Pressure Fluctuation Prediction of a Model Kaplan Turbine by Unsteady Turbulent Flow Simulation

While larger and larger turbines are being developed, hydraulic stability has become one of the key issues for their performance assessments. An accurate prediction of their pressure fluctuations is vital to the success of new model development. In this paper, we briefly introduced the method, i.e., the three-dimensional unsteady turbulent flow simulation of the complete flow passage, which we used for predicting the pressure fluctuations of a model Kaplan turbine. In order to verify the prediction, the model turbine was tested on the test rig at the Harbin Electric Machinery Co., Ltd. (HEC), China, which meets all the international standards. Our main findings from this numerical prediction of pressure fluctuations for a model Kaplan turbine are as follows. (1) The approach by using 3D unsteady turbulent flow including rotor-stator interaction for the whole flow passage is a feasible way for predicting model turbine hydraulic instability. The predicted values at different points along its flow passage all agree well with the test data in terms of their frequencies and amplitudes. (2) The low-frequency pressure fluctuation originating from the draft tube is maximal and influences the stability of the turbine operation mostly. The whole flow passage analysis shows that the swirling vortex rope in the draft tube is the major source generating the pressure fluctuations in this model turbine. (3) The second harmonic of the rotational frequency $2fn$ is more dominant than the blade passing frequency $Zfn$ in the draft tube. This prediction, including the turbulence model, computational methods, and the boundary conditions, is valid either for performance prediction at design stage and/or for operation optimization after commissioning.