Introduction of Circumferentially Non-Uniform Variable Guide Vanes in the Inlet Plenum of a Centrifugal Compressor for Minimum Losses and Flow Distortion

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ismail Sezal ◽  
Matthias Lang ◽  
Christian Aalburg ◽  
Nan Chen ◽  
Wolfgang Erhard ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Variable Speed ◽  
Flow Distortion ◽  
Flow Rates ◽  
Guide Vanes ◽  
Baseline Design ◽  
Pressure Losses ◽  
Operating Range ◽  
Maximum Angle ◽  
Uniform Designs ◽  
The Impact

In the Oil & Gas industry, large variations in flow rates are often encountered which require compression trains with a wide operating range. If the stable operating range at constant speed is insufficient, variable speed drivers can be used to meet the requirements. Alternatively, variable guide vanes (IGVs) can be introduced into the inlet plenum to provide pre- or counter-swirl to the first stage impeller, possibly eliminating the need for variable speed. This paper presents the development and validation of circumferentially non-uniform IGVs that were specifically designed to provide maximum angle variation at minimum losses and flow distortion for the downstream impeller. This includes the comparison of three concepts: a baseline design based on circumferentially uniform and symmetric profiles and two circumferentially non-uniform concepts based on uniquely cambered airfoils at each circumferential position and a multi airfoil configuration consisting of a uniquely cambered fixed part and a movable part. The idea behind the circumferentially non-uniform designs was to take into account non-symmetric flow features inside the plenum and a bias towards large preswirl angles rather than counter-swirl during practical operation. The designs were carried out by CFD and first tested in a steady, full-annulus cascade in order to quantify pressure losses and flow quality at the inlet to the impeller at different IGV setting angles (ranging from −20° to +60°) and flow rates. Subsequently, the designs were mounted in front of a typical Oil & Gas impeller on a high speed rotating rig in order to determine the impact of flow distortion on the impeller performance. The results show that pressure losses in the inlet plenum could be reduced by up to 40% with the circumferentially non-uniform designs over the symmetric baseline configuration. Furthermore, a significant reduction in circumferential distortion could be achieved with the circumferentially non-uniform designs. The resulting improvement in impeller performance contributed approx. 40% to the overall efficiency gains for inlet plenum and impeller combined.

Introduction of Circumferentially Nonuniform Variable Guide Vanes in the Inlet Plenum of a Centrifugal Compressor for Minimum Losses and Flow Distortion

2016 ◽  
Vol 138 (9) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ismail Sezal ◽  
Nan Chen ◽  
Christian Aalburg ◽  
Rajesh Kumar V. Gadamsetty ◽  
Wolfgang Erhard ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Variable Speed ◽  
Flow Distortion ◽  
Flow Rates ◽  
Guide Vanes ◽  
Baseline Design ◽  
Pressure Losses ◽  
Operating Range ◽  
Maximum Angle ◽  
The Impact

In the oil and gas industry, large variations in flow rates are often encountered, which require compression trains with a wide operating range. If the stable operating range at constant speed is insufficient, variable speed drivers can be used to meet the requirements. Alternatively, variable inlet guide vanes (IGVs) can be introduced into the inlet plenum to provide pre- or counterswirl to the first-stage impeller, possibly eliminating the need for variable speed. This paper presents the development and validation of circumferentially nonuniform IGVs that were specifically designed to provide maximum angle variation at minimum losses and flow distortion for the downstream impeller. This includes the comparison of three concepts: a baseline design based on circumferentially uniform and symmetric profiles, two circumferentially nonuniform concepts based on uniquely cambered airfoils at each circumferential position, and a multi-airfoil configuration consisting of a uniquely cambered fixed part and a movable part. The idea behind the circumferentially nonuniform designs was to take into account nonsymmetric flow features inside the plenum and a bias toward large preswirl angles rather than counter-swirl during practical operation. The designs were carried out by computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and first tested in a steady, full-annulus cascade in order to quantify pressure losses and flow quality at the inlet to the impeller at different IGV setting angles (ranging from −20 deg to +60 deg) and flow rates. Subsequently, the designs were mounted in front of a typical oil and gas impeller on a high-speed rotating rig in order to determine the impact of flow distortion on the impeller performance. The results show that pressure losses in the inlet plenum could be reduced by up to 40% with the circumferentially nonuniform designs over the symmetric baseline configuration. Furthermore, a significant reduction in circumferential distortion could be achieved with the circumferentially nonuniform designs. The resulting improvement in impeller performance contributed approximately 40% to the overall efficiency gains for inlet plenum and impeller combined.

