Reduction of Power Losses in Bearing Chambers Using Porous Screens Surrounding a Ball Bearing

2005 ◽  
Vol 128 (1) ◽  
pp. 178-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Flouros
Keyword(s):  
High Speed ◽  
Ball Bearing ◽  
Research Programme ◽  
Aircraft Engine ◽  
Chamber Pressure ◽  
Power Losses ◽  
Torque Measurements ◽  
Engine Design ◽  
Oil Flow ◽  
The Impact

Trends in aircraft engine design have caused an increase in mechanical stress requirements for rolling bearings. Consequently, a high amount of heat is rejected, which results in high oil scavenge temperatures. An RB199 turbofan bearing and its associated chamber were modified to carry out a survey aiming to reduce power losses in bearing chambers. The test bearing was a 124 mm PCD ball bearing with a split inner ring employing under-race lubrication by two individual jets. The survey was carried out in two parts. In the first part, the investigations were focused on the impact on the power losses in the bearing chamber of the operating parameters, such as oil flow, oil temperature, sealing air flow, bearing chamber pressure, and shaft speed. In the second part, the investigations focused on the reduction of the dwell time of the air and oil mixture in the bearing compartment and its impact on the power losses. In this part, porous screens were introduced around the bearing. These screens would aid the oil to flow out of the compartment and reduce droplet-droplet interactions as well as droplet-bearing chamber wall interactions. The performance of the screens was evaluated by torque measurements. A high-speed camera was used to visualize the flow in the chamber. Considerable reduction in power loss was achieved. This work is part of the European Research programme GROWTH ATOS (Advanced Transmission and Oil Systems).

Oil Pumping in High Speed and High Loaded Ball Bearings

2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Flouros
Keyword(s):  
High Speed ◽  
Ball Bearing ◽  
Research Programme ◽  
Aircraft Engine ◽  
Ball Bearings ◽  
European Research ◽  
Rolling Bearings ◽  
Engine Design ◽  
Oil Flow ◽  
Total Oil

Trends in aircraft engine design cause increased mechanical stress requirements for rolling bearings. Consequently high amounts of heat are rejected which results in high oil scavenge temperatures. The direction of oil flow in the bearing can considerably affect the heat transported by the oil. An RB199 turbofan bearing and its associated chamber were modified to carry out the survey. The test bearing was a 124mm PCD ball bearing. The bearing has a split inner-ring employing under-race lubrication by two individual jets. The total oil flow could be devided to any ratio through the jets. This had an impact on the oil scavenge temperatures and the scavenge flows on both sides of the bearing. Significant reduction in the ‘heat to oil’ was achieved when oil was fed at certain proportions (ratio). This work is part of the European Research programme Brite Euram ATOS (Advanced Transmission and Oil Systems).

The Impact of Oil and Sealing Air Flow, Chamber Pressure, Rotor Speed, and Axial Load on the Power Consumption in an Aeroengine Bearing Chamber

2005 ◽  
Vol 127 (1) ◽  
pp. 182-186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Flouros
Keyword(s):  
Power Consumption ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Air Flow ◽  
Flow Chamber ◽  
Chamber Pressure ◽  
Power Losses ◽  
Rolling Element ◽  
Oil Flow ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Circle Diameter

Trends in aircraft engines have dictated high speed rolling element bearings up to 3 million DN or more with the consequence of having high amounts of heat rejection in the bearing chambers and high oil scavenge temperatures. A parametric study on the bearing power consumption has been performed with a 124 mm pitch circle diameter (PCD) ball bearing in a bearing chamber that has been adapted from the RB199 turbofan engine DN∼2×106. The operating parameters such as oil flow, oil temperature, sealing air flow, bearing chamber pressure, and shaft speed have been varied in order to assess the impact on the power consumption. This work is the first part of a survey aiming to reduce power losses in bearing chambers. In the first part, the parameters affecting the power losses are identified and evaluated.

