Numerical investigation of the cavitational behaviour into a storage pump at off design operating points

The paper presents a new method for the analysis of the cavitational behaviour of hydraulic turbomachines. This new method allows determining the coefficient of the cavitation inception and the cavitation sensitivity of the turbomachines. We apply this method to study the cavitational behaviour of a large storage pump. By plotting in semi-logarithmic coordinates the vapour volume versus the cavitation coefficient, we show that all numerical data collapse in an exponential manner. This storage pump is located in a power plant and operating without the presence of the developed cavitation is vital. We investigate the behaviour of the pump from the cavitational point of view while the pump is operating for variable discharge. A distribution of the vapour volume upon the blade of the impeller is presented for all the four operating points. It can be seen how the volume of vapour evolves from one operating point to another. In order to study the influence of the cavitation phenomena upon the pump, the evolution of the pumping head against the cavitation coefficient is presented. That will show how the pumping head drops while the cavitation coefficient decreases. From analysing the data obtained from the numerical simulation it results that the cavitation phenomena is present for all the investigated operating points. By analysis of the slope of the curve describing the evolution of the vapour volume against the cavitation coefficient we determine the cavitation sensitivity of the pump for each operating point. It is showed that the cavitation sensitivity of the investigated storage pump increases while the flow rate decreases.