Numerical Investigation of a Single Circumferential Groove Casing Treatment on Three Different Compressor Rotors

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Heinichen ◽  
V. Gu¨mmer ◽  
H.-P. Schiffer
Keyword(s):  
Aerodynamic Performance ◽  
Tip Clearance ◽  
Shock Interaction ◽  
Casing Treatment ◽  
Axial Compressors ◽  
Transonic Compressor ◽  
Circumferential Groove ◽  
Number Of Publications ◽  
Tip Clearance Vortex ◽  
Casing Treatments

In axial compressors, casing treatments represent a passive method to increase the working range without the need to modify the blade geometry. The majority of the open literature on the topic considers one or several casing treatment variants on the same compressor. The question how one casing treatment and its basic mechanisms can be transferred to a different compressor is only covered in a small number of publications. This paper tries to fill this gap by applying a single circumferential groove type casing treatment to three different transonic compressor rotors. It is demonstrated numerically that the casing treatment is able to improve the aerodynamic performance of all three rotors. Detailed investigation of the flow field near the rotor tip shows that the single circumferential groove works by influencing the interaction between the tip clearance vortex and the shock. Hence, this type of casing treatment can be generalized to transonic rotors with a stall mechanism that is based on tip clearance vortex-shock interaction.

Stall Margin Improvement by Use of Casing Treatments

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian T. Pixberg ◽  
Heinz-Peter Schiffer ◽  
M. H. Ross ◽  
J. D. Cameron ◽  
S. C. Morris
Keyword(s):  
Tip Clearance ◽  
Stall Margin ◽  
Tip Clearance Flow ◽  
Casing Treatment ◽  
Transonic Compressor ◽  
Clearance Flow ◽  
Beneficial Impact ◽  
Stall Margin Improvement ◽  
Blade Tip ◽  
Casing Treatments

The beneficial impact of casing treatments on the stall margin of tip-critical compressors has been proven many times. However, there is still no simple and general method to predict their actual effectiveness. The present work considers the axial velocity deficit that is generally observed at the blade tip. This so called tip-blockage is caused by the tip clearance flow. That is investigated for different configurations of the transonic compressor test facilities in Darmstadt and Notre Dame and the results are presented in this paper. Similar circumferential groove casing treatments were applied to different single-stage and 1.5-stage compressors. They all had a tip critical behavior in common, but exhibited different design philosophies. The effectiveness of similar casing treatments on different stages was observed. A new method for calculating tip-blockage is introduced based on compressor performance and the results of a through-flow tool. A direct link between blockage growth and stall margin improvement was found for circumferential grooves casing treatments. Additionally, the results of an axial slot casing treatment are taken into account.

Axial-Slot Casing Treatments Improve the Efficiency of Axial Flow Compressors: Aerodynamic Effects of a Rotor Redesign

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Anton Streit ◽  
Frank Heinichen ◽  
Hans-Peter Kau
Keyword(s):  
Axial Flow ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Tip Clearance ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Stall Margin ◽  
Casing Treatment ◽  
Transonic Compressor ◽  
Compressor Rotor ◽  
Flow Phenomena ◽  
Casing Treatments

A state-of-the-art transonic compressor rotor has a distinct potential for increased efficiency if modified for improved interaction with an axial-slot type casing treatment. Reducing the number of blades and thus the surface lowers friction losses but increases tip clearance effects and deteriorates the stall margin due to the higher aerodynamic blade loading. The latter two negative effects can be compensated for by the casing treatment, thus restoring the required stall margin and gaining an overall reduction of losses. For the specific compressor rotor under investigation, the potential in polytropic efficiency is as high as 0.7%. The present study was performed using time-accurate CFD (URANS) simulations. Both the reference rotor as well as the modified design are analyzed regarding their interaction with the casing treatment. The traceability of the conclusions is assured by interpreting the detailed flow phenomena. The newly designed rotor is found to be favorably influenced by the casing treatment at design operating conditions whilst the reference only benefits at throttled operating points. Casing treatments are commonly used to broaden the operating range of existing compressors without changing the design of the compressor rotor itself. This study aims to show the possible transformation of this potential in the stall margin into efficiency at design operating conditions by implementing an appropriate rotor design.

