A Comparison between Measured and Computed Flow Fields in a Transonic Compressor Rotor

1980 ◽  
Vol 102 (4) ◽  
pp. 883-889 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. W. McDonald ◽  
C. R. Bolt ◽  
R. J. Dunker ◽  
H. B. Weyer

The flow field within the rotor of a transonic axial compressor has been computed and compared to measurements obtained with an advanced laser velocimeter. The compressor was designed for a total pressure ratio of 1.51 at a relative tip Mach number of 1.4. The comparisons are made at 100 percent design speed (20,260 RPM) with pressure ratios corresponding to peak efficiency, near surge, and wide open discharge operating conditions. The computational procedure iterates between a blade-to-blade calculation and an intrablade through flow calculation. Calculated Mach number contours, surface pressure distributions, and exit total pressure profiles are in agreement with the experimental data demonstrating the usefulness of quasi three-dimensional calculations in compressor design.

Author(s):  
Yuyun Li ◽  
Zhiheng Wang ◽  
Guang Xi

The Inlet distortion, which may lead to the stability reduction or structure failure, is often non-ignorable in an axial compressor. In the paper, the three-dimensional unsteady numerical simulations on the flow in NASA rotor 67 are carried out to investigate the effect of inlet distortion on the performance and flow structure in a transonic axial compressor rotor. A sinusoidal circumferential total pressure distortion with eleven periods per revolution is adopted to study the interaction between the transonic rotor and inlet circumferential distortion. Concerning the computational expense, the flow in two rotor blade passages is calculated. Various intensities of the total pressure distortion are discussed, and the detailed flow structures under different rotating speeds near the peak efficiency condition are analyzed. It is found that the distortion has a positive effect on the flow near the hub. Even though there is no apparent decrease in the rotor efficiency or total pressure ratio, an obvious periodic loading exists over the whole blade. The blade loadings are concentrated in the region near the leading edge of the rotor blade or regions affected by the oscillating shocks near the pressure side. The time averaged location of shock structure changes little with the distortion, and the motion of shocks and the interactions between the shock and the boundary layer make a great contribution to the instability of the blade structure.


Author(s):  
Naveen Prasad Gopinathrao ◽  
David Bagshaw ◽  
Christophe Mabilat ◽  
Sohail Alizadeh

The compressor is one of the most sensitive components in a gas turbine. Small variations in geometry or operating conditions can have a detrimental effect on component performance, efficiency and life. During the past few years, significant effort has been invested in modelling the propagation of input uncertainties for CFD simulations using stochastic methods. Due to the large number of variables involved in typical industrial applications, problems often involve intensive computations, making the use of stochastic methods impractical. Therefore in addition to accuracy issues, the desire to reduce the computational overhead is also a key consideration in industrial applications. This work investigates the propagation of uncertainty within a transonic compressor rotor (NASA Rotor-37), using a Non Intrusive Polynomial Chaos methodology. Extensive computational research of this geometry has previously been undertaken and provides comparative data sets. The Non Intrusive Polynomial Chaos methodology is an inexpensive approach based on the spectral representation of the uncertainty parameters. The polynomial coefficients are evaluated using the Probabilistic Collocation method providing an exponential convergence for arbitrary probability distributions. Results will be shown for variations in inlet total pressure. The resulting performance parameters, including total pressure ratio and adiabatic efficiency, are presented along with their uncertainties. The paper serves as a description of the application of the Polynomial Chaos methodology, within a general purpose CFD software, to a gas turbine aerodynamics problem.


Author(s):  
Chunill Hah ◽  
Douglas C. Rabe ◽  
Thomas J. Sullivan ◽  
Aspi R. Wadia

The effects of circumferential distortions in inlet total pressure on the flow field in a low-aspect-ratio, high-speed, high-pressure-ratio, transonic compressor rotor are investigated in this paper. The flow field was studied experimentally and numerically with and without inlet total pressure distortion. Total pressure distortion was created by screens mounted upstream from the rotor inlet. Circumferential distortions of 8 periods per revolution were investigated at two different rotor speeds. The unsteady blade surface pressures were measured with miniature pressure transducers mounted in the blade. The flow fields with and without inlet total pressure distortion were analyzed numerically by solving steady and unsteady forms of the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations. Steady three-dimensional viscous flow calculations were performed for the flow without inlet distortion while unsteady three-dimensional viscous flow calculations were used for the flow with inlet distortion. For the time-accurate calculation, circumferential and radial variations of the inlet total pressure were used as a time-dependent inflow boundary condition. A second-order implicit scheme was used for the time integration. The experimental measurements and the numerical analysis are highly complementary for this study because of the extreme complexity of the flow field. The current investigation shows that inlet flow distortions travel through the rotor blade passage and are convected into the following stator. At a high rotor speed where the flow is transonic, the passage shock was found to oscillate by as much as 20% of the blade chord, and very strong interactions between the unsteady passage shock and the blade boundary layer were observed. This interaction increases the effective blockage of the passage, resulting in an increased aerodynamic loss and a reduced stall margin. The strong interaction between the passage shock and the blade boundary layer increases the peak aerodynamic loss by about one percent.