Parametric Study on Ported Shroud Locations and Geometries for a Turbocharger Compressor

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suheab Thamizullah ◽  
Abdul Nassar ◽  
Antonio Davis ◽  
Gaurav Giri ◽  
Leonid Moroz
Keyword(s):  
Centrifugal Compressor ◽  
Combustion Engine ◽  
Engine Performance ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Entire Study ◽  
Operating Condition ◽  
Baseline Design ◽  
Operating Range ◽  
Ported Shroud ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Turbochargers are commonly used in automotive engines to increase the internal combustion engine performance during off-design operating conditions. When used, the widest operating range for the turbocharger is desired, which is limited on the compressor side by the choke condition and the surge phenomenon. The ported shroud technology is used to extend the operable working range of the compressor, by permitting flow disturbances that block the blade passage to escape and stream back through the shroud cavity to the compressor inlet. The impact of this technology, on a speed-line, at near optimal operating condition, near choke operating condition and near surge operating condition is investigated. The ported shroud (PS) self-recirculating casing treatment is widely used to delay the onset of surge by enhancing the aerodynamic stability of the turbocharger compressor. While the ported shroud design delays surge, it usually comes with a small penalty in efficiency. This research involves designing a single-stage centrifugal compressor for the given specifications, considering the application of an automotive turbocharger. The ported shroud was then introduced in the centrifugal compressor. The performance characteristics were obtained, both at the design and at off-design conditions, both with and without the ported shroud. The performance was compared at various off-design operating speed lines. The entire study, from designing the compressor to optimizing the ported shroud configuration, was performed using the commercial AxSTREAM® software platform. Parametric studies were performed to study the effect of ported shroud axial location along the blade axial length on the operating range and performance. The baseline design, without the ported shroud (P0), and the final geometry with it for all PS inlet axial locations (P1 to P5) were analysed using a commercial CFD package and the results were compared with those from the streamline solver.

scholarly journals Experimental and Numerical Assessment of the Impact of an Integrated Active Pre-Swirl Generator on Turbocharger Compressor Performance and Operating Range

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (12) ◽  
pp. 3537
Author(s):  
Charles Stuart ◽  
Stephen Spence ◽  
Sönke Teichel ◽  
Andre Starke
Keyword(s):  
Mass Flow ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Centrifugal Impeller ◽  
Boost Pressure ◽  
Flow Rates ◽  
Operating Range ◽  
Surge Margin ◽  
Mass Flow Rates ◽  
Low Mass ◽  
The Impact

The implementation of increasingly stringent emissions and efficiency targets has seen engine downsizing and other complementary technologies increase in prevalence throughout the automotive sector. In order to facilitate ongoing improvements associated with the use of these strategies, delivering enhancements to the performance and stability of the turbocharger compressor when operating at low mass flow rates is of paramount importance. In spite of this, a few concepts (either active or passive) targeting such aims have successfully transitioned into use in automotive turbochargers, due primarily to the requirement for a very wide compressor-operating range. In order to overcome the operational limitations associated with existing pre-swirl generation devices such as inlet guide vanes, this study developed a concept comprising of an electrically driven axial fan mounted upstream of a standard automotive turbocharger centrifugal compressor. Rather than targeting a direct contribution to compressor boost pressure, the fan was designed to act as a variable pre-swirl generation device capable of being operated completely independently of the centrifugal impeller. It was envisioned that this architecture would allow efficient generation of the large pre-swirl angles needed for compressor surge margin extension and efficiency enhancement at low mass flow rate-operating points, while also facilitating the delivery of zero pre-swirl at higher mass flow rates to ensure no detrimental impact on performance at the rated power point of the engine. Having progressed through 1-D and 3-D aerodynamic modelling phases to understand the potential of the system, detailed component design and hardware manufacture were completed to enable an extensive experimental test campaign to be conducted. The experimental results were scrutinized to validate the numerical findings and to test the surge margin extension potential of the device. Compressor efficiency improvements of up to 3.0% pts were witnessed at the target-operating conditions.

