Counter-rotating type axial flow pump unit in turbine mode for micro grid system

Traditional type pumped storage system contributes to adjust the electric power unbalance between day and night, in general. This serial research proposes the hybrid power system combined the wind power unit with the pump-turbine unit, to provide the constant output for the grid system, even at the suddenly fluctuating/turbulent wind. In the pumping mode, the pump should operate unsteadily at not only the normal but also the partial discharge. The operation may be unstable in the rising portion of the head characteristics at the lower discharge, and/or bring the cavitation at the low suction head. To simultaneously overcome both weak points, the authors have proposed a superior pump unit that is composed of counter-rotating type impellers and a peculiar motor with double rotational armatures. This paper discusses the operation at the turbine mode of the above unit. It is concluded with the numerical simulations that this type unit can be also operated acceptably at the turbine mode, because the unit works so as to coincide the angular momentum change through the front runners/impellers with that thorough the rear runners/impellers, namely to take the axial flow at not only the inlet but also the outlet without the guide vanes.