Detailed Study of Pulsating Flow Performance in a Mixed Flow Turbocharger Turbine

2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aaron Costall ◽  
Ricardo F. Martinez-Botas ◽  
Dean Palfreyman
Keyword(s):  
Flow Field ◽  
Combustion Engine ◽  
Flow Direction ◽  
Flow Characteristics ◽  
Pulsating Flow ◽  
Turbine Stage ◽  
Complex Flow ◽  
Pulse Period ◽  
Pulse Profile ◽  
Direction Control

Automotive turbocharger turbines experience a highly unsteady and pulsating flow field due to the abrupt operation of the exhaust valves in a reciprocating internal combustion engine. Previous work has demonstrated and validated against experiment a computational model of a turbine stage under such conditions. The same model is used in the present paper to examine in greater detail the complex flow characteristics observed. The pulsating inlet condition results in a highly disturbed flow field in the turbine stage, the main features of which have already been identified. The effect of the passing of the blades at the volute tongue is observed, and the fluctuating velocity field in the blade passages is seen to lead to poor flow direction control at the turbine inlet and exit. The turbine geometry, calculated for steady flow, is forced to operate away from design conditions for most of the pulse period. Through a detailed analysis of the intricate flow field features at varying instants during the pulse period, this paper highlights areas of the blade geometry and periods in the pulse profile that should be investigated further, such that the integrated performance across the entire pulse cycle can be improved.

scholarly journals Computational study on the aerodynamics of a long-shrouded contra-rotating rotor in hover

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
pp. 175682931983368
Author(s):  
Chao Huo ◽  
Peng Lv ◽  
Anbang Sun
Keyword(s):  
Flow Field ◽  
Opposite Direction ◽  
Computational Study ◽  
Flow Characteristics ◽  
The Other ◽  
Complex Flow ◽  
Sliding Mesh ◽  
Global Performance ◽  
Mesh Method ◽  
Downstream Flow

This paper aims to investigate the aerodynamics including the global performance and flow characteristics of a long-shrouded contra-rotating rotor by developing a full 3D RANS computation. Through validations by current experiments on the same shrouded contra-rotating rotor, the computation using sliding mesh method and the computational zone with an extended nozzle downstream flow field effectively works; the time-averaged solution of the unsteady computation reveals that more uniform flow presents after the downstream rotor, which implies that the rear rotor rotating at opposite direction greatly compensates and reduces the wake; the unsteady computations further explore the flow field throughout the whole system, along the span and around blade tips. Complex flow patterns including the vortices and their interactions are indicated around the blade roots and tips. For further identifying rotor configurations, the rotor–rotor distance and switching two rotor speeds were studied. The computation reveals that setting the second rotor backwards decreases the wake scale but increases its intensity in the downstream nozzle zone. However, for the effect of switching speeds, computations cannot precisely solve the flow when the rear rotor under the windmill because of the upstream rotor rotating much faster than the other one. All the phenomena from computations well implement the experimental observations.

The Pulsating Flow Field in a Mixed Flow Turbocharger Turbine: An Experimental and Computational Study

2005 ◽  
Vol 127 (1) ◽  
pp. 144-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Palfreyman ◽  
R. F. Martinez-Botas
Keyword(s):  
Flow Field ◽  
Computational Study ◽  
Field Measurements ◽  
Pulsating Flow ◽  
Computational Method ◽  
Numerical Code ◽  
Turbine Stage ◽  
Contour Plots ◽  
Opening And Closing ◽  
Exhaust Valves

The turbine stage of an automotive pulse system turbocharger is subjected to an unsteady pulsating flow field due to the rapid opening and closing of the reciprocating engine exhaust valves. This leads to a complex and highly disturbed flow field within the delivery volute and turbine passages, which results in an unusual “hysteresis” type performance characteristic. The aim of this paper is to investigate the flow field within the turbine stage under these representative conditions, using a computational method validated against experimental data. This paper is separated into two sections. The first deals with the validation of the numerical code and modeling approach. A mesh dependency study is undertaken with cell discretization ranging 200,000, 850,000, and 1,750,000 cells, where the accuracy is assessed through comparison with experimental performance and flow field measurements. The second part presents an investigation of the flow field under pulse conditions. Time accurate spectra of turbine performance and flow properties at various locations in the turbine stage are presented, as well as contour plots of velocity within a turbine passage at two critical positions during the pulse period.

