Enhanced CFD Modelling and LDA Measurements for the Air-Flow in an Aero-Engine Front Bearing Chamber: Part II

Author(s):  
J. Aidarinis ◽  
A. Goulas

A detailed computational study of the air-flow through the outer gap of the front bearing of an aero-engine is presented. The reason to carry out this study was to understand the flow through the bearing as a function of the operational parameters of the engine, which was necessary for the modeling of the flow in the whole bearing chamber. The complex geometry and the size of the bearing gap relative to the overall dimensions of the bearing chamber and the need for very precise and detailed information of the effect on the flow within the chamber of the bearing operational parameters, prohibited the solution of the flow through the gap together with the rest of the bearing chamber. A 3-D modeling of the flow through the outer bearing gap, which included a section of the ball bearing, was performed. Functions relating the pressure drop of the air coming through the bearing gap and the tangential component of velocity of the air exiting the bearing region, to the mass of air through the gap of the ball bearing and the rotational speed of the shaft were developed. The effect of the lubrication oil within the bearing was modeled as an anisotropic porous medium with a predefined law. In order to acquire in a mathematical form the above relationships a series of computational runs were performed. These relationships, in the form of second order curves, were subsequently introduced to the model of the bearing chamber as described in [1]. The constants of the relationships were derived through comparisons of the calculations with the experimental data. From the analysis it was concluded that the pressure drop across the bearing increases with the square of the rotational speed of the shaft with the mass flow of air through the ball bearing as a parameter and vice versa. For this particular ball bearing there is a region where, for any combination of rotational speed of the shaft and pressure drop through the bearing, there is no flow of air through the bearing. In this paper the detailed modeling methodology, the computational flow field, the boundary conditions and finally the results are presented and discussed.

Author(s):  
J. Aidarinis ◽  
A. Goulas

A detailed computational study of the air-flow through the outer gap of the front bearing of an aero-engine is presented. The reason to carry out this study was to understand the flow through the bearing as a function of the operational parameters of the engine, which was necessary for the modeling of the flow in the whole bearing chamber. The complex geometry and the size of the bearing gap relative to the overall dimensions of the bearing chamber and the need for very precise and detailed information of the effect on the flow within the chamber of the bearing operational parameters, prohibited the solution of the flow through the gap together with the rest of the bearing chamber. A 3D modeling of the flow through the outer bearing gap, which included a section of the ball bearing, was performed. Functions relating the pressure drop of the air coming through the bearing gap and the tangential component of velocity of the air exiting the bearing region, to the mass of air through the gap of the ball bearing and the rotational speed of the shaft were developed. The effect of the lubrication oil within the bearing was modeled as an anisotropic porous medium with a predefined law. In order to acquire in a mathematical form the above relationships a series of computational runs were performed. These relationships, in the form of second order curves, were subsequently introduced to the model of the bearing chamber as described by Aidarinis and Goulas (2014, “Enhanced CFD Modeling and LDA Measurements for the Air-Flow in an Aero Engine Front Bearing Chamber (Part I),” ASME Paper No. GT2014-26060). The constants of the relationships were derived through comparisons of the calculations with the experimental data. From the analysis, it was concluded that the pressure drop across the bearing increases with the square of the rotational speed of the shaft with the mass flow of air through the ball bearing as a parameter and vice versa. For this particular ball bearing, there is a region where, for any combination of rotational speed of the shaft and pressure drop through the bearing, there is no flow of air through the bearing. In this paper the detailed modeling methodology, the computational flow field, the boundary conditions and finally the results are presented and discussed.


Author(s):  
J. Aidarinis ◽  
A. Goulas

Modern aero-engine development requires also a gradual increase in the overall effectiveness of lubrication systems. This particularly applies to bearing chambers where a complex two-phase flow is formed by the interaction of the sealing air and the lubrication oil. It is important to increase the level of understanding of the flow field inside the bearing chamber and to develop engineering tools in order to optimize its design and improve its performance. To achieve this an experimental and a computational study of the whole front bearing chamber were carried out for a range of shaft rotational speeds and sealing air mass flow. The experimental measurements of the air velocity inside the chamber were carried out using a Laser Doppler Anemometer (LDA) in two-phase air/oil flow conditions. The experimental facility is a 1:1 scale model of the front bearing chamber of an aero-engine. Computational 3D modeling of the bearing chamber was performed. The bearing gap and the presence of lubrication oil was modeled as an anisotropic porous medium with functions relating the pressure loss of the air coming through the gap and the tangential component of velocity of the air exiting the gap of the ball bearing with the air-flow rate through the gap and the rotational speed of the shaft. The methodology to obtain the above mentioned functions and the results of the detailed study are given in [1]. The enhanced computational model of the chamber implementing the law of pressure drop of the ‘lubricated’ bearing and the function of modeling the tangential velocity of the air exiting the bearing, was used to calculate the flow field for the full range of the measurements. A limiting curve dividing the operational map of the bearing chamber into two areas was predicted. Large vortical and swirling structures dominate the flow and they vary in size according to the position of the operation point relative to the limiting curve. Operation above the limiting curve leads to flow classified as type I with air going through the ball bearing while for operation below the limiting curve line the flow is classified as type II, there is no air-flow through the bearing gap.


