Effect of internal flow of Venturi-type power generation device on piston movement

ABSTRACT

In the development and utilisation of hydraulic resources, high head and low flow hydraulic resources have not been fully utilised. To develop hydronic resources with low flow at high heads, this work designs a Venturi-type power generation device and studies the internal flow of the device by combining experiments and numerical simulations. The results indicate that the diameter ratio of the leading and branch pipes in the device significantly impacts pressure loss, and the diameter ratio at the throat is close, resulting in a significant pressure loss and an impact on the internal flow of the primary pipe. When the flow rate ratio of the leading and branch pipes is more than 4.03%, the piston can complete the reciprocating stroke, and the completion time decreases with the flow rate increase. When the flow rate ratio of the primary and branch pipes reaches 5.27%, the completion time approaches its limit. When the flow rate of the Venturi primary pipe is greater than 30 m³/h, the device begins to experience local cavitation, and noticeable noise appears at the diffusion tube.

KEYWORDS:

• Venturi-type power generation device
• internal flow
• pressure characteristics
• piston movement
• numerical simulation

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Zhejiang Province University Students Scientific Research and Innovation Activity Program Funding Project: [grant no 2022R409A003]; Zhejiang Provincial Science and Technology Plan Project of China: [grant no 2021C01052]; Zhejiang Province Public Welfare Technology Application Research Project: [grant no LGG22E090001].