High-amplitude Pressure Fluctuations Research Articles

Investigation of the transient characteristics of the Francis turbine during runaway process

Transient hydraulic phenomena, including flow separation, vortex structure and high amplitude pressure fluctuation, occur in the turbine during runaway process, significantly affecting the safe and stable operation. To clarify the unsteady flow characteristics in the runaway process, this paper focus on a low head model Francis turbine, examining the transient flow dynamics from rated speed to runaway speed. Numerical simulations show good agreement with experimental test results for the runaway speed and discharge. Results identify that two typical cavitation vortex structures within the runner: A cloud cavitation vortex near the hub on the pressure side and a columnar cavitation vortex on the suction side. Further analysis reveals that the pressure fluctuation induced by the former are low-frequency (0.08fn and harmonics), whereas those induced by the latter are high-frequency (1.16fn and harmonics). Entropy production analysis in homogeneous flow indicates that energy dissipation mainly occurs in the runner and draft tube during the runaway process. Turbulent entropy production within the turbine comprises a significant portion of the total entropy production. Additionally, areas around the recirculation zone exhibit considerable high entropy production, indicating that the energy of the fluid is dissipated by cavitation vortex structures generated in these areas. Additionally, the analysis indicates that the entropy production rate correlates with vapor generation, underscoring the cavitation vortex as the primary cause of energy dissipation. This investigation can provide valuable insights into the energy dissipation mechanisms during the runaway process.

A new strategy for reducing pressure fluctuation of Francis turbine by bionic modification of local components

Long term operation of hydroelectric units in low load conditions can induce large-scale blade vortices, swirling vortex ropes in the draft tube, and low-frequency high amplitude pressure fluctuation. These phenomena will cause adverse consequences such as excessive vibration of the unit and blade breakage of the runner. Taking inspiration from the protuberances of the leading edge of a humped whale flipper, the present study firstly proposes bionic modifications of guide vanes and draft tube to suppress high-amplitude pressure fluctuations for Francis turbine. Numerical simulations of transient flow characteristics of the prototype unit (PU), the bionic guide vane unit (BG), and the bionic draft tube unit (BDG) under two low load conditions are conducted. Results indicated that the bionic draft tube has a good effect on suppressing pressure fluctuations in the vaneless area and draft tube. Under the Q/QBEF = 0.41 working condition, BDG causes the main frequency amplitude of pressure fluctuation at the center point of the draft tube inlet to change from 8000.2 Pa to 390.9 Pa, a decrease of 95.11 %. Under the Q/QBEF = 0.57 working condition, BDG causes the maximum decrease rate of the main frequency amplitude in the draft tube to be 60.5 %. The reducing effect in BDG of monitoring points in the guide vane area has reached over 43 %. Under low load conditions, the vortices near the wall in the draft tube of BDG are intercepted by bionic structures, reducing the vortex scale and helping to prevent the generation of large swirling vortex ropes. The bionic guide vanes have a significant control effect on pressure pulsation in the the guide vane and vaneless regions, although perform poorly in the draft tube.

Using bionic tubercles to control swirling flow instabilities of a hydraulic turbine during the load rejection process

With the development of renewable energy sources, operations of hydroelectric units under off-designed conditions and frequently transition processes have gradually become normalized, which is accompanied by threats from swirling vortex ropes, high amplitude pressure fluctuations, and strong hydraulic vibrations. This study introduces bionic tubercles into the Francis turbine's draft tube and guide vane design to suppress pressure fluctuation and stabilize swirling vortex rope during the load rejection process. Results reveal that the bionic Francis turbine (BFT) reaches its maximum speed of 686.4 rpm at 3.804s, marking a 6.08 % reduction from the prototype Francis turbine's maximum speed during load rejection. Moreover, it significantly diminishes the principal frequency amplitude of low-frequency pressure fluctuations caused by swirling flow instability from the draft tube cone, achieving a reduction by one to two magnitude orders. It is interesting that the scale of the circumferential vortex in the vaneless region and blade vortices within the runner channels is verified to decrease. More importantly, it is attributed that the bionic tubercles effectively disrupt and disintegrate the walled circumferential vortex structures in the draft tube.