The Pulsating Flow Field in a Mixed Flow Turbocharger Turbine: An Experimental and Computational Study

2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Palfreyman ◽  
R. F. Martinez-Botas
Keyword(s):  
Flow Field ◽  
Computational Study ◽  
Field Measurements ◽  
Pulsating Flow ◽  
Computational Method ◽  
Numerical Code ◽  
Turbine Stage ◽  
Contour Plots ◽  
Opening And Closing ◽  
Exhaust Valves

The turbine stage of an automotive pulse system turbocharger is subjected to an unsteady pulsating flow field due to the rapid opening and closing of the reciprocating engine exhaust valves. This leads to a complex and highly disturbed flow field within the delivery volute and turbine passages, which results in an unusual ‘hysteresis’ type performance characteristic. The aim of this paper is to investigate the flow field within the turbine stage under these representative conditions, using a computational method validated against experimental data. This paper is separated into two sections. The first deals with the validation of the numerical code and modeling approach. A mesh dependency study is undertaken with cell discretization ranging 200,000, 850,000 and 1,750,000 cells, where the accuracy is assessed through comparison with experimental performance and flow field measurements. The second part presents an investigation of the flow field under pulse conditions. Time accurate spectra of turbine performance and flow properties at various locations in the turbine stage are presented, as well as contour plots of velocity within a turbine passage at two critical positions during the pulse period.

Microfluidic Flow Control and Particle Transport Using Acoustically Actuated Bubbles in Teardrop Shaped Cavities

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Hashmi ◽  
Garrett Heiman ◽  
Gan Yu ◽  
Hyuck-Jin Kwon ◽  
Jie Xu
Keyword(s):  
Flow Field ◽  
Flow Control ◽  
Flow Direction ◽  
Complex Flow ◽  
Actuation Frequency ◽  
Microfluidic Flow ◽  
Flow Speeds ◽  
Acoustic Actuation ◽  
Induced Flow ◽  
A Chain

It is well known that a symmetric microstreaming flow field will present in the vicinity of an acoustically actuated bubble. In this study, we demonstrate that oscillating microbubbles confined in teardrop-shaped cavities can result in a break in the symmetry of a microstreaming flow field. The teardrop cavity controls the size and shape of the bubble, regulating the volume and therefore its resonance frequency. If actuated in an acoustic field, the induced flow field can then be turned on and off by changing the acoustic actuation frequency. By harnessing the flow field directing capabilities of symmetry breaks and the switching properties of selective excitation of microbubbles, we generate and characterize a microfluidic switch for directing flow direction. We also show that a chain of multiple teardrop-shaped cavities can be used as a transport mechanism for directing particles spatially at high flow speeds. Our results demonstrate that teardrop cavities have great potential in future lab-on-a-chip devices by providing simple solutions to complex flow circuits for temporal and spatial flow control.

PIV Measurement of Secondary Flow in a Rotating Two-Pass Cooling System With an Improved Sequencer Technique

2011 ◽  
Vol 134 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Elfert ◽  
Michael Schroll ◽  
Wolfgang Förster
Keyword(s):  
Flow Field ◽  
Secondary Flow ◽  
Cooling System ◽  
Flow Direction ◽  
Rotational Flow ◽  
Complex Flow ◽  
Reference Length ◽  
Rotation Numbers ◽  
Piv Measurement ◽  
Image Position

The flow field characteristics of a two-pass cooling system with an engine-similar layout have been investigated experimentally using the nonintrusive particle image velocimetry (PIV). It consists of a trapezoidal inlet duct, a nearly rectangular outlet duct, and a sharp 180 deg turn. The system has been investigated with smooth and ribbed walls. Ribs are applied on two opposite walls in a symmetric orientation inclined with an angle of 45 deg to the main flow direction. The applied rib layout is well proven and optimized with respect to heat transfer improvement versus pressure drop penalty. The system rotates about an axis orthogonal to its centerline. The configuration was analyzed with the planar two-component PIV technique, which is capable of obtaining complete maps of the instantaneous as well as the averaged flow field even at high levels of turbulence, which are typically found in sharp turns, in ribbed ducts, and, especially, in rotating ducts. In the past, a slip between motor and channel rotation causes additional non-negligible uncertainties during PIV measurements due to an unstable image position. These were caused by the working principle of the standard programmable sequencer unit used in combination with unsteady variations in the rotation speed. Therefore, a new sequencer was developed using FPGA-based hardware and software components from National Instruments (NI), which revealed a significant increase in the stability of the image position. Furthermore, general enhancements of the operability of the PIV system were achieved. The presented investigations of the secondary flow were conducted in stationary and, with the new sequencer technique applied, in rotating mode. Especially in the bend region, vortices with high local turbulence were found. The ribs also change the fluid motion as desired by generating additional vortices impinging the leading edge of the first pass. The flow is turbulent and isothermal; no buoyancy forces are active. The flow was investigated at a Reynolds number of Re=50,000, based on the reference length d (see Fig. 3). The rotation numbers are Ro=0.0 (nonrotating) and 0.1. Engine relevant rotation numbers are in order of 0.1 and higher. A reconstruction of some test rig components, especially the model mounting, has become necessary to reach higher values of the rotational speed compared with previous investigations such as the work of Elfert et al. (2008, “Detailed Flow Investigation Using PIV in a Rotating Square-Sectioned Two-Pass Cooling System With Ribbed Walls,” ASME Turbo Expo, Berlin, Germany, Jun. 9–13, Paper No. GT-2008-51183). This investigation is aimed to analyze the complex flow phenomena caused by the interaction of several vortices, generated by rotation, flow turning, or inclined wall ribs. The flow maps obtained with PIV are of good quality and high spatial resolution and therefore provide a test case for the development and validation of numerical flow simulation tools with special regard to the prediction of flow turbulence under the rotational flow regime, which is typical of turbomachinery. Future work will include the investigation of buoyancy effects to the rotational flow. This implicates wall heating, which results from the heater glass in order to provide transparent models.

