IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/energy/v328y2025ics036054422502170x.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Analysis of hydraulic stability of a Francis turbine under partial load conditions based on Liutex method and entropy production theory

Author

Listed:
  • Xu, Lihui
  • Guo, Tao

Abstract

Hydropower turbines, as crucial components for grid regulation, must operate under frequently changing partial load conditions to accommodate the integrated generation of wind, solar, and hydro power in new hybrid grids. Ensuring their safety and stability is of paramount importance. This study focuses on the HLA551-LJ-43 turbine, using the Liutex method and entropy production theory to comprehensively analyze the influence of vortex structures on cavitation, pressure pulsations, and hydraulic losses under five representative operating conditions, with validation against experimental efficiency. The conclusions are as follows: (1) Increasing the rotational speed enhances the helical nature of the draft tube vortex, whereas reducing the speed effectively eliminates this helicity, favoring the stability of the unit. (2) There is no direct correlation between the occurrence of cavitation and vortex structures; however, increasing the head can induce extensive cavitation phenomena. (3) Due to the propagation of pressure waves, the frequency of the draft tube vortex generated at the most downstream point appears in the spiral casing domain, significantly impacting the hydraulic stability of the entire unit. (4) A comparative analysis of vortex structures and entropy production reveals that, in the runner region, blade passage vortices and blade tip leakage vortices are the main sources of hydraulic losses. This pattern holds true under high head, low-speed, and high-speed conditions. This research provides robust numerical analysis for optimizing new hybrid grid generation and offers effective engineering guidance.

