Large eddy simulation of pressure fluctuations at off-design condition in a Francis turbine based on cavitation model

To study the instability of a Francis turbine at off-design operating condition, a hydraulic model was established and the flow characteristics at the off-design point were studied based on large eddy simulation (LES). The simulation was conducted for both single phase model and cavitation model. The results were compared with the experimental data. Results show that the simulation based on cavitation model can capture more channel vortex structures than single phase calculation. The result of vortex rope by cavitation model is similar to the experimental result. The dominant frequency can be obtained by these two methods, while the result based on cavitation model can capture the high frequency component at the inlet of draft tube. Great difference can be seen from the internal flow of the two simulation results. These conclusions can provide a basis for the study of instability of Francis turbine.