Numerical Study on Effects of Axial-Slot Casing Treatment on Peak Efficiency of Axial Compressors

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ning Ma ◽  
Xi Nan ◽  
Feng Lin
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Study ◽  
Leakage Flow ◽  
Tip Leakage Flow ◽  
Peak Efficiency ◽  
Leakage Loss ◽  
Casing Treatment ◽  
Axial Compressors ◽  
Tip Leakage ◽  
Transonic Compressor ◽  
Casing Treatments

Axial compressors can obtain substantial improvement on stall margin by using axial-slot casing treatments. However, this type of casing treatment usually yields large peak efficiency penalty due to the interaction between the slots and rotor tip region where the tip leakage flow plays an important role. Therefore, as a main factor that influences the peak efficiency, the tip leakage loss was examined in this paper with a variety of slot geometries. Unsteady numerical simulations were performed on both low speed and transonic compressors with axial skewed slot casing treatments with different geometric parameters. In addition, an equation which can be applied to evaluate the tip leakage loss under casing treatment cases was derived from Denton’s leakage mixing model. The leakage loss can be expressed in terms of the cube of the tip leakage flow rate. Combined with the simulation results, the effects of the number, depth and width of the slots on both the leakage loss and peak efficiency deficit were investigated. For the transonic compressor, the impacts of shock wave and its interaction with the tip leakage flow /vortex were assessed as well. Lastly, two axial-slot casing treatments with an isosceles-trapezoid shaped opening were designed to reduce the loss in the rotor tip region. It was shown that the newly designed axial-slot casing treatments were capable of improving the peak efficiency of both compressors.

Influencing Parameters of Tip Blowing Interacting With Rotor Tip Flow

2016 ◽  
Vol 139 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cyril Guinet ◽  
André Inzenhofer ◽  
Volker Gümmer
Keyword(s):  
Geometric Model ◽  
Axial Compressor ◽  
Axial Flow ◽  
Navier Stokes ◽  
Axial Position ◽  
Design Parameters ◽  
Stall Margin ◽  
Casing Treatment ◽  
Transonic Compressor ◽  
Casing Treatments

The design space of axial-flow compressors is restricted by stability issues. Different axial-type casing treatments (CTs) have shown their ability to enhance compressor stability and to influence efficiency. Casing treatments have proven to be effective, but there still is need for more detailed investigations and gain of understanding for the underlying flow mechanism. Casing treatments are known to have a multitude of effects on the near-casing 3D flow field. For transonic compressor rotors, these are more complex, as super- and subsonic flow regions alternate while interacting with the casing treatment. To derive design rules, it is important to quantify the influence of the casing treatment on the different tip flow phenomena. Designing a casing treatment in a way that it antagonizes only the deteriorating secondary flow effects can be seen as a method to enhance stability while increasing efficiency. The numerical studies are carried out on a tip-critical rotor of a 1.5-stage transonic axial compressor. The examined recirculating tip blowing casing treatment (TBCT) consists of a recirculating channel with an air off-take above the rotor and an injection nozzle in front of the rotor. The design and functioning of the casing treatment are influenced by various parameters. A variation of the geometry of the tip blowing, more specifically the nozzle aspect ratio, the axial position, or the tangential orientation of the injection port, was carried out to identify key levers. The tip blowing casing treatment is defined as a parameterized geometric model and is automatically meshed. A sensitivity analysis of the respective design parameters of the tip blowing is carried out on a single rotor row. Their impact on overall efficiency and their ability to improve stall margin are evaluated. The study is carried out using unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (URANS) simulations.

