Simulation of Flow Through Conical Diffusers With and Without Inlet Swirl Using CFD

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sushant Dhiman ◽  
Hosein Foroutan ◽  
Savas Yavuzkurt
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Data ◽  
Reynolds Stress ◽  
Swirling Flow ◽  
Draft Tube ◽  
Pressure Coefficient ◽  
Turbulence Models ◽  
Maximum Deviation ◽  
Wall Region ◽  
Vortex Rope ◽  
Inlet Swirl

One of the major problems encountered in the operation of hydraulic turbines (such as Francis turbines) is a rotating vortex rope which forms in the draft tube under part load conditions. Overall goal of the present research is to study the formation of this oscillating vortex rope using CFD and understand the fundamental mechanisms governing this flow phenomenon. A systematic step by step CFD approach is chosen starting from the simplest to the most complicated flow. The current CFD study reported here therefore aims at studying flows in conical diffusers with and without swirl as a simplified draft tube flow. Two test cases are considered, one is flow with inlet swirl and the other without swirl in a conical diffuser. CFD simulations were carried out using five different turbulence models, namely standard, realizable and RNG k-ε (along with the enhanced wall treatment for near-wall region), SST k-ω and the Reynolds stress model (RSM). Wall pressure coefficient along the diffuser, streamwise and circumferential mean velocity, turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) and Reynolds stress profiles are compared with the experimental data as well as CFD results from literature. It is shown that the moderate levels of swirl cause improvement in the pressure recovery in the diffuser as much as 15%. Also, the standard k-ε and RSM models perform best in predicting turbulent swirling flow behavior. Profiles of the streamwise velocity obtained from these models are in relatively good agreement with the experimental data (with maximum deviation of 25%), while the predictions of the SST k-ω show as much as 60% difference. Also, there is only 8% difference between the level of Reynolds stress obtained from the standard k-ε model and those from the experimental data. Overall, however, all turbulence models need to be improved in order to fully capture the details of the swirling flow in a diffuser and certainly the flow in a draft tube of a hydroturbine where vortex rope breakdown and/or boundary layer separation occurs.

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 Impact of Turbulence Models on the Air Flow in a Confined Rectangular Space

2020 ◽  
pp. 46-53
Author(s):  
Jakub Mularski ◽  
Amit Arora ◽  
Muhammad Azam Saeed ◽  
Łukasz Niedźwiecki ◽  
Samrand Saeidi
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Data ◽  
Air Flow ◽  
Turbulence Models ◽  
The Other ◽  
Experimental Measurements ◽  
Wall Region ◽  
Sst Model ◽  
Computational Fluid Dynamics Cfd ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Given

The paper regards the impact of four different turbulence models on the air flow pattern in a confined rectangular space. The following approaches are analyzed. The Baseline (BSL) Reynolds model, the Speziale-Sarkar-Gatzki (SSG) Reynolds model, the Menter's shear-stress transport (SST) model and the basic k-ε model. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) results are compared with the experimental measurements in four different planes. The Reynolds number for the given conditions is equal to 5000. The k-ε model yielded the most accurate results with regard to the experimental data but its reliability decreased near the wall region. With respect to the other models, it was also found that the k-ε approach generated the least circulating flow.

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.

Improved Prediction of Turbomachinery Flows Using Near-Wall Reynolds-Stress Model

2001 ◽  
Vol 124 (1) ◽  
pp. 86-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. A. Gerolymos ◽  
J. Neubauer ◽  
V. C. Sharma ◽  
I. Vallet
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Data ◽  
Turbulent Flows ◽  
Reynolds Stress ◽  
Turbulence Models ◽  
Reynolds Stress Model ◽  
Stress Model ◽  
Reynolds Stresses ◽  
Mean Flow ◽  
Flow Equations ◽  
Near Wall

In this paper an assessment of the improvement in the prediction of complex turbomachinery flows using a new near-wall Reynolds-stress model is attempted. The turbulence closure used is a near-wall low-turbulence-Reynolds-number Reynolds-stress model, that is independent of the distance-from-the-wall and of the normal-to-the-wall direction. The model takes into account the Coriolis redistribution effect on the Reynolds-stresses. The five mean flow equations and the seven turbulence model equations are solved using an implicit coupled OΔx3 upwind-biased solver. Results are compared with experimental data for three turbomachinery configurations: the NTUA high subsonic annular cascade, the NASA_37 rotor, and the RWTH 1 1/2 stage turbine. A detailed analysis of the flowfield is given. It is seen that the new model that takes into account the Reynolds-stress anisotropy substantially improves the agreement with experimental data, particularily for flows with large separation, while being only 30 percent more expensive than the k−ε model (thanks to an efficient implicit implementation). It is believed that further work on advanced turbulence models will substantially enhance the predictive capability of complex turbulent flows in turbomachinery.