CFD Analysis and Full Scale Testing of a Complex Auxiliary Power Unit Intake System

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce Bouldin ◽  
Kiran Vunnam ◽  
Jose-Angel Hernanz-Manrique ◽  
Laura Ambit-Marin
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Cooling System ◽  
Full Scale ◽  
Cfd Analysis ◽  
Flow Distortion ◽  
Pressure Losses ◽  
Intake System ◽  
Auxiliary Power ◽  
Engine Compressor ◽  
The Impact

Auxiliary Power Units (APU’s) are gas turbine engines which are located in the tail of most commercial and business aircraft. They are designed to provide electrical and pneumatic power to the aircraft on the ground while the main propulsion engines are turned off. They can also be operated in flight, when there is a desire to reduce the load on the propulsion engines, such as during an engine-out situation. Given an APU’s typical position in the back of an airplane, the intake systems for APU’s can be very complex. They are designed to provide sufficient airflow to both the APU and the cooling system while minimizing the pressure losses and the flow distortion. These systems must perform efficiently during static operation on the ground and during flight at very high altitudes and flight speeds. An APU intake system has been designed for a new commercial aircraft. This intake system was designed using the latest Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) techniques. Several iterations were performed between the APU supplier and the aircraft manufacturer since each of their components affects the performance of the other. For example, the aircraft boundary layer impacts APU intake performance and an open APU flap impacts aircraft drag. To validate the effectiveness of the CFD analysis, a full scale intake rig was designed and built to simulate the tailcone of the aircraft on the ground. This rig was very large and very detailed. It included a portion of the tailcone and rudder, plus the entire APU and cooling intake systems. The hardware was manufactured out of fiberglass shells, stereolithogrophy components and machined plastic parts. Three different airflows for the load compressor, engine compressor and cooling system had to be measured and throttled. Fixed instrumentation rakes were located to measure intake induced pressure losses and distortion at the APU plenum and cooling ducts. Rotating pressure and swirl survey rakes were located at the load compressor and engine compressor eyes to measure plenum pressure losses and distortion. Static pressure taps measured the flow pattern along the intake and flap surfaces. The intake rig was designed to be flexible so that the impact of rudder position, intake flap position, APU plenum baffle position and compressor airflow levels could be evaluated. This paper describes in detail the different components of the intake rig and discusses the complexity of conducting a rig test on such a large scale. It also presents the impact of the different component positions on intake performance. These results were compared to CFD predicted values and were used to calibrate our CFD techniques. The effectiveness of using CFD for APU intake design and its limitations are also discussed.

The Use of 3D CFD Analysis in the Design of Air Intake Systems as a Visualisation Tool to Optimise Performance in Gas Turbine Applications

2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen D. Hiner
Keyword(s):  
Gas Turbine ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Cfd Analysis ◽  
Flow Distortion ◽  
Inlet System ◽  
Pressure Losses ◽  
Intake System ◽  
Air Intake ◽  
Flow Through ◽  
The Impact

An optimised inlet air system design is an important factor in the gas turbine (GT) industry. Optimising the design of the air intake system is an increasingly challenging process as both the layout complexity and range of features that can be included in the intake system expands. These may include a combination of insect or trash screens, weather protection and filtration systems, silencers, anti-icing systems, ventilation system off takes and inlet heating or cooling systems for power augmentation. Poor designs can result in inefficient use of these components as well as losses in engine performance due to excessive pressure losses or distortion in the flow entering the gas turbine. High flow distortion, velocity, pressure or temperature, can induce compressor surge and high acromechanical stresses in compressor blades and vanes. In extreme cases this may result in blade or vane failures. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis is a powerful tool for visualisation of the predicted flow through a hypothetical air inlet system prior to manufacture. The CFD output plots include flow streamlines and contours, of pressure, velocity or temperature, at any plane in the model. These enable pressure losses, flow distortion issues, potential recirculation areas and high local velocities within the system to be reviewed. This allows optimisation of the installation design to minimise system pressure loss and flow distortion, both through the components and at the engine interface. This paper, with reference to case studies of gas turbine applications, highlights the impact that CFD analysis can have on the design of intake systems to ensure that the best overall performance is obtained. The process of developing the CFD geometry and how significant features of an installation are modeled is outlined. Environmental and operational conditions, such as cross winds can impact the flow through an intake system; therefore, incorporation of such factors into the model boundary conditions are covered. Typical output metrics from the CFD analysis are shown from selected case studies; total pressure drop and flow distortion at the interface plane between the intake system and gas turbine. The importance of experienced interpretation of the CFD output to define potential intake design modifications to improve system performance is highlighted. In specific cases model testing has been carried out to validate CFD results. Case study examples are used to show the improvements made in air intake performance that contribute to increased operational efficiency of the gas turbine application.

