Comprehensive experimental and numerical analysis of instability phenomena in pump turbines

The changes in the electricity market have led to changed requirements for the operation of pump turbines. Utilities need to change fast and frequently between pumping and generating modes and increasingly want to operate at off-design conditions for extended periods. Operation of the units in instable areas of the machine characteristic is not acceptable and may lead to self-excited vibration of the hydraulic system. In turbine operation of pump turbines unstable behaviour can occur at low load off-design operation close to runaway conditions (S-shape of the turbine characteristic). This type of instability may impede the synchronization of the machine in turbine mode and thus increase start-up and switch over times. A pronounced S-shaped instability can also lead to significant drop of discharge in the event of load rejection. Low pressure on the suction side and in the tail-race tunnel could cause dangerous separation of the water column. Understanding the flow features that lead to the instable behaviour of pump turbines is a prerequisite to the design of machines that can fulfil the growing requirements relating to operational flexibility. Flow simulation in these instability zones is demanding due to the complex and highly unsteady flow patterns. Only unsteady simulation methods are able to reproduce the governing physical effects in these operating regions. ANDRITZ HYDRO has been investigating the stability behaviour of pump turbines in turbine operation in cooperation with several universities using simulation and measurements. In order to validate the results of flow simulation of unstable operating points, the Graz University of Technology (Austria) performed detailed experimental investigations. Within the scope of a long term research project, the operating characteristics of several pump turbine runners have been measured and flow patterns in the pump turbine at speed no load and runaway have been examined by 2D Laser particle image velocimetry (PIV). For several wicket gate positions, the flow fields in the vane-less space at runner inlet observed in the experiment are compared with the results of unsteady CFD flow simulations. Physical phenomena are visualized and insight to flow phenomena is given. Analyses using both results of simulation and measurement allow deriving a consistent explanation of the fluid mechanical mechanisms leading to the S-shaped instability of pump turbines.