The electromagnetic vibration caused by electromagnetic force on the stator has threatened large hydro generators operating safely and stably. At the Zhexi hydropower station, the hydro generator was beset by electromagnetic vibration for a long time. Therefore, the paper provided a new method to help to find the vibration source and detect the hydro generator fault, through the combination of simulation and experiments. In this paper, the 3D stator pack structure model and the 2D hydro generator electromagnetic models under rotor eccentricity and rotor ellipse deformation conditions were built. Then, electromagnetism simulations were conducted to study the characteristics of the electromagnetic flux and electromagnetic force under different conditions by using the finite element method (FEM). Lastly, the vibration testing experiments and harmonic response simulations of stator frame were performed to present the characteristics of vibration distribution in frequency conditions. The simulation results were compared with the generator measured data to try to find out the main vibration source and guide the overhaul.

This paper presents an investigation on the undesirable vibration of an oblique-stud stator frame in a large hydropower generator by means of experimental and finite element (FE) analysis. First, field experimental tests were performed, and the results indicate that the main vibration component comes from electromagnetic factors. Then, a 2D-magnetic and 3D-mechanical FE model was developed to investigate the vibration of the stator frame under the action of electromagnetic forces. A set of contrast models was established to study the effects of different kinds of eccentricity and different structures. Based on the comparative analysis between the results of simulations and experimental tests, it can be inferred that the abnormal vibration is generated because of the lack of stiffness in the upper part of structure and the existence of dynamic eccentricity in the rotor–stator system. In addition, the structural simulation analysis shows that the flexible designed oblique-stud stator frame is relatively vulnerable against the electromagnetic forces.

In this paper, a new methodology is proposed to reduce the vortex-induced vibration (VIV) and improve the performance of the stay vane in a 200-MW Francis turbine. The process can be divided into two parts. Firstly, a diagnosis method for stay vane vibration based on field experiments and a finite element method (FEM) is presented. It is found that the resonance between the Kármán vortex and the stay vane is the main cause for the undesired vibration. Then, we focus on establishing an intelligent optimization model of the stay vane’s trailing edge profile. To this end, an approach combining factorial experiments, extreme learning machine (ELM) and particle swarm optimization (PSO) is implemented. Three kinds of improved profiles of the stay vane are proposed and compared. Finally, the profile with a Donaldson trailing edge is adopted as the best solution for the stay vane, and verifications such as computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations, structural analysis and fatigue analysis are performed to validate the optimized geometry.