Behaviors of a Hole-Pattern Seal With Wet-Gas

2021 ◽  
Vol 143 (12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Min Zhang ◽  
Dara W. Childs
Keyword(s):  
Volume Fraction ◽  
Excitation Frequency ◽  
System Stability ◽  
Liquid Volume ◽  
Running Speed ◽  
Liquid Volume Fraction ◽  
Low Frequencies ◽  
Air Stream ◽  
Wet Gas ◽  
Mass Flowrate

Abstract Hole-pattern (HP) seals are widely used in centrifugal compressors to control leakage. This paper investigates the behaviors of an HP with wet-gas mixtures. The mixture consists of oil and air with inlet liquid volume fraction (LVF) up to 8%. Injecting oil into the air stream increases the leakage mass flowrate. Direct stiffness K is frequency-dependent and increases with increasing excitation frequency Ω. Injecting oil into the airflow makes this stiffening effect more pronounced. At low frequencies, increasing inlet LVF shows no appreciable impact on K; however, as Ω increases, the effects of changing LVF become more pronounced; i.e., at high frequencies, increasing LVF increases K. The effective damping Ceff value at half of the running speed is indicative of the system stability because many compressor rotors frequently show instabilities at ∼50% of the running speed. At 50% of the running speed, Ceff is positive, and it increases with increasing inlet LVF. Predictions based on San Andrés's (2011) homogenous-mixture bulk-flow model show a good agreement with test results for leakage mass flowrate, K, and the Ceff value near 50% of the running speed. When Ω = 0.5ω, the predicted value of Ceff is smaller than the measured value by ∼12.5%, giving a safe margin for the compressor design.

A Study for Rotordynamic and Leakage Characteristics of a Long-Honeycomb Seal With Two-Phase, Mainly Air Mixtures

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Min Zhang ◽  
Dara W. Childs
Keyword(s):  
Volume Fraction ◽  
Silicone Oil ◽  
Pressure Ratio ◽  
Excitation Frequency ◽  
System Stability ◽  
Test Fluid ◽  
Liquid Volume ◽  
Liquid Volume Fraction ◽  
Honeycomb Seal ◽  
The Impact

Abstract This paper investigates the impact of the oil (silicone oil PSF-5cSt) presence in the air on the leakage and rotordynamic characteristics of a long-honeycomb seal with length-to-diameter ratio L/D = 0.748 and diameter D = 114.656 mm. Tests are carried out with inlet pressure Pi = 70.7 bars, pressure ratio PR = 0.35 and 0.25, inlet liquid volume fraction LVF = 0%, 3.5%, and 7%, and shaft speed ω = 10, 15, and 20 krpm. During the tests, the seal is centered. Test results show that leakage mass flow rate ṁ increases (as expected) as inlet LVF increases. Increasing inlet LVF makes direct stiffness K increase more rapidly with increasing excitation frequency Ω. Increasing inlet LVF has a negligible effect on K at low Ω values, but increases K at high Ω values. The value of effective damping Ceff at about 0.5ω is an indicator to the system stability since an unstable centrifugal compressor rotor can precess at about 0.5ω. Increasing inlet LVF increases the value of Ceff at about 0.5ω, reducing the possibility of sub-synchronous vibrations SSVs at about 0.5ω. San Andrés’s model is used to produce predictions. The model assumes that the test fluid in the seal clearance is an isothermal-homogenous mixture. The model adequately predicts ṁ, K, and the value of Ceff at about 0.5ω.

A Study for Rotordynamic and Leakage Characteristics of a Long-Honeycomb Seal With Two-Phase, Mainly Air Mixtures

2019 ◽  
Vol 142 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Min Zhang ◽  
Dara W. Childs
Keyword(s):  
Volume Fraction ◽  
Silicone Oil ◽  
Pressure Ratio ◽  
Excitation Frequency ◽  
System Stability ◽  
Test Fluid ◽  
Liquid Volume ◽  
Liquid Volume Fraction ◽  
Honeycomb Seal ◽  
The Impact

Abstract This paper investigates the impact of the oil (silicone oil PSF-5cSt) presence in the air on the leakage and rotordynamic characteristics of a long-honeycomb seal with length-to-diameter ratio L/D = 0.748 and diameter D = 114.656 mm. Tests are carried out with inlet pressure Pi = 70.7 bars, pressure ratio (PR) = 0.35 and 0.25, inlet liquid volume fraction (LVF) = 0%, 3.5%, and 7%, and shaft speed ω = 10, 15, and 20 krpm. During the tests, the seal is centered. Test results show that leakage mass flow rate m˙ increases (as expected) as inlet LVF increases. Increasing inlet LVF makes direct stiffness K increase more rapidly with increasing excitation frequency Ω. Increasing inlet LVF has a negligible effect on K at low Ω values, but increases K at high Ω values. The value of effective damping Ceff at about 0.5ω is an indicator to the system stability since an unstable centrifugal compressor rotor can precess at about 0.5ω. Increasing inlet LVF increases the value of Ceff at about 0.5ω, reducing the possibility of subsynchronous vibrations (SSVs) at about 0.5ω. San Andrés's model is used to produce predictions. The model assumes that the test fluid in the seal clearance is an isothermal-homogenous mixture. The model adequately predicts m˙, K, and the value of Ceff at about 0.5ω.

