Impacts of Engine Secondary Air System Uncertainties on Gas Turbine Compressor Heat Transfer

Author(s):  
Sohail Alizadeh ◽  
Naveen Gopinathrao

The compressor is a particularly sensitive component in a gas turbine engine. Variations from design geometry or operating conditions can have detrimental effects on performance, efficiency and compressor life. In this work the propagation of secondary air system operational uncertainty sources on a rotor-stator cavity at the front of a large turbofan IPC are assessed. The calculations are carried through from appropriate Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analyses, characterising the flow and heat transfer in the cavity adjacent to an IP1 disc, to the FE Thermo-mechanical calculations. The application provides an example demonstration how uncertainty quantification may be undertaken for compressor analysis involving intensive CFD computations. The non-deterministic solution provides probabilistic definitions for disc temperatures and blade tip clearances, as key parameters in the design of the component. Whilst CFD has found increasing use in gas turbine air system R&D and design applications, resource requirement has almost always limited its use to deterministic single-input single-output cases. Here, by employing efficient uncertainty quantification based on Polynomial Chaos Methodologies to CFD, the air mass flow and temperature feed to the cavity are treated as operational uncertainty sources. Both single variable and multi-variable sources are considered. The CFD-FE link is established through a Temperature Influence Coefficient methodology and in propagating and managing the uncertainties through both analyses, means and standard deviations in the key design parameters are derived. The value of such a methodology in contrast to deterministic calculations is discussed from the view point of the designer with reference to component temperatures and thermal growths.

Author(s):  
Ali Izadi ◽  
Seyed Hossein Madani ◽  
Seyed Vahid Hosseini ◽  
Mahmoud Chizari

Abstract One of the most critical parts of a modern gas turbine that its reliability and performance has a great influence on cycle efficiency is the secondary air system (SAS). Modern systems functions to supply not only cooling air flow for turbine blades and vanes but sealing flow for bearing chambers and turbine segments as well as turbine disks’ purge flow in order to eliminate hot gas ingestion. Due to the various interactions between SAS and main gas, consideration of the former is substantially crucial in design and analysis of the whole engine. Geometrical complexities and centrifugal effects of rotating blades and disks, however, make the flow field and heat transfer of the problem so complicated AND too computationally costly to be simulated utilizing full 3-D CFD methods. Therefore, developing 1-D and 0-D tools applying network methods are of great interests. The present article describes a modular SAS analysis tool that is consisted of a network of elements and nodes. Each flow branch of a whole engine SAS network is substituted with an element and then, various branches (elements) intersect with each other just at their end nodes. These elements which might include some typical components such as labyrinth seals, orifices, stationary/rotating pipes, pre-swirls, and rim-seals, are generally articulated with characteristic curves that are extracted from high fidelity CFD modeling using commercial software such as Flowmaster or ANSYS-CFX. Having these curves, an algorithm is developed to calculate flow parameters at nodes with the aid of iterative methods. The procedure is based on three main innovative ideas. The first one is related to the network construction by defining a connectivity matrix which could be applied to any arbitrary network such as hydraulic or lubrication networks. In the second one, off-design SAS calculation will be proposed by introducing some SAS elements that their characteristic non-dimensional curves are influenced by their inlet total pressure. The last novelty is the integration of the blades coolant calculation process that incorporates external heat transfer calculation, structural conduction and coolant side modeling with SAS network simulation. Finally, SAS simulation of an industrial gas turbine is presented to illustrate capabilities of the presented tool in design point and off-design conditions.