1981 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 1010-1013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pitam Chandra ◽  
Louis D. Albright ◽  
Gerald E. Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Air Flow ◽  

Author(s):  
J. Aidarinis ◽  
A. Goulas

Modern aero-engine development requires also a gradual increase in the overall effectiveness of lubrication systems. This particularly applies to bearing chambers where a complex two-phase flow is formed by the interaction of the sealing air and the lubrication oil. It is important to increase the level of understanding of the flow field inside the bearing chamber and to develop engineering tools in order to optimize its design and improve its performance. To achieve this, an experimental and a computational study of the whole front bearing chamber were carried out for a range of shaft rotational speeds and sealing air mass flow. The experimental measurements of the air velocity inside the chamber were carried out using a laser Doppler anemometer (LDA) in two-phase air/oil-flow conditions. The experimental facility is a 1:1 scale model of the front bearing chamber of an aero-engine. Computational 3D modeling of the bearing chamber was performed. The bearing gap and the presence of lubrication oil were modeled as an anisotropic porous medium with functions relating the pressure loss of the air coming through the gap and the tangential component of velocity of the air exiting the gap of the ball bearing with the air-flow rate through the gap and the rotational speed of the shaft. The methodology to obtain the above mentioned functions and the results of the detailed study are given (Aidarinis, J., and Goulas, A., 2014, “Enhanced CFD Modeling and LDA Measurements for the Air-Flow in an Aero Engine Front Bearing Chamber: Part II,” ASME Paper No. GT2014-26062). The enhanced computational model of the chamber implementing the law of pressure drop of the “lubricated” bearing and the function of modeling the tangential velocity of the air exiting the bearing was used to calculate the flow field for the full range of the measurements. A limiting curve dividing the operational map of the bearing chamber into two areas was predicted. Large vortical and swirling structures dominate the flow and they vary in size according to the position of the operation point relative to the limiting curve. Operation above the limiting curve leads to flow classified as type I with air going through the ball bearing while for operation below the limiting curve line the flow is classified as type II, there is no air-flow through the bearing gap.


2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 1029-1034 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Shukrie ◽  
S. Anuar ◽  
A. N. Oumer

Fluidized bed combustion (FBC) has been recognized as one of the suitable technologies for converting a wide variety of biomass fuels into energy. One of the key factors affecting the successful operation of fluidized bed combustion is its distributor plate design. Therefore, the main purpose of this article is to provide a critical overview of the published studies that are relevant to the characteristics of different fluidized bed air distributor designs. The review of available works display that the type of distributor design significantly affects the operation of the fluidized bed i.e., performance characteristics, fluidization quality, air flow dynamics, solid pattern and mixing caused by the direction of air flow through the distributors. Overall it is observed that high pressure drop across the distributor is one of the major draw backs of the current distributor designs. However, fluidization was stable in a fluidized bed operated at a low perforation ratio distributor due to the pressure drop across the distributor, adequate to provide uniform gas distribution. The swirling motion produced by the inclined injection of gas promotes lateral dispersion and significantly improves fluidization quality. Lastly, the research gaps are highlighted for future improvement consideration on the development of efficient distributor designs.


1994 ◽  
Vol 116 (2) ◽  
pp. 391-399 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. F. Kutscher

Low-porosity perforated plates are being used as absorbers for heating ambient air in a new type of unglazed solar collector. This paper investigates the convective heat transfer effectiveness for low-speed air flow through thin, isothermal perforated plates with and without a crosswind on the upstream face. The objective of this work is to provide information that will allow designers to optimize hole size and spacing. In order to obtain performance data, a wind tunnel and small lamp array were designed and built. Experimental data were taken for a range of plate porosities from 0.1 to 5 percent, hole Reynolds numbers from 100 to 2000, and wind speeds from 0 to 4 m/s. Correlations were developed for heat exchange effectiveness and also for pressure drop. Infrared thermography was used to visualize the heat transfer taking place at the surface.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document