This master’s thesis deals with CFD simulation of spiral vortex structure in the diffuser of swirl generator. The objective of the thesis is to evaluate influence of change in diffuser opening angle on frequency and amplitude of pressure pulsation. All results are compared in charts which shows courses of frequencies and amplitudes along the diffuser. Two different turbulence models and several types of mesh were tested

This thesis deals with propagation of pressure and flow pulsations, which are strongly affected by the tube flexibility. There are two mathematic models introduced, which are derived from basic physical relations. First model assumes velocity only in the axis direction. Second one assumes also non-zero radial velocity. Kelvin-Voigt model for viscoelasticity was used. Furthermore, experimental measurement was designed and evaluated. Measured data was used to calculate material properties. In addition, dynamic transfer was determined.

This master’s thesis deals with the draft tube and its optimization for various operating conditions. The research investigates the theoretical description and function of the draft tube and explains known methods of suppressing pressure pulsation so far. In the computational part, the author proposes a new method and designs optimal geometry of adjustable installations (ribs) for the draft tube. Finally, the comparison with the default geometry without ribs is performed.

This master's thesis deals with CFD simulation of vortex rope in the elbow draft tube for overload operation of Francis turbine. The main objective of the thesis is to compare results of the CFD simulations of the original elbow draft tube with a derived straight cone draft tube considering volume and the shape of the cavitation region and dynamic flow characteristic. Results of the 3D simulations are also compared with axi-symmetric simulations, which reduce demands for computing time and power.

This work deals with study of swirling flows where the spiral vortical structure appears. The main relation is to flow seen in the draft tube cone of hydraulic turbines operated out of the design point (i.e. best efficiency point). In this cases large coherent vortex structure (vortex rope) appears and consequently high pressure pulsations are propagated to the whole machine system leading to possible restriction of turbine operation. This flow features are consequence of flow instability called vortex breakdown in case of Francis turbine operated at part load (flow rate lower than optimal one). The present study is carried out using simplified device of swirl generator in order to access similar flow conditions as can be found in real hydraulic turbines. Both the dynamic and dissipation effect of spiral vortex breakdown are investigated. The first part of thesis deals with spiral form of vortex breakdown. The experimentally measured velocity profiles (LDA) and wall static pressures are correlated with numerical simulations carried out using open-source CFD package OpenFOAM 2.2.2. The high speed camera recording of cavitating vortex core is used to obtain image ensemble for further post-processing. The dissipation effect of spiral vortex structure is in detail discussed based on computed flow fields. The second part of thesis is dedicated to the application of POD decomposition to the study of spatio-temporal features of spiral vortex dynamics. Firstly the POD is applied to the both the experimentally obtained image ensemble of cavitating vortex and numerically computed static pressure fields. Secondly the comprehensive analysis of spiral vortex mitigation effect by the axial water jet is analyzed. The collaborative study employing the swirl generator apparatus designed by the researchers from Politehnica University of Timisoara in Romania is performed and changes in spatio-temporal vortex dynamic are studied. In this study the numerical data (in a form of three-dimensional pressure and velocity fields) are obtained using commercial CFD software ANSYS Fluent R14.

