Unstable Characteristics and Rotating Stall in Turbine Brake Operation of Pump-Turbines

2011 ◽  
Vol 133 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Widmer ◽  
Thomas Staubli ◽  
Nathan Ledergerber
Keyword(s):  
Electricity Market ◽  
Flow Instability ◽  
Guide Vane ◽  
Pressure Fluctuations ◽  
Vortex Formation ◽  
Pressure Rise ◽  
Rotating Stall ◽  
Momentum Exchange ◽  
Pump Turbine ◽  
Stationary Vortex

Reversible pump-turbines are versatile in the electricity market since they can be switched between pump and turbine operation within a few minutes. The emphasis on the design of the more sensitive pump flow however often leads to stability problems in no load or turbine brake operation. Unstable characteristics can be responsible for hydraulic system oscillations in these operating points. The cause of the unstable characteristics can be found in the blocking effect of either stationary vortex formation or rotating stall. The so-called unstable characteristic in turbine brake operation is defined by the change of sign of the slope of the head curve. This change of sign or “S-shape” can be traced back to flow recirculation and vortex formation within the runner and the vaneless space between runner and guide vanes. When approaching part load from sound turbine flow the vortices initially develop and collapse again. This unsteady vortex formation induces periodical pressure fluctuations. In the turbine brake operation at small guide vane openings the vortices increase in intensity, stabilize and circumferentially block the flow passages. This stationary vortex formation is associated with a total pressure rise over the machine and leads to the slope change of the characteristic. Rotating stall is a flow instability which extends from the runner, the vaneless space to the guide and the stay vane channels at large guide vane openings. A certain number of channels is blocked (rotating stall cell) while the other channels comprise sound flow. Due to a momentum exchange between rotor and stator at the front and the rear cell boundary, the cell is rotating with subsynchronous frequency of about 60 percent of the rotational speed for the investigated pump-turbine (nq = 45). The enforced rotating pressure distributions in the vaneless space lead to large dynamic radial forces on the runner. The mechanisms leading to stationary vortex formation and rotating stall were analyzed with a pump-turbine model by the means of numerical simulations and test rig measurements. It was found that stationary vortex formation and rotating stall have initially the same physical cause, but it depends on the mean convective acceleration within the guide vane channels, whether the vortex formations will rotate or not. Both phenomena lead to an unstable characteristic.

Unstable Flow Characteristics in S-Shaped Region of Pump-Turbine Runners With Large Blade Lean

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhe Ma ◽  
Baoshan Zhu ◽  
Cong Rao ◽  
Lei Tan
Keyword(s):  
Guide Vane ◽  
Pressure Fluctuations ◽  
Vortex Formation ◽  
Flow Characteristics ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Leading Edge ◽  
Rotating Stall ◽  
Scale Model ◽  
Unstable Flow ◽  
Discharge Point

As the reversible pump-turbines operate in the S-shaped region, instability problems including backflow, vortex formation and rotating stall may appear. Previous researches studied instabilities at different guide vane opening (GVO) on their inception and evolution but few studies explored the effect of the blade lean at the leading edge. In present work, two runners tested by experiments, the runner A with a negative and the runner B with a positive blade lean at leading edge, were studied in CFD mode with a reduced scale model. Six operating points, namely, best efficiency point (OP#1), two points in the normal operating region (OP#2, OP#3), two points near runaway line (OP#4, OP#5) and a low discharge point in turbine brake (OP#6) were calculated for both runners. As the discharge reduces, the flow in the runners loses its symmetry and the efficiency becomes lower and lower. The flow of OP#1, OP#2 and OP#3 is healthy but slight separations locate near the inlet of the passages. At OP#4, obvious vortexes occupy the passages and the visible vortexes prevent the flow from entering the channels. The blockage generates strong backflow near the inlet of the runner. Moreover, the main backflow area locates near the hub for runner A while for runner B it is near the shroud. Unsteady vortex formation and rotating stall respectively exist at the near runaway points (OP#4 and OP#5) and low discharge point (OP#6). At these three points, the pressure fluctuations in the vaneless gap between the runner and guide vanes are very high and the amplitude shows a small difference between the two runners. Dramatic distinction appears on the frequency of the fluctuation. For both of the two runners, a peak corresponding to 70% fn, where fn is the runner rotating frequency, rises in the spectra of OP#4 and OP#5. This peak appears at all the monitors in the vaneless space at the same time standing for the unsteady vortex formation, which does not rotate with the blades. In addition, at OP#6, 40% and 50% fn are detected as the dominant frequencies for runner A and runner B respectively. In addition, the propagation of such two low frequency signal along the annulus in the vaneless space proves the existence of the rotating stalls.

