Compressible Large Eddy Simulation of a Francis Turbine During Speed-No-Load: Rotor Stator Interaction and Inception of a Vortical Flow

2018 ◽  
Vol 140 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chirag Trivedi
Keyword(s):  
Draft Tube ◽  
Numerical Study ◽  
Pressure Sensors ◽  
High Amplitude ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Outer Radius ◽  
Vortical Flow ◽  
Francis Turbine ◽  
Operating Life ◽  
Fatigue Development

This work investigates the unsteady pressure fluctuations and inception of vortical flow in a hydraulic turbine during speed-no-load conditions. At speed-no-load (SNL), the available hydraulic energy dissipates to the blades without producing an effective torque. This results in high-amplitude pressure loading and fatigue development, which take a toll on a machine's operating life. The focus of the present study is to experimentally measure and numerically characterize time-dependent pressure amplitudes in the vaneless space, runner and draft tube of a model Francis turbine. To this end, ten pressure sensors, including four miniature sensors mounted in the runner, were integrated into a turbine. The numerical model consists of the entire turbine including Labyrinth seals. Compressible flow was considered for the numerical study to account for the effect of flow compressibility and the reflection of pressure waves. The results clearly showed that the vortical flow in the blade passages induces high-amplitude stochastic fluctuations. A distinct flow pattern in the turbine runner was found. The flow near the blade suction side close to the crown was more chaotic and reversible (pumping), whereas the flow on the blade pressure side close to the band was accelerating (turbine) and directed toward the outlet. Flow separation from the blade leading edge created a vortical flow, which broke up into four parts as it traveled further downstream and created high-energy turbulent eddies. The source of reversible flow was found at the draft tube elbow, where the flow in the center core region moves toward the runner cone. The vortical region located at the inner radius of the elbow gives momentum to the wall-attached flow and is pushed toward the outlet, whereas the flow at the outer radius is pushed toward the runner. The cycle repeats at a frequency of 22.3 Hz, which is four times the runner rotational speed.

scholarly journals Numerical Study on Performance Characteristics of Draft Tube of Mixed Flow Hydraulic Turbine

2012 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 48-52
Author(s):  
Ruchi Khare ◽  
Vishnu Prasad
Keyword(s):  
Coming Out ◽  
Draft Tube ◽  
Numerical Study ◽  
Flow Simulation ◽  
Hydraulic Turbine ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Francis Turbine ◽  
Mixed Flow ◽  
Computational Fluid Dynamics Cfd ◽  
Overall Performance

Draft tube is an important component of the hydraulic reaction turbine and affects the overall performance of turbine to a large extent. The flow inside the draft tube is complex because of the whirling flow coming out of runner and its diffusion along the draft tube. The kinetic energy coming out of runner is recovered in draft tube and part of recovery meets the losses. In the present work, the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) has been used for flow simulation in complete mixed flow Francis turbine for performance analysis for energy recovery, losses and flow pattern in an elbow draft tube used in Francis turbine at different operating conditions. The overall performance of the turbine at some typical operating regimes is validated with the experimental results and found to be in close comparison.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/hn.v10i0.7103 Hydro Nepal Vol.10 January 2012 48-52

Unsteady vortical flow simulation in a Francis turbine with special emphasis on vortex rope behavior and pressure fluctuation alleviation

2017 ◽  
Vol 231 (3) ◽  
pp. 215-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xianwu Luo ◽  
An Yu ◽  
Bin Ji ◽  
Yulin Wu ◽  
Yoshinobu Tsujimoto
Keyword(s):  
Pressure Fluctuation ◽  
Swirling Flow ◽  
Draft Tube ◽  
Pressure Fluctuations ◽  
Flow Simulation ◽  
Vortical Flow ◽  
Francis Turbine ◽  
Vortex Rope ◽  
Spiral Vortex ◽  
Baroclinic Torque

