Experimental Investigation of Draft Tube Inlet Velocity Field of a Propeller Turbine

2012 ◽  
Vol 134 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Mathieu Gagnon ◽  
Vincent Aeschlimann ◽  
Sébastien Houde ◽  
Felix Flemming ◽  
Stuart Coulson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Swirling Flow ◽  
Draft Tube ◽  
Secondary Flows ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Flow Structures ◽  
Test Cases ◽  
Yield Information ◽  
Hydraulic Turbines ◽  
Dominant Frequencies ◽  
Flow Nonuniformity

The draft tube of reaction hydraulic turbines is subject to numerous investigations since it accounts for a significant portion of the energy recovery. But even with up-to-date computational fluid dynamics methodologies, simulating the draft tube flow remains highly challenging since it is a diverging swirling flow that may undergo flow separations and become dominated by unsteady secondary flows. Within the framework of a collaborative research project on the flow dynamics of a propeller turbine model, the flow at the inlet region of the draft tube was studied using 2D-laser Doppler velocimetry (2D-LDV). Measurements were used to detect and characterize the flow structures at three operating conditions: partial discharge, near best efficiency, and full-load conditions. The paper presents analysis based on phased-averaged velocity fields to yield information on fluctuations and dominant frequencies according to runner positions. The main features detected are the flow nonuniformity at the runner exit and the secondary flow structures associated with the runner hub wake. Those results are part of a larger database aimed at providing test cases for the validation of numerical simulation strategies.

scholarly journals On the Evaluation of Mesh Resolution for Large-Eddy Simulation of Internal Flows Using Openfoam

Fluids ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 24
Author(s):  
Zahra Seifollahi Moghadam ◽  
François Guibault ◽  
André Garon
Keyword(s):  
Draft Tube ◽  
Hydraulic Turbine ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Sudden Expansion ◽  
Test Cases ◽  
Eddy Simulation ◽  
Large Eddy ◽  
Mesh Resolution ◽  
Hydraulic Turbines ◽  
Academic Test

The central aim of this paper is to use OpenFOAM for the assessment of mesh resolution requirements for large-eddy simulation (LES) of flows similar to the ones which occur inside the draft-tube of hydraulic turbines at off-design operating conditions. The importance of this study is related to the fact that hydraulic turbines often need to be operated over an extended range of operating conditions, which makes the investigation of fluctuating stresses crucial. Scale-resolving simulation (SRS) approaches, such as LES and detached-eddy simulation (DES), have received more interests in the recent decade for understanding and mitigating unsteady operational behavior of hydro turbines. This interest is due to their ability to resolve a larger part of turbulent flows. However, verification studies in LES are very challenging, since errors in numerical discretization, but also subgrid-scale (SGS) models, are both influenced by grid resolution. A comprehensive examination of the literature shows that SRS for different operating conditions of hydraulic turbines is still quite limited and that there is no consensus on mesh resolution requirement for SRS studies. Therefore, the goal of this research is to develop a reliable framework for the validation and verification of SRS, especially LES, so that it can be applied for the investigation of flow phenomena inside hydraulic turbine draft-tube and runner at their off-design operating conditions. Two academic test cases are considered in this research, a turbulent channel flow and a case of sudden expansion. The sudden expansion test case resembles the flow inside the draft-tube of hydraulic turbines at part load. In this study, we concentrate on these academic test cases, but it is expected that hydraulic turbine flow simulations will eventually benefit from the results of the current research. The results show that two-point autocorrelation is more sensitive to mesh resolution than energy spectra. In addition, for the case of sudden expansion, the mesh resolution has a tremendous effect on the results, and, so far, we have not capture an asymptotic converging behavior in the results of Root Mean Square (RMS) of velocity fluctuations and two-point autocorrelation. This case, which represents complex flow behavior, needs further mesh resolution studies.

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.

scholarly journals Manipulation of the swirling flow instability in hydraulic turbine diffuser by different methods of water injection

2018 ◽  
Vol 180 ◽  
pp. 02090 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pavel Rudolf ◽  
Jiří Litera ◽  
Germán Alejandro Ibarra Bolanos ◽  
David Štefan
Keyword(s):  
Swirling Flow ◽  
Flow Instability ◽  
Draft Tube ◽  
Water Injection ◽  
Hydraulic Turbine ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Francis Turbine ◽  
Necessary Condition ◽  
Vortex Rope ◽  
Wide Range

Vortex rope, which induces substantial pressure pulsations, arises in the draft tube (diffuser) of Francis turbine for off-design operating conditions. Present paper focuses on mitigation of those pulsations using active water jet injection control. Several modifications of the original Susan-Resiga’s idea were proposed. All modifications are driven by manipulation of the shear layer region, which is believed to play important role in swirling flow instability. While some of the methods provide results close to the original one, none of them works in such a wide range. Series of numerical experiments support the idea that the necessary condition for vortex rope pulsation mitigation is increasing the fluid momentum along the draft tube axis.