Hydraulic model of a water cooling system in a chemical plant

1988 ◽  
Vol 53 (4) ◽  
pp. 788-806
Author(s):  
Miloslav Hošťálek ◽  
Jiří Výborný ◽  
František Madron
Keyword(s):  
Flow Rate ◽  
Cooling System ◽  
Cooling Water ◽  
Graph Algorithm ◽  
Automatic Generation ◽  
Hydraulic Calculation ◽  
Return Flow ◽  
Flow Rates ◽  
Pressure Losses ◽  
Controlled Flow

Steady state hydraulic calculation has been described of an extensive pipeline network based on a new graph algorithm for setting up and decomposition of balance equations of the model. The parameters of the model are characteristics of individual sections of the network (pumps, pipes, and heat exchangers with armatures). In case of sections with controlled flow rate (variable characteristic), or sections with measured flow rate, the flow rates are direct inputs. The interactions of the network with the surroundings are accounted for by appropriate sources and sinks of individual nodes. The result of the calculation is the knowledge of all flow rates and pressure losses in the network. Automatic generation of the model equations utilizes an efficient (vector) fixing of the network topology and predominantly logical, not numerical operations based on the graph theory. The calculation proper utilizes a modification of the model by the method of linearization of characteristics, while the properties of the modified set of equations permit further decrease of the requirements on the computer. The described approach is suitable for the solution of practical problems even on lower category personal computers. The calculations are illustrated on an example of a simple network with uncontrolled and controlled flow rates of cooling water while one of the sections of the network is also a gravitational return flow of the cooling water.

scholarly journals Efficiency Improvement of Miniaturized Heat Exchangers

Fluids ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 25
Author(s):  
Iris Gerken ◽  
Thomas Wetzel ◽  
Jürgen J. Brandner
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Heat Transfer Enhancement ◽  
Heat Exchangers ◽  
Assessment Method ◽  
Flow Path ◽  
Transfer Enhancement ◽  
Pressure Losses ◽  
Pin Fin ◽  
Additional Pressure ◽  
The Impact

Micro heat exchangers have been revealed to be efficient devices for improved heat transfer due to short heat transfer distances and increased surface-to-volume ratios. Further augmentation of the heat transfer behaviour within microstructured devices can be achieved with heat transfer enhancement techniques, and more precisely for this study, with passive enhancement techniques. Pin fin geometries influence the flow path and, therefore, were chosen as the option for further improvement of the heat transfer performance. The augmentation of heat transfer with micro heat exchangers was performed with the consideration of an improved heat transfer behaviour, and with additional pressure losses due to the change of flow path (pin fin geometries). To capture the impact of the heat transfer, as well as the impact of additional pressure losses, an assessment method should be considered. The overall exergy loss method can be applied to micro heat exchangers, and serves as a simple assessment for characterization. Experimental investigations with micro heat exchanger structures were performed to evaluate the assessment method and its importance. The heat transfer enhancement was experimentally investigated with microstructured pin fin geometries to understand the impact on pressure loss behaviour with air.

An Investigation of the Stability Enhancement of a Centrifugal Compressor Stage Using a Porous Throat Diffuser

2017 ◽  
Vol 140 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lee Galloway ◽  
Stephen Spence ◽  
Sung In Kim ◽  
Daniel Rusch ◽  
Klemens Vogel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Centrifugal Compressor ◽  
Compressor Stage ◽  
Vaned Diffuser ◽  
Flow Rates ◽  
Stall Inception ◽  
Centrifugal Compressor Stage ◽  
Operating Range ◽  
Stable Operating ◽  
The Stability ◽  
Circumferential Pressure