Dynamic vacuum pressure tracking control with high-speed on-off valves

2018 ◽  
Vol 232 (10) ◽  
pp. 1325-1336 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gang Yang ◽  
Kai Chen ◽  
Linglong Du ◽  
Jingmin Du ◽  
Baoren Li
Keyword(s):  
Mass Flow ◽  
Pulse Width ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Pulse Width Modulation ◽  
Sliding Mode ◽  
Tracking System ◽  
Vacuum Pressure ◽  
Chamber Pressure ◽  
Asymmetric Structure ◽  
The Impact

A vacuum pressure tracking system with high-speed on-off valves is a discontinuous system due to the discrete nature of high-speed on-off valves. Chamber pressure changes in the system are determined by the mass flow rates during the processes of charging and discharging. Here, a sliding mode controller with an asymmetric compensator based on average mass flow rate is designed for accurate vacuum pressure tracking. The controller output signal is converted into the duty cycles of the high-speed on-off valves via a pulse width modulation pulsing scheme. Owing to the extreme asymmetry of the processes, an asymmetric structure comprising one high-speed on-off valve in the charging unit and three high-speed on-off valves in the discharging unit is applied to weaken the impact of asymmetry. In addition, an asymmetric compensator is also designed to modify the pulse width modulation pulsing scheme to further eliminate the asymmetry. Experimental results indicate that the proposed controller achieves better performance in pressure tracking with the asymmetric compensator overcoming process asymmetry and enhancing system robustness.

Direct Outer Ring Cooling of a High Speed Jet Engine Mainshaft Ball Bearing: Experimental Investigation Results

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Gloeckner ◽  
Klaus Dullenkopf ◽  
Michael Flouros
Keyword(s):  
Power Dissipation ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Ball Bearing ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Outer Ring ◽  
Outer Diameter ◽  
Propulsion Systems ◽  
Jet Engine ◽  
Power Loss Reduction ◽  
The Impact

Operating conditions in high speed mainshaft ball bearings applied in new aircraft propulsion systems require enhanced bearing designs and materials. Rotational speeds, loads, demands on higher thrust capability, and reliability have increased continuously over the last years. A consequence of these increasing operating conditions are increased bearing temperatures. A state of the art jet engine high speed ball bearing has been modified with an oil channel in the outer diameter of the bearing. This oil channel provides direct cooling of the outer ring. Rig testing under typical flight conditions has been performed to investigate the cooling efficiency of the outer ring oil channel. In this paper the experimental results including bearing temperature distribution, power dissipation, bearing oil pumping and the impact on oil mass and parasitic power loss reduction are presented.

The effect analysis of an engine jet on an aircraft blast deflector

2018 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 990-1001
Author(s):  
Song Ma ◽  
Jianguo Tan ◽  
Xiankai Li ◽  
Jiang Hao
Keyword(s):  
High Temperature ◽  
Flow Field ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Deflection Angle ◽  
Stokes Equations ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Aircraft Engine ◽  
Experimental Results ◽  
Exhaust Gases ◽  
The Impact

This paper establishes a novel mathematical model for computing the plume flow field of a carrier-based aircraft engine. Its objective is to study the impact of jet exhaust gases with high temperature, high speed and high pressure on the jet blast deflector. The working condition of the nozzle of a fully powered on engine is first determined. The flow field of the exhaust jet is then numerically simulated at different deflection angle using the three-dimensional Reynolds averaged Navier–Stokes equations and the standard [Formula: see text]-[Formula: see text] turbulence method. Moreover, infra-red temperature tests are further carried out to test the temperature field when the jet blast deflector is at the [Formula: see text] deflection angle. The comparison between the simulation results and the experimental results show that the proposed computation model can perfectly describe the system. There is only 8–10% variation between them. A good verification is achieved. Moreover, the experimental results show that the jet blast deflector plays an outstanding role in driving the high-temperature exhaust gases. It is found that [Formula: see text] may be the best deflection angle to protect the deck and the surrounding equipment effectively. These data results provide a valuable basis for the design and layout optimization of the jet blast deflector and deck.

