scholarly journals Body-force and mean-line models for the generation of axial compressor sub-idle characteristics

2020 ◽  
Vol 124 (1281) ◽  
pp. 1683-1701 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Righi ◽  
L.E. Ferrer-Vidal ◽  
V. Pachidis

ABSTRACTThis paper describes the application of low-order models to the prediction of the steady performance of axial compressors at sub-idle conditions. An Euler body-force method employing sub-idle performance correlations is developed and presented alongside a mean-line approach employing the same set of correlations. The low-order tools are used to generate the characteristic lines of the compressor in the locked-rotor and zero-torque windmilling conditions. The results are compared against steady-state operating points from three-dimensional (3D) Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. The accuracy of the low-order tools in reproducing the results from high-fidelity CFD is analysed, and the trade-off with the computational cost of each method is discussed. The low-order tools presented are shown to offer a fast alternative to traditional CFD which can be used to predict the performance in sub-idle conditions of a new compressor design during early development stages.

Author(s):  
Hanxuan Zeng ◽  
Xinqian Zheng ◽  
Mehdi Vahdati

Abstract The occurrence of stall and surge in axial compressors has a great impact on the performance and reliability of aero-engines. Accurate and efficient prediction of the key features during these events has long been the focus of engine design processes. In this paper, a new body-force model that can capture the three-dimensional and unsteady features of stall and surge in compressors at a fraction of time required for URANS computations is proposed. To predict the rotating stall characteristics, the deviation of local airflow angle from the blade surface is calculated locally during the simulation. According to this local deviation, the computational domain is divided into stalled and forward flow regions, and the body-force field is updated accordingly; to predict the surge characteristics, the local airflow direction is used to divide the computational domain into reverse flow regions and forward flow regions. A single-stage axial compressor and a three-stage axial compressor are used to verify the proposed model. The results show that the method is capable of capturing stall and surge characteristics correctly. Compared to the traditional fully three-dimensional URANS method (fRANS), the simulation time for multi-stage axial compressors is reduced by 1 to 2 orders of magnitude.


Author(s):  
Daniel J. Dorney ◽  
Om P. Sharma ◽  
Karen L. Gundy-Burlet

Axial compressors have inherently unsteady flow fields because of relative motion between rotor and stator airfoils. This relative motion leads to viscous and inviscid (potential) interactions between blade rows. As the number of stages increases in a turbomachine, the buildup of convected wakes can lead to progressively more complex wake/wake and wake/airfoil interactions. Variations in the relative circumferential positions of stators or rotors can change these interactions, leading to different unsteady forcing functions on airfoils and different compressor efficiencies. In addition, as the Mach number increases the interaction between blade rows can be intensified due to potential effects. In the current study an unsteady, quasi-three-dimensional Navier-Stokes analysis has been used to investigate the unsteady aerodynamics of stator clocking in a 1-1/2 stage compressor, typical of back stages used in high-pressure compressors of advanced commercial jet engines. The effects of turbulence have been modeled with both algebraic and two-equation models. The results presented include steady and unsteady surface pressures, efficiencies, boundary layer quantities and turbulence quantities. The main contribution of the current work has been to show that airfoil clocking can produce significant performance variations at the Mach numbers associated with an engine operating environment. In addition, the growth of turbulence has been quantified to aid in the development of models for the multi-stage steady analyses used in design systems.


2005 ◽  
Vol 127 (2) ◽  
pp. 331-339 ◽  
Author(s):  
Semiu A. Gbadebo ◽  
Nicholas A. Cumpsty ◽  
Tom P. Hynes

Flow separations in the corner regions of blade passages are common. The separations are three dimensional and have quite different properties from the two-dimensional separations that are considered in elementary courses of fluid mechanics. In particular, the consequences for the flow may be less severe than the two-dimensional separation. This paper describes the nature of three-dimensional (3D) separation and addresses the way in which topological rules, based on a linear treatment of the Navier-Stokes equations, can predict properties of the limiting streamlines, including the singularities which form. The paper shows measurements of the flow field in a linear cascade of compressor blades and compares these to the results of 3D computational fluid dynamics (CFD). For corners without tip clearance, the presence of three-dimensional separation appears to be universal, and the challenge for the designer is to limit the loss and blockage produced. The CFD appears capable of predicting this.