EXPERIMENTAL AND NUMERICAL INVESTIGATION ON FLOW ANGLE CHARACTERISTICS OF AN AUTOMOTIVE MIXED FLOW TURBOCHARGER TURBINE

2015 ◽  
Vol 77 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
M. H. Padzillah ◽  
S. Rajoo ◽  
R. F. Martinez-Botas
Keyword(s):  
Flow Field ◽  
Combustion Engine ◽  
Leading Edge ◽  
Full Description ◽  
Complex Nature ◽  
Spanwise Direction ◽  
Angle Distribution ◽  
Turbine Stage ◽  
Flow Angle ◽  
Highly Efficient

To date, turbocharger remains as a key enabler towards highly efficient Internal Combustion Engine. Although the first turbocharger was patented more than 30 years ago, the design is still being improved, thus signifying its importance in modern vehicles. One of the key features that contribute to the challenges in designing highly efficient turbine is the complex nature of the flow field within the turbine stage itself. Experimental method could be used to extract parameters such as pressure and temperature traces but still unable to provide a full description of the flow field. Therefore, the use of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) in resolving this issue is necessary. Out of many feature of fluid flow in turbomachinery, the flow angle at rotor inlet plays significant role in determining turbine efficiency. However, due to geometrical complexity, even at optimum averaged incidence flow angle, there still exist variations that could impair the turbine ability to produce work. This research attempts to provide insight on the complexity of flow angle distribution within the turbocharger turbine stage. To achieve this aim, a numerical model of a full stage turbocharger turbine operating at 30000rpm under its optimum condition was developed. Results indicated that even though use of guide vanes has reduced flow angle fluctuations at mid-span of the rotor inlet from ±10° to only ±1°, significant variations still exist for velocity components in spanwise direction. This in turns effected the distribution of incidence flow angle at the rotor leading edge. In the current research, variation of incidence flow angle in spanwise direction is recorded to be as high as 60°.

PIV-Measurement of Secondary Flow in a Rotating Two-Pass Cooling System With an Improved Sequencer Technique

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Elfert ◽  
M. Schroll ◽  
W. Fo¨rster
Keyword(s):  
Flow Field ◽  
Secondary Flow ◽  
Cooling System ◽  
Flow Direction ◽  
Flow Simulation ◽  
Rotational Flow ◽  
Complex Flow ◽  
Reference Length ◽  
Piv Measurement ◽  
Image Position

The flow field characteristics of a two-pass cooling system with an engine-similar lay-out have been investigated experimentally using the non-intrusive Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV). It consists of a trapezoidal inlet duct, a nearly rectangular outlet duct, and a sharp 180 degree turn. The system has been investigated with smooth and ribbed walls. Ribs are applied on two opposite walls in a symmetric orientation inclined with an angle of 45 degrees to the main flow direction. The applied rib lay-out is well-proved and optimized with respect to heat transfer improvement versus pressure drop penalty. The system rotates about an axis orthogonal to its centreline. The configuration was analyzed with the planar two-component PIV technique (2C PIV), which is capable of obtaining complete maps of the instantaneous as well as the averaged flow field even at high levels of turbulence, which are typically found in sharp turns, in ribbed ducts and, especially, in rotating ducts. In the past, slip between motor and channel rotation causes additional not negligible uncertainties during PIV measurements due to unstable image position. These were caused by the working principle of the standard programmable sequencer unit used in combination with unsteady variations of the rotation speed. Therefore, a new sequencer was developed using FPGA-based hardware and software components from National Instruments which revealed a significant increase of the stability of the image position. Furthermore, general enhancements of the operability of the PIV system were achieved. The presented investigations of the secondary flow were conducted in stationary and, with the new sequencer technique applied, in rotating mode. Especially in the bend region vortices with high local turbulence were found. The ribs also change the fluid motion as desired by generating additional vortices impinging the leading edge of the first pass. The flow is turbulent and isothermal, no buoyancy forces are active. The flow was investigated at Reynolds number of Re = 50,000, based on the reference length d (see Fig. 3). The rotation number is Ro = 0 (non-rotating) and 0.1. Engine relevant rotation numbers are in order of 0.1 and higher. A reconstruction of some test rig components, especially the model mounting, has become necessary to reach higher values of the rotational speed compared to previous investigations like in Elfert [2008]. This investigation is aimed to analyze the complex flow phenomena caused by the interaction of several vortices, generated by rotation, flow turning or inclined wall ribs. The flow maps obtained with PIV are of good quality and high spatial resolution and therefore provide a test case for the development and validation of numerical flow simulation tools with special regard to prediction of flow turbulence under rotational flow regime as typical for turbomachinery. Future work will include the investigation of buoyancy effects to the rotational flow. This implicates wall heating which result from the heater glass in order to provide transparent models.

