Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Rotor–Stator Interaction in a Large Prototype Pump–Turbine in Turbine Mode

In recent years, large-capacity, high-head pump–turbine units have been developed for pumped storage power plants to effectively utilise water energy and store large amounts of electricity. Compared with the traditional Francis turbine unit, the radial distance between the trailing edge of the guide vanes and the leading edge of runner blades of high-head pump–turbine unit is smaller, so the rotor–stator interaction and the corresponding pressure fluctuations in the vaneless space of pumped storage units are more intense. The pressure fluctuations with high amplitudes and high frequencies induced by rotor–stator interaction (RSI) become the main hydraulic excitation source for the structures of the unit and may cause violent vibration and fatigue damage to structural components, and seriously affect the safe operation of the units. In this paper, the RSI of a high-head pump–turbine in turbine mode of operation is studied in detail by means of site measurement and full three-dimensional unsteady simulations. The results of RSI-induced pressure fluctuations in turbine mode are analysed experimentally and numerically. The accuracy of the numerical calculations is verified by comparing with the measured results, and the variation law of RSI is deeply analysed. The results show that the pressure fluctuations in the vaneless space are affected by the wake of the guide vane, the rotating excitation of the runner, the low-frequency excitation of the draft tube, and the asymmetric characteristics of the incoming flow of the spiral case, and shows significant differences in spatial position. The findings of the investigation are an important and valuable reference for the design and safe operation of the pumped storage power station. It is recommended to design the runner with inclined inlets to reduce the amplitudes of RSI-induced pressure fluctuations and to avoid operating the pump–turbine units under partial load for long periods of time to reduce the risk of pressure fluctuation induced severe vibration on the structures.