Suggested Citation

  • Xu, Lihui & Guo, Tao, 2025. "Analysis of hydraulic stability of a Francis turbine under partial load conditions based on Liutex method and entropy production theory," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 328(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:328:y:2025:i:c:s036054422502170x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2025.136528
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S036054422502170X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.energy.2025.136528?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Yu, An & Tang, Yibo & Tang, Qinghong & Cai, Jianguo & Zhao, Lei & Ge, Xinfeng, 2022. "Energy analysis of Francis turbine for various mass flow rate conditions based on entropy production theory," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 183(C), pages 447-458.
    2. Tang, Qinghong & Yu, An & Wang, Yongshuai & Tang, Yibo & Wang, Yifu, 2023. "Numerical analysis of vorticity transport and energy dissipation of inner-blade vortex in Francis turbine," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 203(C), pages 634-648.
    3. Gu, Yunqing & Qiu, Qianfeng & Yu, Songwei & Hu, Chaoxiang & Ding, Hongxin & Wu, Denghao & Mou, Jiegang, 2024. "Numerical simulation study of cavitation characteristics of jet hydrofoil surface," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 305(C).
    4. Ahn, Soo-Hwang & Tian, Hong & Cao, Jingwei & Duo, Wenzhi & Wang, Zhengwei & Cui, Jianhua & Chen, Lin & Li, Yang & Huang, Guoping & Yu, Yunpeng, 2023. "Hydraulic performances of a bulb turbine with full field reservoir model based on entropy production analysis," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 211(C), pages 347-360.
    5. Yan, Xiaotong & Kan, Kan & Zheng, Yuan & Xu, Zhe & Rossi, Mosè & Xu, Lianchen & Chen, Huixiang, 2024. "The vortex dynamics characteristics in a pump-turbine: A rigid vorticity analysis while varying guide vane openings in turbine mode," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 289(C).
    6. Sun, Longgang & Xu, Hongyang & Li, Chenxi & Guo, Pengcheng & Xu, Zhuofei, 2024. "Unsteady assessment and alleviation of inter-blade vortex in Francis turbine," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 358(C).
    7. Ghorani, Mohammad Mahdi & Sotoude Haghighi, Mohammad Hadi & Maleki, Ali & Riasi, Alireza, 2020. "A numerical study on mechanisms of energy dissipation in a pump as turbine (PAT) using entropy generation theory," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 1036-1053.
    8. Zhang, Yuning & Liu, Kaihua & Xian, Haizhen & Du, Xiaoze, 2018. "A review of methods for vortex identification in hydroturbines," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 81(P1), pages 1269-1285.
    9. Yang, Weifeng & Zhang, Renhui & Wang, Xiaoyuan & Guo, Guangqiang, 2025. "Cavitation-induced variations in vortex structure and energy conversion dynamics in a vortex pump," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 317(C).
    10. Zhumei Luo & Cong Nie & Shunli Lv & Tao Guo & Suoming Gao, 2022. "The Effect of J-Groove on Vortex Suppression and Energy Dissipation in a Draft Tube of Francis Turbine," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-20, February.
    11. Sun, Longgang & Guo, Pengcheng & Luo, Xingqi, 2020. "Numerical investigation on inter-blade cavitation vortex in a Franics turbine," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 158(C), pages 64-74.
    12. Ji, Leilei & Li, Wei & Shi, Weidong & Tian, Fei & Agarwal, Ramesh, 2021. "Effect of blade thickness on rotating stall of mixed-flow pump using entropy generation analysis," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 236(C).
    13. Yu, An & Tang, Qinghong & Chen, Huixiang & Zhou, Daqing, 2021. "Investigations of the thermodynamic entropy evaluation in a hydraulic turbine under various operating conditions," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 180(C), pages 1026-1043.
    14. Pei, Ji & Shen, Jiawei & Wang, Wenjie & Yuan, Shouqi & Zhao, Jiantao, 2024. "Evaluating hydraulic dissipation in a reversible mixed-flow pump for micro-pumped hydro storage based on entropy production theory," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 225(C).
    15. Ohiemi, Israel Enema & Sunsheng, Yang & Singh, Punit & Li, Yanjun & Osman, Fareed, 2023. "Evaluation of energy loss in a low-head axial flow turbine under different blade numbers using entropy production method," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 274(C).
    16. Li, Deyou & Miao, Boxuan & Li, Yu & Gong, Ruzhi & Wang, Hongjie, 2021. "Numerical study of the hydrofoil cavitation flow with thermodynamic effects," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 169(C), pages 894-904.
    17. Shahzer, Mohammad Abu & Kim, Jin-Hyuk, 2024. "Investigation of role of fins in a Francis turbine model's cavitation-induced instabilities under design and off-design conditions," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 292(C).
    18. Qi, Bing & Bai, Xiaobang & Li, Yibin & Wang, Xiaohui & Zhang, Xiaoze & Zhang, Desheng, 2024. "Research on the influence mechanism of internal flow characteristics on energy conversion in radial energy recovery turbines under multiple conditions," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 296(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Zhou, Ling & Hang, Jianwei & Bai, Ling & Krzemianowski, Zbigniew & El-Emam, Mahmoud A. & Yasser, Eman & Agarwal, Ramesh, 2022. "Application of entropy production theory for energy losses and other investigation in pumps and turbines: A review," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 318(C).