Hydro turbines operating at partial flow conditions usually have vortex ropes in the draft tube that generate large pressure fluctuations. This unsteady flow phenomenon is harmful to the safe operation of hydropower stations. This paper presents numerical simulations of the internal flow in the draft tube of a Francis turbine with particular emphasis on understanding the unsteady characteristics of the vortex rope structure and the underlying mechanisms for the interactions between the air and the vortices. The pressure fluctuations induced by the vortex rope are alleviated by air admission from the main shaft center, with the water-air two phase flow in the entire flow passage of a model turbine simulated based on the homogeneous flow assumption. The results show that aeration with suitable air flow rate can alleviate the pressure fluctuations in the draft tube, and the mechanism improving the flow stability in the draft tube is due to the change of vortex rope structure and distribution by aeration, i.e. a helical vortex rope at a small aeration volume while a cylindrical vortex rope with a large amount of aeration. The preferable vortex rope distribution can suppress the swirl at the smaller flow rates, and is helpful to alleviate the pressure fluctuation in the draft tube. The analysis based on the vorticity transport equation indicates that the vortex has strong stretching and dilation in the vortex rope evolution. The baroclinic torque term does not play a major role in the vortex evolution most of the time, but will much increase for some specific aeration volumes. The present study also depicts that vortex rope is mainly associated with a pair of spiral vortex stretching and dilation sources, and its swirling flow is alleviated little by the baroclinic torque term, whose effect region is only near the draft tube inlet.

Transient Pressure Measurements on a High Head Model Francis Turbine During Emergency Shutdown, Total Load Rejection, and Runaway

2014 ◽  
Vol 136 (12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chirag Trivedi ◽  
Michel J. Cervantes ◽  
B. K. Gandhi ◽  
Ole G. Dahlhaug
Keyword(s):  
High Amplitude ◽  
Francis Turbine ◽  
Scale Model ◽  
Head Model ◽  
Pressure Loading ◽  
Operating Life ◽  
Total Load ◽  
Unsteady Pressure ◽  
Emergency Shutdown ◽  
Turbine Runner

The penetration of intermittent wind and solar power to the grid network above manageable limits disrupts electrical power grids. Consequently, hydraulic turbines synchronized to the grid experience total load rejection and are forced to shut down immediately. The turbine runner accelerates to runaway speeds in a few seconds, inducing high-amplitude, unsteady pressure loading on the blades. This sometimes results in a failure of the turbine components. Moreover, the unsteady pressure loading significantly affects the operating life of the turbine runner. Transient measurements were carried out on a scale model of a Francis turbine prototype (specific speed = 0.27) during an emergency shutdown with a transition into total load rejection. A detailed analysis of variables such as the head, discharge, pressure at different locations including the runner blades, shaft torque, and the guide vane angular movements are performed. The maximum amplitudes of the unsteady pressure fluctuations in the turbine were observed under a runaway condition. The amplitudes were 2.1 and 2.6 times that of the pressure loading at the best efficiency point in the vaneless space and runner, respectively. Such high-amplitude, unsteady pressure pulsations can affect the operating life of the turbine.

Numerical Simulation of Pressure Fluctuation in Draft Tube of Large Francis Turbine

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cuilin Liao ◽  
Fujun Wang ◽  
Xiaoqin Li ◽  
Yuliang Zhu
Keyword(s):  
Pressure Fluctuation ◽  
Swirling Flow ◽  
Transport Model ◽  
Draft Tube ◽  
Numerical Study ◽  
Hydraulic Turbine ◽  
Dominant Frequency ◽  
Numerical Results ◽  
Francis Turbine ◽  
Pressure Amplitude

The pressure fluctuation caused by swirling flow in draft tube is one of the main reasons of vibration in hydraulic turbine. It directly affects the steady operation of hydraulic turbine unit. The pressure fluctuation in draft tube of a large Francis turbine can’t be obtained accurately by similarity law from model test, and prototype test is difficult to carry out and costs too much. Therefore, it is necessary to predict pressure fluctuation in draft tube numerically and provide scientific reference for mitigating and suppressing pressure fluctuation. This paper describes a numerical study of unsteady flow in the draft tube of a large Francis turbine in a Hydropower Station of China by using the Reynolds averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) approach with a Reynolds stress transport model (RSM), validating the numerical results against experimental data. The numerical results successfully represent the vortex rope. The pressure fluctuation patterns in different parts of the draft tube including the cone, elbow and diffuser are analyzed. The pressure fluctuation in the cone and elbow is relative steady, and it has an obvious dominant frequency which is approximately 0.28 and 0.3 times of the runner rotational frequency. These results show very good agreement with experiments. The largest pressure amplitude appears in the draft tube cone downstream side and the draft elbow inside. The pressure fluctuation in the diffuser is stochastic, and the amplitude is small. Additionally, the pressure distributions on the horizontal computational section of the draft tube are analyzed.

