scholarly journals Water washing of axial flow compressors: numerical study on the fate of injected droplets

2020 ◽  
Vol 197 ◽  
pp. 11015
Author(s):  
Giuliano Agati ◽  
Francesca Di Gruttola ◽  
Serena Gabriele ◽  
Domenico Simone ◽  
Paolo Venturini ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Study ◽  
Axial Flow ◽  
Rotor Blades ◽  
Injection System ◽  
Asymmetric Distribution ◽  
Wall Functions ◽  
Erosion Risk ◽  
Water Washing ◽  
Washing Process ◽  
The Impact

In turbomachinery applications blade fouling represents a main cause of performance degradation. Among the different techniques currently available, online water washing is one of the most effective in removing deposit from the blades. Since this kind of washing is applied when the machine is close to design conditions, injected droplets are strongly accelerated when they reach the rotor blades and the understanding of their interaction with the blades is not straightforward. Moreover, undesirable phenomena like blades erosion or liquid film formation can occur. The present study aims at assessing droplets dragging from the injection system placed at the compressor inlet till the first stage rotor blades, with a focus on droplets impact locations, on the washing process and the associated risk of erosion. 3D numerical simulations of the whole compressor geometry (up to the first rotor stage) are performed by using Ansys Fluent to account for the asymmetric distribution of the sprays around of the machine struts, IGV and rotor blades. The simulations are carried out by adopting the k-ε realizable turbulence model with standard wall functions, coupled with the discretephase model to track injected droplets motion. Droplets-wall interaction is also accounted for by adopting the Stanton-Rutland model which define a droplet impact outcome depending on the impact conditions. The induced erosion is evaluated by adopting an erosion model previously developed by some of the authors and implemented in Fluent through the use of a User Defined Function (UDF). Two sets of simulations are performed, by considering the rotor still and rotating, representative of off-line and on-line water washing conditions, respectively. In the rotating simulation, the Multiple Reference Frame Model is used. The obtained results demonstrate that the washing process differs substantially between the fixed and the rotating case. Moreover, to quantify the water washing effectiveness and the erosion risk, new indices were introduced and computed for the main components of the machine. These indices can be considered as useful prescriptions in the optimization process of water washing systems.

Numerical Study of Erosion due to Online Water Washing in Axial Flow Compressors

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesca Di Gruttola ◽  
Giuliano Agati ◽  
Paolo Venturini ◽  
Domenico Borello ◽  
Franco Rispoli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Study ◽  
Axial Flow ◽  
Spray Angle ◽  
Time Interval ◽  
Ansys Fluent ◽  
Erosion Risk ◽  
Water Washing ◽  
Injection Duration ◽  
Compressor Performance ◽  
Water Mass Flow Rate

Abstract Recent year witnessed an increasing interest in online water washing technique since it allows to minimize compressor performance losses in the time interval between two off-line washing. However, the washing capability and the related erosion risk depend on several parameters such as the injection duration, the droplet size, the spray angle, the water mass flow rate and the injector positions. The influence of such parameters on the washing capability and erosion rate is analysed. Results are discussed with reference to number of impacts, wetted surface, capture efficiency, accumulated energy and erosion. The numerical simulation is performed with ANSYS Fluent in which a new water droplet erosion model, introduced in previous papers, is here included as a User Defined Function. The discussion provides useful information for prescribing the injector characteristics and the water washing procedure with the aim of minimizing the erosion risk.

Numerical Study of Droplet Erosion in the First-Stage Rotor of an Axial Flow Compressor

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giuliano Agati ◽  
Domenico Borello ◽  
Francesca Di Gruttola ◽  
Franco Rispoli ◽  
Paolo Venturini ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Study ◽  
Axial Flow ◽  
Leading Edge ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Rotor Blades ◽  
Process Efficiency ◽  
Computational Grids ◽  
Axial Flow Compressor ◽  
Washing Process ◽  
Flow Compressor