CFD Applied for the Identification of Stiffness and Damping Properties for Smooth Annular Turbomachinery Seals in Multiphase Flow

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Jauernik Voigt ◽  
Piero Iudiciani ◽  
Kenny Krogh Nielsen ◽  
Ilmar F. Santos
Keyword(s):  
Multiphase Flow ◽  
Volume Fraction ◽  
Bubbly Flow ◽  
Primary Phase ◽  
Test Facility ◽  
Liquid Volume ◽  
Shear Stresses ◽  
Liquid Volume Fraction ◽  
Wet Gas ◽  
Stiffness And Damping

This paper presents a first venture into quantifying stiffness and damping coefficients for turbomachinery seals in multiphase flow using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). The study focusses on the simplest seal type: the smooth annular seal. The investigation is conducted for both wet-gas and bubbly flow regimes in which the primary phase is gas (air) and liquid (water), respectively. For the wet gas regime three different Liquid Volume Fraction (LVF) conditions are included in the study; 5%, 3% and 0%. Similarly for the bubbly flow regime three Gas Volume Fractions (GVF) conditions are included; 5%, 3% and 0%. An Eulerian-Eulerian modelling approach is taken, applying an inhomogeneous model, where the primary phase is treated as continuous and the secondary phase is included as dispersed. The Instationary Perturbation Method (IPM) is applied to identify the rotordynamic coefficients, in which the rotor is harmonically perturbed, and forces acting on the rotor are quantified through integration of the pressure and shear stresses. The perturbation is repeated for different frequencies to uncover any frequency dependence. The results presented in this paper are intended as an initial comparison basis for the experimental results to be obtained by applying the multiphase seal test facility currently in development, as part of a collaboration between Lloyd’s Register Consulting, the Technical University of Denmark, OneSubsea, TOTAL and Statoil.

scholarly journals A magnetic resonance study of temperature-dependent microstructural evolution and self-diffusion of water in Arctic first-year sea ice

2005 ◽  
Vol 40 ◽  
pp. 179-184 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Bock ◽  
H. Eicken
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Sea Ice ◽  
Microstructural Evolution ◽  
Volume Fraction ◽  
Bulk Liquid ◽  
Liquid Volume ◽  
Liquid Volume Fraction ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Pore Connectivity ◽  
Pore Number

AbstractThe microstructural evolution of brine inclusions in granular and columnar sea ice has been investigated through magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for temperatures between –28 and –3˚C. Thin-section and salinity measurements were completed on core samples obtained from winter sea ice near Barrow, Alaska, USA. Subsamples of granular (2–5cm depth in core) and columnar sea ice (20–23 cm depth) were investigated with morphological spin-echo and diffusion-weighted imaging in a Bruker 4.7T MRI system operating at field gradients of 200 mTm–1 at temperatures of approximately –28, –15, –6 and –3˚C. Average linear pore dimensions range from 0.2 to 1 mm and increase with bulk liquid volume fraction as temperatures rise from –15 to –3˚C. Granular ice pores are significantly larger than columnar ice pores and exhibit a higher degree of connectivity. No evidence is found of strongly non-linear increases in pore connectivity based on the MRI data. This might be explained by shortcomings in resolution, sensitivity and lack of truly three-dimensional data, differences between laboratory and field conditions or the absence of a percolation transition. Pore connectivity increases between –6 and –3˚C. Pore-number densities average at 1.4±1.2mm–2. The pore-number density distribution as a function of cross-sectional area conforms with power-law and lognormal distributions previously identified, although significant variations occur as a function of ice type and temperature. At low temperatures (< –26˚C), pore sizes were estimated from 1H self-diffusivity measurements, with self-diffusivity lower by up to an order of magnitude than in the free liquid. Analysis of diffusional length scales suggests characteristic pore dimensions of <1 μm at < –26˚C.

Leakage, Drag Power and Rotordynamic Force Coefficients of an Air in Oil (Wet) Annular Seal

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis San Andrés ◽  
Xueliang Lu
Keyword(s):  
Test Data ◽  
Volume Fraction ◽  
Damping Coefficient ◽  
Liquid Volume ◽  
Pure Liquid ◽  
Test Results ◽  
Liquid Volume Fraction ◽  
Force Coefficients ◽  
Damping Coefficients ◽  
Annular Seal

