Comparative Evaluation of Sand Erosion in Reversible Turbine at Pump Mode and Turbine Mode

During the operation of reversible pump turbine, the flow passing components are often worn by sediments. In this paper, Euler-Euler computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method is used to simulate the liquid-solid two-phase steady flow in several pump modes and turbine modes. Finnie models are used to predict possible wear conditions and further analyze the causes of component wear. Results show that runner is the most easily worn component, which is related to local high flow velocity. The runner erosion position is mainly concentrated in the middle part of the pressure side. The erosion position of guide vane and stay vane is mainly concentrated in the leading edge and trailing edge, which depends on the change of condition. By daily weighted, the turbine mode is found has higher erosion rate than that of pump mode. This study provides the scientific support of anti-erosion of pumped storage units.