Investigation of Non-Uniform Inflow Effects on Impeller Forces in Axial-Flow Pumps Operating as Turbines

Due to the existence of an inlet elbow, transmission shaft, and other structural components, the inflow of axial-flow pumps as turbines (PATs) becomes non-uniform, resulting in the complexity of internal flow and adverse effects such as structural vibration. In this paper, numerical methods were employed to explore the non-uniform inflow effects on impeller forces and internal flow field characteristics within an axial-flow PAT. The study results indicated that non-uniform inflow caused uneven pressure distribution inside the impeller, which leads to an imbalance in radial forces and offsetting the center of radial forces. With an increasing flow rate, the asymmetry of radial forces as well as the amplitude of their fluctuations increased. Non-uniform inflow was found to induce unstable flow structures inside the impeller, leading to low-frequency, high-amplitude pressure fluctuations near the hub. Using the enstrophy transport equation, it was shown that the relative vortex generation term played a major part in the spatiotemporal evolution of vortices, with minimal viscous effects.

Numerical investigation on vortex characteristics in a low-head Francis turbine operating of adjustable-speed at part load conditions

In this paper, the vortex characteristics in a low-head Francis turbine operating of adjustable-speed at part load conditions are numerically investigated. First, the rules of fixed-speed and adjustable-speed operations are introduced in detail, aiming at operating limits extension. Second, comparative analysis on vortex rope is conducted, with emphasis on vortex rope volume, tail water excitation and spontaneous power swing. Finally, inter-blade vortex has been analyzed and successfully demonstrated, and its induced high amplitude pressure fluctuation characteristic is explored. It is found that at deep part load, vortex rope volume and power swing coefficient of adjustable-speed operation decreased by 69 % and 61 % respectively. The amplitude of Rheingans frequency decreased by 17 %, while the amplitude of blade passing frequency increased by 83 %. After decreasing runner speed, inter-blade vortex is stranded at blade suction surface leading-edge. In addition to low-frequency disturbance, pressure fluctuation shows high-frequency wide-band characteristics. It is concluded that adjustable-speed operation has beneficial effects on improvement of cavity cavitation and energy stability. As for hydraulic stability, the Rotor-Stator Interaction effect cannot be ignored. After changing runner speed, the inter-blade vortex becomes more serious, which could provoke low-cycle and high-cycle fatigue of the blades.

High-amplitude pressure fluctuations of a pump-turbine with large head variable ratio during the turbine load rejection process

High-amplitude pressure fluctuations of a pump-turbine with large head variable ratio during the turbine load rejection process

Influence and multi-objective optimization on three-stage guide vane closure scheme of a pumped storage power plant

Selection of the guide vane closure scheme was a critical issue for the load rejection transients of a pumped-storage power plant. To fully and accurately assess the influences of the guide vane closure scheme on the transient performance and pressure fluctuation, the load rejection transients adopting the original two-stage and optimized three-stage guide vane closure schemes were simulated adopting the one- and three-dimensional coupled approach. Results suggested that the guide vane closure schemes significantly influenced the transient performances and pressure fluctuations during load rejection transients. Compared with adopting the original two-stage guide vane closure scheme, adopting the optimized three-stage guide vane closure scheme could improve the maximum rotation speed, maximum and minimum fluctuating pressures in the pumped-storage power plant, and suppress the local backflow vortexes close to the high-pressure inlet of runner and their induced low-frequency and high-amplitude pressure fluctuation close to the no-load conditions. The study results provided theoretical reference for selecting the optimized guide vane closure scheme.

