Controls and Diagnostics Committee Best 1994 Paper Award: Modeling for Control of Rotating Stall in High-Speed Multistage Axial Compressors

1996 ◽  
Vol 118 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. R. Feulner ◽  
G. J. Hendricks ◽  
J. D. Paduano

Using a two-dimensional compressible flow representation of axial compressor dynamics, a control-theoretic input–output model is derived, which is of general utility in rotating stall/surge active control studies. The derivation presented here begins with a review of the fluid dynamic model, which is a two-dimensional stage stacking technique that accounts for blade row pressure rise, loss, and deviation as well as blade row and interblade row compressible flow. This model is extended to include the effects of the upstream and downstream geometry and boundary conditions, and then manipulated into a transfer function form that dynamically relates actuator motion to sensor measurements. Key relationships in this input–output form are then approximated using rational polynomials. Further manipulation yields an approximate model in standard form for studying active control of rotating stall and surge. As an example of high current relevance, the transfer function from an array of jet actuators to an array of static pressure sensors is derived. Numerical examples are also presented, including a demonstration of the importance of proper choice of sensor and actuator locations, as well as a comparison between sensor types. Under a variety of conditions, it was found that sensor locations near the front of the compressor or in the downstream gap are consistently the best choices, based on a quadratic optimization criterion and a specific three-stage compressor model. The modeling and evaluation procedures presented here are a first step toward a rigorous approach to the design of active control systems for high-speed axial compressors.

Author(s):  
Matthew R. Feulner ◽  
Gavin J. Hendricks ◽  
James D. Paduano

Using a two dimensional compressible flow representation of axial compressor dynamics, a control-theoretic input-output model is derived which is of general utility in rotating stall/surge active control studies. The derivation presented here begins with a review of the fluid dynamic model, which is a 2D stage stacking technique that accounts for blade row pressure rise, loss and deviation as well as blade row and inter-blade row compressible flow. This model is extended to include the effects of the upstream and downstream geometry and boundary conditions, and then manipulated into a transfer function form that dynamically relates actuator motion to sensor measurements. Key relationships in this input-output form are then approximated using rational polynomials. Further manipulation yields an approximate model which is in standard form for studying active control of rotating stall and surge. As an example of high current relevance, the transfer function from an array of jet actuators to an array of static pressure sensors is derived. Numerical examples are also presented, including a demonstration of the importance of proper choice of sensor and actuator locations, as well as a comparison between sensor types. Under a variety of conditions, it was found that sensor locations near the front of the compressor or in the downstream gap are consistently the best choices, based on a quadratic optimization criterion and a specific 3-stage compressor model. The modeling and evaluation procedures presented here are a first step toward a rigorous approach to the design of active control systems for high speed axial compressors.


Author(s):  
Huan Zhang ◽  
Jun Hu ◽  
Baofeng Tu ◽  
Zhiqiang Wang

In the present paper, a nonlinear multi “actuator disk” model is proposed to analyze the dynamic behavior of flow instabilities, including rotating stall and surge, in high speed multistage axial compressors. The model describes the duct flow fields using two dimensional, compressible and unsteady Euler equations, and accounts for the influences of downstream plenum and throttle in the system as well. It replaces each blade row of multistage compressors with a disk. For numerical calculations, the time marching procedure, using MacCormack two steps scheme, is used. The main purpose of this paper is to predict the mechanism of two dimensional short wavelength rotating stall inception, the interaction between blade rows in high speed multistage compressors and the influence of rotating inlet distortion on the stability. It has been demonstrated that the model has the ability to predict those phenomena, and the results show that some system parameters have a strong effect on the stall features as well. Results for a five stage high speed compressor are analyzed in detail, and comparison with the experimental data demonstrates that the model and calculating results are reliable.


1998 ◽  
Vol 120 (3) ◽  
pp. 431-439 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. M. van Schalkwyk ◽  
J. D. Paduano ◽  
E. M. Greitzer ◽  
A. H. Epstein

This paper describes the first experimental validation of transfer function modeling and active stabilization for axial compressors with circumferential inlet distortion. The inlet distortion experiments were carried out in a three-stage low-speed compressor. Theory–experiment comparisons of steady performance, unsteady stall precursor, and forced response (transfer function) data were all used to assess a control-theoretic version of the Hynes–Greitzer distorted flow model. The tests showed good agreement between theory and data and demonstrated that a priori predictions, based on geometry and steady-state performance data, can be used to design control laws that stabilize rotating stall with inlet distortion. Based on these results, active feedback control has been used to stabilize the inlet distortion induced instability associated with rotating stall onset. The stabilization allowed stall-free operation to be extended below the natural (distorted flow) stall point by up to 3.7 percent for a 0.8 dynamic head distortion. For a 1.9 dynamic head distortion, 40 percent of the mass flow range lost due to inlet distortion was regained through active control. The paper elucidates the difficulties associated with active control with distortion, and introduces a new control law that addresses many of these challenges.


