Hysteresis Characteristic in the Hump Region of a Pump-Turbine Model
The hump feature is one of the major instabilities in pump-turbines. When pump-turbines operate in the hump region, strong noise and serious fluctuations can be observed, which are harmful to their safe and stable operation and can even destroy the whole unit as well as water conveyance system. In this paper, a low specific speed ( n q = 36.1 min −1 ) pump-turbine model was experimentally investigated. Firstly, the hump characteristic was obtained under 19 mm guide vane opening conditions. More interestingly, when the hump characteristic was measured in two directions (increasing and decreasing the discharge), characteristic hysteresis was found in the hump region. The analysis of performance characteristics reveals that the hump instability is the result of Euler momentum and hydraulic losses, and different Euler momentum and hydraulic losses in the two development processes lead to the hysteresis phenomenon. Then, 12 pressure sensors were mounted in the different parts of the pump-turbine model to obtain the time and frequency characteristics. The analysis of the corresponding fast Fourier transform confirms that the hump characteristic is related to low-frequency (0.04–0.15 times rotational frequency) vortices. The occurrence and cessation of vortices depend on the operating condition and measurement direction, which contribute to the hysteresis feature. Finally, the type of the low-frequency vortices was analyzed through the cross power spectrum.
Analysis of vorticity dynamics for hump characteristics of a pump turbine model
Conventional parameters based on CFD methodology for the investigation on hump characteristics of a pump turbine cannot reflect the dynamic interaction mechanism between the runner and the fluid. This research presents a dynamic interaction mechanism of a pump turbine operating in the hump region. First, vorticity dynamic parameters were obtained based on the theory of vorticity dynamics. Second, 3-D unsteady flow simulations were performed in a full pump turbine model using the SST k-ω turbulence model, and numerical results have a good agreement with the experiments. Then, analysis was carried out to determine the relation between the vorticity dynamic parameters and hump characteristics. The results indicate that the theory of vorticity dynamics has an advantage in evaluating the dynamic performance of a pump turbine. The energy transfer between the runner and the fluid is through vorticity dynamic parameters-pressure and friction terms, in which the pressure term accounts for the most. Furthermore, vortex generation mainly results from the skin friction. Combining vorticity dynamic analysis with the method of Q-criterion indicates that hump characteristics are related to the reduction of the surface normal pressure work and vortex motion on the suction surfaces close to the leading edges in the runner, and the increase of skin friction work in the stay-guide vanes.
Effects of reservoir volume on performance of pulse tube cooler.
A pulse tube cooler has the advantages of long-life and low-vibration over conventional cryocoolers such as G-M and Stirling coolers because of the absence of moving parts at low temperature. On the other hand, the combination of a reservoir and orifice is indispensable to optimize the performance of pulse tube coolers. In order to make the pulse tube cooler compact for practical applications, the volume of reservoir should be minimized. This paper analyzes the effects of the reservoir volume on the thermodynamic performance of various components in a simple orifice and a double-inlet pulse tube cooler by combining a linearized model with a thermodynamic analysis. Expressions of entropy production for those components are presented. The results show that the reservoir volume has a significant influence on the entropy production in the various components when the reservoir to pulse tube volume ratio is smaller than about 5. The ratio is important to determine the minimum reservoir volume for a pulse tube cooler. Optimum settings for a double-inlet pulse tube cooler are also discussed.