Experimental investigation on the characteristics and alleviation of the upper part load pressure fluctuation in a Francis turbine

The Francis turbine is a renowned reaction hydraulic turbine known for its remarkable ability to convert the energy of flowing water into mechanical energy. Operating near the best efficiency point, the Francis turbine experiences the upper part load pressure fluctuation, which is characterized by an abrupt high amplitude increment and decay and can put the stability of a power plant at risk. This study experimentally investigated the amplitude-frequency characteristics of this special pressure fluctuation. The findings indicate that the most powerful amplitude reaches up to 15.35% of the tested water head in the vaneless space, and the characteristic frequency ranges from 1.6 to 2.3 times the rotating frequency. Notably, the study has found that the vortex rope in the draft tube exhibits a slender and spring-like within the upper part load region, and it looks like a spring stretching and compressing during the evolution of vortex rope, implying energy accumulation and release. Furthermore, a technical approach to alleviate high-amplitude pressure fluctuation in upper part load region is proposed that controls the velocity distributions at the runner outlet. A comparison of experimental test evidence shows that an impressive result is obtained with a reduction of the maximum amplitude from 10.75% to 3.52% in spiral casing, and from 15.35% to 3.03% in the vaneless space. In addition, the first-order frequencies at the spiral casing are primarily reduced, while the draft tube shows local increment, and the runner blade passage frequency becomes dominant in the vaneless space.

Active control of coupling and its effect on near-field pressure fluctuations in supersonic rectangular twin jets

Supersonic rectangular twin jets (SRTJ) are of interest for current and future generations of tactical aircraft. However, the adverse effects of screech-loop coupling have previously been documented to significantly increase the near-field (NF) pressure fluctuations. These high-amplitude pressure fluctuations have the potential to fatigue and damage nearby aft components of the aircraft. Previous studies have documented that the NF pressure fluctuation level depends on the coupling of the jets: in-phase coupling along the twin jets’ minor axes produces stronger NF pressure fluctuations than that of out-of-phase coupling. The objective of this work is to further investigate the effects of coupling modes on NF pressure fluctuations in SRTJ and to mitigate the adverse effects of coupling using active flow control. Localized arc filament plasma actuators are employed to alter the SRTJs’ coupling mode by leveraging natural flow instabilities with minimal power input. A NF microphone array is used for simultaneous coupling and NF pressure fluctuation measurements. Schlieren imaging and spectral proper orthogonal decomposition are used to assess the effects of control on the flow field. The effect of excitation at various frequencies and actuation patterns on coupling and NF pressure fluctuations in different flow regimes are explored and discussed.

Multi-objective optimization of guide vane closure scheme in clean pumped-storage power plant with emphasis on pressure fluctuations

In this study, multi-objective optimization was conducted for the guide vane closure scheme during the load-rejection process of a pump turbine, considering pressure fluctuation, maximum rotational speed, maximum pressure at the volute, and minimum pressure at the draft tube inlet to decrease the low-frequency high-amplitude pressure fluctuations at conditions near no-load. Two quantitative indicators, minimum discharge (Qmin) and the ratio of rotational speed to hydraulic head (NDH) of the pump turbine, were proposed to represent the backflow-induced pressure fluctuations. Two objective functions were defined to optimize the guide vane closure scheme and two optimized guide vane closure schemes, OPS-Q (based on Qmin) and OPS-NDH (based on NDH), were developed. The enhancements resulting from these vane closure schemes were verified using a one-dimensional–three-dimensional coupling flow simulation method. NDH was revealed to comprehensively represent backflow-induced pressure fluctuations, whereas Qmin partially represented the backflow. Consequently, OPS-NDH suppressed the pressure fluctuations by appropriately increasing the maximum pressure at the volute and the maximum vacuum at the draft tube inlet within the allowance ranges of the pumped-storage power plant. OPS-Q suppressed the pressure fluctuations; however, the minimum pressure at the draft tube inlet could not be controlled to satisfy the design requirements of the pumped-storage power plant. The findings of this study can be used as a theoretical reference for suppressing the pressure fluctuations in a clean pumped-storage power plant under near-no-load conditions.

