Reduction of Pressure Pulsation for Pump-Turbine by Variable Speed Operation

Abstract

Variable speed operation has emerged as a key direction in the development of pumped storage technology. Maintaining pressure pulsation within the control range is particularly critical for ensuring operational safety of variable-speed pumped storage plants (VSPSPs). However, there is limited research on the relationship between pressure pulsation for pump-turbine and variable speed operation. This paper presents amplitude distribution diagrams of pressure pulsation, obtained from processing model test results of a real VSPSP. Different conditions of variable speed operation are simulated by a numerical model to analyze the influence of operating trajectory on pressure pulsation, and the intensity of pressure pulsation is quantitatively evaluated. According to the results, when the initial speed or speed command increases, the trajectory passes through more regions with high-amplitude pressure pulsation and gradually moves toward the S-shaped region, leading to pressure oscillations. When speed command reduces, maximum pressure pulsation at the volute inlet and in the draft tube can be reduced by 82.18% and 63.24% at most, and the evaluation score can be increased by 28.77%. The findings of this study can offer theoretical guidance for operating VSPSPs.