Les Stations de Transfert de l’Énergie par Pompage (STEP) munies de turbines-pompes réversibles de type Francis (TP) permettent de stocker et de restituer de grandes quantités d’énergie avec des rendements très élevés. Celles-ci apparaissent comme un moyen viable d’assurer la réactivité et la stabilité du réseau électrique vis-à-vis de l’augmentation croissante des sources d’énergie renouvelables intermittentes. Pour répondre aux nouveaux besoins en régulation du réseau électrique, la technologie actuelle des STEP doit être adaptée. Accroître la réactivité requiert d’optimiser les procédures de démarrage et d’arrêt des machines. Dans les quadrants turbine, turbine-frein et pompe inverse, les TP de haute chute ont des courbes caractéristiques présentant la forme d’un « S ». Cette forme particulière peut engendrer des coups de béliers lors des phases d’arrêts d’urgences, exposant les conduites à de sévères surpressions et dépressions. De plus, pour ces points de fonctionnement associés au « S » les écoulements sont fortement instationnaires et induisent des fluctuations de pression responsables de chargements dynamiques sur les parties mécaniques. Les objectifs de ce travail sont la modélisation et la compréhension des phénomènes hydrauliques complexes liés au « S ». Des simulations numériques instationnaires sont réalisées en utilisant le modèle de turbulence SAS-SST. Moins couteux que les modèles LES, ce modèle permet de résoudre d’une partie du spectre turbulent et ainsi de prendre en compte les principaux effets instationnaires. Trois configurations de turbine-pompe de même vitesse spécifique (nq=40) sont étudiées. Une seule (grande) ouverture de directrices est retenue pour chaque configuration. Les points de fonctionnement considérés couvrent une large gamme de conditions d’opération, allant du fonctionnement en régime continu (rendement élevé) jusqu’au débit nul, en passant par le point d’emballement. Les résultats des calculs sont comparés aux mesures expérimentales. La bonne corrélation entre valeurs numériques et expérimentales valide la pertinence du modèle numérique. Les analyses des performances de la machine et des fluctuations de pression permettent d’identifier les régions de l’écoulement associées aux principales instabilités. Enfin, les visualisations de l’écoulement couplées à une étude des mécanismes de dissipation de l’énergie mettent en évidence les principaux phénomènes à l’origine de la forme en « S » des courbes caractéristiques. / Pumped Storage Plants (PSP) using reversible Francis pump-turbines can store large amounts of energy with high efficiency. They therefore appear as a cost-effective tool to provide stability to the energy production network against the intermittency of renewable energy sources. Nevertheless, start-up and shutdown procedures still need to be improved to increase the reactivity of the PSP. Reversible high head pump-turbines have characteristic curves that exhibit an S-Shape in the turbine, turbine-brake and reverse pump quadrants. This S-Shape may be responsible for surge transient phenomena in the case of an emergency shutdown (for large guide vane opening). Moreover, for operating point in the S-Shape region, the flow is highly unsteady and leads to a high level of pressure fluctuations and strong dynamic loadings on the mechanical parts. The objective of the current work is to perform a comprehensive study of the complex hydraulic phenomena linked with the S-Shape. Unsteady numerical computations are carried out using the turbulence model SAS-SST. Such a model can resolve part of the turbulent spectrum while maintaining affordable computational cost. It therefore offers an interesting alternative to more expensive LES computations. Three different configurations of pump-turbine with the same specific speed (nq=40) are investigated. Several operating conditions from optimal efficiency point to zero discharge condition for a given large guide vane opening are studied. Numerical results show good agreement with the experimental data. Accuracy of the numerical model is thus assessed. The investigations of the global performances of the pump-turbine and the pressure pulsations help to identify the region of the flow which are associated with the main instabilities. Finally, flow visualizations linked with the analysis of the mechanisms of energy dissipation reveal the major flow phenomena at the origin of the S-Shape.

The main idea is focused on the diagnostics of a specific hydraulic system, i.e. sensing the physical quantities of the hydraulic circuit with a tank and a centrifugal pump driven by an asynchronous motor. It is a system of pipes connected to the pump, where due to its work it creates a water flow and a pressure increase. In practice, this issue is also addressed in the energy and nuclear industries. Primary circuits in some cases cannot be designed or modified to be able measure locally the pressure value. It is necessary to measure this quantity indirectly - from the motor currents. The main idea of the work is to diagnose the system by an indirect method - specifically to detect the state of the hydraulic circuit (pressure, flow) from the values that we are able to measure and detect damage in advance. In the second part of the thesis is the application of the parts of a specific hydraulic system in the simulation environment MATLAB Simulink. The model of the hydraulic circuit contains mathematical-physical relations that simulate the course of the mentioned experiment. The results of the simulation are compared with the results of the experiment. The model also investigates the simulation of a fault condition, when we supply pressure pulsations to the hydraulic circuit. It is these changes in the hydraulic part that affect the characteristics of the pump and the asynchronous motor, so we are able to diagnose this system.

The diploma thesis deals with pressure pulsations in pipeline system with dynamic muffler. There is presented original geometry of side-branch resonator. Pressure pulsations are solved by a created mathematical model, numerical simulations and verified by an experimental approach. The influence of dynamic and bulk viscosity is involved in derived governing equations. A system of nonlinear equations is solved by genetic algorithm and frequency dependent relationship of bulk viscosity of air is determined afterwards. The correct function of used pressure sensors is tested. The processing of experimental data is performed by the fast Fourier transform with coherent sampling. Finally, a comparison of analytical, numerical and experimental approaches is introduced for different geometric variants of presented muffler.

This diploma thesis deals with axial thrust existence in a double suction pump rotor. Axial thrust appears especially in low flow rates modes. The aim of this work is finding information about this issue and deriving mathematical model of calculation which will be subsequently applied on experimental data received from double suction pump measurement in laboratory. It is important to examine the whole dynamics of axial thrust development and find its cause of formation in measured double suction pump.

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