Author(s): R A Szakal; A I Bosioc; S Muntean

Linked Author(s):

Keywords: Unsteady pressure field; Swirling flow; Sharp heel elbow; Francis turbine; Vortex rope

Abstract: The wide range operation of Francis turbines is a challenging requirement. Often, leads to development of strong unsteady phenomena (e.g., vortex rope) associated with strong pressure pulsations. Moreover, these phenomena interact with other components from the circuit and leads to pressure pulsations that are propagated in the entire hydraulic system. In this paper, a swirl generator is used to study the swirling flow interaction and unsteady behaviour with a sharp heel elbow (HE90) mounted downstream to the cone. Several swirling flow configurations are obtained by controlling the rotor speed of the swirl generator apparatus with a magnetorheological brake (MRB). The plunging and rotating components are studied and the conclusions are underlined.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/1483/1/012011

Year: 2023