Numerically Optimizing an Annular Diffuser Using a Genetic Algorithm With Three Objectives

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J. Cerantola ◽  
A. M. Birk
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Algorithm ◽  
Pressure Loss ◽  
Total Pressure ◽  
Exhaust System ◽  
Outer Wall ◽  
Total Pressure Loss ◽  
Pressure Recovery ◽  
Annular Diffuser ◽  
Inlet Conditions ◽  
Wall Profile

A genetic algorithm was implemented to determine preferential solutions of a short annular diffuser exhaust system of length 1.5Do (outer annulus diameters). Five free variables defined the centre body shape and two variables determined the outer wall profile. Diffuser performance was evaluated using three objectives—(i) diffuser pressure recovery, (ii) outlet velocity uniformity, and (iii) total pressure loss—that were calculated from steady state solutions obtained using the computational fluid dynamics software FLUENT 13.0 with the realizable k-ε turbulence model and enhanced wall treatment. Inlet conditions were ReDh = 8.5 × 104 and M = 0.23. After thirty-five generations, a paraboloid-shaped centre body with length 0.74Do and initial annular expansion of approximately 14° produced preferential solutions. A configuration with a converging outer wall above the centre body developed greater outlet flow uniformity and lower total pressure loss whereas a straight outer wall followed by the solid diffuser generated more static pressure recovery.

The Influence of Inlet Conditions on the Performance of Annular Diffusers

1980 ◽  
Vol 102 (3) ◽  
pp. 357-363 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. J. Stevens ◽  
G. J. Williams
Keyword(s):  
Pressure Loss ◽  
Total Pressure ◽  
Total Pressure Loss ◽  
Pressure Recovery ◽  
Turbulence Structure ◽  
Mean Velocity ◽  
Flow Measurements ◽  
Outlet Flow ◽  
Inlet Conditions ◽  
Uniform Diameter

Low speed tests have been carried out to investigate the performance and mechanism of flow in two annular diffusers having center bodies of uniform diameter and conically diverging outer walls. In the first part of the investigation the diffusers were tested over a range of naturally developed inlet velocity profiles ranging from near-uniform to fully developed flow. Information is presented concerning the pressure recovery, total pressure loss, and characteristics of the outlet flow. Measurements have also been made of the mean velocity profile and turbulence structure at a number of stations along the length of the diffusers. The second part of the test program was devoted to studying the effects of increased inlet turbulence. The results show a marked improvement in the stability of the outlet flow and gains in pressure recovery, up to a maximum of 20 percent, with only small increases in total pressure loss.

scholarly journals Numerical Investigation of flow through Annular diffusing duct

2011 ◽  
pp. 60-63
Author(s):  
Prasanta K. Sinha ◽  
Ananta Kumar Das ◽  
Bireswar Majumdar
Keyword(s):  
Pressure Loss ◽  
Total Pressure ◽  
Static Pressure ◽  
Line Length ◽  
Area Ratio ◽  
Experimental Results ◽  
Total Pressure Loss ◽  
Pressure Recovery ◽  
Mean Velocity ◽  
Inlet Conditions

In the present investigation the distribution of mean velocity, static pressure and total pressure are experimentally studied on an annular curved diffuser of 30° angle of turn with an area ratio of 1.283 and centerline length was chosen as three times of inlet diameter. The experimental results then were numerically validated with the help of Fluent and then a series of parametric investigations are conducted with same centre line length and inlet diameter but with different area ratios varying from 1.15 to 3.75. The measurements were taken at Reynolds number 2.25 x 105 based on inlet diameter and mass average inlet velocity. Predicted results of coefficient of mass averaged static pressure recovery (30%) and coefficient of mass averaged total pressure loss (21%) are in good agreement with the experimental results of coefficient of mass averaged static pressure recovery (26%) and coefficient of mass averaged total pressure loss (17%) respectively. Standard k-ε model in Fluent solver was chosen for validation. From the parametric investigation it is observed that static pressure recovery increases up to an area ratio of 2.86 and between the area ration 2.86 to 3.75, pressure recovery decreases steadily. The coefficient of total pressure loss almost remains constant with the change in area ratio for similar inlet conditions.

