Experimental Research and Simulation of Water Flow in Liquid Cooled Rotor

Highly efficient cooling is a bottleneck problem for the rotors of high-speed large-capacity hydro-generators used in pumped storage stations or high-water head hydro-power stations. The liquid cooling technique is one of the mainstream alternatives in such situations. However, the liquid flow characteristics may show some changes in rotating state because of the accompanying centrifugal force and Coriolis force. In this paper, a single pipeline is mounted in a rotating experimental platform, and the water flow in elbow and straight tube is investigated by experimental and CFD studies. The pressure drops in different Ro Number are compared by dynamic and static tests. The results show that with the increase of rotational speed, the elbow at the rotor end will produce greater frictional resistance when the flow velocity is larger.