Pump Mode Research Articles

Numerical Study on Valve Closing Criteria during Pump-turbine Start-up on Pump Mode

Abstract Vibrations of exhaust pipes have been observed in some hydropower stations during the exhaust process of pump-turbine start-up on pump mode due to water ingress into the pipes. It may have a safety risk for the pump-turbine start-up process when exhaust pipes are operating under the compressed air-water two phase flow. Since the numerical simulation researches about pump start-up process have been rarely reported and the development of flow field in exhaust pipe is lack of quantitative cognition, it calls for an urgent need to supplement related works. In this paper, the transient full-channel two-phase numerical simulation research on the pump mode return water exhaust process of a pumped power station is carried out by Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes approach. This work put emphasis on the characteristics of cone water level, runner torque and air speed in exhaust pipes after the compressed air released from the runner chamber. Then development laws and relationship with the exhaust valve closing timing are analysed and concluded. Results show that the cone water level, runner torque and air speed pulsation signal of exhaust pipes can be used as exhaust valve closing criteria, and the third criterion has the largest time margin.

Numerical simulation on the flow characteristics of a pump-turbine in load rejection process

Abstract Pumped storage plays a crucial role in maintaining the stability of the power grid, with the pump-turbine being the key component. The flow characteristics of the pump-turbine during transient processes have a significant impact on the unit’s safety, particularly in load rejection scenarios. In this study, a 1D transient simulation is conducted to analyze the flow characteristics of a pump-turbine during load rejection using the Quasi-static method. The study focuses on the flow patterns and axial hydraulic thrust. The results indicate that the unit operates in turbine, braking, and pumping modes during load rejection, with the streamline becoming chaotic. This complex flow pattern also leads to notable variations in the axial hydraulic thrust, ranging from -92t to 405t. The findings presented in this paper are valuable for ensuring the safety of pump-turbines and can serve as a reference for their optimization and operation.

Sensitivity analysis of parameters impacting the performance of an energy ship using airborne wind energy

This study assesses the impact of different model parameters on the power performance of energy ship systems using point-mass models, focusing on two operational modes. The first mode involves a kite operating in a pumping mode with adjustable tether lengths, aided by additional propellers for ship propulsion. It utilizes a quasi-steady kite model coupled with ship motion’s drag force and velocity triangles. The second mode features a kite pulling the ship, while underwater hydraulic turbines harness energy from ship velocity. Derived from a sail-based model, calculations deploy the force balance equation in line with ship motion, considering the drag forces of the ship and hydraulic turbines, alongside the propulsive force resulting from the kite’s interaction with the ship. The investigated parameters influencing the power performance include kite surface, ship length, wind speed, the angle between the ship’s motion direction and wind direction, and, for the pumping mode, ship speed. The power production of the propulsion mode is generally lower, with differences of at least 72%, depending on the combination of considered parameters.

Study of axial hydraulic thrust and radial force characteristics of a variable speed pump-turbine unit

Abstract When the pump turbine does variable speed operation, it can improve the operation efficiency in the turbine mode, and it can improve the automatic frequency adjustment efficiency in the pump mode. However, the hydraulic thrust will also change when the speed changes, and the magnitude of the hydraulic thrust is crucial for the safe and stable operation of the unit. The work of this paper is to analyze the changes of the axial hydraulic force and radial force with the change of the speed by numerical simulation method. It is found that the fluctuation of axial hydraulic thrust can reach about 34 t at 398.57rpm speed, 37 t at 412.16rpm speed and 21 t at 428.6rpm speed. the fluctuation of radial force can reach about 13.78 t, 14.4 t and 12.4 t. The purpose of this paper is to use the simulation results to understand the hydraulic thrust characteristics and ensure the stability of the unit to select the appropriate speed range, provide the basis for stable operation of the unit under design conditions.