2010 ◽  
Vol 133 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Hergt ◽  
Christian Dorfner ◽  
Wolfgang Steinert ◽  
Eberhard Nicke ◽  
Heinz-Adolf Schreiber

Modern methods for axial compressor design are capable of shaping the blade surfaces in a three-dimensional way. Linking these methods with automated optimization techniques provides a major benefit to the design process. The application of nonaxisymmetric contoured endwalls is considered to be very successful in turbine rotors and vanes. Concerning axial compressors, nonaxisymmetric endwalls are still a field of research. This two-part paper presents the recent development of a novel endwall design. A vortex created by a nonaxisymmetric endwall groove acts as an aerodynamic separator, preventing the passage vortex from interacting with the suction side boundary layer. This major impact on the secondary flow results in a significant loss reduction by means of load redistribution, reduction in recirculation areas, and suppressed corner separation. Part I of this paper deals with the endwall design and its compressor application. The resulting flow phenomena and physics are described and analyzed in detail. The second paper presents the detailed experimental and numerical investigation of the developed endwall groove. The measurements carried out at the transonic cascade wind tunnel of DLR in Cologne, demonstrated a considerable influence on the cascade performance. A loss reduction and redistribution of the cascade loading were achieved at the aerodynamic design point, as well as near the stall condition of the cascade. This behavior is well predicted by the numerical simulation. The combined analysis of experimental and numerical flow patterns allows a detailed interpretation and description of the resulting flow phenomena. In this context, high fidelity 3D-Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes flow simulations are required to analyze the complex blade and endwall boundary layer interaction.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 274-284
Author(s):  
Mauro Righi ◽  
Vassilios Pachidis ◽  
László Könözsy ◽  
Fanzhou Zhao ◽  
Mehdi Vahdati

Surge in modern aero-engines can lead to violent disruption of the flow, damage to the blade structures and eventually engine shutdown. Knowledge of unsteady performance and loading during surge is crucial for compressor design, however, the understanding and prediction capability for this phenomenon is still very limited. While useful for the investigation of specific cases, costly experimental tests and high-fidelity CFD simulations cannot be used routinely in the design process of compressor systems. There is therefore an interest in developing a low-order model which can predict compressor performance during surge with sufficient accuracy at significantly reduced computational cost. This paper describes the validation of an unsteady 3D through-flow code developed at Cranfield University for the low-order modelling of surge in axial compressors. The geometry investigated is an 8-stage rig representative of a modern aero-engine IP compressor. Two deep surge events are modelled at part speed and full speed respectively. The results are compared against high-fidelity, full annulus, URANS simulations conducted at Imperial College. Comparison of massflow, pressure and temperature time histories shows a close match between the low-order and the higher-fidelity methods. The low-order model is shown capable of predicting many transient flow features which were observed in the high-fidelity simulations, while reducing the computational cost by up to two orders of magnitude.


Author(s):  
R. V. Chima

A three-dimensional unsteady CFD code called CSTALL has been developed and used to investigate compressor stability. The code solved the Euler equations through the entire annulus and all blade rows. Blade row turning, losses, and deviation were modeled using body force terms which required input data at stations between blade rows. The input data was calculated using a separate Navier-Stokes turbomachinery analysis code run at one operating point near stall, and was scaled to other operating points using overall characteristic maps. No information about the stalled characteristic was used. CSTALL was run in a 2-D throughflow mode for very fast calculations of operating maps and estimation of stall points. Calculated pressure ratio characteristics for NASA stage 35 agreed well with experimental data, and results with inlet radial distortion showed the expected loss of range. CSTALL was also run in a 3-D mode to investigate inlet circumferential distortion. Calculated operating maps for stage 35 with 120 degree distortion screens showed a loss in range and pressure rise. Unsteady calculations showed rotating stall with two part-span stall cells. The paper describes the body force formulation in detail, examines the computed results, and concludes with observations about the code.