Abstract In the present paper, a procedure for the study of the water washing in axial flow compressors is presented. The study is part of an ongoing partnership between Baker Hughes and Sapienza University of Rome aiming at maximizing the washing of the compressor blades while maintaining the erosion under specific thresholds. A computational analysis in the first part of an axial flow compressor (i.e. up to the first rotor) was carried out by using Ansys Fluent for the solution of multi-phase flow, while the water droplet erosion mechanism was modeled by the authors by using a properly developed methodology implemented in Fluent though the use of User Defined Functions. The washing process efficiency as well as the erosion rate are evaluated by introducing appropriate indexes. A parametric analysis was carried out by varying the mass flow rate of injected water. Two different computational grids were considered aiming at simulating two different configurations. In the first one the rotor blades leading edge (LE) is placed in the wake released by IGVs trailing edge (TE). In the second configuration, the rotor blades LE is located in a circumferential position corresponding to the mid-pitch between two successive IGVs. These two configurations simulate the situations of minimum and maximum water impact on the rotor blade surfaces. For all the injection conditions here considered, the configuration where IGVs trailing edges were aligned with the rotor blades LEs resulted in higher impacts and erosion on the blade pressure sides. When rotating rotor blades LEs in the middle of the IGVs vanes, rotor LEs were found to be the mostly washed regions but also the most subject to erosion phenomena. The computed indexes show the not optimal distribution of the injectors from the washing efficiency point of view.

Numerical Study of Erosion Mechanism due to Online Water Washing in Axial Flow Compressors

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paolo Venturini ◽  
Francesca Di Gruttula ◽  
Giuliano Agati ◽  
Serena Gabriele ◽  
Domenico Simone ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Study ◽  
Axial Flow ◽  
Erosion Mechanism ◽  
Water Washing ◽  
Axial Flow Compressors

Numerical Study of Tip Leakage Vortex Around a NACA0009 Hydrofoil

2021 ◽  
Vol 143 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhen Bi ◽  
Xueming Shao ◽  
Lingxin Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Axial Velocity ◽  
Numerical Study ◽  
Axial Flow ◽  
Tip Clearance ◽  
Leakage Flow ◽  
Vortex Center ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Tip Leakage Vortex ◽  
Tip Leakage ◽  
The Impact

Abstract In the tip clearance flow, the dominant vortex is the tip leakage vortex (TLV), which has a significant impact on the hydraulic and cavitation performance of axial flow machineries. In order to reveal the impact mechanism of the gap size on the TLV, gap flows with two gap sizes, i.e., τ=0.2 (2 mm) and τ=1.0 (10 mm), are numerically investigated. A NACA0009 hydrofoil is selected to create the gap flow, with an incoming velocity of 10 m/s and an attack angle of 10 deg. The results show that the two flow cases are significantly different in terms of vortex feature and the leakage flow distribution. In the small gap, a type of jet-pattern flow appears, whereas a type of rolling-pattern flow passes over the large gap. The vertical velocity gradient of the leakage flow has a decisive influence on the TLV trajectory. In addition, for the large gap, the axial velocity in the vortex center exceeds the incoming flow. This jet-like state of axial velocity can be maintained for a long distance, making the vortex more stable. However, the axial velocity in the case of τ=0.2 cannot stay at the jet-like state and rapidly switches to a wake-like state.

scholarly journals Evaluation of water washing efficiency and erosion risk in an axial compressor for different water injection conditions

2021 ◽  
Vol 312 ◽  
pp. 11008
Author(s):  
Giuliano Agati ◽  
Francesca Di Gruttola ◽  
Serena Gabriele ◽  
Domenico Simone ◽  
Paolo Venturini ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gas Turbines ◽  
Normal Load ◽  
Droplet Diameter ◽  
Axial Compressor ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Compressor Blades ◽  
Erosion Risk ◽  
Water Washing ◽  
Washing Efficiency ◽  
The Impact

Gas turbines performance losses are mainly due to the deposition of dirt on the compressor blades that needs to be periodically removed. This is the reason motivating the presence of water washing systems (WWS) in most of the compressor gas turbines. Water washing is generally achieved by installing a number of nozzles on the compressor casing and spraying water that clean the dirty surfaces of the compressor. The side effect of such a technique is the rising risk of erosion due to the impact of water droplets on the compressor blades which is even more pronounced when dealing with online water washing systems that is done while the unit is at normal load. The design of these systems must balance benefits and disadvantages associated to the process itself. The benefits can be measured in terms of water washing efficiency that is a quantity not uniquely defined. In previous works, the authors introduced some indices useful to evaluate the spatial cleaning coverage (the wet to the total surface) and the quantity of water mass actually impacting the dirty surfaces (the impacted to injected mass). On the other hand, water washing erosion is a complex phenomenon depending on several parameters, such as the mechanical properties of the blade material, the impact velocity and angle and the droplet diameter. For this reason, the WWS are strongly influenced by the adopted nozzles and by the injection conditions. The present paper aims at assessing water washing for six different injection conditions in the first stage of a real axial compressor. Two-phase CFD simulations are carried out with Ansys Fluent where a User Defined Function implemented by the authors is used to properly model water droplet erosion mechanism and to obtain all the quantities needed to evaluate the washing quality. Results confirm the strong influence of the injection conditions on the main features of the washing system. The study is part of an ongoing partnership between Baker Hughes and Sapienza University of Rome aiming at maximizing the washing of the compressor blades while maintaining the erosion under specific thresholds.