Transverse mode switchable mode-locked laser with narrow bandwidth

Transverse mode switchable ultrashort optical pulses with narrow bandwidths can create potential for exploring what we believe are new physical effects. We demonstrate the generation of transverse mode switchable ultrashort pulses with narrow bandwidths in an all-fiber mode-locked laser by exploring a mode-selective photonic lantern (MSPL). The laser cavity serves not only as a ring resonator but also as an intrinsic spectral filter. For mode-locking with the LP01, LP11a, and LP11b modes, the bandwidths are 3.0 nm, 86.7 pm and 101.7 pm, respectively. The narrowband pulses with higher-order modes are generated by an intrinsic spectral filter due to the spectral-domain intermodal interference. Mode-locked pulses with a signal-to-noise ratio better than 60 dB for LP01, LP11a, and LP11b modes are independently generated, i.e., transverse mode switchable by changing the input port of the MSPL. The mode-locked wavelength can be tuned for the LP11a mode and LP11b mode by adjusting the state of polarization. Furthermore, our experimental results also show that, the slope efficiency of LP11a and LP11b modes can be improved, by the use of LP11 mode pump scheme. We anticipate that, narrowband pulses with complex mode profiles can be generated by simultaneously phase-locked transverse and longitudinal modes.

Numerical investigation of flow characteristics in the front and rear chambers of centrifugal pump and pump as turbine

To investigate the flow characteristics in front chamber and rear chamber in pump mode and pump as turbine mode, a 3D computational model of a centrifugal pump was established, including the front and rear chamber. Based on Realizable k-ε turbulence model, numerical calculations of incompressible flow were carried out for internal viscous flow in two operating modes. Further analysis was conducted on the flow stability and hydraulic losses under two modes using energy gradient theory and entropy production theory. The numerical simulation results are within reasonable error compared to the experimental results in pump operation mode, which ensures the reliability of the numerical calculation method. The results indicate that the volumetric efficiency in both two modes is on an upward trend with increasing flow, but the volumetric efficiency of the pump mode is more significantly affected by changes in flow; the distribution patterns of dimensionless circumferential velocity and dimensionless radial velocity in the front and rear chambers under two operating modes are similar, but the distribution pattern of dimensionless radial velocity in the front chamber in turbine mode is significantly different from other operating conditions; flow instability is most likely to occur at the outlet of impeller, and the energy loss in clearance of wear-rings is greater than that in the pump chamber.

Performance investigation of coupling modes for hydrogen circulation in high-power proton exchange membrane fuel cell systems

The economy and stability of the hydrogen recirculation system in high-power fuel cells significantly impact the performance of the stack system. However, there is no consensus on the optimal hydrogen recirculation mode to be employed. To determine the most effective solution across the entire power range of the stack, this study compares the performance of various coupling modes. The dynamic performance variations of the system were investigated under different modes by the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) method. The simulation results demonstrated that within the low and medium power range of the stack, the PUE (Pump Upstream of Ejector) mode had the lowest power consumption of all modes, at 112 W. The power of the PUE mode had a reduction of 56.3% compared to the full-power single hydrogen pump mode, and a reduction of 22.8% compared to the PDE (Pump Downstream of Ejector) mode.

Active Vibration Control on a Tire-Wheel Assembly using Piezoelectric Spatial Modal Filter

Abstract Vibrations due to tire-road contact in wheeled vehicles induce acoustic discomfort especially beyond 35 km·h−1. This paper proposes an active control method to reduce the vibration transmission from the tire-road contact to the vehicle through piezoelectric transducers located directly on the wheel spokes. Our approach relies on a double spatial modal filter to physically focus the control energy on the wheel pumping mode while avoiding any spillover phenomena. In addition, a band pass controller ensures maximum damping on the targeted mode. The proposed control strategy is applied first to the clamped wheel in order to validate the static performance of the spatial controller. Then the wheel is excited through the tire and the efficiency of the controller is evaluated through the measured force passing by the wheel hub. Finally, the tire-wheel assembly (TWA) is placed on an experimental set-up recreating the vehicle operating conditions with wheel rotation at different velocities and road excitation. The experimental results confirm the efficiency of the proposed control method and its robustness to the dynamics evolution of the structure in function of the TWA angular velocity.

