Transient thermo-elasto-hydrodynamic analysis of a bidirectional thrust bearing in start-up and shutdown processes

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jingwei Cao ◽  
Liming Zhai ◽  
Yongyao Luo ◽  
Soo-Hwang Ahn ◽  
Zhengwei Wang ◽  
...  

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to reveal the transient thermo-elasto-hydrodynamic lubrication mechanism of a bidirectional thrust bearing in a pumped-storage unit, and to propose the transient simulation method of two-way fluid-solid-thermal interaction of thrust bearing.Design/methodology/approachThe transient fluid-solid-thermal interaction method is used to simulate the three-dimensional lubrication of the thrust bearing, during the start-up and shutdown process of a pumped storage unit. A pad including an oil hole is modelled to analyze the temporal variation of lubrication characteristics, such as the film pressure, thickness and temperature, during the transient operation process.FindingsThe injection of the high-pressure oil sufficiently affects the lubrication characteristics on film, in which the hysteresis phenomena were found between the start-up and shutdown possess.Originality/valueThis paper reveals the transient lubrication mechanism of tilting pad in a thrust bearing, by means of transient fluid-solid-thermal interaction method. Lubrication characteristics are simulated without assuming the temperature relationship between the oil film inlet and the outlet and the heat transfer on the pad free surface. This paper provides a theoretical basis for the safe design and stable operation of thrust bearings.

2016 ◽  
Vol 68 (3) ◽  
pp. 315-324 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liming Zhai ◽  
Zhengwei Wang ◽  
Yongyao Luo ◽  
Zhongjie Li

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze lubrication characteristics of a bidirectional thrust bearing in a pumped storage, considering the effect of the thermal elastic deformation of the pad and collar. Design/methodology/approach This study used the fluid–solid interaction (FSI) technique to investigate the lubrication characteristics of a bidirectional thrust bearing for several typical operating conditions. The influences of the operating conditions and the thrust load on the lubrication characteristics were analyzed. Then, various pivot eccentricities were investigated to analyze the effects of the pivot position. Findings It is found that the effect of the radial tilt angle of the collar runner on the oil film is compensated for by the radial tilt of the pad. The central pivot support system is the main factor limiting the loads of bidirectional thrust bearings. Originality/value This paper has preliminarily revealed the lubrication mechanism of bidirectional tilting-pad thrust bearings. A three-dimensional FSI method is suggested to evaluate the thermal–elastic–hydrodynamic deformations of thrust bearings instead of the conventional method, which iteratively solves the Reynolds equation, the energy equation, the heat conduction equation and the elastic equilibrium equation.


2012 ◽  
Vol 608-609 ◽  
pp. 1120-1126 ◽  
Author(s):  
De Shun Wang ◽  
Bo Yang ◽  
Lian Tao Ji

A static frequency converter start-up control strategy for pumped-storage power unit is presented. And rotor position detecting without position sensor is realized according to voltage and magnetism equations of ideal synchronous motor mathematics model. The mechanism and implementation method of initial rotor position determination and rotor position estimation under low frequency without position sensor are expounded and validated by simulations. Based on the mentioned control strategy, first set of a static frequency converter start-up device in China for large-scale pumped-storage unit is developed, which is applied to start-up control test in the 90 MW generator/motor of Panjiakou Pumped-storage Power Plant. Test results show that rotor position detecting, pulse commutation, natural commutation, and unit synchronous procedure control of static start-up are all proved. The outcomes have been applied in running equipment, which proves the feasibility of mentioned method.


2018 ◽  
Vol 70 (1) ◽  
pp. 68-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun-peng Shao ◽  
Guang-dong Liu ◽  
Xiao-dong Yu ◽  
Yan-qin Zhang ◽  
Xiu-li Meng ◽  
...  

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to describe a simulation and experimental research concerning the effect of recess depth on the lubrication performance of a hydrostatic thrust bearing by constant rate flow. Design/methodology/approach The computational fluid dynamics and finite volume method have been used to compute the lubrication characteristics of an annular recess hydrostatic thrust bearing with different recess depths. The performances are oil recess pressure, oil recess temperature and oil film velocity. The recess depth has been optimized. A test rig is established for testing the pressure field of the structure of hydrostatic thrust bearing after recess depth optimization, and experimental results show that experimental data are basically identical with the simulation results, which demonstrates the validity of the proposed numerical simulation method. Findings The results demonstrate that the oil film temperature decreases and the oil film pressure first increases and then decreases with an increase in the recess depth, but oil film velocity is constant. To sum up comprehensive lubrication performance, the recess depth of 3.5 mm is its optimal value for the annular recess hydrostatic thrust bearing. Originality/value The computed results indicate that to get an improved performance from a constant flow hydrostatic thrust bearing, a proper selection of the recess depth is essential.