Investigation of the Flow Instabilities of a Low Specific Speed Pump-Turbine: Part 2 — Flow Control With Fluid Injection

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabri Deniz ◽  
Martin von Burg ◽  
Manuel Tiefenthaler
Keyword(s):  
Flow Control ◽  
Flow Instability ◽  
Guide Vane ◽  
Water Injection ◽  
Rotating Stall ◽  
Flow Instabilities ◽  
Fluid Injection ◽  
Pump Turbine ◽  
Low Specific Speed ◽  
Specific Speed

Abstract This the second part of a two-part paper focusing on the flow instabilities of low-specific pump turbines. In this part, results of the flow control application with fluid injection (using both water and air) in the vaneless space in order to suppress the flow instabilities of a low specific speed model pump-turbine in turbine mode operation at HSLU (Lucerne University of Applied Sciences) Switzerland are presented. Based on the analysis of the experimental data, flow visualization, and CFD results focusing especially on the flow features in the vaneless space and at the runner inlet, the onset and development of the flow instabilities are explored as presented in the first part of this paper. Based on these analyses, the flow control technology by injecting air and water as well as suction of the fluid in the vaneless space of the model pump-turbine is implemented for suppressing the flow instabilities and thus extending the operating range of the pump-turbine. Both air- and water-injection are applied by using an external energy source (compressor and pump) and discrete nozzles circumferentially distributed in the vaneless space. The S-shaped pump-turbine characteristics in turbine operating mode are modified so that the slope at speed no load conditions is no more positive meaning an improvement in the stability behavior. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first successful application of flow control with fluid injection in the vaneless space of pump-turbines. Fluid injection is applied at two different guide vane openings, i.e. at 6° and 18°. The analysis of the unsteady pressure data indicates the suppression of flow instability such as rotating stall with fluid injection in the vaneless space. The water injection is more effective than the air injection for modifying the slope of the pump-turbine characteristics.

Evolutions of Pressure Fluctuations and Runner Loads During Runaway Processes of a Pump-Turbine

2017 ◽  
Vol 139 (9) ◽  
Author(s):  
Linsheng Xia ◽  
Yongguang Cheng ◽  
Zhiyan Yang ◽  
Jianfeng You ◽  
Jiandong Yang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Axial Force ◽  
Reverse Flow ◽  
Guide Vane ◽  
Pressure Fluctuations ◽  
Radial Force ◽  
Rotating Stall ◽  
Spanwise Direction ◽  
Pump Turbine ◽  
Change Rate ◽  
Runaway Process

The pressure fluctuations and runner loads on a pump-turbine runner during runaway process are very violent and the corresponding flow evolution is complicated. To study these phenomena and their correlations in depth, the runaway processes of a model pump-turbine at four guide vane openings (GVOs) were simulated by three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (3D-CFD). The results show that the flow structures around runner inlet have regular development and transition patterns—the reverse flow occurs when the trajectory moves to the turbine-brake region and the main reverse velocity shifts locations among the hub side, the shroud side and the midspan as the trajectory comes forward and backward in the S-shape region. The locally distributed reverse flow vortex structures (RFVS) enhance the local rotor–stator interaction (RSI) and make the pressure fluctuations in vaneless space at the corresponding section stronger than at the rest sections along the spanwise direction. The transitions of RFVS, turning from the hub side to midspan, facilitate the inception and development of rotating stall, which propagates at approximately 45–72% of the runner rotation frequency. The evolving rotating stall induces asymmetrical pressure distribution on the runner blade, resulting in intensive fluctuations of runner torque and radial force. During the runaway process, the changing characteristics of the reactive axial force are dominated by the change rate of flow discharge, and the amplitude of low frequency component of axial force is in proportion to the amplitude of discharge change rate.

scholarly journals Simulation and Experimental Investigation of the Stay Vane Channel Flow in a Reversible Pump Turbine at Off-Design Conditions

2017 ◽  
Vol 61 (2) ◽  
pp. 94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandro Erne ◽  
Gernot Edinger ◽  
Anton Maly ◽  
Christian Bauer
Keyword(s):  
Transient Flow ◽  
Guide Vane ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Rotating Stall ◽  
Design Flow ◽  
Flow State ◽  
Mean Flow ◽  
Load Range ◽  
Pump Turbine ◽  
Stall Inception