Analysis of the Flow Behavior and Pressure Fluctuation of a Pump Turbine with Splitter Blades in Part-Load Pump Mode

The internal flow of a pump turbine is unstable in part-load pump mode for small guide-vane openings, and the strong vibration caused by pressure pulsation is related to the safe and stable operation of the unit. A pump turbine with a six-splitter-blade runner was chosen for unsteady simulation analyses. A standard k-epsilon turbulence model was adopted to study the unsteady flow and pressure pulsation in part-load pump mode. The predicted results show that the flow in the draft tube and the runner with splitter blades was relatively stable and the flow of the blade-to-blade channel was symmetrical. When the inlet and outlet velocity distribution of the vanes was not uniform, a vortex began to form in the stay-vane domain. The reason for this vortex formation is explained, and it is pointed out that the existence of the vortex and backflow leads to uneven velocity distribution. The unsteady calculation results showed that the pressure-pulsation peak-to-peak amplitudes in the vaneless area and guide vanes were much higher than those of other monitor points because of rotor–stator interference between the rotating runner and the vanes. In addition, the pulsation characteristics of the monitor points at different circumferential positions in the vaneless region were quite different. In the vaneless area, the velocity gradient along the circumferential direction was very large, and there was a phenomenon of backflow. Also, the pressure pulsation was 0.2 times that of the runner rotational frequency, and the blade-passing frequency was a third-order frequency. At the outlet of the guide vane, the pressure pulsation was mainly of a low frequency with a complex vortex flow. Finally, the pressure pulsation began to decrease rapidly in the stay-vane region.

Methane sensing in the mid-IR using short wave IR photon counting detectors via non-linear interferometry

We demonstrate a novel MIR methane sensor shifting measurement wavelength to SWIR (1.55μm) by using non-linear interferometry. The technique exploits the interference effects seen in three-wave mixing when pump, signal, and idler modes make a double pass through a nonlinear crystal. The method allows sensing at wavelengths where detectors are poor (>3μm) and detection at wavelengths where photon counting sensitivity can be achieved. In a first experimental demonstration, we measured a small methane concentration inside a gas cell with high precision. This interferometer can be built in a compact design for field operations and potentially enable the detection of low concentrations of methane at up to 100m range. Signal-to-noise ratio calculations show that the method can outperform existing short wavelength (∼1.65μm) integrated path differential absorption direct sensing at high (>10−4) non-linear gain.

Mechanism analysis of the abnormal head-cover vibration of an ultra-high-head pump-turbine operating in pump mode by CFD and FEM

ABSTRACT Hydraulic excitation causes abnormal head-cover vibration in some pump-turbines, particularly as design heads continue to rise. Pump-turbines with heads exceeding 600 m have reported such vibrations in pump mode, and it is urgent to reveal the reasons. A study was conducted on a head-cover of a pump-turbine with a maximum head of 660 m by 3D computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and finite element method (FEM) numerical simulations to investigate the hydraulic excitation source and vibration mechanism. Results show that the intensive vibration is related to the coincidence of frequency and mode between abnormal pressure pulsations with frequency 6–8f n and the low-order wet mode of the head-cover. A new flow pattern termed the rolling vortex was discovered in the vaneless space under high-head pumping conditions. The 6–8f n pressure pulsations result from the interaction between rolling vortices and guide-vanes, similar to the rotor-stator interaction. The flow mechanism of the rolling vortices is that the outflow velocity near the hub at the runner outlet is higher than that near the shroud, due to the positive blade lean angle and the X-shape distorted blades. Suppressing rolling vortices may help eliminate the abnormal head-cover vibration, which will be attempted in further study.