2017 ◽  
Vol 69 (2) ◽  
pp. 105-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdelrasoul M. Gad

Purpose Compliant foil thrust bearings are promising bearings for high-speed oil-free turbomachinery. However, most previous experimental and numerical approaches to investigate the performance of these bearings have ignored the effect of bearing runner misalignment. Therefore, this paper aims to evaluate the effects of static and dynamic angular misalignments of the bearing runner on the performance of a gas-lubricated foil thrust bearing. Design/methodology/approach The bearing runner is allowed a maximum angular misalignment that produces a minimum gas film thickness as low as 20 per cent of the nominal clearance. Then, the variations of bearing load carrying capacity, viscous power loss and stiffness and damping coefficients of the gas film with runner misalignment are thoroughly analyzed. The flow in the gas film is modeled with compressible Reynolds equation along with the Couette approximation technique, and the deformation of the compliant bearing is calculated with a robust analytical model. Small perturbations method is used to calculate the force and moment dynamic coefficients of the gas film. Findings The results show that misaligned foil thrust bearings are capable of developing a restoring moment sufficient enough to withstand the imposed misalignments. Furthermore, the enhanced hydrodynamic effect ensures a stable operation of the misaligned bearing, and the results highlighted the role of the compliant bearing structure to maintain foil bearing prominent features even at misaligned conditions. Originality/value The value of this study is the evaluation of the effects of runner angular misalignments on the static and dynamic characteristics of Generation II bump-type foil thrust bearing.


Energies ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 297
Author(s):  
Liying Wang ◽  
Kaidi Zhang ◽  
Weiguo Zhao

Hydropower is a kind of clean energy, which can effectively reduce the consumption of fossil energy and is one of the main fields of new energy development. Pumped storage power station not only provides a solution for storing electric energy and generating excess, but also is a clean, efficient, economical and safe power system regulation method with high quality. Accurate modeling of a pump-turbine, as the core equipment of a pumped storage unit, is the key to safe and stable operation of the pumped storage unit. At present, a method of simplifying the external characteristics of a pump-turbine into a first-order linear model is widely used, which cannot effectively and accurately reveal the nonlinear dynamic characteristics of the unit in transition process. In order to meet the demand of high-precision simulation of the unit, a new method of identifying Taylor series expansion considering nonlinearity based on the torque characteristic formula and the flow characteristic formula is proposed, which is applied to the pump-turbine external characteristic model, and retains the second derivative term, making the model a second-order nonlinear model, and thus, the pump-turbine model becomes a nonlinear model. The nonlinear model established is used to simulate the load increase and load rejection of the unit, and the results are compared with those for the linear model. The comparison shows that the nonlinear model established for the pump-turbine can reveal the dynamic response of the unit more effectively and accurately than the linear model, and provide a further guarantee for the safe and stable operation of pumped-storage units, which is of great significance to hydropower energy development.


Author(s):  
Buchao Xu ◽  
Weiqiang Zhao ◽  
Wenhua Lin ◽  
Zhongyu Mao ◽  
Ran Tao ◽  
...  

During operation, the support bracket is the main part to withstand the axial loads of the pumped storage unit. Moreover, the effects of axial loads including the hydraulic thrust of runner flow and the weight of runner body may cause the support bracket deformation and fatigue damage. For the safe and stable operation, the simulation of the axial force and the structural analysis of the support bracket of a pumped storage unit was carried out in this paper. The CFD simulation result has revealed the variation rule of the axial force in different operating conditions. Using ANSYS Mechanical, the static stresses and deformation of support bracket with axial loads were calculated. The results release the location and variations of maximum stress and maximum deformation caused by the axial loads. By comparing the predicted maximum axial force with the admission force calculated by the structural analysis, it is found that the axial force of the researched machine is within the safe range. This study provides the reference for the safety and stable operation of the pumped storage unit.


2021 ◽  
Vol 1985 (1) ◽  
pp. 012051
Author(s):  
Tao Liu ◽  
Chao Wang ◽  
Zhiming Chen ◽  
Funan Chen ◽  
Huili Bi ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Yifeng Shi ◽  
Xiangjian Shi ◽  
Chuanbao Yi ◽  
Xufeng Song ◽  
Xiaogang Chen

The integration of variable-speed pumped storage unit (VS-PSU) guarantees an efficient peak regulation and frequency modulation of the power grid. The present research analyzes the active power flow of the VS-PSU under synchronous, subsynchronous, and supersynchronous speed in both generation and pumping modes. The control strategy of the VS-PSU is realized by the dq-axis vector control method. Furthermore, the control of the VS-PSU integrated with wind power has been conducted using DIgSILENT platform with the VS-PSU of 300 kW capacity. Results show that the fluctuation of the power output of the wind power plant can be reduced effectively. The safe, economical, and stable operation of power system integrated with wind power can be achieved by the significant contribution of the VS-PSU.


2018 ◽  
Vol 70 (9) ◽  
pp. 1806-1814
Author(s):  
Zhanchao Wang ◽  
Fei Guo ◽  
Ying Liu ◽  
Xiangfeng Liu ◽  
Yuming Wang

Purpose This aim of this paper has been to investigate the squeeze effect of a water-lubricated tilting-pad thrust bearing during start-up and shut-down periods. Design/methodology/approach In this paper a numerical model with a squeeze and slippage effect was adopted to analyse the asymmetry characteristic of a tilting-pad thrust bearing during start-up and shut-down periods. A test rig was built to verify numerical results, which were a combined measurement method in which acceleration sensor and torque sensor were used simultaneously to determine the angle change of the thrust pad. Findings It was found that as the velocity gradient increased, the difference of the minimum dimensionless film Hmin could be ignored in the start-up process. But in the shut-down process, as the velocity gradient increased, the value of Hmin also increased, which showed that there was an asymmetry characteristic of the tilting bearing in two processes. This phenomenon was verified by measuring the friction torque curve in the test. Originality/value The results of the studies demonstrated that the velocity gradient could be designed to reduce the friction of the thrust bearing, which would be beneficial to the working life of the tilting-pad thrust bearing.


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