Dynamic analysis on pressure fluctuation in vaneless region of a pump turbine

As the pump turbine tends to be operated with high head and high rotational speed, the study of stability problems becomes more important. The pump turbine usually works at operating conditions where the guide vanes experience strong vibrations. However, most traditional studies were carried out based on constant GVO (guide vane opening) simulations. In this work, dynamic analysis on pressure fluctuation in the vaneless region of a pump turbine model was conducted using a dynamic mesh method in turbine mode. 3D unsteady simulations were conducted where GVO was closed and opened by 1° from the initial 18°. Detailed time domain and frequency domain characteristics on pressure fluctuation in the vaneless region under different guide vane rotational states compared with constant GVO simulations were investigated. Results show that, during the guide vanes oscillating process, the low and intermediate frequency components in the vaneless region are significantly different. The amplitudes of pressure fluctuation are higher than those with constant GVO simulations, which agree better with the experimental data. In addition, the pressure fluctuation increases when GVO is opened, and vice versa. It can be concluded that pressure fluctuation in the vaneless region is strongly influenced by the oscillating of the guide vanes.