Abstract
It is of great importance to predict the deformation and vibration characteristics of the hydro-turbine structure accurately for the stable operation when the turbine is running under the alternating load of the flow field. In this paper, we proposed a methodology for analysis of the head cover deformation and vibration amplitude in the high-head Francis hydro-turbine system, in which Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is employed to simulate the complex flow field in the head cover flow passage and the CFD-captured pressure distribution is provided for Finite element analysis (FEA) as a new load input to obtain more accurate head cover deformation and vibration calculation results. The results obtained by this method are compared with the results of the conventional algorithm and laboratory experimental results, demonstrated a better consistency. The great advantage of this method is that it allows vibration amplitude analysis and predictions under varied working conditions by adjusting the flow field parameters according to the specific working conditions. Therefore, it has supportive significance in optimization of the hydro-turbine structural turbine design as well as stabilizing operations at hydropower stations.
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Recommended by Associate Editor Shin Hyung Rhee
Yun Jia (Master of Engineering, Senior Engineer) is engaged in design and development and experimental research work for nuclear power reactor coolant pump and hydro-turbine.
Feng-Chen Li (Ph.D., Professor) is engaged in fluid dynamics, turbulence control, heat transfer enhancement, turbomachinery, microfluidics and nuclear engineering.
Xian-Zhu Wei (Ph.D., Senior Researcher) is engaged in design and development, stability analysis and safety operation for hydro-turbine.
Xiao-Bin Li (Ph.D., Associate Professor) is engaged in fluid machinery, microscaled flow and heat transfer, and experimental fluid mechanics.
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Jia, Y., Li, FC., Wei, XZ. et al. A method for analysis of head cover deformation and vibration amplitude in Francis hydro-turbine system by combination of CFD and FEA. J Mech Sci Technol 31, 4255–4266 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-017-0824-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-017-0824-7