scholarly journals Dust Ingestion in a Rotorcraft Engine Compressor: Experimental and Numerical Study of the Fouling Rate

Aerospace ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 81
Author(s):  
Alessandro Vulpio ◽  
Alessio Suman ◽  
Nicola Casari ◽  
Michele Pinelli
Keyword(s):  
Total Mass ◽  
Numerical Study ◽  
Axial Flow ◽  
Rotor Blades ◽  
Engine Compressor ◽  
Multistage Compressor ◽  
Flow Compressor ◽  
Deposition Models ◽  
Dust Ingestion ◽  
Good Agreement

Helicopters often operate in dusty sites, ingesting huge amounts of contaminants during landing, take-off, hover-taxi, and ground operations. In specific locations, the downwash of the rotor may spread soil particles from the ground into the environment and, once ingested by the engine, may stick to the compressor airfoils. In the present work, the Allison 250 C18 engine’s multistage axial-flow compressor is employed to study the fouling rate on rotor blades and stator vanes from both numerical and experimental standpoints. The compressor is operated in a typical ground-idle operation, in terms of the rotational regime and contaminant concentration, in laboratory-controlled conditions. The mass of deposits is collected from the airfoil surfaces at the end of the test and compared to that estimated through the numerical model. The experimental test shows that the airfoils collect almost 1.6% of the engine’s total mass ingested during a ground-idle operation. The capability of numerical methods to predict the fouling rate on the rotating and stationary airfoils of a multistage compressor is tested through the implementation of literature based deposition models. Sticking models show a good agreement in terms of the relative results; nevertheless, an overestimation of the deposited mass predicted is observed.

Radiative bioconvection nanofluid squeezing flow between rotating circular plates: Semi-numerical study with the DTM-Padé approach

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Zeeshan ◽  
M. B. Arain ◽  
M. M. Bhatti ◽  
F. Alzahrani ◽  
O. Anwar Bég
Keyword(s):  
Reynolds Number ◽  
Thermal Radiation ◽  
Numerical Study ◽  
Tangential Velocity ◽  
Axial Flow ◽  
Radiative Flux ◽  
Squeezing Flow ◽  
Circular Plates ◽  
Flux Approximation ◽  
The Impact

Modern biomedical and tribological systems are increasingly deploying combinations of nanofluids and bioconvecting microorganisms which enable improved control of thermal management. Motivated by these developments, in this study, a new mathematical model is developed for the combined nanofluid bioconvection axisymmetric squeezing flow between rotating circular plates (an important configuration in, for example, rotating bioreactors and lubrication systems). The Buongiorno two-component nanoscale model is deployed, and swimming gyrotactic microorganisms are considered which do not interact with the nanoparticles. Thermal radiation is also included, and a Rosseland diffusion flux approximation is utilized. Appropriate similarity transformations are implemented to transform the nonlinear, coupled partial differential conservation equations for mass, momentum, energy, nanoparticle species and motile microorganism species under suitable boundary conditions from a cylindrical coordinate system into a dimensionless nonlinear ordinary differential boundary value problem. An efficient scheme known as differential transform method (DTM) combined with Padé-approximations is then applied to solve the emerging nonlinear similarity equations. The impact of different non-dimensional parameters i.e. squeezing Reynolds number, rotational Reynolds number, Prandtl number, thermophoresis parameter, Brownian dynamics parameter, thermal radiation parameter, Schmidt number, bioconvection number and Péclet number on velocity, temperature, nanoparticle concentration and motile gyrotactic microorganism density number distributions is computed and visualized graphically. The torque effects on both plates, i.e. the lower and the upper plate, are also determined. From the graphical results, it is seen that momentum in the squeezing regime is suppressed clearly as the upper disk approaches the lower disk. This inhibits the axial flow and produces axial flow retardation. Similarly, by enhancing the value of squeezing Reynolds number, the tangential velocity distribution also decreases. More rigorous squeezing clearly therefore also inhibits tangential momentum development in the regime and leads to tangential flow deceleration. Tables are also provided for multiple values of flow parameters. The numerical values obtained by DTM-Padé computation show very good agreement with shooting quadrature. DTM-Padé is shown to be a precise and stable semi-numerical methodology for studying rotating multi-physical flow problems. Radiative heat transfer has an important influence on the transport characteristics. When radiation is neglected, different results are obtained. It is important therefore to include radiative flux in models of rotating bioreactors and squeezing lubrication dual disk damper technologies since high temperatures associated with radiative flux can impact significantly on combined nanofluid bioconvection which enables more accurate prediction of actual thermofluidic characteristics. Corrosion and surface degradation effects may therefore be mitigated in designs.