1996 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven L. Puterbaugh ◽  
William W. Copenhaver ◽  
Chunill Hah ◽  
Arthur J. Wennerstrom

An analysis of the effectiveness of a three-dimensional shock loss model used in transonic compressor rotor design is presented. The model was used during the design of an aft-swept, transonic compressor rotor. The demonstrated performance of the swept rotor, in combination with numerical results, is used to determine the strengths and weaknesses of the model. The numerical results were obtained from a fully three-dimensional Navier-Stokes solver. The shock loss model was developed to account for the benefit gained with three-dimensional shock sweep. Comparisons with the experimental and numerical results demonstrated that shock loss reductions predicted by the model due to the swept shock induced by the swept leading edge of the rotor were exceeded. However, near the tip the loss model under-predicts the loss because the shock geometry assumed by the model remains swept in this region while the numerical results show a more normal shock orientation. The design methods and the demonstrated performance of the swept rotor is also presented. Comparisons are made between the design intent and measured performance parameters. The aft-swept rotor was designed using an inviscid axisymmetric streamline curvature design system utilizing arbitrary airfoil blading geometry. The design goal specific flow rate was 214.7 kg/sec/m2 (43.98 lbm/sec/ft2), the design pressure ratio goal was 2.042, and the predicted design point efficiency was 94.0. The rotor tip sped was 457.2 m/sec (1500 ft/sec). The design flow rate was achieved while the pressure ratio fell short by 0.07. Efficiency was 3 points below prediction, though at a very high 91 percent. At this operating condition the stall margin was 11 percent.


Author(s):  
Yiming Zhong ◽  
WuLi Chu ◽  
HaoGuang Zhang

Abstract Compared to the traditional casing treatment, the self-recirculating casing treatment (SCT) can improve or not decrease the compressor efficiency while achieving the stall margin improvement. For the bleed port, the main design indicator is to reduce the flow loss caused by suction, while providing sufficient jet flow and jet pressure to the injector. In order to gain a better study of the bleed port stabilization mechanisms, the bleed configuration was parameterized with the bleed port inlet width and the bleed port axial position. Five kinds of recirculating casing treatments were applied to a 1.5-stage transonic axial compressor with the method of three-dimensional unsteady numerical simulation. Fifteen identical self-recirculating devices are uniformly mounted around the annulus. The numerical results show that the SCT can improve compressor total pressure ratio and stability, shift the stall margin towards lower mass flows. Furthermore, it has no impact on compressor efficiency. The optimal case presents that stability margin is improved by 6.7% employing 3.1% of the annulus mass flow. Expanding bleed port inlet width to an intermediate level can further enhance compressor stability, but excessive bleed port inlet width will reduce the stabilization effect. The optimal bleed port position is located in the blocked area of the low energy group at the top of the rotor. In the case of solid casing, stall inception was the tip blockage, which was mainly triggered by the interaction of the tip leakage vortex and passage shock. From radial distribution, the casing treatment predominantly affects the above 70% span. The reduction of tip reflux region by suction effect is the main reason for the extension of stable operation range. The SCT also has an obvious stability improvement in tip blockage stall, while delaying the occurrence of compressor stall.


Author(s):  
Garth V. Hobson ◽  
Anthony J. Gannon ◽  
Scott Drayton

A new design procedure was developed that uses commercial-off-the-shelf software (MATLAB, SolidWorks, and ANSYS-CFX) for the geometric rendering and analysis of a transonic axial compressor rotor with splitter blades. Predictive numerical simulations were conducted and experimental data were collected in a Transonic Compressor Rig. This study advanced the understanding of splitter blade geometry, placement, and performance benefits. In particular, it was determined that moving the splitter blade forward in the passage between the main blades, which was a departure from the trends demonstrated in the few available previous transonic axial compressor splitter blade studies, increased the mass flow range with no loss in overall performance. With a large 0.91 mm (0.036 in) tip clearance, to preserve the integrity of the rotor, the experimentally measured peak total-to-total pressure ratio was 1.69 and the peak total-to-total isentropic efficiency was 72 percent at 100 percent design speed. Additionally, a higher than predicted 7.5 percent mass flow rate range was experimentally measured, which would make for easier engine control if this concept were to be included in an actual gas turbine engine.


