scholarly journals Effects of Stator Indexing on Performance in a Low Speed Multistage Axial Compressor

Author(s):  
Wendy S. Barankiewicz ◽  
Michael D. Hathaway

The results of an experimental investigation to determine the impact of stator row indexing or clocking on multistage axial compressor performance are presented. Testing was conducted in the NASA Lewis Research Center’s Four-Stage Axial Compressor Facility. The impact of stator row indexing on both the overall and stator 3 blade element performance is presented for both the peak efficiency and peak pressure operating conditions. The change in overall performance due to stator indexing is 0.2% for both operating conditions. Indexing resulted in a 5% change in stator 3 mass averaged loss coefficient at the peak efficiency condition and a 10% change at the peak pressure condition. Since the mass-averaged stator 3 loss coefficient is on the order of 7%, the changes in loss coefficient due to indexing are on the order of 0.35–0.7%. These changes are considered to be small and are of the same order of magnitude as the passage-to-passage differences in loss coefficient due to manufacturing and assembly tolerances in the test compressor. The effects of stator-stator wake interactions are also shown and indicate that for rows with unequal blade counts it may be necessary to survey across more than one blade row pitch for accurate blade row performance measurements.

Author(s):  
Milan Banjac ◽  
Milan V. Petrovic ◽  
Alexander Wiedermann

A comparison between two different methods for aerodynamic calculation of multistage axial compressors is presented. Results obtained using classical 2D through-flow calculations were compared with CFD results for several test cases, including various subsonic and supersonic multistage axial compressors with different geometric configurations and stage operating parameters. Calculated flow fields were compared in terms of overall compressor performances, individual blade row operation parameters and spanwise distributions of different flow variables. Nominal and off-design compressor operating conditions were analyzed and all the results were compared with experimental data. Accuracy, advantages and differences between individual methods are discussed.


2020 ◽  
Vol 197 ◽  
pp. 11007
Author(s):  
Nicola Casari ◽  
Michele Pinelli ◽  
Pier Ruggero Spina ◽  
Alessio Suman ◽  
Alessandro Vulpio

The study of the adhesion of micro sized particles to gas turbine internal surfaces, commonly known as gas turbine fouling, has gained increasing attention in the last years due to its dramatic effect on machine performance and reliability. On-field fouling analysis is mostly related to visual inspections during overhaul and/or programmed stops, which are performed, in particular, when gas turbine performance degradation falls under predetermined thresholds. However, these analyses, even if performed in the most complete as possible way, are rarely (or never) related to the conditions under which the gas turbine contamination takes place since the affecting parameters are difficult or even impossible to be adequately monitored. In the present work, a small scale multistage axial compressor is used to experimentally simulate the fouling phenomenon. The test rig allows the accurate control of the most relevant operating parameters which influence the fouling phenomenon. The compressor performance loss due to particle contamination has been quantitatively assessed. Soot particles appear stickier, especially in the presence of high humidity, and represent the most harmful operating conditions for the compressor unit. The deposits on the stator vanes and the rotor blades have been detected and post-processed, highlighting the most affected regions of each compressor stage employing an image analysis package tool.


2019 ◽  
Vol 123 (1261) ◽  
pp. 356-377
Author(s):  
F. Figaschewsky ◽  
A. Kühhorn ◽  
B. Beirow ◽  
T. Giersch ◽  
S. Schrape

ABSTRACTThis paper aims at contributing to a better understanding of the effect of Tyler–Sofrin Modes (TSMs) on forced vibration responses by analysing a 4.5-stage research axial compressor rig. The first part starts with a brief review of the involved physical mechanisms and necessary prerequisites for the generation of TSMs in multistage engines. This review is supported by unsteady CFD simulations of a quasi 2D section of the studied engine. It is shown that the amplitude increasing effect due to mistuning can be further amplified by the presence of TSMs. Furthermore, the sensitivity with respect to the structural coupling of the blades and the damping as well as the shape of the expected envelope is analysed.The second part deals with the Rotor 2 blisk of the research compressor rig. The resonance of a higher blade mode with the engine order of the upstream stator is studied in two different flow conditions realised by different variable stator vane (VSV) schedules which allows to separate the influence of TSMs from the impact of mistuning. A subset of nominal system modes representation of the rotor is used to describe its mistuned vibration behaviour, and unsteady CFD simulations are used to characterise the present strength of the TSMs in the particular operating conditions. Measured maximum amplitude vs blade pattern and frequency response functions are compared against the predictions of the aeromechanical models in order to assess the strength of the TSMs as well as its influence on vibration levels.


