passing through guide vanes on the inflow of the runner blades, and reveals the flow field variations in the transition process. The numerical results show that: during the start transition process, with the increase of guide vane opening, the flow circulation produced by water flowing through the guide vanes becomes smaller; therefore, the rotational acceleration of the runner decreases and the rotational speed value reduces. In the runaway transition process, the hydraulic turbine operating with load has a sudden load rejection and then, the hydraulic turbine rotational speed is rising with the guide vane closing, leading to pressure pulsations and severe vortex phenomenon, which will cause significant vibrations of swings.

Analysis of the Unstable Behavior of a Pump-Turbine in Turbine Mode: Fluid-Dynamical and Spectral Characterization of the S-shape Characteristic

The most common mechanical equipment adopted in the new generation of pumped-hydro power plants is represented by reversible pump-turbines (RPT), required to rapidly switch between pumping and generating modes in order to balance the frequent changes in electricity production and consumption caused by unpredictable renewable energy sources. As a consequence, pump-turbines are required to extend their operation under off-design conditions in unstable operating areas. The paper presents a numerical analysis of the unstable behavior of a pump-turbine operating in turbine mode near the no-load condition. To study in depth the unsteady phenomena which lead to the S-shape of the turbine characteristic, a load rejection scenario at constant and large guide vane opening (GVO) was numerically analyzed by running through the flow-speed characteristic up to the turbine brake region. The flow field analysis led to the onset and development of unsteady phenomena progressively evolving in an organized rotating stall (RS) (65.1% of the runner rotation frequency) during the turbine brake operation. These phenomena were characterized by frequency and time–frequency analyses of several numerical signals (static pressure, blade torque, mass flow rate in blade passages). The influence of the development of these unsteady phenomena on the pump-turbine performance in a turbine operation was also analyzed, and the potential causes that generated the S-shaped characteristic curve were also investigated.

Dynamic analysis on pressure fluctuation in vaneless region of a pump turbine

As the pump turbine tends to be operated with high head and high rotational speed, the study of stability problems becomes more important. The pump turbine usually works at operating conditions where the guide vanes experience strong vibrations. However, most traditional studies were carried out based on constant GVO (guide vane opening) simulations. In this work, dynamic analysis on pressure fluctuation in the vaneless region of a pump turbine model was conducted using a dynamic mesh method in turbine mode. 3D unsteady simulations were conducted where GVO was closed and opened by 1° from the initial 18°. Detailed time domain and frequency domain characteristics on pressure fluctuation in the vaneless region under different guide vane rotational states compared with constant GVO simulations were investigated. Results show that, during the guide vanes oscillating process, the low and intermediate frequency components in the vaneless region are significantly different. The amplitudes of pressure fluctuation are higher than those with constant GVO simulations, which agree better with the experimental data. In addition, the pressure fluctuation increases when GVO is opened, and vice versa. It can be concluded that pressure fluctuation in the vaneless region is strongly influenced by the oscillating of the guide vanes.

Investigation on cavitation for hump characteristics of a pump turbine in pump mode

In order to get the accurate hump characteristic curve of a pump turbine in pump mode, three dimensional steady simulations were carried out using SST k-ω turbulence model with cavitation model and without cavitation model under different operation condition points with 19 mm guide vanes opening. A refinement grids were generated to adapt the turbulence model. The results obtained with cavitation model show a better agreement with experiments. The detailed analysis was undertaken to find out the relationship between the cavitation and hump region. It is concluded that the hump characteristic is related with cavitation.

Numerical prediction of the pressure fluctuations on small discharge condition of a pump-turbine at pump mode

The operational stability of the pump turbine at the pump mode will be greatly influenced by large pressure fluctuations when operated in the small-discharge conditions. Therefore, it is significant to analyse the flow characteristic under the small discharge operating conditions deeply. Study of the internal flow in the small discharge condition has been investigate in great detail combined with model experiments in this paper. The SST k-ω turbulence model is adopted to perform three-dimensional numerical simulation of the entire pump-turbine flow passage at optimal guide vanes opening. The numerical simulation results match well with experimental data. Then internal flow under the small discharge condition is analysed. The results show that the dominant frequency inside the flow passage is a relative low frequency. In addition, there are obvious complex flow phenomena inside the draft tube, runner and diffuser domains, such as secondary flow, backflow and even vortex, leading to strong unsteady flow and significant pressure fluctuation.

급기가 프란시스 수차의 수압 맥동에 미치는 영향

In this study pressure and shaft torque pulsation were measured with variation of head and flow during the model test for a 15 MW Francis Turbine. Pressure pulsations were measured at the inlet of the spiral casing and 4 points in the cone of the diffuser and shaft torque pulsation at the upper position of the turbine. The maximum amplitude of pressure pulsation appeared 2.03% of the maximum rated head with the frequency of 25% of the rated revolution and at the guide vane opening of <TEX>$10^{\circ}$</TEX>. Shaft torque pulsation appeared 0.01% of the rated shaft torque, fairly low value. Air was admitted through the cone and pressure pulsation gradually decreased with increase of air flow and kept nearly constant after 5% of the rated flow. A new Francis turbine of which specific speed is 115 m-kW had been designed to rehabilitate the old one and the model test was performed at EPFL. The commercial code, STAR-<TEX>$CCM^+$</TEX> was used for numerical simulation of flow.

