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Investigations of unsteady pressure loading in a Francis turbine during variable-speed operation

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  • Trivedi, Chirag
  • Agnalt, Einar
  • Dahlhaug, Ole Gunnar

Abstract

Current study was aimed to investigate the unsteady pressure loading in a model Francis turbine under variable-speed configurations. Focus was to investigate the time-dependent characteristic frequencies and the pressure amplitudes. Detailed analysis of both stochastic and deterministic pressure loading in the vaneless space, runner and draft tube was conducted. Total 12 pressure sensors were integrated in the turbine, including four sensors in the runner. The runner rotational speed was changed by ±30% of the rated speed, and the guide vanes were at a fixed aperture. Total four operating conditions were investigated. The measurements showed that, in the vaneless space and runner, amplitudes of unsteady pressure fluctuations increase with the runner angular speed. Pressure field at the blade trailing edge is strongly influenced by the draft tube flow at part load and low load. The variable-speed configuration allowed power generation under the stable condition, where the vortex rope effect is low. However, this led to high-amplitude stochastic frequencies in the runner and draft tube. Overall, the pressure measurements indicated that not only efficiency but also detailed study on pressure fluctuations inside the turbine is vital before designing a runner for the variable-speed configurations.

Suggested Citation

  • Trivedi, Chirag & Agnalt, Einar & Dahlhaug, Ole Gunnar, 2017. "Investigations of unsteady pressure loading in a Francis turbine during variable-speed operation," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 397-410.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:113:y:2017:i:c:p:397-410
    DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2017.06.005
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Trivedi, Chirag & Iliev, Igor & Dahlhaug, Ole Gunnar & Markov, Zoran & Engstrom, Fredrik & Lysaker, Henning, 2020. "Investigation of a Francis turbine during speed variation: Inception of cavitation," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 166(C), pages 147-162.
    3. Atmaram Kayastha & Hari Prasad Neopane & Ole Gunnar Dahlhaug, 2025. "Experimental Approach to Evaluate Effectiveness of Vortex Generators on Francis Turbine Runner," Energies, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-20, February.
    4. Sotoudeh, Nahale & Maddahian, Reza & Cervantes, Michel J., 2020. "Investigation of Rotating Vortex Rope formation during load variation in a Francis turbine draft tube," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 151(C), pages 238-254.
    5. Bosioc, Alin Ilie & Tănasă, Constantin, 2020. "Experimental study of swirling flow from conical diffusers using the water jet control method," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 385-398.
    6. Cavazzini, Giovanna & Houdeline, Jean-Bernard & Pavesi, Giorgio & Teller, Olivier & Ardizzon, Guido, 2018. "Unstable behaviour of pump-turbines and its effects on power regulation capacity of pumped-hydro energy storage plants," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 399-409.
    7. Salehi, Saeed & Nilsson, Håkan & Lillberg, Eric & Edh, Nicolas, 2021. "An in-depth numerical analysis of transient flow field in a Francis turbine during shutdown," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 2322-2347.
    8. Trivedi, Chirag & Agnalt, Einar & Dahlhaug, Ole Gunnar, 2018. "Experimental study of a Francis turbine under variable-speed and discharge conditions," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 447-458.
    9. Wang, Zhiyuan & Qian, Zhongdong & Lu, Jie & Wu, Pengfei, 2019. "Effects of flow rate and rotational speed on pressure fluctuations in a double-suction centrifugal pump," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 170(C), pages 212-227.
    10. Li, Huanhuan & Chen, Diyi & Arzaghi, Ehsan & Abbassi, Rouzbeh & Xu, Beibei & Patelli, Edoardo & Tolo, Silvia, 2018. "Safety assessment of hydro-generating units using experiments and grey-entropy correlation analysis," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 165(PA), pages 222-234.
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