Experimental Investigation on the Effect of Porosity of Bend Skewed Casing Treatment on a Single Stage Transonic Axial Flow Compressor

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dilipkumar B. Alone ◽  
Subramani Satish Kumar ◽  
Shobhavathy Thimmaiah ◽  
Janaki Rami Reddy Mudipalli ◽  
A. M. Pradeep ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Investigation ◽  
Axial Flow ◽  
Compressor Stage ◽  
Casing Treatment ◽  
Operating Range ◽  
Axial Flow Compressor ◽  
Transonic Compressor ◽  
Stable Operating ◽  
Flow Compressor ◽  
Casing Treatments

A bend skewed casing treatment was designed, to study the influence of one of its geometrical parameter porosity on the stable performance of single stage transonic axial flow compressor. The compressor was designed for the stage total-to-total pressure ratio of 1.35, corrected mass flow rate of 22 kg/s at corrected design speed of 12930 RPM. Bend skewed casing treatment has an axial inlet segment till 50% of the total length and rear segment that is skewed by 45° in the direction of the rotor tip section stagger. Both the sections were oriented at a skew angle of 45° to the radial plane such that the flow exiting the slot is in counter-clockwise direction to that of the rotor direction. The casing treatment slot width was equal to the maximum thickness of the rotor blades. Three casing treatment configurations were identified for the current experimental investigation. All the treatment geometries considered for the experimental research have lower porosities than reported in the open literatures. The effect of the porosity parameter on the performance of transonic compressor stage was evaluated at two axial coverages of 20% and 40% relative to the rotor tip axial chord. Performance maps were obtained for the solid casing and casing treatment with three different porosities. Comparative studies were carried out and experimental results showed a maximum of 65% improvement in the stable operating range of the compressor for one of the treatment configurations. It was also observed that the stable operating range of the compressor increases with an increase in the casing treatment porosity. All the casing treatment configurations showed that the compressor stall occurs at lower mass flows as compared to the solid casing. Compressor stage peak efficiency shows significant degradations with increase in the porosity as compared to solid casing. Detailed blade element performances were also obtained using calibrated multi-hole aerodynamic probe. Comparative variations of flow parameters like absolute flow angle, Mach number were studied at full flow and near stall conditions for the solid casing and casing treatment configurations. Hot wire measurements show very high fluctuation in the inlet axial velocity in the presence of solid casing as compared to casing treatments. Experimental investigation revealed that the porosity of the casing treatments has strong influence on the transonic compressor stage performance.

Tip Clearance Vortex Oscillation, Vortex Shedding and Rotating Instabilities in an Axial Transonic Compressor Rotor

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chunill Hah ◽  
Jo¨rg Bergner ◽  
Heinz-Peter Schiffer
Keyword(s):  
Flow Characteristics ◽  
Peak Frequency ◽  
Frequency Component ◽  
Dominant Frequency ◽  
Unsteady Motion ◽  
Wall Pressure ◽  
Tip Clearance ◽  
Fast Fourier Transformation ◽  
Transonic Compressor ◽  
Tip Clearance Vortex

Unsteady flow characteristics in a modern transonic axial compressor operating near stall are studied in detail. Measured data from high-response pressure probes show that the tip clearance vortex oscillates substantially near stall. Instantaneous flow structure varies substantially among different blade passages even with uniform inlet flow. Fast Fourier transformation of measured wall pressure shows a dominant frequency component that is between 30% and 40% of the rotor speed. To identify and analyze this phenomenon, computational studies based on a single passage and full annulus were carried out. The flow field in a transonic compressor near stall is heavily influenced by the unsteady motion of tip clearance vortices. Therefore, a Large Eddy Simulation (LES) was carried out to capture transient characteristics of the tip clearance vortex more realistically. The wall pressure spectrum from the current full annulus analysis also shows a dominant frequency when the rotor operates near stall. The calculated peak frequency is about 30% of the rotor frequency. The dominant frequency, which is non-synchronous with the rotor blade, is due to rotating flow instabilities. Flow interactions across blade passages due to synchronized tip clearance vortex oscillation seem to be the main cause.