2016 ◽  
Vol 138 (9) ◽  
Author(s):  
S. D. Grimshaw ◽  
G. Pullan ◽  
T. P. Hynes

The coupling between the bleed system and the flowfield of a downstream compressor stage is studied using two approaches. In the first approach, three-dimensional, full annulus, unsteady computations simulate the flow in a low-speed research compressor with nonuniform bleed extraction. Comparisons with experimental data show that the flow prediction in the main annulus is accurate to within 0.005 of flow coefficient and 0.5deg of flow angle. The computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is then used to provide a description of flow within the bleed system itself. In the second approach, a two-dimensional mean radius model, similar to that adopted by Hynes and Greitzer in the previous work on compressor stability, is used to simulate the response of the compressor to nonuniform bleed. This model is validated against experimental data for a single-stage compressor, and despite the inherent assumptions (two-dimensional flow and simplified compressor response), provides a satisfactory prediction of the flow for preliminary design purposes with orders of magnitude less computational cost than full 3D CFD. The model is then used to investigate the effect of different levels of bleed nonuniformity and of varying the axial distance between the bleed and the downstream stage. Reducing bleed nonuniformity and moving the stage away from the bleed slot are predicted to reduce the circumferential nonuniformity of the flow entering the stage.


2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 7369-7378
Author(s):  
Ky-Quang Pham ◽  
Xuan-Truong Le ◽  
Cong-Truong Dinh

Splitter blades located between stator blades in a single-stage axial compressor were proposed and investigated in this work to find their effects on aerodynamic performance and operating stability. Aerodynamic performance of the compressor was evaluated using three-dimensional Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations using the k-e turbulence model with a scalable wall function. The numerical results for the typical performance parameters without stator splitter blades were validated in comparison with experimental data. The numerical results of a parametric study using four geometric parameters (chord length, coverage angle, height and position) of the stator splitter blades showed that the operational stability of the single-stage axial compressor enhances remarkably using the stator splitter blades. The splitters were effective in suppressing flow separation in the stator domain of the compressor at near-stall condition which affects considerably the aerodynamic performance of the compressor.


1987 ◽  
Vol 109 (3) ◽  
pp. 354-361 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Dong ◽  
S. J. Gallimore ◽  
H. P. Hodson

Measurements have been performed in a low-speed high-reaction single-stage axial compressor. Data obtained within and downstream of the rotor, when correlated with the results of other investigations, provide a link between the existence of suction surface–hub corner separations, their associated loss mechanisms, and blade loading. Within the stator, it has been shown that introducing a small clearance between the stator blade and the stationary hub increases the efficiency of the stator compared to the case with no clearance. Oil flow visualizaton indicated that the leakage reduced the extensive suction surface–hub corner separation that would otherwise exist. A tracer gas experiment showed that the large radial shifts of the surface streamlines indicated by the oil flow technique were only present close to the blade. The investigation demonstrates the possible advantages of including hub clearance in axial flow compressor stator blade rows.


1997 ◽  
Vol 119 (1) ◽  
pp. 122-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. L. Puterbaugh ◽  
W. W. Copenhaver

An experimental investigation concerning tip flow field unsteadiness was performed for a high-performance, state-of-the-art transonic compressor rotor. Casing-mounted high frequency response pressure transducers were used to indicate both the ensemble averaged and time varying flow structure present in the tip region of the rotor at four different operating points at design speed. The ensemble averaged information revealed the shock structure as it evolved from a dual shock system at open throttle to an attached shock at peak efficiency to a detached orientation at near stall. Steady three-dimensional Navier Stokes analysis reveals the dominant flow structures in the tip region in support of the ensemble averaged measurements. A tip leakage vortex is evident at all operating points as regions of low static pressure and appears in the same location as the vortex found in the numerical solution. An unsteadiness parameter was calculated to quantify the unsteadiness in the tip cascade plane. In general, regions of peak unsteadiness appear near shocks and in the area interpreted as the shock-tip leakage vortex interaction. Local peaks of unsteadiness appear in mid-passage downstream of the shock-vortex interaction. Flow field features not evident in the ensemble averaged data are examined via a Navier-Stokes solution obtained at the near stall operating point.


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