Large Eddy Simulations of Francis Turbine Operating at Ultra-Low Loads

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhannad Altimemy ◽  
Justin Caspar ◽  
Saif Watheq ◽  
Alparslan Oztekin
Keyword(s):  
Turbulent Flows ◽  
Structural Integrity ◽  
Draft Tube ◽  
Temporal Structure ◽  
Pressure Fluctuations ◽  
High Amplitude ◽  
Large Eddy Simulations ◽  
Francis Turbine ◽  
Partial Load ◽  
Large Eddy

Abstract High-fidelity large eddy simulations (LES) were conducted to characterize the spatial and temporal structure of turbulent flows in an industrial-sized Francis turbine. The unit operated at 50% and 40% of the best efficiency design flowrate. Contours of vorticity, velocity, pressure, and iso-surfaces of Q-Criterion were presented to characterize the effects on the draft tube. Probes placed alongside the draft tube measure the pressure signal to investigate the flow-induced pressure fluctuations inside the turbine unit. The maximum intensity of pressure fluctuations at 50% partial load was 22.66% of the turbine head, while the strength of the pressure fluctuations was 26.36% at 40% partial load. A large number of unorganized smaller vortices observed in the draft tube contribute to the creation of pressure fluctuations. Two pressure modes can be easily recognized (1) high frequency with low amplitude pressure fluctuations and (2) low frequency with high amplitude fluctuations. These pressure fluctuations could be harmful to the structural integrity of the unit and also have undesirable influences on the operational stability of the hydro-turbines.

Experimental Investigation of a High Head Francis Turbine During Spin-No-Load Operation

2015 ◽  
Vol 137 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chirag Trivedi ◽  
Michel J. Cervantes ◽  
Ole G. Dahlhaug ◽  
B. K. Gandhi
Keyword(s):  
Transmission Lines ◽  
Swirling Flow ◽  
Pressure Sensors ◽  
Hydraulic Turbine ◽  
High Amplitude ◽  
Francis Turbine ◽  
Pressure Loading ◽  
Transient Pressure ◽  
Unsteady Pressure ◽  
Absence Of Power

Water passes freely through a hydraulic turbine in the absence of power requirements or during maintenance of the transmission lines, spillways, or dam. Moreover, the turbine operates under no-load conditions prior to generator synchronization during startup and after the generator disconnection from the grid load for shutdown. High-velocity swirling flow during spin-no-load (SNL) induces unsteady pressure pulsations in the turbine, and these pulsations cause fatigue in the blades. To investigate the amplitude of unsteady pressure loading, transient pressure measurements were carried out in a model Francis turbine during SNL. A total of six pressure sensors were mounted inside the turbine, i.e., one in the vaneless space, three on the blade surfaces, and two in the draft tube, and three discharge conditions were investigated over the operating range of the turbine. Analysis of the unsteady pressure data showed that the runner blades experience high-amplitude pressure loading during SNL. The amplitudes at all sensor locations were high compared with those under the normal operating condition of the turbine, i.e., the best efficiency point (BEP), and increased as the discharge through the turbine increased.

Analysis and Control of Part-Load Unsteady Flow in Francis Turbine’s Draft Tube

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ri-Kui Zhang ◽  
Feng Mao ◽  
Jie-Zhi Wu ◽  
Shi-Yi Chen ◽  
Yu-Lin Wu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mass Flux ◽  
Pressure Fluctuation ◽  
Draft Tube ◽  
Load Condition ◽  
Vortical Flow ◽  
Francis Turbine ◽  
Effective Control ◽  
Complex Flow ◽  
Part Load ◽  
Axial Pressure Gradient

By using the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations, the complex unsteady vortical flow in the entire draft tube of a Francis turbine under a part-load condition, with severe low-frequency pressure fluctuation, is investigated numerically to gain an in-depth understanding of the physical characters of the flow including its stability and robustness, and thereby to seek effective control means to alleviate or even eliminate the strong pressure fluctuation. Our main findings are as follows: In the cone segment of the draft tube, the vortex rope is due to the global instability of the flow caused crucially by the reversed axial flow at the inlet. In the elbow segment of the draft tube, the reversed flow coexists side by side with a fluid channel that carries the mass flux downstream due to favorable axial pressure gradient. In the outlet segment of the draft tube, the mass-flux channel always goes through a fixed outlet, leaving the other two with nearly zero flux. The entire draft-tube flow, although undesired under part-load condition, forms a globally robust system. The principles for effectively controlling this complex flow are proposed. A simple water jet injection at the inlet is numerically proven successful.