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.

Inlet Passage’s Development and Optimization of New Tidal Unit-Shaft Tubular Turbine

A new type of tidal unit-vertical shaft tubular turbine is designed with high efficiency, large flow rate and low water head ,which has large power under the 2~3 meters water head. According to the data of the being installed tidal units and principles of tubular turbine’s design, the high efficiency vertical shaft tubular turbine was designed under large discharge and low head, which was suitable for the tidal power station. The design also considered the requirements of turbine’s size and the details of flow through the whole flow passage were attained. The turbine’s property was predicted by the 3-d numerical simulation software on the whole flow passage. Moreover, the influences of vertical shaft’s sizes were analyzed. And the terminal of vertical shaft with or without transverse brace and longitudinal brace were analyzed to get the influence. Considering the hydraulic performance of various methods, the best guide vane opening was chosen. The results show that, the turbine unit has the best performance on efficiency, hydraulic loss, etc. with the guide vane opening 62°, meeting the power station’s design requirements. The results show that the optimal designed flow passage’s efficiency reaches up to 88.4%, the flow rate becomes much larger and the power reaches 174.63kW. Without partial vortex, the flow pattern is smooth through the whole passage also with lower hydraulic loss.

Experimental investigations of transient pressure variations in a high head model Francis turbine during start-up and shutdown

Penetration of the power generated using wind and solar energy to electrical grid network causing several incidents of the grid tripping, power outage, and frequency drooping. This has increased restart (star-stop) cycles of the hydroelectric turbines significantly since grid connected hydroelectric turbines are widely used to manage critical conditions of the grid. Each cycle induces significant stresses due to unsteady pressure loading on the runner blades. The presented work investigates the pressure loading to a high head (Hp = 377 m, Dp = 1.78 m) Francis turbine during start-stop. The measurements were carried out on a scaled model turbine (HM = 12.5 m, DM = 0.349 m). Total four operating points were considered. At each operating point, three schemes of guide vanes opening and three schemes of guide vanes closing were investigated. The results show that total head variation is up to 9% during start-stop of the turbine. On the runner blade, the maximum pressure amplitudes are about 14 kPa and 16 kPa from the instantaneous mean value of 121 kPa during rapid start-up and shutdown, respectively, which are about 1.5 times larger than that of the slow start-up and shutdown. Moreover, the maximum pressure fluctuations are given at the blade trailing edge.

Numerical predictions of pressure pulses in a Francis pump turbine with misaligned guide vanes

Previous experimental and numerical analyses of the pressure pulse characteristics in a Francis turbine are extended here by using the unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations with the shear stress transport (SST) turbulence model to model the unsteady flow within the entire flow passage of a large Francis pump turbine with misaligned guide vanes at the rated rotational speed. The S-curve characteristics are analyzed by a combined use of the model test and the steady state simulation with the aligned guide vane firstly. Four misaligned guide vanes with two different openings are chosen to analyze the influence of pressure pulses in the turbine. The characteristics of the dominant unsteady flow frequencies in different parts of the pump turbine for various misaligned guide vane openings are investigated in detail. The predicted hydraulic performance and the pressure fluctuations show that the misaligned guide vanes reduce the relative pressure fluctuation amplitudes in the stationary part of the flow passage, but not the runner blades. The misaligned guide vanes have changed the low frequencies in the entire flow passage with the change of the pulse amplitudes mainly due to changes in the rotor-stator interaction and the low frequency vortex rope flow behavior.

Investigations of unsteady flow in the draft tube of the pump- turbine model using laser Doppler anemometry

The measurements and video observation of unsteady flow in the draft tube cone of the pump-turbine model were conducted in the Laboratory of Water Turbines, property of OJSC "Power machines" - "LMZ". The prototype head was about 250 m. The experiments were performed for the turbine mode of operation.Measurements were taken for the unit speed value n11 corresponding to rated head in the generating mode of operation, for a wide range of guide vanes openings at loads ranging from partial to maximum value. The researches of the velocity field in function of the Thoma number were carried out in some operating conditions.The mean values and RMS deviations of the velocity components were the results of laser measurements. The curves of the intensity of the vortex versus the guide vane opening and the Thoma number were plotted. The energy velocity spectra were presented for the points at which the most pronounced frequency precession of the helical axial vortex was observed. Video recording and laser Doppler anemometry were made in the operating conditions of the developed cavitation. Based on the results of video observations and energy spectra obtained via LDA, vortex frequencies were determined i.e. the frequencies of the vortex precession under the runner in the draft tube cone.