Acoustic-Fluid-Structure Interaction (AFSI) in the Car Underbody

<div class="section abstract"><div class="htmlview paragraph">The turbulent flow around vehicles causes high amplitude pressure fluctuations at the underbody, consisting of both hydromechanic and acoustic contributions. This induces vibrations in the underbody structures, which in turn may lead to sound transmission into the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. To study these phenomena we present a run time fully coupled acoustic-fluid-structure interaction framework expanding a validated hybrid CFD-CAA solver. The excited and vibrating underbody is resembled by an aluminium plate in the underbody of the SAE body which allows for sound transmission into the interior.</div><div class="htmlview paragraph">Different excitation situations are generated by placing obstacles at the underbody upstream of the aluminium plate. For this setup we carry out a fully coupled simulation of flow, acoustics and vibration of the plate. The simulation results are compared and validated with experimental results of surface microphones, acceleration measurements and sound spectra of the interior. The analysis of the results focuses on the ratio of hydromechanic and acoustic excitation in frequency space and on possible back coupling effects of the structural vibration on the results. In the outlook, one example of an application of this method in the vehicle development is given.</div></div>

Anti-phase oscillations of an elliptical cavitation vortex in Francis turbine draft tube

In this paper, the dynamic behavior of a precessing cavitation vortex featuring an elliptical cross section in Francis turbine draft tube is investigated. This phenomenon may occur for values of discharge coefficient within 70%–85% of the discharge coefficient at the best efficiency point, for which Francis turbines can experience the onset of the so-called upper-part load (UPL) instability. The latter is characterized by the propagation of high-amplitude synchronous pressure fluctuations through the complete hydraulic circuit. High-speed visualizations of the cavitation vortex are performed on a Francis turbine model by means of two cameras synchronized with pressure sensors arranged along the draft tube for different Thoma numbers at a given discharge coefficient. A simplified analytical model of the cavitation vortex is proposed. It enables the interpretation of the video post-processing results in the frequency domain and the estimation of both the vortex cross section dimensions and their oscillations with time. It is first demonstrated that both the vortex cross section ellipticity (given by the ratio between its semi-major and semi-minor axes) and the amplitude of its oscillations are directly correlated with the amplitude of UPL pressure fluctuations during intermittent UPL instability. Furthermore, the evolution along the draft tube of the dimensions of the elliptical vortex cross section and their oscillations during fully developed UPL instability is highlighted. The ellipticity of the vortex cross section increases as the vortex center position gets closer to the draft tube wall away from the turbine outlet. In addition, the vortex cross section dimensions oscillate with opposite phase from either side of a pressure node located along the draft tube. This results in low oscillations of the total void fraction in the draft tube, compared with results obtained locally. This effect should be considered in the one-dimensional modeling of the cavitation flow during UPL instability for further stability analysis. The new insights on UPL instability presented in this paper may potentially lead to a better theoretical understanding and modeling of this phenomenon in Francis turbines draft tube.

Neural ODE to model and prognose thermoacoustic instability.

Thermoacoustic instability in a reacting flow field is characterized by high amplitude pressure fluctuations driven by a positive coupling between the unsteady heat release rate and the acoustic field of the combustor. In a turbulent flow, the transition of a thermoacoustic system from a state of chaos to periodic oscillations occurs via a state of intermittency. During the transition to periodic oscillations, the unsteady heat release rate synchronizes with the acoustic pressure fluctuations. Thermoacoustic systems are traditionally modeled by coupling the model for the heat source and the acoustic subsystem, each estimated independently. The response of the unsteady heat source, i.e., the flame, to acoustic fluctuations is characterized by introducing unsteady external forcing. The forced response of the flame need not be the same in the presence of an acoustic field due to their nonlinear coupling. Instead of characterizing individual subsystems, we introduce a neural ordinary differential equation (neural ODE) framework to model the thermoacoustic system as a whole. The neural ODE model for the thermoacoustic system uses time series of the heat release rate and the pressure fluctuations, measured simultaneously without introducing any external perturbations, to model their coupled interaction. Furthermore, we use the parameters of neural ODE to define an anomaly measure that represents the proximity of system dynamics to limit cycle oscillations and thus provide an early warning signal for the onset of thermoacoustic instability.