Author(s):  
C. M. van Schalkwyk ◽  
J. D. Paduano ◽  
E. M. Greitzer ◽  
A. H. Epstein

This paper describes the first experimental validation of transfer function modeling and active stabilization for axial compressors with circumferential inlet distortion. The inlet distortion experiments were carried out in a three stage low-speed compressor. Theory-experiment comparisons of steady performance, unsteady stall precursor, and forced response (transfer function) data were all used to assess a control-theoretic version of the Hynes-Greitzer distorted flow model. The tests showed good agreement between theory and data and demonstrated that a priori predictions, based on geometry and steady-state performance data, can be used to design control laws which stabilize rotating stall with inlet distortion. Based on these results, active feedback control has been used to stabilize the inlet distortion induced instability associated with rotating stall onset. The stabilization allowed stall free operation to be extended below the natural (distorted flow) stall point by up to 3.7% for a 0.8 dynamic head distortion. For a 1.9 dynamic head distortion, 40% of the mass flow range lost due to inlet distortion was regained through active control. The paper elucidates the difficulties associated with active control with distortion, and introduces a new control law that addresses many of these challenges.


Author(s):  
Adam R. Hickman ◽  
Scott C. Morris

Flow field measurements of a high-speed axial compressor are presented during pre-stall and post-stall conditions. The paper provides an analysis of measurements from a circumferential array of unsteady shroud static pressure sensors during stall cell development. At low-speed, the stall cell approached a stable size in approximately two rotor revolutions. At higher speeds, the stall cell developed within a short amount of time after stall inception, but then fluctuated in circumferential extent as the compressor transiently approached a stable post-stall operating point. The size of the stall cell was found to be related to the annulus average flow coefficient. A discussion of Phase-Locked Average (PLA) statistics on flow field measurements during stable operation is also included. In conditions where rotating stall is present, flow field measurements can be Double Phase-Locked Averaged (DPLA) using a once-per-revolution (1/Rev) pulse and the period of the stall cell. The DPLA method provides greater detail and understanding into the structure of the stall cell. DPLA data indicated that a stalled compressor annulus can be considered to contained three main regions: over-pressurized passages, stalled passages, and recovering passages. Within the over-pressured region, rotor passages exhibited increased blade loading and pressure ratio compared to pre-stall values.


2013 ◽  
Vol 136 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Pardowitz ◽  
Ulf Tapken ◽  
Robert Sorge ◽  
Paul Uwe Thamsen ◽  
Lars Enghardt

Rotating instability (RI) occurs at off-design conditions in compressors, predominantly in configurations with large tip or hub clearance ratios of s* ≥3%. RI is the source of the blade tip vortex noise and a potential indicator for critical operating conditions like rotating stall and surge. The objective of this paper is to give more physical insight into the RI phenomenon using the analysis results of combined near-field measurements with high-speed particle image velocimetry (PIV) and unsteady pressure sensors. The investigation was pursued on an annular cascade with hub clearance. Both the unsteady flow field next to the leading edge as well as the associated rotating pressure waves were captured. A special analysis method illustrates the characteristic pressure wave amplitude distribution, denoted as “modal events” of the RI. Moreover, the slightly adapted method reveals the unsteady flow structures corresponding to the RI. Correlations between the flow profile, the dominant vortex structures, and the rotating pressure waves were found. Results provide evidence to a new hypothesis, implying that shear layer instabilities constitute the basic mechanism of the RI.


Author(s):  
A. M. Cargill ◽  
C. Freeman

This paper discusses the mechanics of surge as observed on the high speed axial compressors of modern aero-engines. It argues that the initial stage of the instability consists of a high amplitude blast wave that develops non-linearly from a small scale disturbance and is thus not correctly described by traditional small perturbation stability theories. It follows from this that active control schemes of the global type may be inappropriate, since to be effective, control would have to be applied in a short time and in a very detailed manner, requiring a large number of transducers and actuators. Active control may, though, be effective in controlling the disturbances that grow into the above blast wave and in the control of other phenomena such as rotating stall, given an adequate number of transducers.


1991 ◽  
Vol 113 (2) ◽  
pp. 290-301 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. H. Garnier ◽  
A. H. Epstein ◽  
E. M. Greitzer

Stall inception has been studied in two low-speed compressors (a single-stage and a three-stage) and in a high-speed three-stage compressor, using temporally and spatially resolved measurements. In all three machines, rotating stall was preceded by a period in which small-amplitude waves were observed traveling around the circumference of the machine at a speed slightly less than the fully developed rotating stall cell speed. The waves evolved smoothly into rotating stall without sharp changes in phase or amplitude, implying that, in the machines tested, the prestall waves and the fully developed rotating stall are two stages of the same phenomenon. The growth rate of these disturbances was in accord with that predicted by current analytical models. The prestall waves were observed both with uniform and with distorted inflow, but were most readily discerned with uniform inflow. Engineering uses and limitations of these waves are discussed.


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