scholarly journals Effect of Air Injection on the Internal Flow Characteristics in the Draft Tube of a Francis Turbine Model

Processes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 1182
Author(s):  
Seung-Jun Kim ◽  
Yong Cho ◽  
Jin-Hyuk Kim
Keyword(s):  
Flow Rate ◽  
Draft Tube ◽  
Pressure Fluctuations ◽  
Flow Characteristics ◽  
Internal Flow ◽  
Air Injection ◽  
Low Flow ◽  
Francis Turbine ◽  
Navier Stokes ◽  
Vortex Rope

Under low flow-rate conditions, a Francis turbine exhibits precession of a vortex rope with pressure fluctuations in the draft tube. These undesirable flow phenomena can lead to deterioration of the turbine performance as manifested by torque and power output fluctuations. In order to suppress the rope with precession and a swirl component in the tube, the use of anti-swirl fins was investigated in a previous study. However, vortex rope generation still occurred near the cone of the tube. In this study, unsteady-state Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes analyses were conducted with a scale-adaptive simulation shear stress transport turbulence model. This model was used to observe the effects of the injection in the draft tube on the unsteady internal flow and pressure phenomena considering both active and passive suppression methods. The air injection affected the generation and suppression of the vortex rope and swirl component depending on the flow rate of the air. In addition, an injection level of 0.5%Q led to a reduction in the maximum unsteady pressure characteristics.

Un-Shocked High Amplitude Standing Waves in Wave-Shaped Resonators

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dion Savio Antao ◽  
Bakhtier Farouk
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Study ◽  
Fluid Dynamic ◽  
Ambient Pressure ◽  
Standing Waves ◽  
High Amplitude ◽  
Prime Mover ◽  
Non Linear ◽  
Resonator System ◽  
Cylindrical Resonators ◽  
Linear Nature

A numerical study of non-linear, high amplitude standing waves in non-cylindrical circular resonators is reported here. These waves are shock-less and can generate peak acoustic overpressures that can exceed the ambient pressure by three/four times its nominal value. A high fidelity compressible computational fluid dynamic model is used to simulate the phenomena in cylindrical and arbitrarily shaped axisymmetric resonators. A right circular cylinder and frustum of cone are the two geometries studied. The model is validated using past numerical and experimental results of standing waves in cylindrical resonators. The non-linear nature of the harmonic response of the frustum of cone resonator system is investigated for two different working fluids (carbon dioxide and argon) operating at various values of piston amplitude. The high amplitude non-linear oscillations demonstrated can be used as a prime mover in a variety of applications including thermoacoustic cryocooling.

Hydraulic Instability Onset Detection in Kaplan Turbines by Monitoring Shaft Vibrations

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Pennacchi ◽  
P. Borghesani ◽  
S. Chatterton ◽  
A. Vania
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Test ◽  
Turbine Unit ◽  
Swirling Flow ◽  
Draft Tube ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Low Flow ◽  
Operating Life ◽  
Vortex Rope ◽  
Power Load ◽  
Helical Vortex

Design of hydraulic turbines has often to deal with hydraulic instability. It is well-known that Francis and Kaplan types present hydraulic instability in their design power range. Even if modern CFD tools may help to define these dangerous operating conditions and optimize runner design, hydraulic instabilities may fortuitously arise during the turbine life and should be timely detected in order to assure a long-lasting operating life. In a previous paper, the authors have considered the phenomenon of helical vortex rope, which happens at low flow rates when a swirling flow, in the draft tube conical inlet, occupies a large portion of the inlet. In this condition, a strong helical vortex rope appears. The vortex rope causes mechanical effects on the runner, on the whole turbine and on the draft tube, which may eventually produce severe damages on the turbine unit and whose most evident symptoms are vibrations. The authors have already shown that vibration analysis is suitable for detecting vortex rope onset, thanks to an experimental test campaign performed during the commissioning of a 23 MW Kaplan hydraulic turbine unit. In this paper, the authors propose a sophisticated data driven approach to detect vortex rope onset at different power load, based on the analysis of the vibration signals in the order domain and introducing the so-called “residual order spectrogram”, i.e. an order-rotation representation of the vibration signal. Some experimental test runs are presented and the possibility to detect instability onset, especially in real-time, is discussed.

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