Investigations on Pressure Fluctuations in the S-Shaped Region of a Pump–Turbine

Hydraulic pumped storage is a special power generation and electricity shortage technology, which is usually operated with thermal power and nuclear power units, and plays a key role in ultra-high voltage and smart grid. Pressure fluctuations are the main reasons for the instability of the S-shaped region of pump–turbines, which seriously affects their lifespan and operation stability. To reveal the mechanism and propagation law of pressure fluctuations in the S-shaped region as well as numerical simulations at the turbine, the braking and the reverse pump operating conditions of a pump–turbine were carried out. Numerical results were validated using the performance experiments, and the generation mechanism and propagation law of pressure fluctuation were analyzed in detail. The analyses show that high-amplitude pressure fluctuations mainly occur in the braking and reverse pump operating conditions. Under the braking condition, a 0.49-fn low-frequency pressure fluctuation was captured, which is caused by the rotation of the backflow in the vanes. Under the reverse pump condition, a 0.19-fn low-frequency pressure fluctuation was confirmed, which is caused by the periodic rotation of the vortex between the vaneless space. This study has important guiding significance for practical engineering application.

Pressure fluctuation study in the stages of a multistage pump at best efficiency points under various operating speeds

The interaction between the rotor and stator is a major source of high amplitude pressure fluctuation and flow-induced vibration in multistage centrifugal pumps. The pressure fluctuation is detrimental to the reliable operation of pumps. The sensitivity of vibration is severe if the number of stages is more. In the present experimental study, a vertical multistage centrifugal submersible pump is used to measure the pressure fluctuation level at Best Efficiency Points (BEP) and to determine the influence of stage and operating speed on pressure fluctuation. For this purpose, pressure fluctuation signals were captured at the delivery side of the pump at BEP at various speed settings. The characteristics of pressure fluctuation at BEP at various operating speeds were studied with the help of spectra, i.e., in the frequency domain. The amplitude variation of pressure fluctuation with harmonics of vane passing frequency at stages were studied. Results have indicated that variation of pressure fluctuation with stage and speed exhibited a non-linear variation. In addition, such a pressure fluctuation study will be helpful to modify the design to obtain a uniform pressure distribution in the stages of a multistage pump.

Optimization of blade high-pressure edge to reduce pressure fluctuations in pump-turbine hump region

Hump characteristic is one of unique hydraulic instabilities of pump-turbines, which restricts the stable and safe operating range of the units. High-amplitude pressure fluctuations could be observed in the hump region, leading to hydraulic vibration of pumped storage power plants. To reduce the high-amplitude pressure fluctuation in the hump region, two optimization strategies for high-pressure edge shape of runner blades have been proposed. One is to increase the outlet angle near the shroud and the other increases the radius near the shroud. A large eddy simulation, which has been validated using performance and pressure fluctuation experiments, was performed to study the optimization effect. The valley point (0.65QBEP) in the hump region was selected for conducting time and frequency analyses under different optimization strategies. Analyses show that the pressure fluctuations were primarily caused by the rotation of three low-pressure regions at the circumference of the guide vanes. Both optimization strategies reduced the stall vortices formed in the three low-pressure regions and mitigated the rotating stall phenomenon. The influence of the runner-outlet geometries on pressure fluctuations is primarily reflected in the amplitude reduction of the dominant low frequency 0.2fn (where fn denotes the rotational speed) in the vaneless region and guide/stay vanes. Compared with strategies involving larger outlet angles near the shroud, this strategy of increasing the radius can more effectively reduce the amplitude of the dominant low frequency, and it makes the circumferential distribution of pressure fluctuations more uniform. These findings can help guide efforts in pump-turbine design optimization, which have been applied in a 700 m head pump-turbine design.