Bearing Skidding Detection for High Speed and Aero Engine Applications

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Azzedine Dadouche ◽  
Rami Kerrouche
Keyword(s):  
High Speed ◽  
Power Losses ◽  
Severe Damage ◽  
Roller Bearings ◽  
Custom Made ◽  
Rolling Element ◽  
Aero Engine ◽  
Oil Flow ◽  
Rolling Elements ◽  
Surface Distress

Abstract Rolling-element bearings (REB) can develop severe damage due to skidding (slipping) between the rolling elements and bearing races. Skidding can be described as gross sliding between the bearing surfaces in relative motion and can result in significant surface distress such as smearing, especially at light loads and high rotational speeds. Under these conditions, skidding occurs between the rolling elements and the bearing races, leading to increased wear (higher friction coefficient), elevated bearing temperature, significant power losses and reduced service life of the bearing. The main objective of this study is to investigate the significance of various sensing technologies (induction, vibration, ultrasound, acoustic and optical) in detecting skidding in standard series roller bearings as well as custom-made roller bearings for aero engine applications. The bearings have a bore diameter of 60 mm and 90 mm, respectively. Jet and under race lubrication techniques have been used to supply oil to the bearings under test. The custom-made aero engine test bearing features special channels to allow under race lubrication of the rollers/races contacts as well as the cage land. The effect of radial load, rotational speed and oil flow on roller skidding have also been investigated and analyzed. Tests have been performed on a dedicated high speed experimental bearing facility and data was recorded using a commercially-available data acquisition system.

Oil Film Thickness Measurements on Surfaces Close to an Aero-Engine Ball Bearing Using Optical Techniques

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jee Loong Hee ◽  
R. Santhosh ◽  
Kathy Simmons ◽  
Graham Johnson ◽  
David Hann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Film Thickness ◽  
Flow Rate ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Ball Bearing ◽  
Film Surface ◽  
Outer Periphery ◽  
Aero Engine ◽  
Oil Flow ◽  
Current Region ◽  
Counter Current

In a civil aero-engine transmission system a number of bearings are used for shaft location and load support. A bespoke experimental test facility in the University of Nottingham’s Gas Turbine and Transmissions Research Centre (G2TRC) was created to investigate oil shedding from a location bearing. An engine representative ball bearing was installed in the rig and under-race lubrication was supplied via under-race feed to three locations under the inner race and cage. The oil was supplied in an engine representative manner but the delivery system was modified to provide circumferentially even flow. An electromagnetic load system was designed and implemented to allow engine representative axial loads between 5 and 35 kN to be applied to the bearing. In this phase of testing the rig was operated at shaft speeds between 1,000 rpm and 7,000 rpm for a range of oil flow rates and low and high load conditions. The rig was designed with good visual access and high speed imaging was used to investigate film formation and movement on surfaces close to the bearing. This paper presents images and qualitative observations of thin film formed on the static surfaces forming the outer-periphery of the bearing compartment as well as the gap between orbiting cage and static outer race. Quantitative film thickness was obtained at two circumferential locations (90° and 270° from top dead centre) and three axial locations, through sophisticated analysis of the high speed images. The effect on film thickness of the varied parameters rotational speed, axial load and oil feed input flow rate are presented in this paper. It was observed that for all axial planes of measurement in both co-current and counter-current regions film thickness decreases with increase in shaft rotational speed. At 5,000 and 7,000 rpm film thicknesses are around 0.75 mm – 1 mm and are similar at 90° and 270°; at 3,000 rpm films tend to be somewhat thicker at around 1.5 mm – 2 mm and are thicker in the counter current region, particularly closer to the bearing. It is suggested that at higher shaft speeds interfacial shear dominates whereas at lower speed the effect of gravity in slowing the film in the counter-current region causes a measureable difference. It was further observed that increasing the input oil flow rate from 5.2 litres per minute to 7.3 litres per minute did not produce significant effect on film thickness. However, the increase of axial bearing load from 10 kN to 30 kN yielded thicker films at the location above the cage. In all cases there was waviness on the film surface at the bearing outer periphery; imaging was not sufficient to see if the film surface close to the bearing is wavy.

