On the vortex transport and blade interactions in a reversible pump-turbine

Fuente: arXiv
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Autor principal: Trivedi, Chirag
Formato: Preprint
Publicado: 2026
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author Trivedi, Chirag
author_facet Trivedi, Chirag
contents Pumped storage type hydropower plants play an important role in mitigating real-time energy flexibility. Reversible pump-turbines undergo extreme operating conditions such as runaway and speed-no-load. Very limited studies are undertaken to understand the stochastic flow under these conditions in the reversible pump-turbine. The present study investigates the unsteady vortical flow, its transportation, and interaction with the blades at speed-no-load. Large eddy simulations are conducted in both turbine and pump modes. The computational domain contains 120 million nodes. Numerical results provided evidence of a large longitudinal vortex that develops on the high-pressure side of the blade, and transports into the blade passage and develops the unsteady "string of swirls". The results also showed another "string of swirls" in the draft tube, where flow in the center is reversible (pumping). The resulting flow instability is very high, and it has the potential to induce fatigue damage to the blades.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2602_08687
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle On the vortex transport and blade interactions in a reversible pump-turbine
Trivedi, Chirag
Fluid Dynamics
Pumped storage type hydropower plants play an important role in mitigating real-time energy flexibility. Reversible pump-turbines undergo extreme operating conditions such as runaway and speed-no-load. Very limited studies are undertaken to understand the stochastic flow under these conditions in the reversible pump-turbine. The present study investigates the unsteady vortical flow, its transportation, and interaction with the blades at speed-no-load. Large eddy simulations are conducted in both turbine and pump modes. The computational domain contains 120 million nodes. Numerical results provided evidence of a large longitudinal vortex that develops on the high-pressure side of the blade, and transports into the blade passage and develops the unsteady "string of swirls". The results also showed another "string of swirls" in the draft tube, where flow in the center is reversible (pumping). The resulting flow instability is very high, and it has the potential to induce fatigue damage to the blades.
title On the vortex transport and blade interactions in a reversible pump-turbine
topic Fluid Dynamics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.08687