Forecasting rational working modes of long-operated gas-transport systems under conditions of their incomplete loading

Prolonged operation of the gas-transport system in conditions of partial loading involves frequent changes in the volume of gas transportation, which necessitates prompt forecasting of system operation. When forecasting the modes of operation of the gas transport system, the main criterion of optimality implies the maximum volume of gas pumping. After all, in this case, the largest profit of the gas-transport company is achieved under the condition of full provision of consumers with energy. In conditions of incomplete loading of the gas-transport system caused by a shortage of gas supply, optimality criteria change significantly. First, the equipment is operated in ranges far from nominal ones which leads to growth of energy consumption. Secondly, changes in performance cause high-amplitude pressure fluctuations at the outlet of compressor stations. Based on mathematical modeling of nonstationary processes, amplitude and frequency of pressure fluctuations at the outlet of compressor stations which can cause the pipeline overload have been established. To prevent this, it was proposed to reduce initial pressure relative to the maximum one. Calculated dependence was obtained which connects the amplitude of pressure fluctuations with the characteristics of the gas pipeline and the nonstationary process. Reduction in energy consumption for transportation is due to the shutdown of individual compressor stations (CS). Mathematical modeling has made it possible to establish regularities of reduction of productivity of the gas-transport system and duration of the nonstationary process depending on the location of the compressor station on the route. With an increase in the number of shutdown compression stations, the degree of productivity decrease and duration of nonstationarity reduces The established patterns and proposed solutions will improve the reliability of a gas-transport system by preventing pipeline overload and reduce the cost of gas transportation by selecting running numbers of shutdown stations with a known decrease in productivity.

Mechanism of low frequency high amplitude pressure fluctuation in a pump-turbine during the load rejection process

ABSTRACT Owing to the complexity of the load rejection process, the accompanied complex low frequency pressure fluctuations and their sources have not been determined. Herein, the load rejection transient process of a pump-turbine was simulated with a three-dimensional (3-D) large eddy simulation method and a dynamic mesh technology. The simulation results were validated against the experimental data. Through the joint time-frequency analysis of simulated pressure, the complex low frequency pressure fluctuation components were captured, which are generally lower than the rated rotational frequency of the runner. A comprehensive formation mechanism of these complex low frequency pressure fluctuation components was attributed to three transient hydraulic phenomena and their interactions: the water hammer in the pump-turbine, local reverse flow near the runner inlet, and 3-D blocking water ring in the vaneless space. These findings facilitate the elucidation and elimination of complex low frequency high amplitude pressure fluctuations during the load rejection transient process.

Hydrodynamic self-excited vibrations in leaking spherical valves with annular seal

Occasionally, annular seals of ball valves in hydro power plants may not perform their sealing function adequately but develop periodic vibration with periodic leakage rates causing high amplitude pressure fluctuations in the penstocks. The aim of the present study is to develop a simplified model that can explain the excitation mechanism and estimate the behavior of the hydro-mechanical system depending on the geometrical and physical parameters. The stability of the system has been studied in order to yield recommendations for best operating conditions. The governing equations are nonlinear and the perturbation technique has been adopted to solve the system variables. Following, a dimensionless analysis was developed to gain more knowledge on the parameters affecting this phenomenon. A MATLAB code was designed and implemented to study the system stability for different input reservoir energy levels and different system configurations. The results show that the system stability depends on the relation between the main line inertia and the leakage kinetic energy, the leakage reduced velocity, the seal surface area ratio, the pilot line geometry and the hydraulic losses. Also, solving the hydro-mechanical model nonlinearly brings about oscillation amplitudes that exceed the gap clearance as it is very small and the seal will hit the ball surface going backward and forward.

Mitigation of flow-induced pressure fluctuations in a Francis turbine operating at the design and partial load regimes—LES simulations

High-fidelity large eddy simulations (LES) were conducted to characterize the spatial and temporal structure of turbulent flows in an industrial-sized Francis turbine while the unit operated at the design point and partial load. A pressure surge with an amplitude of 8% of the turbine head was observed at partial load while the amplitude was <1% at the design point. The vortex rope precession observed in the draft tube correlated to the amplitude and frequency of the pressure surge. Central and peripheral water injections at various volumetric rates were considered to control the flow-induced pressure fluctuations. Central injection at the 4% and 6% flow rates attenuated high amplitude pressure fluctuations by 40% and 75% respectively at partial load. At the same operating conditions, peripheral injections did not have the same desired effect. Although power generation was not changed with water injection at the design point, it was reduced by about 2.5% by central injection and 0.5% by peripheral injection at partial load, showing a water injection mitigation strategy could be applied without any penalty.