Sequential Transportation of Different Oil Batches through the Industrial Pipeline

In sequential pumping, several liquids with different physical and chemical properties are pumped through one pipeline. The advantages of this method include: using one pipeline to transport different liquids; more complete pipeline loading; and reduced cost of pumping. The paper considers the sequential pumping of two batches of oil blends with different physicochemical properties through an industrial oil pipeline. This is because a batch of high-paraffin oil blend is simultaneously pumped to an oil refinery, and a batch of high-viscosity oil blend is transported further along a pipeline. The difference between the thermal-physical and rheological properties of oil batches imposes a condition on the thermal mode of operation of an industrial pipeline. A mathematical model and algorithm have been created for calculating the sequential transportation of high-paraffin and high-viscosity oil blends. Thermohydraulic calculations of the model show the distribution of hydraulic head, pressure, and temperature of the batches under the operating conditions of pumping units and heating furnaces. The verification and validation of the theoretical analysis was carried out with experimental data measured by the SCADA along the industrial pipeline length. By the thermal mode of sequential pumping, optimal heating temperatures of oil blends were found at the industrial pipeline stations.

On-chip integrated few-mode erbium–ytterbium co-doped waveguide amplifiers

We propose for the first time, to the best of our knowledge, an on-chip integrated few-mode erbium–ytterbium co-doped waveguide amplifier based on an 800 nm thick Si3N4 platform, which demonstrates high amplification gains and low differential modal gains (DMGs) simultaneously. An eccentric waveguide structure and a co-propagating pumping scheme are adopted to balance the gain of each mode. A hybrid mode/polarization/wavelength-division (de)multiplexer with low insertion loss and crosstalk is used for multiplexing and demultiplexing in two operation wavebands centered at 1550 nm and 980 nm, where the light in these two bands serves as the signal light and pump light of the amplifier, respectively. The results demonstrate that with an input signal power of 0.1 mW, TE0 mode pump power of 300 mW, and TE1 mode pump power of 500 mW, the three signal modes (TE0/TM0/TE1) all exhibit amplification gains exceeding 30 dB, while maintaining a DMG of less than 0.1 dB.

Performance map and theoretical analysis of Carnot battery technology via novel reversible Rankine-based cycle

Carnot battery technology offers a good solution for storing the energy for later use. There are various types of Carnot batteries, and the Rankine-based cycle stands out due to its efficiency in power generation. Carnot battery can be configured as a stand-alone system, in which the heat pump and heat engine are installed separately. This approach, though, necessitates additional components, leading to high initial investment costs. As an alternative approach, a reversible system that reduces the number of components can be a promising alternative. This article reported the analysis of the Carnot battery implemented via a novel reversible Rankine-based thermodynamic cycle (so-called RRTC). This RRTC system is designed using one expander for both the organic Rankine cycle and heat pump modes (i.e., a throttle valve in the heat pump mode is replaced by an expander). The mathematical modeling simulation and its results are described, highlighting the performance map of the RRTC. Simulations were made for nine selected working fluids, focusing on their thermal properties. Among nine working fluids studied, R152a emerged as the most promising for RRTC applications due to its superior power-to-power performance of 1.57, surpassing other working fluids for which performances below 1.50 were obtained. The results show that a relative difference below 10% was likely observed between simulation results with and without Baumann's correlation. Moreover, Ba(OH)2·8 H2O and acetamide offer a less phase change material mass required in the storage system, achieving thermal energy storage mass sizing ratio of 0.35–1.55 and 0.39–1.71, respectively.

