Investigation on Flow Characteristics of Pump-Turbine Runners With Large Blade Lean

Abstract

Frequent changes in the operating modes pose significant challenges in the development of a pump-turbine with high efficiency and stability. In this paper, two pump-turbine runners, one with a large positive blade lean and the other with a large negative lean, are investigated numerically and experimentally. These two runners are designed by using the optimum stacking condition at the high pressure edge (HPE). The experimental and the numerical results show that both runners have good efficiency performances, and pressure fluctuations for the runner with a negative blade lean are much lower than those for the runner with a positive blade lean. The internal flow field analyses clarify the effects of the blade lean on the pressure distribution around the runner blades. In the turbine mode at partial load, the negative blade lean can control flow separation in the high pressure side of the runner and then reduce the pressure fluctuations in the vaneless space.