Author(s):  
Wei Wang ◽  
Wuli Chu ◽  
Haoguang Zhang ◽  
Yanhui Wu

Discrete tip injection upstream of the rotor tip is an effective technique to extend stability margin for a compressor system in an aeroengine. The current study investigates the effects of injectors’ circumferential coverage on compressor performance and stability using time-accurate three-dimensional numerical simulations for multi passages in a transonic compressor. The percentage of circumferential coverage for all the six injectors ranges from 6% to 87% for the five investigated configurations. Results indicate that circumferential coverage of tip injection can greatly affect compressor stability and total pressure ratio, but has little influence on adiabatic efficiency. The improvement of compressor total pressure ratio is linearly related with the increasing circumferential coverage. The unsteady flow fields show that there exists a non-ignorable time lag of the injection effects between the passage inlet and outlet, and blade tip loading will not decline until the injected flow reaches the passage outlet. Stability improves sharply with the increasing circumferential coverage when the coverage is less than 27%, but increases flatly for the rest. It is proven that the injection efficiency which is a measurement of averaged blockage decrement in the injected region is an effective guideline to predict the stability improvement.


1998 ◽  
Vol 120 (3) ◽  
pp. 477-486 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. W. Thompson ◽  
P. I. King ◽  
D. C. Rabe

The effects of stepped-tip gaps and clearance levels on the performance of a transonic axial-flow compressor rotor were experimentally determined. A two-stage compressor with no inlet guide vanes was tested in a modern transonic compressor research facility. The first-stage rotor was unswept and was tested for an optimum tip clearance with variations in stepped gaps machined into the casing near the aft tip region of the rotor. Nine causing geometries were investigated consisting of three step profiles at each of three clearance levels. For small and intermediate clearances, stepped tip gaps were found to improve pressure ratio, efficiency, and flow range for most operating conditions. At 100 percent design rotor speed, stepped tip gaps produced a doubling of mass flow range with as much as a 2.0 percent increase in mass flow and a 1.5 percent improvement in efficiency. This study provides guidelines for engineers to improve compressor performance for an existing design by applying an optimum casing profile.


Author(s):  
Ali A. Merchant ◽  
Mark Drela ◽  
Jack L. Kerrebrock ◽  
John J. Adamczyk ◽  
Mark Celestina

The pressure ratio of axial compressor stages can be significantly increased by controlling the development of blade and endwall boundary layers in regions of adverse pressure gradient by means of boundary layer suction. This concept is validated and demonstrated through the design and analysis of a unique aspirated compressor stage which achieves a total pressure ratio of 3.5 at a tip speed of 1500 ft/s. The aspirated stage was designed using an axisymmetric through-flow code coupled with a quasi three-dimensional cascade plane code with inverse design capability. Validation of the completed design was carried out with three-dimensional Navier-Stokes calculations. Spanwise slots were used on the rotor and stator suction surfaces to bleed the boundary layer with a total suction requirement of 4% of the inlet mass flow. Additional bleed of 3% was also required on the hub and shroud near shock impingement locations. A three-dimensional viscous evaluation of the design showed good agreement with the quasi three-dimensional design intent, except in the endwall regions. The three-dimensional viscous analysis predicted a mass averaged total pressure ratio of 3.7 at an isentropic efficiency of 93% for the rotor, and a mass averaged total pressure ratio of 3.4 at an isentropic efficiency of 86% for the stage.


1997 ◽  
Vol 119 (3) ◽  
pp. 452-459 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. L. Puterbaugh ◽  
W. W. Copenhaver ◽  
C. Hah ◽  
A. J. Wennerstrom

An analysis of the effectiveness of a three-dimensional shock loss model used in transonic compressor rotor design is presented. The model was used during the design of an aft-swept, transonic compressor rotor. The demonstrated performance of the swept rotor, in combination with numerical results, is used to determine the strengths and weaknesses of the model. The numerical results were obtained from a fully three-dimensional Navier–Stokes solver. The shock loss model was developed to account for the benefit gained with three-dimensional shock sweep. Comparisons with the experimental and numerical results demonstrated that shock loss reductions predicted by the model due to the swept shock induced by the swept leading edge of the rotor were exceeded. However, near the tip the loss model underpredicts the loss because the shock geometry assumed by the model remains swept in this region while the numerical results show a more normal shock orientation. The design methods and the demonstrated performance of the swept rotor are also presented. Comparisons are made between the design intent and measured performance parameters. The aft-swept rotor was designed using an inviscid axisymmetric streamline curvature design system utilizing arbitrary airfoil blading geometry. The design goal specific flow rate was 214.7 kg/s/m2 (43.98 lbm/sec/ft2), the design pressure ratio goal was 2.042, and the predicted design point efficiency was 94.0. The rotor tip speed was 457.2 m/s (1500 ft/sec). The design flow rate was achieved while the pressure ratio fell short by 0.07. Efficiency was 3 points below prediction, though at a very high 91 percent. At this operating condition the stall margin was 11 percent.


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