scholarly journals Model of thermal buoyancy in cavity-ventilated roof constructions

2021 ◽  
pp. 174425912098418
Author(s):  
Toivo Säwén ◽  
Martina Stockhaus ◽  
Carl-Eric Hagentoft ◽  
Nora Schjøth Bunkholt ◽  
Paula Wahlgren
Keyword(s):  
Analytical Model ◽  
Flow Rate ◽  
Numerical Study ◽  
Air Flow ◽  
Wind Pressure ◽  
Air Flow Rate ◽  
Test Set ◽  
Air Cavity ◽  
Thermal Buoyancy ◽  
The Impact

Timber roof constructions are commonly ventilated through an air cavity beneath the roof sheathing in order to remove heat and moisture from the construction. The driving forces for this ventilation are wind pressure and thermal buoyancy. The wind driven ventilation has been studied extensively, while models for predicting buoyant flow are less developed. In the present study, a novel analytical model is presented to predict the air flow caused by thermal buoyancy in a ventilated roof construction. The model provides means to calculate the cavity Rayleigh number for the roof construction, which is then correlated with the air flow rate. The model predictions are compared to the results of an experimental and a numerical study examining the effect of different cavity designs and inclinations on the air flow rate in a ventilated roof subjected to varying heat loads. Over 80 different test set-ups, the analytical model was found to replicate both experimental and numerical results within an acceptable margin. The effect of an increased total roof height, air cavity height and solar heat load for a given construction is an increased air flow rate through the air cavity. On average, the analytical model predicts a 3% higher air flow rate than found in the numerical study, and a 20% lower air flow rate than found in the experimental study, for comparable test set-ups. The model provided can be used to predict the air flow rate in cavities of varying design, and to quantify the impact of suggested roof design changes. The result can be used as a basis for estimating the moisture safety of a roof construction.

scholarly journals Numerical Simulation of the Impact of the Heat Source Position on Melting of a Nano-Enhanced Phase Change Material

Nanomaterials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 1425
Author(s):  
Tarek Bouzennada ◽  
Farid Mechighel ◽  
Kaouther Ghachem ◽  
Lioua Kolsi
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Phase Change ◽  
Phase Change Material ◽  
Numerical Study ◽  
Melting Rate ◽  
Heat Transfer Fluid ◽  
Commercial Code ◽  
Tube Position ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Change Material

A 2D-symmetric numerical study of a new design of Nano-Enhanced Phase change material (NEPCM)-filled enclosure is presented in this paper. The enclosure is equipped with an inner tube allowing the circulation of the heat transfer fluid (HTF); n-Octadecane is chosen as phase change material (PCM). Comsol-Multiphysics commercial code was used to solve the governing equations. This study has been performed to examine the heat distribution and melting rate under the influence of the inner-tube position and the concentration of the nanoparticles dispersed in the PCM. The inner tube was located at three different vertical positions and the nanoparticle concentration was varied from 0 to 0.06. The results revealed that both heat transfer/melting rates are improved when the inner tube is located at the bottom region of the enclosure and by increasing the concentration of the nanoparticles. The addition of the nanoparticles enhances the heat transfer due to the considerable increase in conductivity. On the other hand, by placing the tube in the bottom area of the enclosure, the liquid PCM gets a wider space, allowing the intensification of the natural convection.

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