期刊名称：IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science
印刷版ISSN：1755-1307
电子版ISSN：1755-1315
出版年度：2012
卷号：15
期号：5
DOI：10.1088/1755-1315/15/5/052011
出版社：IOP Publishing
摘要：Thanks to advances in computing capabilities and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) techniques, it is now possible to calculate realistic unsteady pressure fields in Francis turbines. This paper will explain methods to calculate the structural loads and the dynamic behaviour in order to optimize the turbine design and maximize its reliability and lifetime. Depending on the operating conditions of a Francis turbine, different hydraulic phenomena may impact the mechanical behaviour of the structure. According to their nature, these highly variable phenomena should be treated differently and specifically in order to estimate the potential risks arising on submerged structures, in particular the runner. The operating condition studied thereafter is the point at maximum power with the maximum head. Under this condition, the runner is excited by only one dynamic phenomenon named the Rotor-Stator Interaction (RSI). The origin of the phenomenon is located on the radial gap of the turbine and is the source of pressure fluctuations. A fluid-structure analysis is performed to observe the influence of that dynamic pressure field on the runner behaviour. The first part of the paper deals with the unsteady fluid computation. The RSI phenomenon is totally unsteady so the fluid simulation must take into account the entire machine and its rotation movement, in order to obtain a dynamic pressure field. In the second part of the paper, a method suitable for the RSI study is developed. It is known that the fluctuating pressure in this gap can be described as a sum of spatial components. By evaluating these components in the CFD results and on the scale model, it is possible to assess the relevance of the numerical results on the whole runner. After this step, the numerical pressure field can be used as the dynamic load of the structure. The final part of the paper presentsthe mechanical finite element calculations. A modal analysis of the runner in water and a harmonic analysis of its dynamic behaviour using the CFD results are carried out. These calculations will show that the RSI on the medium head Francis runner does not create damage on the runner even if the natural frequencies are closed to the wicket gates passing frequency. The numerical results are reinforced by experimental observations done on runner prototypes showing that the wicket gates passing frequency does not have significant influence on low and medium head Francis runner behaviour.