Turbulent Scalar Flux Models for the Mixing of Hot Gases in the Swirling Flow of High-Temperature Reactor Lower Plenums

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dominik von Lavante ◽  
Eckart Laurien
Keyword(s):  
High Temperature ◽  
Reynolds Stress ◽  
Turbulence Modeling ◽  
Swirling Flow ◽  
Turbulence Models ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Vortical Flow ◽  
Mixing Efficiency ◽  
Scalar Flux ◽  
Flux Transport

With recent progress in high-temperature pebble-bed reactor programs research focus has started to include more ancillary engineering issues. One very important aspect for the realisability is the mixing of hot and colder helium in the reactor lower plenum. Under nominal operating conditions, depending on core design, the temperature of hot gas leaving the core can locally differ up to 210° C. Due to material limitations, these temperature differences have to be reduced to at least ±15° C. Several reduced-size air experiments have been performed on this problem, but their applicability to modern commercially sized reactors is not certain. With the rise in computing power CFD simulations can be performed in addition, but advanced turbulence modeling is necessary due to the highly swirling and turbulent nature of this flow. The presented work uses the geometry of the German HTR-Modul which consists of an annular mixing channel and radially arranged ribs. Using the commercial CFD code ANSYS CFX, we have made detailed analyses of the complex 3D vortical flow phenomena within this geometry. Several momentum transport turbulence models, e.g. the classical k-e model, advanced two-equation models and Reynolds-Stress Models were compared with respect to their accuracy for this particular flow. In addition, the full set of turbulent scalar flux transport equations was implemented for modeling the three components of turbulent transport of enthalpy seperately and were compared with the standard turbulent Prandtl number approach. As expected from previous work in related fields of turbulence modeling, the differences in predicting the mixing performance between models were significant. Only the full Reynolds-Stress model coupled with the scalar flux equations was able to reproduce the experimentally observed reduction of mixing efficiency with increasing Reynolds number. The correct scaling of mixing efficiencies demonstrates that the utilized turbulence models are able to reproduce the physics of the underlying flow. Hence they could be employed for the scaling and optimization of the lower plenum geometry. The results also showed that the original geometry used for the HTR-Modul is insufficient to provide adequate mixing, and that hence a not sufficiently mixed coolant for future reactor designs might be an issue. Based on this work, an optimization for future lower plenum geometries has become feasible.

CFD analysis of the effect of nozzle stand-off distance on turbulent impinging jets

2013 ◽  
Vol 40 (7) ◽  
pp. 603-612 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mehrdad Shademan ◽  
Ram Balachandar ◽  
Ronald M. Barron
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Data ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Turbulence Models ◽  
Axial Direction ◽  
Reynolds Stress Model ◽  
Impinging Jets ◽  
Diameter Ratio ◽  
Wall Region ◽  
Nozzle Height ◽  
Jet Characteristics

Three-dimensional steady Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes simulations have been carried out to investigate the effect of the nozzle stand-off distance on the mean and turbulence characteristics of jets impinging vertically on flat surfaces. As part of the study, the performance of different turbulence models such as Realizable k–ε, k–ω SST, and Reynolds Stress Model (RSM) were evaluated. Based on comparisons with experimental data, RSM was chosen to further evaluate the characteristics of impinging jets. The Reynolds number based on the jet exit velocity and nozzle diameter is 100 000. Three different nozzle height-to-diameter ratios, representing different types of impinging jets, were simulated and compared with available experimental data. A strong dependency of the jet characteristics on the nozzle height-to-diameter ratio was observed. The simulations show that an increase in this ratio results in larger shear stress and more distributed pressure on the wall, more development of the flow in the axial direction and faster progress of the jet in the wall region. The current simulations present a robust step-by-step computational fluid dynamics approach to investigate the role of the nozzle height-to-diameter ratio on the impinging jet flow parameters.