A Detailed Comparison on the Influence of Flow Unsteadiness Between the Vaned and Vaneless Mixed-Flow Turbocharger Turbine

2017 ◽  
Vol 140 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
M. H. Padzillah ◽  
S. Rajoo ◽  
R. F. Martinez-Botas
Keyword(s):  
Flow Field ◽  
Combustion Engine ◽  
Incidence Angle ◽  
Detailed Comparison ◽  
Pressure Profile ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Pulsating Flow ◽  
Mixed Flow ◽  
Field Level ◽  
Pulse Cycle

A turbocharger is a key enabler for lowering CO2 emission of an internal combustion engine (ICE) through the reutilization of the exhaust gas energy that would otherwise have been released to the ambient. In its actual operating conditions, a turbocharger turbine operates under highly pulsating flow due to the reciprocating nature of the ICE. Despite this, the turbocharger turbines are still designed using the standard steady-state approach due to the lack of understanding of the complex unsteady pressure and mass propagation within the stage. The application of guide vanes in a turbocharger turbine stage has increased the complexity of flow interactions regardless of whether the vanes are fixed or variable. Although it is enticing to assume that the performance of the vaned turbine is better than the one without (vaneless), there are currently no tangible evidences to support this claim, particularly during the actual pulsating flow operations. Therefore, this research looks into comparing the differences between the two turbine arrangements in terms of their performance at flow field level. For this purpose, a three-dimensional (3D) “full-stage” unsteady turbine computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models for both volutes are constructed and validated against the experimental data. These models are subject to identical instantaneous inlet pressure profile of 60 Hz, which is equivalent to an actual three-cylinder four-stroke engine rotating at 2400 rpm. A similar 95.14 mm diameter mixed-flow turbine rotor rotating at 48,000 rpm is used for both models to enable direct comparison. The complete validation exercises for both steady and unsteady flow conditions are also presented. Results have indicated that neither vaned nor vaneless turbine is capable of maintaining constant efficiency throughout the pulse cycle. Despite that, the vaneless turbine indicated better performance during peak power instances. This work also showed that the pulsating pressure at the turbine inlet affected the vaned and vaneless turbines differently at the flow field level. Furthermore, results also indicated that both the turbines matched its optimum incidence angle for only a fraction of pulse cycle, which is unfavorable.

Study of Swirling Air Flow Characteristics in a Lean Direct Injection Combustor

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dipanjay Dewanji ◽  
Arvind G. Rao ◽  
Mathieu Pourquie ◽  
Jos P. van Buijtenen
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Model ◽  
Flow Field ◽  
Swirling Flow ◽  
Direct Injection ◽  
Flow Characteristics ◽  
Single Element ◽  
Complex Flow ◽  
Flow Passage ◽  
Lean Direct Injection ◽  
Entire Flow

This paper investigates the non-reacting aerodynamic flow characteristics in Lean Direct Injection (LDI) combustors. The RANS modeling is used to simulate the turbulent, non-reacting, and confined flow field associated with a single-element and a nine-element LDI combustor. The results obtained from the simulation are compared with some experimental data available in literature. The numerical model, which is in accordance with an experimental combustor, consists of an air swirler with 6 helical axial vanes of 60 degree vane angle and a converging-diverging duct, extending in a square flame tube. The numerical model covers the entire flow passage, including the highly swirling flow passage through the swirler vanes, and the combustion chamber. Simulation has been performed with a low Reynolds number realizable k-ε model and a Reynolds stress turbulence model. It is observed that the computational model is able to predict the central re-circulation zones (CTRZ), the corner recirculation zones, and the complex flow field associated with the adjacent swirlers with reasonable accuracy. The computed velocity components for the single-element case show that the flow field is similar to the experimental observations.

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