Pulsation Stability Analysis of a Prototype Pump-Turbine during Pump Mode Startup: Field Test Observations and Insights

Pump-turbines experience complex flow phenomena and fluid–structure interactions during transient operations, which can significantly impact their stability and performance. This paper presents a comprehensive field test study of the pump mode startup process for a 150 MW prototype pump-turbine. By analyzing pressure fluctuations, structural vibrations, and their short-time Fourier transform (STFT) results, multiple stages were identified, each exhibiting distinct characteristics. These characteristics were influenced by factors such as runner rotation, free surface sloshing in the draft tube, and rotor–stator interactions. The natural frequencies of the metallic components varied during the speed-up and water-filling stages, potentially due to gyroscopic effects or stress-stiffening phenomena. The opening of the guide vanes and dewatering valve inside the guide vanes significantly altered the amplitude of the rotor–stator interaction frequency, transitioning the vibration behavior from forced to self-excited regimes. Interestingly, the draft tube pressure fluctuations exhibited sloshing frequencies that deviated from existing prediction methods. The substantial phenomena observed in this study can help researchers in the field to deepen the understanding of the complex behavior of pump-turbines during transient operations and identify more meaningful research directions.

Research on pressure pulsation characteristics of a pump-turbine in pump mode with rotating stall: Focus on the broadband frequency

To investigate the adverse effects of rotating stalls on the pressure pulsation characteristics of a pump-turbine in pump mode, an unsteady numerical simulation was carried out by applying the partially averaged Navier–Stokes turbulence model. The numerical methods were carefully verified, and the onset flow rate of the hump at the performance curve and heads were in good agreement with the experimental data. The rotating stall appeared in the guide vane when the flow rate ranged from 0.514 to 0.887 times the best efficiency point (QBEP), with a frequency of 11.7% times the rotational frequency. In the period of a rotating stall, a sudden intensive pressure pulsation in the guide vane channel was observed and named as the component of the broadband frequency, and its corresponding flow mechanism was explained as the vortex evolution between the adjacent guide vane blades based on the dynamic mode decomposition technology. There were three distinct characteristics of broadband frequency: (i) intermittent occurrence when the rotating stall cell propagated to the current flow channel, (ii) a wide range of the frequency varying with flow rate, (iii) a considerable amplitude, e.g., reaching 21.1%–42.2% times that of the rotating stall frequency. In addition, both the frequency range and amplitude of the broadband frequency gradually decreased as the flow rate increased to 0.887QBEP. This study clarified the internal flow mechanism and frequency behaviors of a sudden intensive pressure pulsation if a rotating stall occurred, which was important to assess the stability of pump-turbine units.

A novel thermally integrated high-temperature PEM fuel cell and absorption system for sustainable heating/cooling application

A new configuration of a high-temperature PEM (Proton exchange membrane) fuel cell coupled with a double-effect absorption system is proposed and investigated in detail. The present paper proposes a high-temperature PEM fuel cell energy system operating in dual modes, i.e., (i) as an absorption refrigerator and (ii) as an absorption heat pump. Thermodynamic coupling is carried out to meet the cooling and heating requirements during the summer and winter seasons, respectively. Energy and exergy-based investigations are performed for the proposed integrated system. The thermodynamic results show that the efficiency of the combined system in the chiller mode can be increased to 68.6% for the fuel cell work output of 162 kW. On the other hand, for the heat pump mode, the energy efficiency of 83.46% can be obtained at current density and operating temperature of 0.8 A/cm2 and 150 °C, respectively. The cooling and heating output obtained during the summer and winter seasons are 205.6 kW and 285.5 kW, respectively. A parametric study of the system is carried out for the dual-mode operation from an energy and exergy point of view. For summer and winter seasons, the influence of key operating parameters such as current density, evaporator, and fuel cell temperature on the system performance is presented. It was reported that the evaporator temperature positively affects the system's energy efficiency.

