Hybrid RANS-LES Modeling of a Hot Streak Generator Oriented to the Study of Combustor-Turbine Interaction

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Andreini ◽  
B. Facchini ◽  
M. Insinna ◽  
L. Mazzei ◽  
S. Salvadori
Keyword(s):  
Lean Burn ◽  
Turbine Cooling ◽  
Safety Margins ◽  
Annular Combustor ◽  
Viable Approach ◽  
Compact Design ◽  
Eu Project ◽  
Hot Streak ◽  
Physical Phenomena ◽  
The Impact

Turbine entry conditions are characterized by unsteady and strongly non-uniform velocity and temperature and pressure fields. The uncertainty and the lack of confidence associated to these conditions require the application of wide safety margins during the design of the turbine cooling systems, which are detrimental for the efficiency of the engine. These issues have been further complicated by the adoption of lean-burn technology in modern aeroengines, identified by many manufacturers as the most promising solution for a significant reduction of NOx emission. Such devices are in fact characterized by a very compact design, whereas the strong swirl component generated by the injector is maintained up to the end of the flametube due to the absence of dilution holes, which in conventional combustors provides the required pattern factor. Bearing in mind complexity and costs associated to the experimental investigation of combustor-turbine interaction, CFD has become a key and complementary tool to understand the physical phenomena involved. Due to the well-known limitations of the RANS approach and the increase in computational resources, hybrid RANS-LES models, such as Scale Adaptive Simulation (SAS), are proving to be a viable approach to resolve the main structures of the flow field. This paper reports the main findings of the numerical investigation of a hot streak generator for the study of combustor-turbine interaction. The results were compared to experimental data obtained from a test rig representative of a lean-burn, effusion cooled, annular combustor, developed in the context of the EU project FACTOR. Steady RANS and unsteady SAS runs were carried out in order to assess the improvements related to hybrid models. Additional simulations were performed to investigate the effect of the periodicity assumption and the impact of liner cooling modelling on the exit conditions.

Hybrid RANS-LES Modeling of the Aero-Thermal Field in an Annular Hot Streak Generator for the Study of Combustor-Turbine Interaction

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Andreini ◽  
T. Bacci ◽  
M. Insinna ◽  
L. Mazzei ◽  
S. Salvadori
Keyword(s):  
Navier Stokes ◽  
Test Rig ◽  
Lean Burn ◽  
Turbine Cooling ◽  
Safety Margins ◽  
Viable Approach ◽  
Sas Model ◽  
Aero Engines ◽  
Eu Project ◽  
Nozzle Guide

Turbine entry conditions are characterized by unsteady and strongly non-uniform velocity, temperature and pressure fields. The uncertainty and the lack of confidence associated with these conditions require the application of wide safety margins during the design of the turbine cooling systems, with a detrimental effect on engine efficiency. The adoption of lean-burn technology in modern aero-engines to reduce NOx emissions exacerbates the situation, as the absence of dilution holes keeps the strong swirl component generated by the burners up to the combustor outlet and prevents to control the pattern factor. Complexity and costs associated with the experimental investigation of combustor-turbine interaction, makes Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) paramount to understand the physical phenomena involved. Moreover, due to the well-known limitations of the Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) approach and the increase in computational resources, hybrid RANS-LES models, such as Scale Adaptive Simulation (SAS), are proving to be a viable approach to capture the main structures of the flow field. This paper reports the main findings of the numerical investigation on a test rig representative of a lean-burn, effusion cooled, annular combustor, developed in the context of the EU Project FACTOR (Full Aerothermal Combustor-Turbine interactiOns Research) with the aim of studying combustor-turbine interaction. Results obtained with RANS and unsteady SAS were critically compared to experimental data and analysed in order to better understand the flow physics within such a device, as well as to assess the improvements related to the use of hybrid models. The main discrepancies between RANS and SAS are highlighted in predicting the recirculating region, which has slight influence on the velocity field at the combustor outlet, but affects dramatically mixing and the resulting temperature distribution. Accuracy of the results achieved suggest a possible exploitation of SAS model with a view to the future inclusion of the nozzle guide vanes within the test rig.