1948 ◽  
Vol 159 (1) ◽  
pp. 255-268 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. D. S. Carter

It has long been known that the energy losses occurring in an axial compressor or turbine cannot be fully accounted for by the skin-friction losses on the blades and annulus walls. The difference, usually termed secondary loss, is attributed to miscellaneous secondary flows which take place in the blade row. These flows both cause losses in themselves and modify the operating conditions of the individual blade sections, to the detriment of the overall performance. This lecture analyses the three-dimensional flow in axial compressors and turbines, so that, by appreciation of the factors involved, possible methods of improving the performance can readily be investigated. The origin of secondary flow is first examined for the simple case of a straight cascade. The physical nature of the flow, and theories which enable quantitative estimates to be made, are discussed at some length. Following this, the three-dimensional flow in an annulus with a stationary blade row is examined, and, among other things, the influence of radial equilibrium on the flow pattern is noted. All physical restrictions are then removed, and the major factors governing the three-dimensional flow in an actual machine are investigated as far as is possible with existing information, particular attention being paid to the influence of a non-uniform velocity profile, tip clearance, shrouding, and boundary layer displacement. Finally the various empirical factors used in design are discussed, and the relationships between them established.


Author(s):  
Lennard Helmers ◽  
Jens Klingmann

Steady flow in axial one-stage turbines is assessed numerically and experimentally. The simulations are performed on coarse meshes using a standard numerical approach (3D, steady state, kε-turbulence model, wall function at solid boundaries). In order to allow for conclusions drawn from these rapid numerical studies, the approach was compared with an explicit LDA (Laser Doppler anemometry) mapping of the velocity field downstream the rotor on a representative turbine stage. A two-component LDA system allowed for measurements of axial and tangential velocity components at varying depth (radius) in the flow channel, Measurements thus correspond to a full plane at constant axial position in the rotating frame of reference of the rotor. Comparison between LDA velocity mapping and CFD results shows good agreement. A series of subsequent simulations is thus used to judge the impact of varied blade/stage design parameters. Two turbine layouts are defined for identical operating conditions and shaft power. The flow in the unshrouded rotor blade row is analyzed for the influence of varying tip clearance size and the dependency on stage velocity triangles. – Known correlations for tip clearance losses (typically used in mean line predictions) are used, though the blade row geometry considered is beyond the limits the correlations are intended for. The absolute loss level found in CFD simulations differs significantly from what is expected when using loss correlations. Still the variation with tip gap size is predicted well by some of the investigated models. As dependency of tip clearance losses on stage velocity triangles is considered, none of the tested correlations gives results consistent with the numerical simulations. The use of standard correlations ‘beyond the limits’ is thus considered to introduce high uncertainty. Due to the good consistency between LDA and numerical results, the conclusions are considered to be valid for stage designs similar to the ones analyzed.