Combustion Turbine Exhaust Duct, Silencer, and Stack Scale Modeling

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Craven ◽  
Keith Kirkpatrick ◽  
Stephen Idem
Keyword(s):  
Reynolds Number ◽  
Power Plant ◽  
Pressure Loss ◽  
Total Pressure ◽  
Exhaust System ◽  
Total Pressure Loss ◽  
Scale Model ◽  
Pressure Losses ◽  
Exhaust Duct ◽  
On Line

Abstract After constructing a scale model of planned changes to a power plant exhaust system, tests were performed to measure pressure losses in the transition, silencer, and stack. A dimension of 0.30 m (1.0 ft) for the scale model corresponded to 3.7 m (12.0 ft) at full scale. To the extent possible, the scale model tests exhibited geometric similarity with the actual power plant. Total pressure loss coefficients varied between 2.122, 1.969, and 1.932, for three separate scale model configurations that were considered. A combination of turning vanes and splitter vanes in the five-gore elbow, coupled with the use of turning vanes in the rectangular elbow yielded the lowest total pressure loss. Although Reynolds number similarity between the scale model experiments and the actual power plant was not attained, Reynolds number independence was achieved in the tests. The results from this study was applied to model pressure loss in the actual power plant. The scale model testing revealed that utilization of the exhaust ducting design designated as Case A would yield a sufficiently low pressure loss that it would not degrade the performance of the combustion turbine in the power plant to be repaired. Therefore it was selected for inclusion in the retro-fitting of the power plant to facilitate its being quickly brought back on-line.

scholarly journals Impact of a Cooled Cooling Air System on the External Aerodynamics of a Gas Turbine Combustion System

2017 ◽  
Vol 139 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Duncan Walker ◽  
Bharat Koli ◽  
Liang Guo ◽  
Peter Beecroft ◽  
Marco Zedda
Keyword(s):  
Gas Turbines ◽  
Pressure Loss ◽  
Total Pressure ◽  
Outer Wall ◽  
Total Pressure Loss ◽  
Test Facility ◽  
Combustion System ◽  
Air System ◽  
External Aerodynamics ◽  
Cooling Air

To manage the increasing turbine temperatures of future gas turbines a cooled cooling air system has been proposed. In such a system some of the compressor efflux is diverted for additional cooling in a heat exchanger (HX) located in the bypass duct. The cooled air must then be returned, across the main gas path, to the engine core for use in component cooling. One option is do this within the combustor module and two methods are examined in the current paper; via simple transfer pipes within the dump region or via radial struts in the prediffuser. This paper presents an experimental investigation to examine the aerodynamic impact these have on the combustion system external aerodynamics. This included the use of a fully annular, isothermal test facility incorporating a bespoke 1.5 stage axial compressor, engine representative outlet guide vanes (OGVs), prediffuser, and combustor geometry. Area traverses of a miniature five-hole probe were conducted at various locations within the combustion system providing information on both flow uniformity and total pressure loss. The results show that, compared to a datum configuration, the addition of transfer pipes had minimal aerodynamic impact in terms of flow structure, distribution, and total pressure loss. However, the inclusion of prediffuser struts had a notable impact increasing the prediffuser loss by a third and consequently the overall system loss by an unacceptable 40%. Inclusion of a hybrid prediffuser with the cooled cooling air (CCA) bleed located on the prediffuser outer wall enabled an increase of the prediffuser area ratio with the result that the system loss could be returned to that of the datum level.

Flow Investigation Through a 30° Turn Diffusing Duct in Subsonic Flow Regime

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Prasanta K. Sinha ◽  
Biswajit Haldar ◽  
Amar N. Mullick ◽  
Bireswar Majumdar
Keyword(s):  
Axial Velocity ◽  
Pressure Loss ◽  
Total Pressure ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Static Pressure ◽  
Transverse Velocity ◽  
Total Pressure Loss ◽  
Pressure Recovery ◽  
Pressure Probe ◽  
Mean Velocity

Curved diffusers are an integral component of the gas turbine engines of high-speed aircraft. These facilitate effective operation of the combustor by reducing the total pressure loss. The performance characteristics of these diffusers depend on their geometry and the inlet conditions. In the present investigation the distribution of axial velocity, transverse velocity, mean velocity, static and total pressures are experimentally studied on a curved diffuser of 30° angle of turn with an area ratio of 1.27. The centreline length was chosen as three times of inlet diameter. The experimental results then were numerically validated with the help of Fluent, the commercial CFD software. The measurements of axial velocity, transverse velocity, mean velocity, static pressure and total pressure distribution were taken at Reynolds number 1.9 × 105 based on inlet diameter and mass average inlet velocity. The mean velocity and all the three components of mean velocity were measured with the help of a pre-calibrated five-hole pressure probe. The velocity distribution shows that the flow is symmetrical and uniform at the inlet and exit sections and high velocity cores are accumulated at the top concave surface due to the combined effect of velocity diffusion and centrifugal action. It also indicates the possible development of secondary motions between the concave and convex walls of the test diffuser. The mass average static pressure recovery and total pressure loss within the curved diffuser increases continuously from inlet to exit and they attained maximum values of 35% and 14% respectively. A comparison between the experimental and predicated results shows a good qualitative agreement between the two. Standard k-ε model in Fluent solver was chosen for validation. It has been observed that coefficient of pressure recovery Cpr for the computational investigation was obtained as 38% compared to the experimental investigation which was 35% and the coefficient of pressure loss is obtained as 13% in computation investigation compared to the 14% in experimental study, which indicates a very good qualitative matching.

