Numerical Research on Flow Characteristics of Inlet Flow-Path for Ram-Rotor

Author(s):  
Weijia Kang ◽  
Zhansheng Liu ◽  
Zhixuan Cao ◽  
Le Wang ◽  
Gangwei Wang

A design method of ram-rotor inlet flow-path with shock wave compression is proposed with consideration of shock wave angle, plane turning angle, the inlet flow-path throat, and subsonic diffuser. A 3D model of the inlet flow path for ram-rotor is established by applying this design method. Effects of the back pressure, rotational speed and flow-path structure on the structure of shock wave and flow-path field distribution are numerically analyzed. The simulation results indicate that the inlet compression efficiency and thermal efficiency of rotating ramjet engine are improved with the increment of exit back pressure when the inlet flow-path operates normally. But along with the increase of rotational speed, the change trends of pressure ratio and compression efficiency are opposite. Reasonable compromise is needed in improving the rotating speed of ram-rotor. In addition, the constant length should also be guaranteed in the throat of inlet flow-path, where a relatively stable shock train forms.

Author(s):  
Santhosh Kumar Gugulothu ◽  
B. Bhaskar ◽  
V.V. Phani Babu

Numerical simulations are carried out to study the effect of divergence angle and adverse pressure gradient on the movement of shock wave train in a scramjet isolator. The commercial software tool ANSYS Fluent 16 was used to simplify two dimensional Reynolds averaged Navier Stokes equation with compressible fluid flow by considering the density-based solver with standard K-ε turbulence model. The species transport model with single step volumetric reaction mechanism is employed. Initially, the simulated results are validated with experimental results available in open literature. The obtained results show that the variation of the divergence angle and back pressure on the scramjet isolator has greater significance on the flow field. Also, with an increase in the back pressure, due to the intense turbulent combustion, the shock wave train developed should expand along the length and also moves towards the leading edge of the isolator leading to rapid rise in the pressure so that the pressure at the entrance of the isolator can match the enhanced back pressures.


Author(s):  
Ling Yang ◽  
Jingjun Zhong ◽  
Ji-ang Han

The design methods of typical supersonic aircraft intakes and shock wave compression technology have been applied to ram-rotor, a new attractive compression system. A ram-rotor is a typical structure including the compression ramp, the throat and the subsonic diffuser; a scrampressor is similar to ram-rotor, the only different is that scrampressor has no subsonic diffuser. Base on the preparatory work, it has been found that these two structures have different advantages respectively. So, in this paper, the three dimensional Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations and the Spalart-Allmaras turbulent model are used to simulate numerically the flow field of the ram-rotor and the scrampressor at the design and at the off-design conditions. The back pressure and rotational speed are mainly considered which may affect the flow field and the total performance. It has been found that back pressure can not have influence on the flow field before the throat outlet obviously. With increasing of the back pressure, the position of the flow separation zone and shock train move forwards to the inlet. The rotational speed changes the shock wave structure of the ram-rotor and scrampressor evidently. With the rotational speed increasing, each shock wave moves to the outlet and the shock wave number decreases. The ram-rotor and scrampressor structure is similar, except the ram-rotor flow structure has a large flow separation zone after the throat outlet. The compression capability of the ram-rotor is higher than that of the scrampressor. The total performance of the scrampressor is better than the ram-rotor.


Author(s):  
Qinghua Deng ◽  
Wenjiao Qi ◽  
Zhenping Feng

A Tesla turbine makes use of a fluid’s viscous force to cause rotation of a set of closed spaced disks. In this paper, the theoretical analysis method proposed by Carey et al in 2010 was improved, and the design method has taken the pressure drop occurring in the rotor into consideration in order to approach its physics condition of flow. The sensitivity of the design parameters on the isentropic efficiency of Tesla turbines was investigated, and the results indicate that rotor tip Mach number is the most sensitive factor, followed in turn by the pressure ratio across the turbine, the specific heat ratio, the non-dimensional rotor radius ratio, the dimensionless inlet tangential velocity difference, and the modified Reynolds number. A typical Tesla turbine was designed and its flow characteristics were numerically simulated by 3-dimensional viscous governing equations. The results of numerical simulations show that the isentropic efficiency increases with the rotational speed and increasing turbine pressure ratio and as the nozzle number drops. The output power goes up with the rotational speed and increasing nozzle number, but decreases with increasing pressure ratio across the turbine. The highest isentropic efficiency 0.436 of the Tesla turbine supply with 2 nozzles is obtained with the pressure ratio 0.8 and the rotational speed 24,658r/min. Combining the influence of nozzle number on isentropic efficiency and output power, a Tesla turbine with two or four nozzles is suggested. Generally the results of numerical calculations show that they are in reasonably agreement with the results of design method, and are also consistent with the results of sensitivity analysis.