This work presents the assessment of the mean flow field and low frequency disturbances in the stay vane channel of a model pump turbine using transient numerical simulations and LDV-based measurements. The focus is laid on transient CFD simulations of characteristic flow states in the stay vane channel when operating at off-design conditions in pump mode. Experimental and numerical investigations obtained a shifting velocity distribution between the shroud and hub of the distributor when continuously increasing the discharge in the part-load range. Simulations captured the occurrence of this changing flow state in the stay vane channel reasonably well. A further increase of the discharge showed a uniformly redistributed mean flow of both hub and shroud side. Monitoring points and integral quantities from measurements and transient simulations were used to interpret the development of transient flow patterns in the stay vane channel at the operating point of strongest asymmetrical flow. During simulation and measurement, a dominant rotating stall inception was observed near the design flow of the pump turbine. At this point where the stall becomes severe, a high level of correlation between the signals of the upper and lower stalled flow in the stay vane channel was calculated. Further simulations for different guide vane positions predicted a strong influence of the guide vane position on the structure of rotating stall.

scholarly journals Experimental Research on the Rotating Stall of a Pump Turbine in Pump Mode

Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 2426
Author(s):  
Xue ◽  
Liu ◽  
Lu ◽  
Gao ◽  
Meng
Keyword(s):  
Flow Field ◽  
Experimental Research ◽  
Flow Rate ◽  
Guide Vane ◽  
Rotating Stall ◽  
Dynamics Simulation ◽  
Positive Slope ◽  
Pump Mode ◽  
Pump Turbine ◽  
Pump Performance

The rotating stall is an unstable flow phenomenon of pump turbines in pump mode, which is of increasing concern to scientists and engineers working on pump turbines. However, at present, various studies are carried out based on CFD (computational fluid dynamics) simulation, while directly measured data and experimental research on flow fields are seldom reported. By utilizing PIV (particle image velocimetry) measuring equipment, the flow field within the guide vane zone of a low specific speed pump turbine in pump mode was measured. By measuring and analyzing the transient flow field, the evolutionary process of the rotating stall within the guide vane passages was determined. We found that for all three tested guide vane openings, regardless of whether the positive slope appeared or not, a pre-stall operating point was found for each opening in the process of decreasing the flow rate. The analysis of the loss within the flow field indicated that the dissipation-induced loss increased greatly after the rotating stall appeared. The pump performance curves at the three guide vane openings showed an inflection at the pre-stall point. When the flow rate is larger than that of the pre-stall point, the head of the pump turbine dramatically increases as the flow rate decreases. However, when the flow rate is smaller than the pre-stall point, such increases noticeably slows down.The research results showed that whether the positive slope on the pump performance curve occurred or not, instability caused by the rotating stall should be of great concern.

scholarly journals Numerical Study of Pump-Turbine Instabilities Under Pumping Mode Off-Design Conditions

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Uroš Ješe ◽  
Regiane Fortes-Patella ◽  
Matevž Dular
Keyword(s):  
Power Plants ◽  
Numerical Study ◽  
Guide Vane ◽  
Characteristic Curve ◽  
Rotating Stall ◽  
Electrical Network ◽  
Pump Turbine ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Pumping Mode ◽  
And Performance

Pumped storage power plants, using reversible pump-turbines, are a great solution to maintain the stability of an electrical network. The continuous operating area of reversible pump-turbines machines is usually delimited by cavitation or a hydraulic instability called hump phenomena at part load. If the machine operates under these off-design conditions, it might be exposed to vibrations and performance losses. The paper focuses on the numerical analysis of the pumping mode regime and pays special attention to the prediction of the hump shaped characteristic curve and associated rotating stall. The investigations were made on a high head pump-turbine design (nq=27) at model scale for four different guide vane opening angles and a wide range of flow rates. Numerical simulations were performed and analyzed in LEGI and were compared to the global experimental data, provided by Alstom Hydro.