    2. Jin, Faye & Luo, Yongyao & Wang, Zhengwei, 2024. "Research on the starting-up process of a prototype reversible pump turbine with misaligned guide vanes: An energy loss analysis," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 304(C).
    3. Lu, Jiahao & Tao, Ran & Yao, Zhifeng & Xiao, Ruofu & Liu, Weichao, 2025. "Transient simulation energy study of fast opening of guide vane during start-up of pump turbine in energy storage mode," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 324(C).
    4. Lu, Zhaoheng & Tao, Ran & Yao, Zhifeng & Liu, Weichao & Xiao, Ruofu, 2022. "Effects of guide vane shape on the performances of pump-turbine: A comparative study in energy storage and power generation," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 197(C), pages 268-287.
    5. Wang, Xiao-Dong & Wang, Wen-Quan & Zhang, Chang-Bing & Xu, Yong, 2025. "Old wine in a new bottle: Energy loss evaluation in a six-nozzle Pelton turbine with entropy production theory," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 319(C).
    6. Wan, Dehai & Wang, Jianjun, 2025. "Numerical study of energy losses in the energy conversion process of a cold model flue gas turbine based on entropy production method," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 314(C).
    7. Li, Wei & Long, Yu & Ji, Leilei & Li, Haoming & Li, Shuo & Chen, Yunfei & Yang, Qiaoyue, 2024. "Effect of circumferential spokes on the rotating stall flow field of mixed-flow pump," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 290(C).
    8. Sun, Longgang & Xu, Hongyang & Li, Chenxi & Guo, Pengcheng & Xu, Zhuofei, 2024. "Unsteady assessment and alleviation of inter-blade vortex in Francis turbine," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 358(C).
    9. Li, Yanyan & Sun, Longgang & Guo, Pengcheng, 2024. "Investigation of the transient characteristics of the Francis turbine during runaway process," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 237(PC).
    10. He, Jiawei & Si, Qiaorui & Sun, Wentao & Liu, Jinfeng & Miao, Senchun & Wang, Xiaohui & Wang, Peng & Wang, Chenguang, 2023. "Study on the energy loss characteristics of ultra-low specific speed PAT under different short blade lengths based on entropy production method," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 283(C).
    11. Jin, Faye & Luo, Yongyao & Zhao, Qiang & Cao, Jiali & Wang, Zhengwei, 2023. "Energy loss analysis of transition simulation for a prototype reversible pump turbine during load rejection process," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 284(C).
    12. Wang, Yuqi & Cheng, Li, 2025. "Research on the flow characteristics and energy variation characteristics of the outlet passage of a two-way flow pump device based on Liutex and energy balance equation method," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 318(C).
    13. Tang, Qinghong & Yu, An & Wang, Yongshuai & Tang, Yibo & Wang, Yifu, 2023. "Numerical analysis of vorticity transport and energy dissipation of inner-blade vortex in Francis turbine," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 203(C), pages 634-648.
    14. Wang, Xiu & Yang, Jia-Fu & Huang, Xiao-Wen & Wang, Wen-Quan, 2024. "Using bionic tubercles to control swirling flow instabilities of a hydraulic turbine during the load rejection process," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 311(C).
    15. Nguyen, Duc-Anh & Dinh, Cong-Truong & Kim, Gyeong Sung & Kim, Jin-Hyuk, 2025. "A potential solution to recover energy from wastewater environment by using the single-channel pump as turbine," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 320(C).
    16. Xu, Lianchen & Kan, Kan & Zheng, Yuan & Liu, Demin & Binama, Maxime & Xu, Zhe & Yan, Xiaotong & Guo, Mengqi & Chen, Huixiang, 2024. "Rotating stall mechanism of pump-turbine in hump region: An insight into vortex evolution," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 292(C).
    17. Pei, Ji & Shen, Jiawei & Wang, Wenjie & Yuan, Shouqi & Zhao, Jiantao, 2024. "Evaluating hydraulic dissipation in a reversible mixed-flow pump for micro-pumped hydro storage based on entropy production theory," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 225(C).
    18. Wang, Zhiqi & Xie, Baoqi & Xia, Xiaoxia & Luo, Lan & Yang, Huya & Li, Xin, 2023. "Entropy production analysis of a radial inflow turbine with variable inlet guide vane for ORC application," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 265(C).
    19. Chai, Min & Zhu, Hanxiao & Ren, Yun & Zheng, Shuihua, 2024. "Hydraulic dissipation analysis in reversible pump with a novel double-bend impeller for small pumped hydro storage based on entropy generation theory," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 313(C).
    20. Wang, Like & Feng, Jianjun & Lu, Jinling & Zhu, Guojun & Wang, Wei, 2024. "Novel bionic wave-shaped tip clearance toward improving hydrofoil energy performance and suppressing tip leakage vortex," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 290(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:328:y:2025:i:c:s036054422502170x. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/energy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.