Author(s):  
Riccardo Da Soghe ◽  
Bruno Facchini ◽  
Luca Innocenti ◽  
Mirko Micio

Reliable design of secondary air system is one of the main tasks for the safety, unfailing and performance of gas turbine engines. To meet the increasing demands of gas turbines design, improved tools in prediction of the secondary air system behavior over a wide range of operating conditions are needed. A real gas turbine secondary air system includes several components, therefore its analysis is not carried out through a complete CFD approach. Usually, that predictions are performed using codes, based on simplified approach which allows to evaluate the flow characteristics in each branch of the air system requiring very poor computational resources and few calculation time. Generally the available simplified commercial packages allow to correctly solve only some of the components of a real air system and often the elements with a more complex flow structure cannot be studied; among such elements, the analysis of rotating cavities is very hard. This paper deals with a design-tool developed at the University of Florence for the simulation of rotating cavities. This simplified in-house code solves the governing equations for steady one-dimensional axysimmetric flow using experimental correlations both to incorporate flow phenomena caused by multidimensional effects, like heat transfer and flow field losses, and to evaluate the circumferential component of velocity. Although this calculation approach does not enable a correct modeling of the turbulent flow within a wheel space cavity, the authors tried to create an accurate model taking into account the effects of inner and outer flow extraction, rotor and stator drag, leakages, injection momentum and, finally, the shroud/rim seal effects on cavity ingestion. The simplified calculation tool was designed to simulate the flow in a rotating cavity with radial outflow both with a Batchelor and/or Stewartson flow structures. A primary 1D-code testing campaign is available in the literature [1]. In the present paper the authors develop, using CFD tools, reliable correlations for both stator and rotor friction coefficients and provide a full 1D-code validation comparing, due to lack of experimental data, the in house design-code predictions with those evaluated by CFD.


Author(s):  
Carlo Carcasci ◽  
Bruno Facchini ◽  
Stefano Gori ◽  
Luca Bozzi ◽  
Stefano Traverso

This paper reviews a modular-structured program ESMS (Energy System Modular Simulation) for the simulation of air-cooled gas turbines cycles, including the calculation of the secondary air system. The program has been tested for the Ansaldo Energia gas turbine V94.3A, which is one of the more advanced models in the family Vx4.3A with a rated power of 270 MW. V94.3A cooling system has been modeled with SASAC (Secondary Air System Ansaldo Code), the Ansaldo code used to predict the structure of the flow through the internal air system. The objective of the work was to investigate the tuning of the analytical program on the basis of the data from design and performance codes in use at Ansaldo Energy Gas Turbine Department. The results, both at base load over different ambient conditions and in critical off-design operating points (full-speed-no-load and minimum-load), have been compared with APC (Ansaldo Performance Code) and confirmed by field data. The coupled analysis of cycle and cooling network shows interesting evaluations for components life estimation and reliability during off-design operating conditions.


Author(s):  
Luca Bozzi ◽  
Enrico D’angelo

High turn-down operating of heavy-duty gas turbines in modern Combined Cycle Plants requires a highly efficient secondary air system to ensure the proper supply of cooling and sealing air. Thus, accurate performance prediction of secondary flows in the complete range of operating conditions is crucial. The paper gives an overview of the secondary air system of Ansaldo F-class AEx4.3A gas turbines. Focus of the work is a procedure to calculate the cooling flows, which allows investigating both the interaction between cooled rows and additional secondary flows (sealing and leakage air) and the influence on gas turbine performance. The procedure is based on a fluid-network solver modelling the engine secondary air system. Parametric curves implemented into the network model give the consumption of cooling air of blades and vanes. Performances of blade cooling systems based on different cooling technology are presented. Variations of secondary air flows in function of load and/or ambient conditions are discussed and justified. The effect of secondary air reduction is investigated in details showing the relationship between the position, along the gas path, of the upgrade and the increasing of engine performance. In particular, a section of the paper describes the application of a consistent and straightforward technique, based on an exergy analysis, to estimate the effect of major modifications to the air system on overall engine performance. A set of models for the different factors of cooling loss is presented and sample calculations are used to illustrate the splitting and magnitude of losses. Field data, referred to AE64.3A gas turbine, are used to calibrate the correlation method and to enhance the structure of the lumped-parameters network models.