2020 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Binglong Zhang ◽  
He Liu ◽  
Jianhua Zhou ◽  
Hui Liu

AbstractThe forward variable area bypass injector (FVABI) is a key component of double bypass variable cycle engine (VCE) to achieve mode transition and bypass ratio adjustment. In this paper, an experimental system for FVABI was constructed based on the analysis of relevant experimental theories, and then the experiments on FVABI were carried out for a specific working state in double bypass mode of VCE and for the comparison working states with different area ratios and different back pressure ratios. The results showed that the FVABI designed in this paper meets the requirements of VCE at this working state. The analysis of the influence of area ratio and back pressure ratio on the injection coefficient showed that the first bypass valve and back pressure were effective means to control the mass flow of FVABI.


Author(s):  
Dries Verstraete ◽  
Kjersti Lunnan

Small unmanned aircraft are currently limited to flight ceilings below 20,000 ft due to the lack of an appropriate propulsion system. One of the most critical technological hurdles for an increased flight ceiling of small platforms is the impact of reduced Reynolds number conditions at altitude on the performance of small radial turbomachinery. The current article investigates the influence of Reynolds number on the efficiency and pressure ratio of two small centrifugal compressor impellers using a one-dimensional meanline performance analysis code. The results show that the efficiency and pressure ratio of the 60 mm baseline compressor at the design rotational speed drops with 6–9% from sea-level to 70,000 ft. The impact on the smaller 20 mm compressor is slightly more pronounced and amounts to 6–10%. Off-design changes at low rotational speeds are significantly higher and can amount to up to 15%. Whereas existing correlations show a good match for the efficiency drop at the design rotational speed, they fail to predict efficiency changes with rotational speed. A modified version is therefore proposed.


Author(s):  
B Xiong ◽  
Z-G Wang ◽  
X-Q Fan ◽  
Y Wang

In order to make the shock train leading edge detection method more possible for operational application, a new detection method based on differential pressure signals is introduced in this paper. Firstly, three previous detection methods, including the pressure ratio method, the pressure increase method, and the standard deviation method, have been examined whether they are also applicable for shock train moving at different speeds. Accordingly, three experimental cases of back-pressure changing at different rates were conducted in this paper. The results show that the pressure ratio and the pressure increase method both have acceptable detection accuracy for shock train moving rapidly and slowly, and the standard deviation method is not applicable for rapid shock train movement due to its running time window. Considering the operational application, the differential pressure method is raised and tested in this paper. This detection method has sufficient temporal resolution for rapidly and slowly shock train moving, and can make a real-time detection. In the end, the improvements brought by the differential pressure method have been discussed.


Author(s):  
Peng Wang ◽  
Mehrdad Zangeneh ◽  
Bryn Richards ◽  
Kevin Gray ◽  
James Tran ◽  
...  

Engine downsizing is a modern solution for the reduction of CO2 emissions from internal combustion engines. This technology has been gaining increasing attention from industry. In order to enable a downsized engine to operate properly at low speed conditions, it is essential to have a compressor stage with very good surge margin. The ported shroud, also known as the casing treatment, is a conventional way used in turbochargers to widen the working range. However, the ported shroud works effectively only at pressure ratios higher than 3:1. At lower pressure ratio, its advantages for surge margin enhancements are very limited. The variable inlet guide vanes are also a solution to this problem. By adjusting the setting angles of variable inlet guide vanes, it is possible to shift the compressor map toward the smaller flow rates. However, this would also undermine the stage efficiency, require extra space for installing the inlet guide vanes, and add costs. The best solution is therefore to improve the design of impeller blade itself to attain high aerodynamic performances and wide operating ranges. This paper reports a recent study of using inverse design method for the redesign of a centrifugal compressor stage used in an electric supercharger, including the impeller blade and volute. The main requirements were to substantially increase the stable operating range of the compressor in order to meet the demands of the downsized engine. The three-dimensional (3D) inverse design method was used to optimize the impeller geometry and achieve higher efficiency and stable operating range. The predicted performance map shows great advantages when compared with the existing design. To validate the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) results, this new compressor stage has also been prototyped and tested. It will be shown that the CFD predictions have very good agreement with experiments and the redesigned compressor stage has improved the pressure ratio, aerodynamic efficiency, choke, and surge margins considerably.