A Model for Oil Flow and Fluid Temperature Inlet Mixing in Hydrodynamic Journal Bearings

2018 ◽  
Vol 141 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Hagemann ◽  
Hubert Schwarze
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Conditions ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Hydrodynamic Lubrication ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Journal Bearings ◽  
Conductive Heat ◽  
Fluid Temperature ◽  
Inlet Region ◽  
Oil Flow ◽  
The Impact

The quality of predictions for the operating behavior of high-speed journal bearings strongly depends on realistic boundary conditions within the inlet region supplying a mixture of hot oil from the upstream pad and fresh lubricant from the inlet device to the downstream located pad. Therefore, an appropriate modeling of fundamental phenomena within the inlet region is essential for a reliable simulation of fluid and heat flow in the entire bearing. A theoretical model including hydraulic, mechanical, and energetic effects and the procedure of its numerical implementation in typical bearing codes for thermo-hydrodynamic lubrication is described and validated. Convective and conductive heat transfer as well as dissipation due to internal friction in the lubricant is considered for the space between pads or the pocket where the inlet is located. In contrast to most other models, the region between the physical inlet and the lubricant film is part of the solution domain and not only represented by boundary conditions. The model provides flow rate and temperature boundary conditions for extended Reynolds equation and a three-dimensional (3D) energy equation of film and inlet region, respectively. The impact of backflow from the inlet region to the outer supply channel possibly occurring in sealed pockets is taken into account. Moreover, the model considers the influence of turbulent flow in the inlet region.

Designing for Maintainability in Preliminary Aircraft Engine Design

1997 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carrie R. Nottingham ◽  
Roberto A. Ortega ◽  
Bharadwaj Rangarajan ◽  
Patrick N. Koch ◽  
Farrokh Mistree
Keyword(s):  
High Speed ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Aircraft Engine ◽  
Turbine Engines ◽  
Exploration Process ◽  
Transport Aircraft ◽  
Design Specifications ◽  
Conceptual Design Phase ◽  
Engine Design ◽  
Concept Exploration

Abstract With the high performance demands of turbine engines, particularly during aircraft take-off and landing, the necessity of scheduled and unscheduled maintenance makes designing these engines for maintainability extremely important. Maintenance issues, however, are normally not addressed in the preliminary stages of design. Thus, we are interested in determining top level engine design specifications which include maintainability issues. For this study we use the High Speed Civil Transport aircraft engine cycle as our example. We identify critical maintenance actions and levels for the HSCT and map these maintenance issues into the conceptual design phase. To facilitate a thorough concept exploration process for top level design specifications including maintainability issues, we implement the Robust Concept Exploration Method (RCEM). Our focus in this paper is to demonstrate a method of abstracting maintainability issues to the preliminary stages of design, rather than the results per se.

Effect of leading-edge plate controlling on subsonic cavity

2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (14n16) ◽  
pp. 2040090
Author(s):  
Fang-Qi Zhou ◽  
Dang-Guo Yang ◽  
Xian-Sheng Wang ◽  
Jun-Qiang Wu ◽  
Bo Lu
Keyword(s):  
High Speed ◽  
Noise Suppression ◽  
Static Pressure ◽  
Leading Edge ◽  
Wall Area ◽  
Flow Noise ◽  
Cavity Structure ◽  
Oil Flow ◽  
Field Information ◽  
The Impact

Cavity noise caused by the high-speed airflow has been paid much attention in the field of aerospace, and the study of cavity noise suppression has an important significance on improving the safety of aircraft. Effects of the leading-edge plate on the flow and the noise of the cavity model (the ratio of length to depth is 6) at a Mach number (Ma) of 0.6 are investigated with high-speed wind tunnel experiment. The acoustic and the flow field information in the cavity are obtained with the dynamic/static pressure measurement and oil flow experiment. The result shows that the leading-edge plate can greatly lift the shear layer, raise the impact position on the back-wall area, and reduce the flux rate and intensity in the cavity. With the controlling of leading-edge plate, the static pressure and backflow area are effectively suppressed and the SPL and peak noise also fall down significantly. The leading-edge plate provides a new method for cavity noise suppression in subsonic flow condition, which can be effectively applied to flow/noise controlling of cavity structure on aircraft.

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