Flow in the Simplified Draft Tube of a Francis Turbine Operating at Partial Load—Part I: Simulation of the Vortex Rope

2014 ◽  
Vol 81 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hosein Foroutan ◽  
Savas Yavuzkurt
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Data ◽  
Axial Velocity ◽  
Draft Tube ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Turbulence Closure ◽  
Francis Turbine ◽  
Outer Flow ◽  
Vortex Rope ◽  
Partial Load

Numerical simulations and analysis of the vortex rope formation in a simplified draft tube of a model Francis turbine are carried out in this paper, which is the first part of a two-paper series. The emphasis of this part is on the simulation and investigation of flow using different turbulence closure models. Two part-load operating conditions with same head and different flow rates (91% and 70% of the best efficiency point (BEP) flow rate) are considered. Steady and unsteady simulations are carried out for axisymmetric and three-dimensional grid in a simplified axisymmetric geometry, and results are compared with experimental data. It is seen that steady simulations with Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) models cannot resolve the vortex rope and give identical symmetric results for both the axisymmetric and three-dimensional flow geometries. These RANS simulations underpredict the axial velocity (by at least 14%) and turbulent kinetic energy (by at least 40%) near the center of the draft tube, even quite close to the design condition. Moving farther from the design point, models fail in predicting the correct levels of the axial velocity in the draft tube. Unsteady simulations are performed using unsteady RANS (URANS) and detached eddy simulation (DES) turbulence closure approaches. URANS models cannot capture the self-induced unsteadiness of the vortex rope and give steady solutions while DES model gives sufficient unsteady results. Using the proper unsteady model, i.e., DES, the overall shape of the vortex rope is correctly predicted and the calculated vortex rope frequency differs only 6% from experimental data. It is confirmed that the vortex rope is formed due to the roll-up of the shear layer at the interface between the low-velocity inner region created by the wake of the crown cone and highly swirling outer flow.

Computational cavitating viscous liquid flows in a pump as turbine and Reynolds number effects

2018 ◽  
Vol 233 (3) ◽  
pp. 536-550 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wen-Guang Li ◽  
Yu-Liang Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Reynolds Number ◽  
Stokes Equations ◽  
Swirling Flow ◽  
Draft Tube ◽  
Pressure Coefficient ◽  
Helix Angle ◽  
Navier Stokes ◽  
Reverse Direction ◽  
Design Selection ◽  
Liquid Flows

Cavitating flows of viscous oils in an experimental centrifugal pump with low specific speed are modeled and simulated by using the time-averaged Navier–Stokes equations and standard [Formula: see text] turbulence model as well as full cavitation model based on the computational fluid dynamics method, when the pump operates in the reverse direction as turbine to generate power. The cavitation characteristics are identified at part-load, best efficiency and over-load points and five viscosities. Effects of viscosity on net positive suction head required are clarified. Net positive suction head required correction factor and conversion factor curves are obtained and correlated to impeller Reynolds number. The flow and cavitation models are validated with the existing experimental results and empirical correlations. Pressure and helix angle profiles at the draft tube entrance, cavity shape, swirling flow pattern in the draft tube, and the pressure coefficient distribution over the blade surfaces are presented. The presented results can be useful for design, selection, performance prediction, and impeller redesign of a pump as turbine.

A Study of Modest CFD Models for the Design of an Annular Diffuser With Struts for Swirling Flow

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. K. Feldcamp ◽  
A. M. Birk
Keyword(s):  
Swirling Flow ◽  
Turbulence Models ◽  
Surface Flow ◽  
Experimental Results ◽  
Navier Stokes ◽  
Cfd Models ◽  
Pressure Distributions ◽  
Annular Diffuser ◽  
Inlet Swirl ◽  
Visualization Techniques

Cold flow experiments were conducted to study swirling flows in an annular diffuser with various strut configurations. Experimental results at 0°, 20°, and 40° of inlet swirl were obtained. Measured properties included detailed inlet and exit traverses using three and seven hole pressure probes, surface pressure taps on the diffuser wall, and surface flow visualization techniques. Evaluation of the diffuser and strut performance was based on pressure recovery, and detailed pressure distributions. The experimental results have been studied further using Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes (RANS) based Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). These models are of modest size (less than four million volumes). Several turbulence models have been used to predict the performance of the annular diffuser with struts. Both high and low Reynolds number implementations of the turbulence models have been investigated. The results show that modest CFD models can be used with confidence to design these devices.

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