2017 ◽  
Vol 122 (1247) ◽  
pp. 83-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Saravanan ◽  
S.L.N. Desikan ◽  
T.M. Muruganandam

ABSTRACTThe present study investigates the behaviour of the shock train in a typical Ramjet engine under the influence of shock and expansion waves at the entry of a low aspect ratio (1:0.75) rectangular duct/isolator at supersonic Mach number (M = 1.7). The start/unstart characteristics are investigated through steady/unsteady pressure measurements under different back and dynamic pressures while the shock train dynamics are captured through instantaneous Schlieren flow visualisation. Two parameters, namely pressure recovery and the pressure gradient, is derived to assess the duct/isolator performance. For a given back pressure, with maximum blockage (9% above nominal), the duct/isolator flow is established when the dynamic pressure is increased by 23.5%. The unsteady pressure measurements indicate different scales of eddies above 80 Hz (with and without flap deflection). Under the no flap deflection (no back pressure) condition, the maximum fluctuating pressure component is 0.01% and 0.1% of the stagnation pressure at X/L = 0.03 (close to the entry of the duct) and X/L = 0.53 (middle of the duct), respectively. Once the flap is deflected (δ = 8°), decay in eddies by one order is noticed. Further increase in back pressure (δ ≥ 11°) leads the flow to unstart where eddies are observed to be disappeared.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-51
Author(s):  
Yingjie Zhang ◽  
Xingen Lu ◽  
Yanfeng Zhang ◽  
Ziqing Zhang ◽  
Xu Dong ◽  
...  

Abstract This paper describes the stall mechanism in an ultra-high-pressure-ratio centrifugal compressor. A model comprising all impeller and diffuser blade passages is used to conduct unsteady simulations that trace the onset of instability in the compressor. Backward-traveling rotating stall waves appear at the inlet of the radial diffuser when the compressor is throttled. Six stall cells propagate circumferentially at approximately 0.7% of the impeller rotation speed. The detached shock of the radial diffuser leading edge and the number of stall cells determine the direction of stall propagation, which is opposite to the impeller rotation direction. Dynamic mode decomposition is applied to instantaneous flow fields to extract the flow structure related to the stall mode. This shows that intensive pressure fluctuations concentrate in the diffuser throat as a result of changes in the detached shock intensity. The diffuser passage stall and stall recovery are accompanied by changes in incidence angle and shock wave intensity. When the diffuser passage stalls, the shock-induced boundary-layer separation region near the diffuser vane suction surface gradually expands, increasing the incidence angle and decreasing the shock intensity. The shock is pushed from the diffuser throat toward the diffuser leading edge. When the diffuser passage recovers from stall, the shock wave gradually returns to the diffuser throat, with the incidence angle decreasing and the shock intensity increasing. Once the shock intensity reaches its maximum, the diffuser passage suffers severe shock-induced boundary-layer separation and stalls again.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Mantelli ◽  
M. L. Ferrari ◽  
A. Traverso

Abstract Pressurized solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) systems are one of the most promising technologies to achieve high energy conversion efficiencies and reduce pollutant emissions. The most common solution for pressurization is the integration with a micro gas turbine, a device capable of exploiting the residual energy of the exhaust gas to compress the fuel cell air intake and, at the same time, generating additional electrical power. The focus of this study is on an alternative layout, based on an automotive turbocharger, which has been more recently considered by the research community to improve cost effectiveness at small size (< 100 kW), despite reducing slightly the top achievable performance. Such turbocharged SOFC system poses two main challenges. On one side, the absence of an electrical generator does not allow the direct control of the rotational speed, which is determined by the power balance between turbine and compressor. On the other side, the presence of a large volume between compressor and turbine, due to the fuel cell stack, alters the dynamic behavior of the turbocharger during transients, increasing the risk of compressor surge. The pressure oscillations associated with such event are particularly detrimental for the system, because they could easily damage the materials of the fuel cells. The aim of this paper is to investigate different techniques to drive the operative point of the compressor far from the surge condition when needed, reducing the risks related to transients and increasing its reliability. By means of a system dynamic model, developed using the TRANSEO simulation tool by TPG, the effect of different anti-surge solutions is simulated: (i) intake air conditioning, (ii) water spray at compressor inlet, (iii) air bleed and recirculation, and (iv) installation of an ejector at the compressor intake. The pressurized fuel cell system is simulated with two different control strategies, i.e. constant fuel mass flow and constant turbine inlet temperature. Different solutions are evaluated based on surge margin behavior, both in the short and long terms, but also monitoring other relevant physical quantities of the system, such as compressor pressure ratio and turbocharger rotational speed.


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