Geometric Modeling and Analysis for Gooseneck II: 2D Simplified Model for Quick Assessment

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qiuye Tu ◽  
Rutan Deng ◽  
Dongdong Zhang ◽  
Xingjian Sun
Keyword(s):  
Pressure Loss ◽  
Total Pressure ◽  
Geometric Modeling ◽  
Static Pressure ◽  
Outer Wall ◽  
Total Pressure Loss ◽  
Point Location ◽  
Control Variables ◽  
Static Pressure Distribution ◽  
End Wall

In the previous studies, the proposed method for gooseneck geometric modeling employed two polynomials to construct the inner-wall and area distribution curves. The inflection point location served as the variable to control the inner-wall polynomial curve, and the peak point location and peak value to control the area distribution polynomial curve. In the effort to be quickly located, the control variables were provided with more geometric meaning. 3D numerical simulations indicated that there existed a total pressure recovery island for given solution area of the three control variables. Consequently, the relationships between the geometric parameters and the total pressure loss were set up. This paper focused on the 2D simplifications to quickly address the control variables for the total pressure island. The studies were conducted in three aspects. First, the simplified model took the constructional blocking effects of struts into account. The baseline of the 2D simplified modeling was set at 30% spanwise near the hub through comparisons of different settings. Therefore, 70% blocking area compensated to outer-wall and 30% to inner-wall along the normal direction of the baseline. The 2D simulation results indicated that the static pressure distribution was consistent with the 3D results, but waves exited at the end walls of both leading and trailing edges due to the geometric changes. Second, the simplification considered the blocking effects of the wake. The wake was converted to boundary layer thickness, and moreover, compensation to the end wall was similar with the constructional blocking of struts. The simulation results revealed that wake blocking had very small impacts to the simplification, although the peak values of static pressure slightly increased at the end wall. Third, smoothing treatments were done for both inner-wall and outer-wall after the above compensating transformations. The results showed that smoothing treatments were very necessary and improved the waves located at end wall on the static pressure distribution which was nearly the same with 3D results. After all the simplifying treatments above, the final 2D results had almost the same total pressure loss distributions with the 3D results, and could save at least 40% calculation time as a quick assessment used to search the reasonable geometric solution areas of inflection point location and peak point location for minimum total pressure loss of the gooseneck.

Impact of a Collector Box on the Pressure Recovery of an Exhaust Diffuser System

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryan C. Bernier ◽  
Mark Ricklick ◽  
J. S. Kapat
Keyword(s):  
Pressure Loss ◽  
Total Pressure ◽  
Experimental Tests ◽  
Total Pressure Loss ◽  
Pressure Recovery ◽  
Computational Domain ◽  
Complex Flow ◽  
Local Pressure ◽  
3 Dimensional ◽  
Pressure Profiles

The effects of an industrial gas turbine’s Exhaust Collector Box (ECB) geometry on static pressure recovery and total pressure loss were investigated in this study. This study aims to further understand how exit boundary conditions affect the performance of a diffuser system. In this investigation, the exhaust diffuser remained constant through each test, with collector box geometries being varied. The same uniform velocity profile was maintained at the diffuser inlet for all geometries considered. The local pressure recovery through the diffuser with 4 axial ports at 4 circumferential locations was reported along with 14 locations in the accompanying ECB. A system performance analysis for each geometry was conducted using the total pressure loss from inlet to exit of the model. Velocity and total pressure profiles obtained with a hotwire anemometer and Kiel probe at the exit of the diffuser and at the exit of the ECB are also presented in this study. Three (3) different ECB geometries are investigated at a Reynolds number of 60,000. Results obtained from these experimental tests are used to validate the accuracy of a 3-dimensional RANS with realizable k-ε turbulence CFD model from the commercial software package Star-CCM+. The study confirms the existence of two strong counter-rotating helical vortices at the exit of the ECB which significantly affect the flow within the diffuser. Evidence of a strong recirculation zone within the ECB was found to force separation within the exhaust diffuser. Extending the length of the ECB proved to decrease the total pressure loss of the system by up to 19% experimentally. Additionally, the realizable k-ε turbulence was able to accurately represent the total pressure loss of the system within 5%. Despite the extremely complex flow field within the ECB, the computational domain reasonably represented the system in both magnitude and trends.

