The clearance flow around the pump-turbine runner has significant influences on unit vibrations, which may cause accidents in transient processes. The dynamic hydraulic forces and flow patterns in the clearance flow channel (CFC) of a low specific-speed pump-turbine were analyzed based on 3D CFD simulations during the runaway oscillating process. It is shown that the axial force of the runner periodically fluctuates with large amplitudes, and its components in CFC and the main flow channel (MFC) demonstrate a similar significance level. The CFC component was formulated as a function of the clearance inlet pressure and rotational speed, while the MFC component as a function of the momentum changing rate and the runner outlet pressure force. The fluctuation of runner radial force is mainly caused by the flow evolution in MFC, however, the flow in CFC aggravates it. The pressure in CFC shows a few pulsating signals from MFC, and the radial pressure drop in CFC is proportional to the square of both radius and rotational speed. In CFC, strong rotating shear flow containing a velocity core region in the circumferential direction is formed, and rotational speed is the dominant factor.

The pumped-storage power station is an efficient stability regulator of the power grid. However, due to the instability of the pump-turbine in the S-shaped characteristic region, rotational speed fluctuation is easy to occur in the speed no-load condition, making synchronization with and connection to the grid difficult. To investigate the key factors of these difficult grid connections, the start-up processes of a practical pump-turbine under the lowest head condition were simulated by using the three-dimensional CFD method, in which the governor regulating equations with different regulating parameters were integrated successfully. The results show that the working points oscillate with the fluctuations of rotational speed, discharge, and torque, and different regulating parameters have a significant influence on the dynamic histories. In addition, the internal flow patterns, especially the backflows at the runner inlet, keep apparent values at the middle span (0.5 span) but have regular transitions near the shroud side (0.7–0.8 span). The faster the guide vanes adjust, the faster the backflows change, and the larger the macro parameters fluctuate. Overall, the instability of the start-up is the result of the periodical evolutions of backflows at the runner inlet, because the trend and period of the radial velocities at different inlet span locations are consistent with those of the discharge.

The clearance flow of pump-turbine has significant influence on hydraulic forces of the runner, which is related to safety of the unit. To clarify the influence factors, clearance flowrate and clearance hydraulic axial force of a prototype pump-turbine were analyzed by 3D CFD simulations. The results show that the rotational speed, and the smallest radial sizes of clearance inlet, outlet, and the seal ring sizes are the determinant factors for clearance leakage flowrate, while the rotational speed and the radial size at clearance inlet are the major factors for clearance axial force. The rotational speed of rotating surfaces mainly affects the strength of rotating shear flow, while geometric sizes mainly affect the hydraulic loss of leakage flow. By assuming that the clearance region as several ring pipes, we obtained the simplified calculation formulas for estimating clearance leakage flowrate and clearance axial force. The flowrate can be expressed as a function of the water head difference across the clearance region, the rotational speed, and the sizes of clearance inlet, outlet and sealing ring, while the clearance axial force is a function of the inlet pressure and the square of both radius and rotational speed. The formula calculations agree with the numerical simulations well. This paper can provide a reference for runner clearance size design.

No abstract

The clearance flow patterns and pressure distribution determine the clearance axial hydraulic thrust of a pump turbine, which has a substantial impact on the unit axial imbalance. However, due to the tiny size and complex shape of the clearance flow channel, there is no detailed description of the flow patterns and pressure characteristics. In this study, we conducted a model test with particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements and CFD simulation of a rotating disk flow that was a simplified model of the pump-turbine clearance flow. It is shown that a typical Batchelor flow is formed in the clearance region, demonstrating a “core region + double-boundary layers” distribution for the circumferential velocity along the clearance height direction; the core region rotates at a speed of only around 41–42% of the rotating disk speed and is independent of the clearance inlet pressure and clearance height. Driven by centrifugal force, the flow is radially outward around the rotating disk, while inward around the stationary disk in the meridian section, showing secondary flow vortices. The pressure in the clearance region has a circumferentially symmetric and radially quadratic distribution. Based on the liquid differential equilibrium equation and core region circumferential velocity, the pressure and clearance axial hydraulic thrust in the clearance region can be expressed as a function of the clearance inlet pressure and the square of the runner rotating speed. These findings can be used to investigate axial force imbalance issues of the pump-turbine unit.