Wet gas compression systems and multiphase pumps are enabling technologies for the deep sea oil and gas industry. This extreme environment determines both machine types have to handle mixtures with a gas in liquid volume fraction (GVF) varying over a wide range (0 to 1). The gas (or liquid) content affects the system pumping (or compression) efficiency and reliability, and places a penalty in leakage and rotordynamic performance in secondary flow components, namely seals. In 2015, tests were conducted with a short length smooth surface annular seal (L/D = 0.36, radial clearance = 0.127 mm) operating with an oil in air mixture whose liquid volume fraction (LVF) varied to 4%. The test results with a stationary journal show the dramatic effect of a few droplets of liquid on the production of large damping coefficients. This paper presents further measurements and predictions of leakage, drag power, and rotordynamic force coefficients conducted with the same test seal and a rotating journal. The seal is supplied with a mixture (air in ISO VG 10 oil), varying from a pure liquid to an inlet GVF = 0.9 (mostly gas), a typical range in multiphase pumps. For operation with a supply pressure (Ps) up to 3.5 bar (a), discharge pressure (Pa) = 1 bar (a), and various shaft speed (Ω) to 3.5 krpm (ΩR = 23.3 m/s), the flow is laminar with either a pure oil or a mixture. As the inlet GVF increases to 0.9 the mass flow rate and drag power decrease monotonically by 25% and 85% when compared to the pure liquid case, respectively. For operation with Ps = 2.5 bar (a) and Ω to 3.5 krpm, dynamic load tests with frequency 0 < ω < 110 Hz are conducted to procure rotordynamic force coefficients. A direct stiffness (K), an added mass (M) and a viscous damping coefficient (C) represent well the seal lubricated with a pure oil. For tests with a mixture (GVFmax = 0.9), the seal dynamic complex stiffness Re(H) increases with whirl frequency (ω); that is, Re(H) differs from (K-ω2M). Both the seal cross coupled stiffnesses (KXY and −KYX) and direct damping coefficients (CXX and CYY) decrease by approximately 75% as the inlet GVF increases to 0.9. The finding reveals that the frequency at which the effective damping coefficient (CXXeff = CXX-KXY/ω) changes from negative to positive (i.e., a crossover frequency) drops from 50% of the rotor speed (ω = 1/2 Ω) for a seal with pure oil to a lesser magnitude for operation with a mixture. Predictions for leakage and drag power based on a homogeneous bulk flow model match well the test data for operation with inlet GVF up to 0.9. Predicted force coefficients correlate well with the test data for mixtures with GVF up to 0.6. For a mixture with a larger GVF, the model under predicts the direct damping coefficients by as much as 40%. The tests also reveal the appearance of a self-excited seal motion with a low frequency; its amplitude and broad band frequency (centered at around ∼12 Hz) persist and increase as the gas content in the mixture increase. The test results show that an accurate quantification of wet seals dynamic force response is necessary for the design of robust subsea flow assurance systems.

VOFTools 3.2: Added VOF functionality to initialize the liquid volume fraction in general convex cells

2019 ◽  
Vol 245 ◽  
pp. 106859
Author(s):  
Joaquín López ◽  
Julio Hernández ◽  
Pablo Gómez ◽  
Claudio Zanzi ◽  
Rosendo Zamora
Keyword(s):  
Volume Fraction ◽  
Liquid Volume ◽  
Liquid Volume Fraction ◽  
General Convex

scholarly journals Development of limited-view tomography for measurement of Spray G plume direction and liquid volume fraction

2020 ◽  
Vol 61 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lukas Weiss ◽  
Michael Wensing ◽  
Joonsik Hwang ◽  
Lyle M. Pickett ◽  
Scott A. Skeen
Keyword(s):  
Volume Fraction ◽  
Liquid Volume ◽  
Liquid Volume Fraction

scholarly journals Computational characterization of the secondary droplets formed during the impingement of a train of ethanol drops

2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 248-262 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Markt ◽  
Ashish Pathak ◽  
Mehdi Raessi ◽  
Seong-Young Lee ◽  
Roberto Torelli
Keyword(s):  
Volume Fraction ◽  
Direct Injection ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Predictive Ability ◽  
Droplet Formation ◽  
Liquid Volume ◽  
Secondary Droplet ◽  
Liquid Volume Fraction ◽  
Secondary Droplets ◽  
Insight Into

This article uniquely characterizes the secondary droplets formed during the impingement of a train of ethanol drops, using three-dimensional direct numerical simulations performed under conditions studied experimentally by Yarin and Weiss. Our numerical results have been previously validated against experimental data demonstrating the ability to accurately capture the splashing dynamics. In this work, the predictive ability of the model is leveraged to gain further insight into secondary droplet formation. We present a robust post-processing algorithm, which scrutinizes the liquid volume fraction field in the volume-of-fluid method and quantifies the number, volume and velocity of secondary droplets. The high-resolution computational simulations enable secondary droplet characterization within close proximity of the impingement point at small length and time scales, which is extremely challenging to achieve experimentally. By studying the temporal evolution of secondary droplet formation, direct connections are made between liquid structures seen in the simulation and the instantaneous distribution of secondary droplets, leading to detailed insight into the instability-driven breakup process of lamellae. Time-averaged secondary droplet characteristics are also studied to describe the global distribution of secondary droplets. Such analysis is vital to understanding fuel drop impingement in direct injection engines, facilitating the development of highly accurate spray–wall interaction models for use in Lagrangian solvers.

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