Hybrid RANS-LES Modeling of the Aerothermal Field in an Annular Hot Streak Generator for the Study of Combustor–Turbine Interaction

2016 ◽  
Vol 139 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Andreini ◽  
T. Bacci ◽  
M. Insinna ◽  
L. Mazzei ◽  
S. Salvadori
Keyword(s):  
Navier Stokes ◽  
Test Rig ◽  
Complex Flow ◽  
Lean Burn ◽  
Flow Physics ◽  
Safety Margins ◽  
Viable Approach ◽  
Sas Model ◽  
Aero Engines ◽  
Eu Project

The adoption of lean-burn technology in modern aero-engines influences the already critical aerothermal conditions at turbine entry, where the absence of dilution holes preserves the swirl component generated by burners and prevents any control on pattern factor. The associated uncertainty and lack of confidence entail the application of wide safety margins in turbine cooling design, with a detrimental effect on engine efficiency. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) can provide a deeper understanding of the physical phenomena involved in combustor–turbine interaction, especially with hybrid Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) large eddy simulation (LES) models, such as scale adaptive simulation (SAS), which are proving to overcome the well-known limitations of the RANS approach and be a viable approach to capture the complex flow physics. This paper describes the numerical investigation on a test rig representative of a lean-burn, effusion cooled, annular combustor developed in the EU Project Full Aerothermal Combustor-Turbine interactiOns Research (FACTOR) with the aim of studying combustor–turbine interaction. Results obtained with RANS and SAS were critically compared to experimental data and analyzed to better understand the flow physics, as well as to assess the improvements related to the use of hybrid RANS-LES models. Significant discrepancies are highlighted for RANS in predicting the recirculating region, which has slight influence on the velocity field at the combustor outlet, but affects dramatically mixing and the resulting temperature distribution. The accuracy of the results achieved suggests the exploitation of SAS model with a view to the future inclusion of the nozzle guide vanes in the test rig.

Assessment of RANS Against LES for the Aero-Thermal Behavior of High Pressure Turbine Stages Under Realistic Inlet Conditions

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefano Vagnoli ◽  
Tom Verstraete ◽  
Charlie Koupper ◽  
Guillaume Bonneau
Keyword(s):  
High Pressure ◽  
Thermal Behavior ◽  
Turbulence Modeling ◽  
Engine Performance ◽  
High Pressure Turbine ◽  
Lean Burn ◽  
Field Development ◽  
Safety Margins ◽  
Inlet Conditions ◽  
Hot Streak

Modern Lean Burn combustors generate a complex field at the High Pressure turbine (HPT) inlet, characterized by non-uniform velocity and temperature distributions, together with very high turbulence levels (up to 25%). For these extreme conditions, classical numerical methods employed for the HPT design, such as Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes (RANS) simulation, suffer from a lack of validation. This leads to a reduced confidence in predicting the combustor-turbine interactions, which requires to use extra safety margins, to the detriment of the overall engine performance. Within the European FACTOR project, a 360° non reactive combustor simulator and a 1.5 HPT stage are designed to get more insight into the mutual interaction of these two components. A first experimental and numerical campaign has demonstrated the potential of Large Eddy Simulations (LES) to accurately reproduce the turbulent flow field development at the combustor outlet. The aim of the present paper is to exploit the accuracy of LES to validate less time-consuming RANS models in predicting the hot streak migration in the turbine stage. In this sense, LES results are used as a reference to discriminate the different RANS simulations in terms of turbulence modeling and aerothermal predictions. The current investigations clearly indicate that turbulence and hot streak diffusion within the HPT are strongly linked. In this sense, the choice of the RANS turbulence model and the inlet turbulent conditions plays a major role in modeling the thermal behavior for the stator and rotor blades.

scholarly journals Formal verification of obstacle avoidance and navigation of ground robots

2017 ◽  
Vol 36 (12) ◽  
pp. 1312-1340 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan Mitsch ◽  
Khalil Ghorbal ◽  
David Vogelbacher ◽  
André Platzer
Keyword(s):  
Control Algorithm ◽  
Dynamic Logic ◽  
Discrete Control ◽  
Model Parameters ◽  
Physical Motion ◽  
Liveness Properties ◽  
Safety Margins ◽  
Stationary Obstacles ◽  
Physical Phenomena ◽  
The Impact

