The unsteady flow inside a large centrifugal pump with stay vanes was analyzed in this study. The static performance and pressure fluctuations in the pump were numerically predicted and were compared with experimental data. Considering the relative positions of the impeller to the volute tongue and stay vanes, the static performance which was obtained using a full unsteady calculation was compared with traditional steady calculation results. A comparison of the results with the experimental data showed that the operation condition farther from the design condition resulted in larger differences between the steady simulation and experimental results, with errors beyond reasonable limits, while the performance curves obtained by the unsteady calculations were closer to the experimental data. A comparison of the pressure fluctuations at four monitoring points with the experimental data showed that the amplitudes at HVS1 and HVS2 are much larger than at HD1 and HD2. The main frequency for these four monitoring points, which agreed well with the experimental data, was the blade passing frequency. The relative obvious errors in pressure fluctuations for HD1and HD2 were due to the inlet flow rate variation of the simulation. Thus, unsteady numerical simulations can be used to predict the pressure fluctuations when designing a pump.

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Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze the ability of turbulence models to model the flow field in the runner of a Francis turbine. Although the complex flow in the turbine can be simulated by CFD models, the prediction accuracy still needs to be improved. The choice of the turbulence model is one key tool that affects the prediction accuracy of numerical simulations. Design/methodology/approach – This study used the SST k-w and RNG k-e turbulence models, which can both accurately predict complex flow fields in numerical simulations, to simulate the flow in the entire flow passage of a Francis turbine with the results compared against experimental data for the performance and blade pressure distribution in the turbine to evaluate the applicability of the turbulence models. Findings – The results show that the SST k-w turbulence model more accurately predicts the turbine performance than the RNG turbulence model. However, the blade surface pressures predicted by the SST k-w turbulence model were basically identical to those predicted by the RNG k-e turbulence model, with both accurately predicting the experimental data. Research limitations/implications – Due to the lack of space, the method used to measure the blade surface pressure distributions is not introduced in this paper. Practical implications – Turbine performance and flow field pressure in the runner, which are the basis of turbine preliminary performance judgment and optimization through CFD, can be used to judge the rationality of the turbine runner design. The paper provides an evidence for the turbulence selection in numerical simulation to predict turbine performance and flow field pressure in the runner and improves the CFD prediction accuracy. Originality/value – This paper fulfils a test of the flow field pressure in the runner, which provide an evidence for judge the adaptability of turbulence model on the flow field in runner. And this paper also provides important evaluations of two turbulence models for modeling the flow field pressure distribution in the runner of a Francis turbine to improve the accuracy of CFD models for predicting turbine performance.

The pressure fluctuations in both the rotating runner and the other fixed components in a model Francis turbine under various loads were experimentally measured by means of onboard measuring equipment in the runner and data storage device on the shaft in this study. Large pressure fluctuations were observed under both small guide vane opening and large guide vane opening conditions. Flow separation at the blade suction surface led to large pressure fluctuations for small guide vane openings, the unsteady flow around the inlet on the blade pressure side led to large pressure fluctuations for large openings. The pressure fluctuations correlation between the runner and other components of the turbine, mainly the draft tube, was analyzed in detail for both small guide vane opening (12 deg) and large guide vane opening (30 deg). The results show that the pressure fluctuations in the runner space increased by the superposition of draft tube vortex rope pressure fluctuations and runner inter blade vortices pressure fluctuations, resulting in much larger pressure fluctuations in the runner space than in other components.

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