Optimization of Slots-Groove Coupled Casing Treatment for an Axial Transonic Compressor

2020 ◽  
Vol 142 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Guoming Zhu ◽  
Bo Yang
Keyword(s):  
Pareto Front ◽  
Leading Edge ◽  
Stall Margin ◽  
Casing Treatment ◽  
Transonic Compressor ◽  
Injection Flow ◽  
Optimization Stage ◽  
Stability Enhancement ◽  
Optimal Configurations ◽  
Casing Treatments

Abstract A multi-objective optimization of a coupled casing treatment (CCT) for an axial transonic compressor is performed in this study. The coupled casing treatment is the basis axial slots with a circumferential groove located at various positions along the slots. During the optimization stage, five important parameters to control the geometry are used as the optimal variables. The stall margin and the peak efficiency are selected as the optimal objectives. Non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II coupled with radial basis function (RBF) approximation is used to search for Pareto-optimal solutions. Then, four optimal configurations are selected from Pareto-front for further analysis. As shown in the simulation results with and without the coupled casing treatments, the leakage flow is reenergized and the blocking region near the blade leading edge at rotor tip is decreased by the use of these structures under the low flowrate condition, which is the main reason for stability enhancement. Besides, a coupled casing treatment with the groove settled near the end of the basis slots have the potential to generate more injection flow and extend the operating range of compressor further.

Influence of Casing Treatment on the Operating Range of Axial Compressors

1982 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Paulon ◽  
D. Dehondt
Keyword(s):  
Axial Flow ◽  
Outer Wall ◽  
Groove Depth ◽  
Experimental Investigations ◽  
Casing Treatment ◽  
Axial Compressors ◽  
Operating Range ◽  
Geometric Configurations ◽  
Surge Margin ◽  
Casing Treatments

Experimental investigations brought to light the possibilities of broadening the operating range of axial flow compressors by means of outer wall casing treatments such as grooves, honeycombs or cavities. The industrial use of these techniques is however limited by uncertainties on the effectiveness of these treatments as, while they are very beneficial in some cases, they deteriorate the performance of the machine in some others. A theoretical investigation has been conducted on the flow field in cavities most commonly used, and laws for determining the groove depth have been established which account for the surge margin improvement obtained in some cases and make it possible to dismiss inefficient geometric configurations. A comparison between theory and experiment is presented, based on test results published in the literature and on an experimentation on two industrial compressors.

Experimental Study on the Influence of Casing Treatment on Near-Stall Unsteady Behavior of a Mixed-Flow Compressor

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Du ◽  
Felix Kauth ◽  
Jichao Li ◽  
Qianfeng Zhang ◽  
Joerg R. Seume
Keyword(s):  
Stability Limit ◽  
Tip Clearance ◽  
Flow Coefficient ◽  
Surprising Result ◽  
Mixed Flow ◽  
Stall Inception ◽  
Casing Treatment ◽  
Axial Compressors ◽  
Flow Compressor ◽  
Unsteady Behavior

Abstract This paper aims at experimentally demonstrating the effects of axial slot casing treatment and tip gap variation on compressor performance, unsteady tip clearance flow, and stall inception features in a highly-loaded mixed-flow compressor at partspeed. Two tip gaps (0.32% and 0.64% of rotor blade chord at mid-span) were tested at three rotational speeds. A semicircular axial slot casing treatment improves compressor stability. The experimental results show that this casing treatment significantly moves the stability limit at partial speeds towards lower mass flow for both tip gaps, compared to the reference case without casing treatment. In the case of the compressor with casing treatment, efficiency increases for the large tip gap and decreases for the small tip gap. Dynamic pressure transducers installed in the casing upstream and along the rotor tip chord direction are used to detect the unsteady behavior of tip region flow and stall inception signals of the compressor. The characteristic frequency in the tip region decreases, and the oscillating amplitude first decreases and then increases during the throttling process, regardless of tip gap size or casing treatment. For axial compressors, by contrast, the observation in previous work has been an increase of the oscillating amplitude with decreasing flow coefficient. This is a surprising result of our work. Neither experiment nor CFD so far was able to explain why the trend in this mixed-flow compressor is different from the trend expected from axial compressors. The compressor stalls through the spike stall inception both with and without casing treatment. This observation also differs from recent studies on axial compressors, which demonstrated that casing treatments could change the type of stall inception. The unstable disturbance indicating initial stall inception initially appears in the blade tip region from blade mid-chord to trailing edge, and then propagates upstream towards the leading edge. This disturbance might be generated by the reversed flow separation near mid-chord.

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