This article answers fundamental safety questions for ground robot navigation: under which circumstances does which control decision make a ground robot safely avoid obstacles? Unsurprisingly, the answer depends on the exact formulation of the safety objective, as well as the physical capabilities and limitations of the robot and the obstacles. Because uncertainties about the exact future behavior of a robot’s environment make this a challenging problem, we formally verify corresponding controllers and provide rigorous safety proofs justifying why the robots can never collide with the obstacle in the respective physical model. To account for ground robots in which different physical phenomena are important, we analyze a series of increasingly strong properties of controllers for increasingly rich dynamics and identify the impact that the additional model parameters have on the required safety margins. We analyze and formally verify: (i) static safety, which ensures that no collisions can happen with stationary obstacles; (ii) passive safety, which ensures that no collisions can happen with stationary or moving obstacles while the robot moves; (iii) the stronger passive-friendly safety, in which the robot further maintains sufficient maneuvering distance for obstacles to avoid collision as well; and (iv) passive orientation safety, which allows for imperfect sensor coverage of the robot, i.e., the robot is aware that not everything in its environment will be visible. We formally prove that safety can be guaranteed despite sensor uncertainty and actuator perturbation. We complement these provably correct safety properties with liveness properties: we prove that provably safe motion is flexible enough to let the robot navigate waypoints and pass intersections. To account for the mixed influence of discrete control decisions and the continuous physical motion of the ground robot, we develop corresponding hybrid system models and use differential dynamic logic theorem-proving techniques to formally verify their correctness. Since these models identify a broad range of conditions under which control decisions are provably safe, our results apply to any control algorithm for ground robots with the same dynamics. As a demonstration, we also synthesize provably correct runtime monitor conditions that check the compliance of any control algorithm with the verified control decisions.

Development of an Engine Representative Combustor Simulator Dedicated to Hot Streak Generation

2014 ◽  
Vol 136 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlie Koupper ◽  
Gianluca Caciolli ◽  
Laurent Gicquel ◽  
Florent Duchaine ◽  
Guillaume Bonneau ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Computational Cost ◽  
Navier Stokes ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Hot Wire ◽  
Test Rig ◽  
Combustion Chambers ◽  
Lean Burn ◽  
Safety Margins ◽  
University Of Florence ◽  
Hot Streak

Nowadays, the lack of confidence in the prediction of combustor-turbine interactions and more specifically our ability to predict the migration of hot spots through this interface leads to the application of extra safety margins, which are detrimental to an optimized turbine design and efficiency. To understand the physics and flow at this interface, a full 360 deg nonreactive combustor simulator (CS) representative of a recent lean burn chamber together with a 1.5 turbine stage is instrumented at DLR in Gottingen (Germany) within the European project FACTOR. The chamber operates with axial swirlers especially designed to reproduce engine-realistic velocity and temperature distortion profiles, allowing the investigation of the hot streaks transport through the high pressure (HP) stage. First, a true scale three injector annular sector of the CS without turbine is assembled and tested at the University of Florence. To generate the hot steaks, the swirlers are fed by an air flow at 531 K, while the liners are cooled by an effusion system fed with air at ambient temperature. In addition to static pressure taps and thermocouples, the test rig will be equipped with an automatic traverse system which allows detailed measurements at the combustor exit by means of a 5-hole probe, a thermocouple, and hot wire anemometers. This paper presents the design process and instrumentation of the trisector CS, with a special focus on large Eddy simulations (LES) which were widely used to validate the design choices. It was indeed decided to take advantage of the ability and maturity of LES to properly capture turbulence and mixing within combustion chambers, despite an increased computational cost as compared to usual Reynolds averaged Navier Stokes (RANS) approaches. For preliminary design, simulations of a single periodic sector (representative of the DLR full annular rig) are compared to simulations of the trisector test rig, showing no difference on the central swirler predictions, comforting the choice for the trisector. In parallel, to allow hot wire anemometry (HWA) measurements, the selection of an isothermal operating point, representative of the nominal point, is assessed and validated by use of LES.

