Rotating Instability in an Annular Cascade: Detailed Analysis of the Instationary Flow Phenomena

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):  
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% [1]. 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 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):  
Jingjing Luo ◽  
Dieter Brillert

Abstract Dry gas lubricated non-contacting mechanical seals (DGS), most commonly found in centrifugal compressors, prevent the process gas flow into the atmosphere. Especially when high speed is combined with high pressure, DGS is the preferred choice over other sealing alternatives. In order to investigate the flow field in the sealing gap and to facilitate the numerical prediction of the seal performance, a dedicated test facility is developed to carry out the measurement of key parameters in the gas film. Gas in the sealing film varies according to the seal inlet pressure, and the thickness of gas film depends on this fluctuated pressure. In this paper, the test facility, measurement methods and the first results of static pressure measurements in the sealing gap of the DGS obtained in the described test facility are presented. An industry DGS with three-dimensional grooves on the surface of the rotating ring, where experimental investigations take place, is used. The static pressure in the gas film is measured, up to 20 bar and 8,100 rpm, by several high frequency ultraminiature pressure transducers embedded into the stationary ring. The experimental results are discussed and compared with the numerical model programmed in MATLAB, the characteristic and magnitude of which have a good agreement with the numerical simulations. It suggests the feasibility of measuring pressure profiles of the standard industry DGS under pressurized dynamic operating conditions without altering the key components of the seal and thereby affecting the seal performance.


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.


Author(s):  
Kevin Prieur ◽  
Daniel Durox ◽  
Thierry Schuller ◽  
Sébastien Candel

This article reports experiments carried out in the MICCA-spray combustor developed at EM2C laboratory. This system comprises 16 swirl spray injectors. Liquid n-heptane is injected by simplex atomizers. The combustion chamber is formed by two cylindrical quartz tubes allowing full optical access to the flame region and it is equipped with 12 pressure sensors recording signals in the plenum and chamber. A high-speed camera provides images of the flames and photomultipliers record the light intensity from different flames. For certain operating conditions, the system exhibits well defined instabilities coupled by the first azimuthal mode of the chamber at a frequency of 750 Hz. These instabilities occur in the form of bursts. Examination of the pressure and the light intensity signals gives access to the acoustic energy source term. Analysis of the phase fluctuations between the two signals is carried out using cross-spectral analysis. At limit cycle, large pressure fluctuations of 5000 Pa are reached, and these levels persist over a finite period of time. Analysis of the signals using the spin ratio indicates that the standing mode is predominant. Flame dynamics at the pressure antinodal line reveals a strong longitudinal pulsation with heat release rate oscillations in phase and increasing linearly with the acoustic pressure for every oscillation levels. At the pressure nodal line, the flames are subjected to large transverse velocity fluctuations leading to a transverse motion of the flames and partial blow-off. Scenarios and modeling elements are developed to interpret these features.


Author(s):  
Benjamin Pardowitz ◽  
Ulf Tapken ◽  
Lars Neuhaus ◽  
Lars Enghardt

Rotating instability (RI) occurs at off-design conditions in axial compressors, predominantly in rotor configurations with large tip clearances. Characteristic spectral signatures with side-by-side peaks below the blade passing frequency (BPF) are typically referred to RI located in the clearance region next to the leading edge (LE). Each peak can be assigned to a dominant circumferential mode. RI is the source of the clearance noise (CN) and an indicator for critical operating conditions. Earlier studies at an annular cascade pointed out that RI modes of different circumferential orders occur stochastically distributed in time and independently from each other, which is contradictory to existing explanations of RI. Purpose of the present study is to verify this generally with regard to axial rotor configurations. Experiments were conducted on a laboratory axial fan stage mainly using unsteady pressure measurements in a sensor ring near the rotor LE. A mode decomposition based on cross spectral matrices was used to analyze the spectral and modal RI patterns upstream of the rotor. Additionally, a time-resolved analysis based on a spatial discrete-Fourier-transform (DFT) was applied to clarify the temporal characteristics of the RI modes and their potential interrelations. The results and a comparison with the previous findings on the annular cascade corroborate a new hypothesis about the basic RI mechanism. This hypothesis implies that instability waves of different wavelengths are generated stochastically in a shear layer resulting from a backflow in the tip clearance region.


