Performance Analysis of Pumped sTorage Hydro Power Stations in the Environment of Cavitations

The Pumped storage Power house will play major role during Peak load Period and summer sessions with the scarcity of water flow in canals. Two of the most important effects of cavitation that involve major modification in the liquid flow or damage to the solid surfaces are cavitation noise and vibration. It is found experimentally that considerable noise is produced by the collapse of cavities. It is possible that noise is evolved during the entire process of cavitation. The importance of cavitation noise depends largely on the individual installation. In hydro powerhouse the noise level from cavitation is high, and the same to be reduced considerably for the comfort of the operator and for the life extension of the machine. The cavitation process is inherently an unsteady one and may involve large fluctuating forces. If one of the frequency components of these fluctuations matches a natural frequency of a portion of the equipment, vibration may result. Cavitation causes blade vibration in hydraulic turbine runners. The vibration is usually of fairly high frequency, ranging from several hundred to several thousand cycles per second. Another important effect is that cavitation can lead to system instability.