Rotor Blade Heat Transfer Characteristics for High Pressure Turbine Stage Under Inlet Temperature and Velocity Traverses

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Rahim ◽  
L. He ◽  
E. Romero
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
High Pressure ◽  
Heat Load ◽  
Inlet Temperature ◽  
Turbine Stage ◽  
Heat Transfer Characteristics ◽  
Lean Burn ◽  
Transfer Characteristics ◽  
Hot Streak ◽  
The Impact

One of the key considerations in high pressure (HP) turbine design is the heat load experienced by rotor blades. The impact of turbine inlet non-uniformities on the blades in the form of combined temperature and velocity traverses, typical for a lean burn combustor exit, has rarely been studied. For general HP turbine aerothermal designs, it is also of interest to understand how the behavior of a lean burn combustor traverses (hot streak and swirl) might contrast with those for rich burn combustion (largely hot streak only). In the present work, a computational study has been carried out on the aerothermal performance of a HP turbine stage under non-uniform temperature and velocity inlet profiles. The analyses are primarily conducted for two combined hot streak and swirl inlets, with opposite swirl directions. In addition, comparisons are made against a hot streak only case and a uniform inlet. The effects of three NGV shape configurations are investigated; namely, straight, compound lean (CL) and reverse compound lean (RCL). The present results show that there is a qualitative change in the roles played by heat transfer coefficient (HTC) and fluid driving (‘adiabatic wall’) temperature, Taw. It has been shown that the blade heat load distribution for a uniform inlet is dominated by HTC, whilst for a hot streak only case it is wholly influenced by Taw. However, in contrast to the hot streak only case, the case with a combined hot streak and swirl shows a role reversal with the HTC being dominant in determining the heat load. Additionally, it is seen that the swirling flow radially redistributes the hot fluid within the NGV passage considerably, leading to a much ‘flatter’ rotor inlet temperature profile compared to its hot streak only counterpart. Further, the rotor heat transfer characteristics for the cases with the combined traverses are shown to be strongly dependent on the NGV shaping and the inlet swirl direction, indicating the potential for future design space exploration. The present findings underline the need to clearly define relevant combustor exit temperature and velocity profiles when designing and optimizing NGVs for HP turbine aerothermal performance.

Development of an Engine Representative Combustor Simulator Dedicated to Hot Streak Generation

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlie Koupper ◽  
Guillaume Bonneau ◽  
Gianluca Caciolli ◽  
Bruno Facchini ◽  
Lorenzo Tarchi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Computational Cost ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Hot Wire ◽  
Test Rig ◽  
Combustion Chambers ◽  
Lean Burn ◽  
Safety Margins ◽  
High Pressure Stage ◽  
University Of Florence ◽  
Hot Streak

Nowadays, the lack of confidence in the prediction of combustor-turbine interactions and more specifically our ability to predict the migration of hot spots through this interface leads to the application of extra safety margins, which are detrimental to an optimized turbine design and efficiency. To understand the physics and flow at this interface, a full 360° non-reactive combustor simulator representative of a recent lean burn chamber together with a 1.5 turbine stage is instrumented at DLR in Gottingen (Germany) within the European project FACTOR. The chamber operates with axial swirlers especially designed to reproduce engine-realistic velocity and temperature distortion profiles allowing the investigation of the hot streaks transport through the high pressure stage. First, a true scale three injector annular sector of the combustor simulator without turbine is assembled and tested at the University of Florence. To generate the hot steaks the swirlers are fed by an air flow at 531 K, while the liners are cooled by an effusion system fed with air at ambient temperature. In addition to static pressure taps and thermocouples, the test rig will be equipped with an automatic traverse system which allows detailed measurements at the combustor exit by means of a 5-hole probe, a thermocouple and hot wire anemometers. This paper presents the design process and instrumentation of the trisector combustor simulator, with a special focus on Large Eddy Simulations (LES) which were widely used to validate the design choices. It was indeed decided to take advantage of the ability and maturity of LES to properly capture turbulence and mixing within combustion chambers, despite an increased computational cost as compared to usual RANS approaches. For preliminary design, simulations of a single periodic sector (representative of the DLR full annular rig) are compared to simulations of the trisector test rig, showing no difference on the central swirler predictions, comforting the choice for the trisector. In parallel, to allow hot wire anemometry measurements, the selection of an isothermal operating point, representative of the nominal point, is assessed and validated by use of LES.