Author(s):  
A.V. Tyurin ◽  
A.V. Burmistrov ◽  
A.A. Raykov ◽  
S.I. Salikeev

This paper presents an analysis of the indicator power of an oil-free scroll vacuum pump based on the indicator diagrams obtained through high-speed pressure sensors. These values are compared with the results of calculations using a mathematical model of the pump working process. It is shown that the divergence of the calculated results and experimental values does not exceed 4%, which confirms the adequacy of the developed mathematical model. The total power of the scroll pump exceeds the indicator power by more than 2 times due to the friction losses between the face seals and disks of the reciprocal scroll elements, friction losses in the stuffing box seals and rolling bearings, as well as due to the coefficient of efficiency of the motor. The influence of the radial clearance between the scroll elements on the power consumption is considered. It is shown that at low pressures nearing the ultimate pressure, the power increases with the increased clearance, while at inlet pressures exceeding 40 kPa it decreases. The performed analysis can be used for selecting the optimal geometrical parameters of the scroll elements and increasing power efficiency of the pump depending on specific operating conditions.


2011 ◽  
Vol 94-96 ◽  
pp. 1967-1970
Author(s):  
Chao Hui Zhou ◽  
Yuan Gui Mei

With the speed-up of subway, the discomfort problem of passengers caused by pressure waves becomes more and more serious. The prediction method of the pressure waves based on the one-dimensional unsteady compressible non-homentropic flow model and the method of characteristics is introduced, and the program is developed which can be used to calculate the pressure waves not only produced by single train passing through subway tunnel with airshafts, but also produced when the train starts or stops. On this base, the influence of the train speed and the cross-section area of airshafts to the comfort of passengers in the subway is researched. All these work provides the foundation for the development of the one-dimensional unsteady flow prediction method for pressure waves produced by the train passing through subway tunnel.


Author(s):  
S. E. Gorrell ◽  
P. M. Russler

The stall inception process in high-speed compressor components is important to understand in order to increase stage loading while maintaining stall margin. This paper presents the results of an in depth experimental investigation on the stall inception of a two stage, high-speed, low aspect ratio fan that is representative of current operational commercial and military fan technology. High-response static pressure measurements are presented which detail the stall inception process of the fan under various operating conditions. These conditions include: varied corrected speeds, a smooth case, a circumferential groove casing treatment, and a recirculating cavity casing treatment. Stage pressure characteristics and radial pressure ratio profiles are presented for the different operating conditions. The stage performance data, together with the static pressure data, are analyzed to provide a clear and thorough understanding of the stall inception process and how the process may vary under different conditions. Experimental results show that a stage may stall on the positive, neutral, or negative sloped part of the pressure characteristic. The three casing treatments had a significant effect on the rotor tip flow and these variations changed the stall inception path of the fan. Stall inception was characterized by the formation of a stall inception cell which grew to fully developed rotating stall. Properties affected by the changing tip flow include the stall inception duration, stall inception cell frequency, existence of modal waves, duration of modal waves, and modal wave frequency. In some instances modal waves appear to play a role in stall inception, in others they do not.


1994 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. L. Amulfi ◽  
D. Micheli ◽  
P. Pinamonti

The paper presents the results of an experimental investigation on a four-stage centrifugal blower, having the aim of obtaining an accurate description of the flow field behind the impellers in several operative conditions and for different geometrical configurations. Actually, the test plant allows to change the turbomachinery characteristics assembling one, two, three or four stages and three different types of diffusers. In this first research step, the blower has been tested in the four-stage vaneless diffuser configuration. The unsteady flow field behind the impellers and in the diffusers has been measured by means of a hot-wire anemometer. A Phase Locked Ensemble Averaging Technique has been utilised to obtain the relative flow field from the instantaneous signals of the stationary hot-wire probes. Several detailed measurements sets have been performed using both single and crossed hot-wire probe, to obtain the velocity vectors and turbulence trends, just behind the blower impellers and in several radial positions of the vaneless diffusers. These measurements have been done at different flow rate conditions, covering unsteady flow rate phenomena (rotating stall) too. The results obtained allowed to get a detailed flow field analysis in the multistage centrifugal blower, in relation to the geometrical configuration and to the differing operating conditions.


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