scholarly journals A Compact Diffuser System for Annular Combustors

1983 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. C. Adkins ◽  
J. O. Yost
Keyword(s):  
High Pressure ◽  
Mach Number ◽  
Pressure Loss ◽  
Total Pressure ◽  
Aerodynamic Performance ◽  
Total Pressure Loss ◽  
Pressure Recovery ◽  
Analytical Relationship ◽  
Exit Mach Number ◽  
Aerodynamic Simulation

Airflow tests have been conducted on an aerodynamic simulation of a combustor with pre-diffuser of compact configuration. The inlet Mach number throughout the tests was 0.35. The configuration was successful because of the attainment of a high pressure recovery, (Cp = 0.80), coupled with an exceptionally low total pressure loss (λ = 0.04). A useful analytical relationship is derived between the aerodynamic performance of combustor, compressor exit Mach number and diffuser performance.

Flow Measurements in a Fishtail Diffuser With Strong Curvature

1999 ◽  
Vol 121 (2) ◽  
pp. 410-417 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. I. Yaras
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Pressure Loss ◽  
Total Pressure ◽  
Static Pressure ◽  
Secondary Flows ◽  
Total Pressure Loss ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Inlet Flow ◽  
Inlet Conditions ◽  
Strong Curvature

The paper presents detailed measurements of the incompressible flow development in a large-scale 90 deg curved diffuser with strong curvature and significant streamwise variation in cross-sectional aspect ratio. The flow path approximates the so-called fishtail diffuser utilized on small gas turbine engines for the transition between the centrifugal impeller and the combustion chamber. Two variations of the inlet flow, differing in boundary layer thickness and turbulence intensity, are considered. Measurements consist of three components of velocity, static pressure and total pressure distributions at several cross-sectional planes throughout the diffusing bend. The development and mutual interaction of multiple pairs of streamwise vortices, redistribution of the streamwise flow under the influence of these vortices, the resultant streamwise variations in mass-averaged total-pressure and static pressure, and the effect of inlet conditions on these aspects of the flow are examined. The strengths of the vortical structures are found to be sensitive to the inlet flow conditions, with the inlet flow comprising a thinner boundary layer and lower turbulence intensity yielding stronger secondary flows. For both inlet conditions a pair of streamwise vortices develop rapidly within the bend, reaching their peak strength at about 30 deg into the bend. The development of a second pair of vortices commences downstream of this location and continues for the remainder of the bend. Little evidence of the first vortex pair remains at the exit of the diffusing bend. The mass-averaged total pressure loss is found to be insensitive to the range of inlet-flow variations considered herein. However, the rate of generation of this loss along the length of the diffusing bend differs between the two test cases. For the case with the thinner inlet boundary layer, stronger secondary flows result in larger distortion of the streamwise velocity field. Consequently, the static pressure recovery is somewhat lower for this test case. The difference between the streamwise distributions of measured and ideal static pressure is found to be primarily due to total pressure loss in the case of the thick inlet boundary layer. For the thin inlet boundary layer case, however, total pressure loss and flow distortion are observed to influence the pressure recovery by comparable amounts.

scholarly journals Optimization Study of the Dump Diffuser in Gas Turbine to Reduce Pressure Loss

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Fei Xing ◽  
Hao Su ◽  
Shining Chan ◽  
Leilei Xu ◽  
Xinyi Yu
Keyword(s):  
Pressure Loss ◽  
Total Pressure ◽  
Static Pressure ◽  
Vortex Method ◽  
Total Pressure Loss ◽  
Pressure Recovery ◽  
Test Model ◽  
Gap Ratio ◽  
Efficient Combustion ◽  
The Impact

As a key component-connecting compressor and the entrance of combustion chamber, the diffuser is able to increase the pressure and slow down the airflow in order to promote efficient combustion as well as avoid a large amount of pressure loss. In this paper, experimental investigation and numerical studies have been carried out to understand the effects of air bleeding from dump region and dump gap ratio on the total pressure loss and static pressure recovery of the dump diffusers. The ultimate objective is optimizing the dump diffuser design to get the maximum static pressure recovery and minimum total pressure loss. A simplified test model is used to study the effect of the air bleeding from the outer dump region and the dump gap ratio on the total pressure loss and static pressure recovery in the dump diffuser. The impact of the dump gap ratio in the performance of the dump diffusers has also been discussed. Nearly all the pressure raise occurs in the prediffuser, and most of the total pressure loss occurs in the dump region. For the recirculating area in the dump region, the controllable vortex can be introduced. Bleeding air from the outer dump region can improve the velocity distribution near the flame tube. The results show that when 0.4% of the air is bled from outer dump region, the performance of the dump diffuser is optimal. Hence, the controllable vortex method is effective for improving the performance of the dump diffuser.

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