Classification of the Hydraulic Behavior Along the No-Load Curve of Francis Turbines

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa Fortin ◽  
Bernd Nennemann ◽  
Claire Deschênes ◽  
Sébastien Houde
Keyword(s):  
Pressure Fluctuations ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Flow Structures ◽  
Load Curve ◽  
Flow Topology ◽  
Flow Features ◽  
Hydraulic Turbines ◽  
Operating Points ◽  
Load Conditions

Abstract For hydraulic turbines, no-load is considered a homogeneous family of operating conditions although the literature exposes a wide variety of flow structures depending on many factors. A better understanding of the flow structures developed during NL operation is necessary since they generate pressure fluctuations in the turbine causing significant fatigue damage and reducing the life expectancy of the machines. Hydraulic turbines at model scale show that behavioral trends can be identified for no-load conditions. This paper presents a classification of no-load operating conditions following the swirl level at the runner outlet. The main tendencies linking the cavitation level to the runner speed and the discharge for operating points along no-load curves of different turbines are also detailed. To study the no-load conditions, data from 26 Francis turbines, measured between 2007 and 2020 at the laboratory of Andritz Hydro Canada Inc., are analyzed. This study demonstrates that no-load operating conditions exhibit flow features very similar to those at regular operation with similar runner outlet swirl. The runner acceleration or deceleration with cavitation is related to the flow topology at the runner outlet.

Experimental Evidence of Hydroacoustic Pressure Waves in a Francis Turbine Elbow Draft Tube for Low Discharge Conditions

2009 ◽  
Vol 131 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jorge Arpe ◽  
Christophe Nicolet ◽  
François Avellan
Keyword(s):  
Pressure Fluctuation ◽  
Swirling Flow ◽  
Draft Tube ◽  
Flow Direction ◽  
Pressure Fluctuations ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Hydropower Plant ◽  
Francis Turbine ◽  
Scale Model ◽  
Vortex Rope

The complex three-dimensional unsteady flow developing in the draft tube of a Francis turbine is responsible for pressure fluctuations, which could prevent the whole hydropower plant from operating safely. Indeed, the Francis draft tube is subjected to inlet swirling flow, divergent cross section, and the change of flow direction. As a result, in low discharge off-design operating conditions, a cavitation helical vortex, so-called the vortex rope develops in the draft tube and induces pressure fluctuations in the range of 0.2–0.4 times the runner frequency. This paper presents the extensive unsteady wall pressure measurements performed in the elbow draft tube of a high specific speed Francis turbine scale model at low discharge and at usual plant value of the Thoma cavitation number. The investigation is undertaken for operating conditions corresponding to low discharge, i.e., 0.65–0.85 times the design discharge, which exhibits pressure fluctuations at surprisingly high frequency value, between 2 and 4 times the runner rotation frequency. The pressure fluctuation measurements performed with 104 pressure transducers distributed on the draft tube wall, make apparent in the whole draft tube a fundamental frequency value at 2.5 times the runner frequency. Moreover, the modulations between this frequency with the vortex rope precession frequency are pointed out. The phase shift analysis performed for 2.5 times the runner frequency enables the identification of a pressure wave propagation phenomenon and indicates the location of the corresponding pressure fluctuation excitation source in the elbow; hydroacoustic waves propagate from this source both upstream and downstream the draft tube.

scholarly journals Experimental Study of Transient Flow Regimes in a Model Hydroturbine Draft Tube

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 1240
Author(s):  
Ivan Litvinov ◽  
Daniil Suslov ◽  
Evgeny Gorelikov ◽  
Sergey Shtork
Keyword(s):  
Vortex Core ◽  
Transient Flow ◽  
Swirling Flow ◽  
Draft Tube ◽  
Transient Regime ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Transient Time ◽  
Precessing Vortex Core ◽  
Transient Regimes ◽  
Partial Load

Swirling flow with the formation of a precessing vortex core (PVC) in the draft tube model of a hydroturbine was studied. Experiments were performed on an aerodynamic setup under transient operating conditions of the hydroturbine. The turbine operating conditions were varied by continuously changing the flow rate at a constant runner speed. The transition from the partial load regime, when a precessing vortex core is formed, to the best efficiency point without a core is considered. Applied to this task, a comparison of the windowed Fourier transform with wavelet analysis is given. The dependence of the PVC lifetime in the transient regime correlates with the transient time. It is shown that the velocity profiles and the spectrum of pressure pulsations in transient regimes change quasistatically between part-load operation and the best efficiency point of the turbine. The phase-averaged velocity distributions in the transient regimes show that a transient regime is a sequence of quasisteady regimes.