Experimental Evidence of Rotating Stall in a Pump-Turbine at Off-Design Conditions in Generating Mode

2011 ◽  
Vol 133 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vlad Hasmatuchi ◽  
Mohamed Farhat ◽  
Steven Roth ◽  
Francisco Botero ◽  
François Avellan
Keyword(s):  
High Speed ◽  
Pressure Fluctuations ◽  
Frequency Component ◽  
Rotating Stall ◽  
Image Processing Technique ◽  
Scale Model ◽  
Pump Turbine ◽  
Guide Vanes ◽  
Radial Pump ◽  
Generating Mode

An experimental investigation of the rotating stall in reduced scale model of a low specific speed radial pump-turbine at runaway and turbine brake conditions in generating mode is achieved. Measurements of wall pressure in the stator are performed along with high-speed flow visualizations in the vaneless gap with the help of air bubbles injection. When starting from the best efficiency point (BEP) and increasing the impeller speed, a significant increase of the pressure fluctuations is observed mainly in the wicket gates channels. The spectral analysis shows a rise of a low frequency component (about 70% of the impeller rotational frequency) at runaway, which further increases as the zero discharge condition is approached. Analysis of the instantaneous pressure peripheral distribution in the vaneless gap reveals one stall cell rotating with the impeller at sub-synchronous speed. High-speed movies reveal a quite uniform flow pattern in the guide vanes channels at the normal operating range, whereas at runaway the flow is highly disturbed by the rotating stall passage. The situation is even more critical at very low positive discharge, where backflow and vortices in the guide vanes channels develop during the stall cell passage. A specific image processing technique is applied to reconstruct the rotating stall evolution in the entire guide vanes circumference for a low positive discharge operating point. The findings of this study suggest that one stall cell rotates with the impeller at sub-synchronous velocity in the vaneless gap between the impeller and the guide vanes. It is the result of rotating flow separations developed in several consecutive impeller channels which lead to their blockage.

scholarly journals Flow instability transferability characteristics within a reversible pump turbine (RPT) under large guide vane opening (GVO)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maxime Binama ◽  
Kan Kan ◽  
Hui-Xiang Chen ◽  
Yuan Zheng ◽  
Daqing Zhou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Flow Instability ◽  
Guide Vane ◽  
Pump Turbine

scholarly journals On the Rotor Stator Interaction Effects of Low Specific Speed Francis Turbines

2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Einar Agnalt ◽  
Igor Iliev ◽  
Bjørn W. Solemslie ◽  
Ole G. Dahlhaug
Keyword(s):  
Guide Vane ◽  
Pressure Fluctuations ◽  
Angular Position ◽  
Pressure Sensors ◽  
Pump Turbine ◽  
Blade Loading ◽  
Loading Case ◽  
Rotor Stator Interaction ◽  
Low Specific Speed ◽  
Specific Speed

The rotor stator interaction in a low specific speed Francis model turbine and a pump-turbine is analyzed utilizing pressure sensors in the vaneless space and in the guide vane cascade. The measurements are analyzed relative to the runner angular position by utilizing an absolute encoder mounted on the shaft end. From the literature, the pressure in the analyzed area is known to be a combination of two effects: the rotating runner pressure and the throttling of the guide vane channels. The measured pressure is fitted to a mathematical pressure model to separate the two effects for two different runners. One turbine with 15+15 splitter blades and full-length blades and one pump-turbine with six blades are investigated. The blade loading on the two runners is different, giving different input for the pressure model. The main findings show that the pressure fluctuations in the guide vane cascade are mainly controlled by throttling for the low blade loading case and the rotating runner pressure for the higher blade loading case.

Numerical Results for Axial Flow Compressor Instability

1989 ◽  
Vol 111 (4) ◽  
pp. 434-441 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. E. McCaughan
Keyword(s):  
Guide Vane ◽  
Axial Flow ◽  
Pressure Rise ◽  
Companion Paper ◽  
Extensive Study ◽  
Rotating Stall ◽  
Numerical Results ◽  
Flow Diagram ◽  
Inlet Guide Vane ◽  
Flow Compressor

Using Cornell’s supercomputing facilities, we have carried out an extensive study of the Moore–Greitzer model, which gives accurate and reliable information about compressor instability. The bifurcation analysis in the companion paper shows the dependence of the mode of compressor response on the shape of the rotating stall characteristic. The numerical results verify and extend this with a more accurate representation of the characteristic. The effect of the parameters on the shape of the rotating stall characteristic is investigated, and it is found that the parameters with the strongest effects are the inlet length, and the shape of the compressor pressure rise versus mass flow diagram (i.e., tall diagrams versus shallow diagrams). We also discuss the effects of inlet guide vane loss on the characteristic. An evaluation is made of the h′ = −g approximation, and a spectral analysis of the rotating stall cell given by the full model suggests why this breaks down.

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