Author(s):  
Matteo Cerutti ◽  
Luca Bozzi ◽  
Federico Bonzani ◽  
Carlo Carcasci

Combined cycle and partial load operating of modern heavy-duty gas turbines require highly efficient secondary air systems to supply both cooling and sealing air. Accurate performance predictions are then a fundamental demand over a wide range of operability. The paper describes the development of an efficient procedure for the investigation of gas turbine secondary flows, based on an in-house made fluid network solver, written in Matlab® environment. Fast network generation and debugging are achieved thanks to Simulink® graphical interface and modular structure, allowing predictions of the whole secondary air system. A crucial aspect of such an analysis is the calculation of blade and vane cooling flows, taking into account the interaction between inner and outer extraction lines. The problem is closed thanks to ad-hoc calculated transfer functions: cooling system performances and flow functions are solved in a pre-processing phase and results correlated to influencing parameters using Response Surface Methodology (RSM) and Design of Experiments (DOE) techniques. The procedure has been proved on the secondary air system of the AE94.3A2 Ansaldo Energia gas turbine. Flow functions for the cooling system of the first stage blade, calculated by RSM and DOE techniques, are presented. Flow functions based calculation of film cooling, tip cooling and trailing edge cooling air flows is described in details.


Author(s):  
David Hunt ◽  
Youming Yuan

Abstract This paper presents a novel approach that couples system modelling of both the thermo-fluid system and the thermal solid system by modelling conjugate heat transfer within a single 1D system analysis solver and applies it to the Secondary Air System of a Gas Turbine. The Secondary Air System design has to balance minimizing engine bleed whilst ensuring sufficient cooling. To achieve this, designers model both the secondary air flow and the temperature distribution in solid components. System CFD tools like Simcenter Flomaster may be used to solve flow, pressure and temperature distributions and a 3D thermal solver used to perform the thermal analysis of the blade and disc solids. The thermal interaction between the secondary flow system and the solid components is a key part of the model and is known as conjugate heat transfer analysis (CHT). This approach is problematic early in the design cycle when detailed or stable geometry information may not be available for the 3D thermal tool. An approach that couples the modelling of both the thermo-fluid system and the thermal solid system within a single 1D/system analysis tool offers the advantage of faster modelling and consistent model accuracy of both fluid and solid components, especially in the early concept design stage. This 1D-CHT approach has been implemented within Simcenter Flomaster and validated using an idealized analytical solution. It is shown that the model can be applied to the analysis of gas turbine secondary air systems including cavity flows and thermal analysis of the rotor and stator discs that form the thermal boundary of these cavities using Simcenter Flomaster alone.


Author(s):  
Toni Wildow ◽  
Hubert Dengg ◽  
Klaus Höschler ◽  
Jonathan Sommerfeld

At the preliminary design stage of the engine design process, the behaviour and efficiency of different engine designs are investigated and evaluated in order to find a best matching design for a set of engine objectives and requirements. The prediction of critical part temperatures as well as the reduction of the uncertainty of these predictions is decisive to bid a competitive technology in aerospace technology. Automated workflows and Design of Experiments (DOE) are widely used to investigate large number of designs and to find an optimized solution. Nowadays, technological progress in computational power as well as new strategies for data handling and management enables the implementation of large DOEs and multi-objective optimizations in less time, which also allows the consideration of more detailed investigations in early design stages. This paper describes an approach for a preliminary-design workflow that implements adaptive modelling and evaluation methods for cavities in the secondary air system (SAS). The starting point for the workflow is a parametric geometry model defining the rotating and static components. The flow network within the SAS is automatically recognized and CFD and Thermal-FE models are automatically generated using a library of generic models. Adaptive evaluation algorithms are developed and used to predict values for structural, air system and thermal behaviour. Furthermore, these models and evaluation techniques can be implemented in a DOE to investigate the impact of design parameters on the predicted values. The findings from the automated studies can be used to enhance the boundary conditions of actual design models in later design stages. A design investigation on a rotor-stator cavity with axial through flow has been undertaken using the proposed workflow to extract windage, flow field and heat transfer information from adiabatic CFD calculations for use in thermal modelling. A DOE has been set up to conduct a sensitivity analysis of the flow field properties and to identify the impact of the design parameters. Additionally, impacts on the distribution of the flow field parameters along the rotating surface are recognized, which offers a better prediction for local effects in the thermal FE model.