An improved de Laval nozzle experiment

2021 ◽  
pp. 030641902110341
Author(s):  
Nicholas Goodman ◽  
Brian J Leege ◽  
Peter E Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Data Acquisition ◽  
Laval Nozzle ◽  
Flow Characteristics ◽  
Data Acquisition System ◽  
Isentropic Flow ◽  
Hands On ◽  
De Laval Nozzle ◽  
Physical Phenomena ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

Exposing students to hands-on experiments has been a common approach to illustrating complex physical phenomena that have been otherwise modelled solely mathematically. Compressible, isentropic flow in a duct is an example of such a phenomenon, and it is often demonstrated via a de Laval nozzle experiment. We have improved an existing converging/diverging nozzle experiment so that students can modify the location of the normal shock that develops in the diverging portion to better understand the relationship between the shock and the pressure. We have also improved the data acquisition system for this experiment and explained how visualisation of the standing shock is now possible. The results of the updated system demonstrate that the accuracy of the isentropic flow characteristics has not been lost. Through pre- and post-laboratory quizzes, we show the impact on student learning as well.

“Play with me”: Student perspectives on collaborative chamber music instruction

2021 ◽  
pp. 1321103X2097480
Author(s):  
Katie Zhukov ◽  
Jon Helge Sætre
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Chamber Music ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Pilot Project ◽  
Music Instruction ◽  
Student Focus ◽  
Music Community ◽  
Viable Approach ◽  
Education Performance ◽  
The Impact

This article reports on a pilot project conducted in Australia and Norway evaluating new approaches to collaborative chamber music instruction in higher education settings. Following suggestions from the literature on collaborative and group learning in music, chamber music tuition was chosen as a suitable context to examine the possibility of teaching-through-playing and the impact of such an approach on students’ collaborative learning and their induction into the professional music community. Two groups of staff and students in each institution volunteered to participate in the project and implemented their own rehearsal schedule. Student focus group interviews were conducted after the final performance of rehearsed repertoire, and transcripts were analyzed by two researchers independently for the emerging themes and refined through iterative discussions. Key findings include students being inspired by working with experienced staff in a professional setting, learning the skills of ensemble playing such as effective rehearsal techniques, understanding of stylistic conventions, specific technical, musical and co-ordination skills, greater experimentation, positive impact of group discussions, and a more collaborative atmosphere. Students found it challenging to alter power roles, as the ingrained attitudes of teacher-led approaches prevailed. This project has shown that teaching-through-playing chamber music is a viable approach for developing students’ musical and social skills by providing them with authentic professional experiences. We propose an alternative model of higher education performance teaching that is more collaborative and participatory.

Modeling of Natural Gas Composition Effect on Low NOx Burners Operation in Heavy Duty Gas Turbine

2021 ◽  
Vol 143 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Serena Romano ◽  
Roberto Meloni ◽  
Giovanni Riccio ◽  
Pier Carlo Nassini ◽  
Antonio Andreini
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
Gas Turbine ◽  
Deep Understanding ◽  
Combustion Efficiency ◽  
Gas Composition ◽  
Gas Combustion ◽  
Annular Combustor ◽  
Heavy Duty Gas Turbine ◽  
Minimal Environmental Impact ◽  
The Impact

Abstract This paper addresses the impact of natural gas composition on both the operability and emissions of lean premixed gas turbine combustion system. This is an issue of growing interest due to the challenge for gas turbine manufacturers in developing fuel-flexible combustors capable of operating with variable fuel gases while producing very low emissions at the same time. Natural gas contains primarily methane (CH4) but also notable quantities of higher order hydrocarbons such as ethane (C2H6) can also be present. A deep understanding of natural gas combustion is important to obtain the highest combustion efficiency with minimal environmental impact. For this purpose, Large Eddy Simulations of an annular combustor sector equipped with a partially premixed burner are carried out for two different natural gas compositions with and without including the effect of flame strain rate and heat loss resulting in a more adequate description of flame shape, thermal field, and extinction phenomena. Promising results, in terms of NOx, compared against available experimental data, are obtained including these effects on the flame brush modeling, enhancing the fuel-dependency under nonadiabatic condition.

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