Author(s):  
Reema Kundu ◽  
J. V. R. Prasad ◽  
Yedidia Neumeier

An unsteady one-dimensional dynamic model has been developed at Georgia Tech to investigate the impact of stage characteristics as well as load distribution on the compression and expansion waves that develop prior to a surge event in a multistage axial compressor. In the developed model, each of the blade rows is replaced by a duct of varying cross-sectional area with force and work source terms. The source terms model the force and energy imparted by a blade row to the working fluid. The modeling assumes the flow to be inviscid, unsteady, compressible and axisymmetric. While rotating stall cannot be explicitly modeled in a 1D mean-line method, the effect of rotating stall can be captured by a judicious choice of source terms that reflects the loss of pumping capability of a stage. Conservation of mass, momentum and energy are applied to an elemental control volume resulting in one-dimensional quasi-linear Euler system of equations. A non-uniform grid and the second-order central difference Kurganov-Tadmor (KT) scheme are used to discretize the one-dimensional computational domain. The resulting ODEs are solved with an explicit second order Runge-Kutta solver. A throttle schedule is used to introduce perturbations at a selected operating condition in order to study flow oscillations that can lead to a stall event. The current study is aimed at validation of the developed flow solver using an industrial compressor database. Further, the current study is aimed at understanding the interaction between the stages with regards to pressure oscillations leading to stall.


Author(s):  
Lorenzo Cozzi ◽  
Filippo Rubechini ◽  
Michele Marconcini ◽  
Andrea Arnone ◽  
Pio Astrua ◽  
...  

Multistage axial compressors have always been a great challenge for designers since the flow within these kind of machines, subjected to severe diffusion, is usually characterized by complex and widely developed 3D structures, especially next to the endwalls. The development of reliable numerical tools capable of providing an accurate prediction of the overall machine performance is one of the main research focus areas in the multistage axial compressor field. This paper is intended to present the strategy used to run numerical simulations on compressors achieved by the collaboration between the University of Florence and Ansaldo Energia. All peculiar aspects of the numerical setup are introduced, such as rotor/stator tip clearance modelling, simplified shroud leakage model, gas and turbulence models. Special attention is payed to the mixing planes adopted for steady-state computations because this is a crucial aspect of modern heavy-duty transonic multistage axial compressors. In fact, these machines are characterized by small inter-row axial gaps and transonic flow in front stages, which both may affect non-reflectiveness and fluxes conservation across mixing planes. Moreover, the high stage count may lead to conservation issues of the main flow properties form inlet to outlet boundaries. Finally, the likely occurrence of partspan flow reversal in the endwall regions affects the robustness of non-reflecting mixing plane models. The numerical setup has been validated on an existing machine produced and experimentally tested by Ansaldo Energia. In order to evaluate the impact on performance prediction of the mixing planes introduced in the steady-state computation, un-steady simulations of the whole compressor have been performed at different operating conditions. These calculations have been carried out both at the compressor design point and close to the surge-line to evaluate the effect of rotor/stator interaction along the compressor working line.


Author(s):  
Arathi K. Gopinath ◽  
Giridhar Jothiprasad ◽  
Trevor Wood ◽  
Le Tran

The impact of wet compression technology on compressor performance is studied using a coupled water-evaporation-pitch-line numerical model. The model uses an iterative approach to compute the modified flow conditions at blade-row stations due to inter-stage evaporation of water droplets introduced at the compressor inlet. The evaporation rate predicted by the model is compared with experimental data for stationary droplets in a duct. Performance predictions are compared with data for a GE-proprietary compressor. Study of various water droplet sizes and various water-to-air mass ratios is discussed.


1996 ◽  
Vol 118 (2) ◽  
pp. 218-229 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. L. Suder ◽  
M. L. Celestina

Experimental and computational techniques are used to investigate tip clearance flows in a transonic axial compressor rotor at design and part-speed conditions. Laser anemometer data acquired in the endwall region are presented for operating conditions near peak efficiency and near stall at 100 percent design speed and at near peak efficiency at 60 percent design speed. The role of the passage shock/leakage vortex interaction in generating endwall blockage is discussed. As a result of the shock/vortex interaction at design speed, the radial influence of the tip clearance flow extends to 20 times the physical tip clearance height. At part speed, in the absence of the shock, the radial extent is only five times the tip clearance height. Both measurements and analysis indicate that under part-speed operating conditions a second vortex, which does not originate from the tip leakage flow, forms in the end-wall region within the blade passage and exits the passage near midpitch. Mixing of the leakage vortex with the primary flow downstream of the rotor at both design and part-speed conditions is also discussed.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document