The stable operating range of a centrifugal compressor stage of an engine turbocharger is limited at low mass flow rates by aerodynamic instabilities which can lead to the onset of rotating stall or surge. There have been many techniques employed to increase the stable operating range of centrifugal compressor stages. The literature demonstrates that there are various possibilities for adding special treatments to the nominal diffuser vane geometry, or including injection or bleed flows to modify the diffuser flow field in order to influence diffuser stability. One such treatment is the porous throat diffuser (PTD). Although the benefits of this technique have been proven in the existing literature, a comprehensive understanding of how this technique operates is not yet available. This paper uses experimental measurements from a high pressure ratio (PR) compressor stage to acquire a sound understanding of the flow features within the vaned diffuser which affect the stability of the overall compression system and investigate the stabilizing mechanism of the porous throat diffuser. The nonuniform circumferential pressure imposed by the asymmetric volute is experimentally and numerically examined to understand if this provides a preferential location for stall inception in the diffuser. The following hypothesis is confirmed: linking of the diffuser throats via the side cavity equalizes the diffuser throat pressure, thus creating a more homogeneous circumferential pressure distribution, which delays stall inception to lower flow rates. The results of the porous throat diffuser configuration are compared to a standard vaned diffuser compressor stage in terms of overall compressor performance parameters, circumferential pressure nonuniformity at various locations through the compressor stage and diffuser subcomponent analysis. The diffuser inlet region was found to be the element most influenced by the porous throat diffuser, and the stability limit is mainly governed by this element.

Numerical Investigation of Local Cooling Enhancement Using Pin-Finned Channel With Incremental Impingement

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susheel Singh ◽  
Sumanta Acharya ◽  
Forrest Ames
Keyword(s):  
Aspect Ratio ◽  
Mass Flow ◽  
Cross Flow ◽  
Surface Cooling ◽  
Local Cooling ◽  
Stagnation Region ◽  
Flow Rates ◽  
Pin Fins ◽  
Mass Flow Rates ◽  
The Impact

Flow and heat transfer in a low aspect ratio pin-finned channel, representative of an internally cooled turbine airfoil, is investigated using Large Eddy Simulations (LES). To achieve greater control of surface cooling distribution, a novel approach has been recently proposed in which coolant is injected incrementally through a series of holes located immediately behind a specially designed cutout region downstream of the pin-fins. Sheltering the coolant injection behind the pin-fins avoids the impact of the cross-flow buildup that deflects the impingement jet and isolates the surface from cooling. The longitudinal and transverse spacing of the pin-fins, arranged in a staggered fashion, is X/D = 1.046 and S/D = 1.625, respectively. The aspect ratio (H/D) of pin-fin channel is 0.5. Due to the presence of the sequential jets in the configuration, the local cooling rates can be controlled by controlling the jet-hole diameter which impacts the jet mass flow rate. Hence, four different hole diameters, denoted as Large (L), Medium (M) , Small (S), Petite (P) are tested for impingement holes, and their effects are studied. Several patterns of the hole-size distributions are studied. It is shown that the peak Nusselt number in the stagnation region below the jet correlates directly with the jet-velocity, while downstream the Nusselt numbers correlate with the total mass flow rates or the average channel velocity. The local cooling parameter defined as (Nu/Nu0)(1-ε) correlates with the jet/channel mass flow rates.

Assessing the mobility benefits of proactive optimal variable speed limit control during recurrent and non-recurrent congestion

2015 ◽  
Vol 42 (7) ◽  
pp. 477-489 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ying Luo ◽  
M. Hadiuzzaman ◽  
Jie Fang ◽  
Tony Z. Qiu
Keyword(s):  
Traffic Control ◽  
Propagation Speed ◽  
Speed Limit ◽  
Variable Speed ◽  
Variable Speed Limit ◽  
Detection Delay ◽  
Traffic Performance ◽  
Total Travel Time ◽  
Variable Speed Limit Control ◽  
The Impact

Over the past few decades, several active traffic control methods have been proposed to improve freeway efficiency at bottleneck locations. Variable speed limit (VSL) is one of these effective controls. Previous studies have evaluated VSL control, but primarily during recurrent congestion only. This study focuses on evaluating the performance of VSL control for both recurrent and non-recurrent congestion. To assess the effectiveness of a previously proposed VSL control in a real-world situation, this study has three evaluation objectives: (1) examine the control performance when recurrent and (or) non-recurrent congestion occurs; (2) assess the effectiveness of the control when a queue encounters the VSL sign; and (3) consider the impact of system detection delay in VSL control. Comparative experiments for Whitemud Drive in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, are simulated in the VISSIM platform, and traffic performance is compared among scenarios with and without control. The simulation results show that VSL improves mobility for both recurrent and non-recurrent congestion. The VSL control reduces total travel time, and improves total travel distance and total flow. Furthermore, it slows down the shockwave propagation speed, improves the average speed on most of the freeway segments, and reduces the duration of traffic recovery.

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