The impact of hump characteristics on variable speed pumped storage units under pump mode and improvement measures

The input power of variable speed pumped storage units (VSPSUs) under pump mode is adjustable, which effectively increases the units' frequency regulation capacity and ability during low demand periods in the power system, providing strong support for the stable operation of the grid. However, the operation of the VSPSU under pump mode is affected by the hump characteristics, which limits the regulation capability of the unit. Therefore, this paper analyzes the mechanism of the impact of the hump characteristics on VSPSUs and proposes an effective improvement measure. Firstly, on the basis of the pump on-cam curves, a simple and effective efficiency optimization method of the VSPSU under pump mode is proposed. Then, based on the characteristics of the hump region, the relationship between the optimal efficiency points and the hump characteristics is obtained, revealing that the hump characteristics affect the operating conditions of the variable speed units under any head. Subsequently, a novel nonlinear model of the pump-turbine is proposed based on the basic characteristic curves of various openings under pump mode to solve the multi-value phenomenon, and the influence mechanism of hump characteristics on pump mode of VSPSU from a control perspective is obtained. Finally, an improvement measure is proposed to modify the optimal efficiency points by setting operating safety margins, and the sub-optimal efficiency point that is not affected by the hump characteristic at the same input power is used to replace the optimal efficiency point that is affected by the hump characteristic to avoid the impact of the hump characteristic. Compared to the method of setting hump characteristic limit, the adjustment range of the VSPSU under pump mode is greatly increased.

Full-scale experimental, numerical, and theoretical research on the spatio-temporal evolution of the flow structure in longitudinal and semi-transversal ventilated tunnels

This paper presents full-scale experimental, numerical, and theoretical research on the spatial and temporal structure of airflow for different modes of ventilation system operation in a road tunnel. The tunnel under investigation is equipped with a semi-transverse ventilation system. There are 19 pairs of axial jet fans in each tunnel tube and 164 air supply vents on both sides of a tube located just above the road surface. A set of seven stand poles with mounted vane anemometers were arranged along the tunnel tube axis. Different configurations of axial jet fans and air supply vents were employed, and changes in airflow velocity were recorded. Since the main objective of the study is to achieve a deeper understanding of the examined phenomena, a numerical model of the flows in the tunnel was built, and the acquired data was used to validate it. Some theoretical considerations are provided and also validated. All of this together reveals a very uneven distribution of longitudinal air velocity along the tunnel axis. Then, time constants when switching the fans on and off are determined. It is shown that the time needed to achieve a stable flow after the fans are turned on is in the order of five minutes, and the decay time after the fans are turned off is much longer; it takes about 15 min to calm down the flow. Next, it is determined that the transverse air supply significantly changes the airflow structure: the average longitudinal air velocity at the inlet portal was up to 25% lower than without it, while values at the outlet portal were similar. Finally, it is indicated that axial fans that operate in the suction mode are similarly efficient to those in the pumping mode.

Thermoelectric performance analysis of the novel direct-expansion photovoltaic thermal heat pump/power heat pipe compound cycle system in summer

Photovoltaic thermal heat pump technology has outstanding cogeneration ability by utilizing renewable energy to be accepted as a decarbonization pathway in the residential sector. However, existing photovoltaic thermal heat pumps consume higher energy under better external heat source conditions. To address this problem, a novel direct-expansion photovoltaic thermal heat pump/power heat pipe compound cycle system for heating and power generation as well as refrigeration, whose core equipment was a photovoltaic thermal module with straggled honeycomb fluid channel pattern on the serpentine arrangement, was proposed, manufactured, and studied with the method of experiment. The thermoelectric performance was compared between the heat pump and power heat pipe cycle modes, investigated under typical weather conditions, and discussed in contrast to the literature. The results showed that the average photoelectric conversion efficiency and coefficient of photothermal performance of the PVT modules, as well as COP of the novel system were 10.6%, 51.0%, and 6.19, respectively, at the average ambient temperature of 27.0 °C, average solar radiation intensity of 581 W/m2 and water temperature of 18.3–55.6 °C. And daily average COPs of the novel system under sunny, cloudy, and overcast conditions were 15.12, 7.40, and 3.17, respectively. The conclusion drawn from the experimental results is that the COP of the novel system was 10.0%–60.0% higher than that in the literature under similar outdoor conditions. The payback period of the additional cost of the novel system compared with the existing direct-expansion photovoltaic thermal heat pump was within 2.5 years. The novel system represents a practical response to the need to achieve total decarbonization of the residential sector.