Author(s):  
Stefano Piola ◽  
Roberto Canepa ◽  
Andrea Silingardi ◽  
Stefano Cecchi ◽  
Carlo Carcasci ◽  
...  

One dimensional codes play a key role in gas turbine performance simulation: once they are calibrated they can give reliable results within very short computational time if compared to two or three dimensional analysis. Thanks to their ability to quickly evaluate flow, pressure and temperature along the energy conversion from fluid to shaft or reverse, one dimensional tools fit the requirements of modular-structured program for the simulation of complete gas turbine. In ASEN experience, ALGOR heat and mass balance software is used as a platform for system integration between each disciplines by means of a modular structure in which a large number of modules, chosen from the available library, are freely connected allowing to potentially analyze any gas turbine engine configuration. ALGOR code provides advanced cycle calculation capabilities for example in case that cooling and secondary air system layout modification have to be considered in design process. In these situations, a turbine map-based approach is hardly applicable, while a one dimensional aerodynamic row by row simulation can provide a suitable method for off-design turbine behavior prediction. In ASEN practice, ALGOR turbine module is calibrated at design point on one dimensional data provided by turbine designers and is then adopted for the engine configuration optimization or off-design performance evaluation. This paper presents the validation of the off-design performance prediction given by the ALGOR embedded 1D turbine model comparing calculated results with experimental ones. The warm air full scale test rig investigated within the GE-NASA “Energy Efficient Engine” program for the aerodynamic evaluation of a two stages high pressure turbine has been chosen as validation case. It includes both experimental performance maps varying turbine operating conditions such as speed and pressure ratio extending to the sub-idle and starting region and an analysis of cooling flow variation effect on turbine performance. Literature available loss and exit flow angle correlations are implemented and compared to experimental data. The results given by each of them are analyzed to appreciate their accuracy in evaluating efficiency and flow variations. In addition the paper shows the ability of the 1D turbine module to consider secondary air system modification impact on performance comparing calculated results to experimental ones. Literature correlations tuning on proprietary experimental results could further improve the tool performance for the off-design evaluation of ASEN turbine geometries.


2010 ◽  
Vol 133 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Riccardo Da Soghe ◽  
Bruno Facchini ◽  
Luca Innocenti ◽  
Mirko Micio

Reliable design of a secondary air system is one of the main tasks for the safety and unfailing performance of gas turbine engines. To meet the increasing demands of gas turbine designs, improved tools in the prediction of secondary air system behavior over a wide range of operating conditions are needed. A real gas turbine secondary air system includes several components, therefore, its analysis is not carried out through a complete computational fluid dynamics (CFD) approach. Usually, those predictions are performed using codes based on simplified approach, which allows to evaluate the flow characteristics in each branch of the air system requiring very poor computational resources and few calculation time. Generally, the available simplified commercial packages allow to correctly solve only some of the components of a real air system, and often, the elements with a more complex flow structure cannot be studied; among such elements, the analysis of rotating cavities is very hard. This paper deals with a design tool developed at the University of Florence for the simulation of rotating cavities. This simplified in-house code solves the governing equations for steady one-dimensional axisymmetric flow using experimental correlations, both to incorporate the flow phenomena caused by multidimensional effects such as heat transfer and flow field losses, and to evaluate the circumferential component of velocity. Although this calculation approach does not enable a correct modeling of the turbulent flow within a wheel space cavity, the authors tried to create an accurate model, taking into account the effects of inner and outer flow extraction, rotor and stator drag, leakages, injection momentum, and finally, the shroud/rim seal effects on cavity ingestion. The simplified calculation tool was designed to simulate the flow in a rotating cavity with radial outflow, both with the Batchelor and/or Stewartson flow structures. A primary 1D-code testing campaign is available in the literature (2008, “Analysis of Gas Turbine Rotating Cavities by a One-Dimensional Model,” ISROMAC Paper No. 12-2008-20161). In the present paper, the authors developed, using CFD tools, reliable correlations for both stator and rotor friction coefficients and provided a full 1D-code validation, due to the lack of experimental data, comparing the in-house design-code predictions with those evaluated by CFD.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document