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10.3390/pr13113511
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Article

Mechanism of Pressure Fluctuations and Flow Patterns Under Steady Operating Conditions of a Variable Speed Pump-Turbine

by
Zhiyan Yang
1,2,
Chunjian Cao
1,
Jie Fang
1,
Baoyong Zhang
1,
Chengjun Li
1 and
Xiaoxia Hou
2,3,*
1
PowerChina HuaDong Engineering Corporation Limited, Hangzhou 311122, China
2
State Key Laboratory of Water Resources Engineering and Management, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
3
Department of Hydraulics, Changjiang River Scientific Research Institute, Wuhan 430010, China
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Processes 2025, 13(11), 3511; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr13113511
Submission received: 17 September 2025 / Revised: 24 October 2025 / Accepted: 26 October 2025 / Published: 1 November 2025
(This article belongs to the Section Energy Systems)
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Abstract

The variable speed pump-turbine is usually used to adjust the rotational speed to improve the efficiency in turbine mode and change the input power in pump mode because its rotational speed can vary within a certain range. In order to explore the evolutions of pressure pulsation and flow patterns caused by changes in the rotational speeds, the steady operating conditions under different rotational speeds in turbine and pump modes were investigated by using three-dimensional numerical simulations. The results show that as the pump-turbine operates with the highest efficiency at the rated rotational speed, the change in the rotational speed leads to the variation in macro-parameters, deterioration of the flow patterns, and increase in pressure pulsations. In addition, under a certain guide vane opening, with the increase in the rotational speed, the torque, power, and discharge increase in the turbine mode, while these parameters decrease in the pump mode. And when the rotational speed is too high or too low, it causes an obvious increase in pressure pulsations.
Keywords: variable speed; pump-turbine; flow patterns; pressure pulsations variable speed; pump-turbine; flow patterns; pressure pulsations

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MDPI and ACS Style

Yang, Z.; Cao, C.; Fang, J.; Zhang, B.; Li, C.; Hou, X. Mechanism of Pressure Fluctuations and Flow Patterns Under Steady Operating Conditions of a Variable Speed Pump-Turbine. Processes 2025, 13, 3511. https://doi.org/10.3390/pr13113511

AMA Style

Yang Z, Cao C, Fang J, Zhang B, Li C, Hou X. Mechanism of Pressure Fluctuations and Flow Patterns Under Steady Operating Conditions of a Variable Speed Pump-Turbine. Processes. 2025; 13(11):3511. https://doi.org/10.3390/pr13113511

Chicago/Turabian Style

Yang, Zhiyan, Chunjian Cao, Jie Fang, Baoyong Zhang, Chengjun Li, and Xiaoxia Hou. 2025. "Mechanism of Pressure Fluctuations and Flow Patterns Under Steady Operating Conditions of a Variable Speed Pump-Turbine" Processes 13, no. 11: 3511. https://doi.org/10.3390/pr13113511

APA Style

Yang, Z., Cao, C., Fang, J., Zhang, B., Li, C., & Hou, X. (2025). Mechanism of Pressure Fluctuations and Flow Patterns Under Steady Operating Conditions of a Variable Speed Pump-Turbine. Processes, 13(11), 3511. https://doi.org/10.3390/pr13113511

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