Mechanism of energy dissipation in cavitation vortices of low head axial flow pump-as-turbine via reduced-order variational mode decomposition

When the low head pump-as-turbine (PAT) mode, the nonlinear coupling of vortex systems (namely draft-tube and blade–passage vortices) and the intensification of cavitation degrade both efficiency and operational stability. Existing signal–decomposition techniques (e.g. EMD, EWT) struggle to disentan...

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Main Authors: Jiantao Shen, Li Cheng, Weixuan Jiao, Haotian Fan, Bowen Zhang, Giorgio Pavesi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2025-12-01
Series:Engineering Applications of Computational Fluid Mechanics
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Online Access:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/19942060.2025.2547254
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author Jiantao Shen
Li Cheng
Weixuan Jiao
Haotian Fan
Bowen Zhang
Giorgio Pavesi
author_facet Jiantao Shen
Li Cheng
Weixuan Jiao
Haotian Fan
Bowen Zhang
Giorgio Pavesi
author_sort Jiantao Shen
collection DOAJ
description When the low head pump-as-turbine (PAT) mode, the nonlinear coupling of vortex systems (namely draft-tube and blade–passage vortices) and the intensification of cavitation degrade both efficiency and operational stability. Existing signal–decomposition techniques (e.g. EMD, EWT) struggle to disentangle these interacting vortex modes and their associated energy–dissipation mechanisms. To overcome these limitations, this study fuses reduced-order variational mode decomposition (RVMD) with entropy–production theory. By imposing physics–based constraints, RVMD achieves high–fidelity separation of multimodal phenomena (such as cavitation vortices), while avoiding mode mixing. Each extracted mode is then embedded within an entropy–production framework to establish a quantitative mapping between specific vortex dynamics and local energy–dissipation rates. Cavitation severity is characterized by the dimensionless Thoma number σ (smaller σ indicates more severe cavitation). Our results reveal two regimes: The head is 4.4 m. Initial cavitation stage (σ = 0.831): Energy concentrates predominantly in mid–frequency modes (Modes 3 and 4), accounting for 62% of the total, with minimal instability. Severe cavitation stage (σ = 0.388): Cavitation vortices dominate low–frequency modes (Modes 1 and 2), comprising 78% of the signal. The overall dissipation rate surges to 24.7%, with low–frequency modes contributing 71% of the additional loss under strong cavitation. The proposed ‘high–precision modal separation to mode–specific entropy–production evaluation’ framework addresses a critical bottleneck in deciphering complex vortex dissipation mechanisms. It offers a broadly applicable tool for energy–optimization in turbomachinery and other systems with intricate flow dynamics.
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spelling doaj-art-f8d20647beb24aabac8dd4f30f841cd62025-08-21T04:57:35ZengTaylor & Francis GroupEngineering Applications of Computational Fluid Mechanics1994-20601997-003X2025-12-0119110.1080/19942060.2025.2547254Mechanism of energy dissipation in cavitation vortices of low head axial flow pump-as-turbine via reduced-order variational mode decompositionJiantao Shen0Li Cheng1Weixuan Jiao2Haotian Fan3Bowen Zhang4Giorgio Pavesi5College of Hydraulic Science and Engineering, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, People’s Republic of ChinaCollege of Hydraulic Science and Engineering, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, People’s Republic of ChinaCollege of Hydraulic Science and Engineering, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, People’s Republic of ChinaCollege of Hydraulic Science and Engineering, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, People’s Republic of ChinaDepartment of Energy and Power Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, People’s Republic of ChinaDepartment of Industrial Engineering, Universita degli Studi di Padova, Padua, ItalyWhen the low head pump-as-turbine (PAT) mode, the nonlinear coupling of vortex systems (namely draft-tube and blade–passage vortices) and the intensification of cavitation degrade both efficiency and operational stability. Existing signal–decomposition techniques (e.g. EMD, EWT) struggle to disentangle these interacting vortex modes and their associated energy–dissipation mechanisms. To overcome these limitations, this study fuses reduced-order variational mode decomposition (RVMD) with entropy–production theory. By imposing physics–based constraints, RVMD achieves high–fidelity separation of multimodal phenomena (such as cavitation vortices), while avoiding mode mixing. Each extracted mode is then embedded within an entropy–production framework to establish a quantitative mapping between specific vortex dynamics and local energy–dissipation rates. Cavitation severity is characterized by the dimensionless Thoma number σ (smaller σ indicates more severe cavitation). Our results reveal two regimes: The head is 4.4 m. Initial cavitation stage (σ = 0.831): Energy concentrates predominantly in mid–frequency modes (Modes 3 and 4), accounting for 62% of the total, with minimal instability. Severe cavitation stage (σ = 0.388): Cavitation vortices dominate low–frequency modes (Modes 1 and 2), comprising 78% of the signal. The overall dissipation rate surges to 24.7%, with low–frequency modes contributing 71% of the additional loss under strong cavitation. The proposed ‘high–precision modal separation to mode–specific entropy–production evaluation’ framework addresses a critical bottleneck in deciphering complex vortex dissipation mechanisms. It offers a broadly applicable tool for energy–optimization in turbomachinery and other systems with intricate flow dynamics.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/19942060.2025.2547254PATVortex dynamicsEnergy dissipationLow head conditionsReduced-order variational mode decomposition
spellingShingle Jiantao Shen
Li Cheng
Weixuan Jiao
Haotian Fan
Bowen Zhang
Giorgio Pavesi
Mechanism of energy dissipation in cavitation vortices of low head axial flow pump-as-turbine via reduced-order variational mode decomposition
Engineering Applications of Computational Fluid Mechanics
PAT
Vortex dynamics
Energy dissipation
Low head conditions
Reduced-order variational mode decomposition
title Mechanism of energy dissipation in cavitation vortices of low head axial flow pump-as-turbine via reduced-order variational mode decomposition
title_full Mechanism of energy dissipation in cavitation vortices of low head axial flow pump-as-turbine via reduced-order variational mode decomposition
title_fullStr Mechanism of energy dissipation in cavitation vortices of low head axial flow pump-as-turbine via reduced-order variational mode decomposition
title_full_unstemmed Mechanism of energy dissipation in cavitation vortices of low head axial flow pump-as-turbine via reduced-order variational mode decomposition
title_short Mechanism of energy dissipation in cavitation vortices of low head axial flow pump-as-turbine via reduced-order variational mode decomposition
title_sort mechanism of energy dissipation in cavitation vortices of low head axial flow pump as turbine via reduced order variational mode decomposition
topic PAT
Vortex dynamics
Energy dissipation
Low head conditions
Reduced-order variational mode decomposition
url https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/19942060.2025.2547254
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