scholarly journals The Influence of Transient Regimes on Unsteady Vortex Phenomena in the Model of the Draft Tube of the Hydraulic Turbine

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 55-68
Author(s):  
D. A. Suslov ◽  
I. V. Litvinov ◽  
S. I. Shtork ◽  
E. U. Gorelikov
Keyword(s):  
Flow Rate ◽  
Swirling Flow ◽  
Draft Tube ◽  
Maximum Level ◽  
Hydraulic Turbine ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Rotor Speed ◽  
Precessing Vortex Core ◽  
Transient Regimes ◽  
Partial Load

This article is devoted to study the swirling flow with the formation of the precessing vortex core (PVC) in the cone of the model of the draft tube of the hydraulic turbine. The experiments were carried out on the aerodynamic set-up both in stationary and in transient regimes of operation of the hydraulic turbine. The hydraulic turbine operating conditions were varied by continuously changing the flow rate at a constant rotor speed. The formation of the PVC in the flow and the maximum level of pressure pulsations in the regime modeling the partial load regime of a turbine are revealed. The boundaries of the occurrence of the PVC effect are determined with varying rotor speed and air flow rate. It was found that the dependence of the PVC lifetime in transition regimes correlate with the transition time. It was shown that the velocity profiles in transient conditions change quasistatically between the operation regime with partial loading of the turbine and the regime of the highest efficiency of the turbine.

scholarly journals Numerical and experimental investigation of the effect of baffles on flow instabilities in a Francis turbine draft tube under partial load conditions

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 168781401882446 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xing Zhou ◽  
He-gao Wu ◽  
Chang-zheng Shi
Keyword(s):  
Swirling Flow ◽  
Draft Tube ◽  
Pressure Fluctuations ◽  
Tangential Velocity ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Dynamics Simulation ◽  
Flow Instabilities ◽  
Francis Turbine ◽  
Vortex Rope ◽  
Partial Load

An improved method for preventing vortex rope formation and alleviating the associated pressure fluctuations in turbine draft tubes is investigated using baffles in the draft tube to hinder the swirling flow emerging from a Francis turbine runner. A strong swirl produces flow instabilities and pressure fluctuations. Partial load operating conditions at the rated water head and three flow rates are taken into consideration. It is demonstrated using a computational fluid dynamics simulation that this method effectively eliminates the vortex rope, particularly when using four baffles. The amplitude of the pressure pulsation in the draft tube modified with four baffles was 0.42 times that in a traditional draft tube. The baffles were found to reduce the tangential velocity of the flow in the draft tube and consequently hinder the development of the fierce swirling flow. This type of decrease is more significant compared to the gradual decay due to viscous effects of the solid wall in a traditional draft tube. The conclusion was verified by the results of experiments conducted using a novel device. The measured increase in turbine efficiency exceeded 3% at the evaluated partial loading point, indicating improved economic performance of the turbine.

Experimental investigation of the influence of the hydraulic performance of an axial blood pump on intraventricular blood flow

2021 ◽  
pp. 039139882110130
Author(s):  
Guang-Mao Liu ◽  
Fu-Qing Jiang ◽  
Xiao-Han Yang ◽  
Run-Jie Wei ◽  
Sheng-Shou Hu
Keyword(s):  
Blood Flow ◽  
Particle Image ◽  
Swirling Flow ◽  
Blood Stasis ◽  
Systemic Circulation ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Blood Pump ◽  
Image Velocimetry ◽  
Ct Data

Blood flow inside the left ventricle (LV) is a concern for blood pump use and contributes to ventricle suction and thromboembolic events. However, few studies have examined blood flow inside the LV after a blood pump was implanted. In this study, in vitro experiments were conducted to emulate the intraventricular blood flow, such as blood flow velocity, the distribution of streamlines, vorticity and the standard deviation of velocity inside the LV during axial blood pump support. A silicone LV reconstructed from computerized tomography (CT) data of a heart failure patient was incorporated into a mock circulatory loop (MCL) to simulate human systemic circulation. Then, the blood flow inside the ventricle was examined by particle image velocimetry (PIV) equipment. The results showed that the operating conditions of the axial blood pump influenced flow patterns within the LV and areas of potential blood stasis, and the intraventricular swirling flow was altered with blood pump support. The presence of vorticity in the LV from the thoracic aorta to the heart apex can provide thorough washing of the LV cavity. The gradually extending stasis region in the central LV with increasing blood pump support is necessary to reduce the thrombosis potential in the LV.

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