Multi-Disciplinary Optimization of a Mixed-Flow Compressor Impeller

Author(s):  
Olaf H. F. Diener ◽  
Sybrand J. van der Spuy ◽  
Theodor W. von Backström ◽  
Thomas Hildebrandt

In this paper the procedure and results of the aeromechanical optimization of a mixed-flow compressor impeller to be used in a 600 N micro gas turbine (MGT) are presented. Today’s unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) demand high thrust-to-weight ratios and low engine frontal area. This may be achieved using mixed-flow compressors. The initial impeller design was obtained using a 1-D turbomachinery layout tool. A multi-point optimization of the impeller aerodynamic performance was completed, followed by a mechanical optimization to reduce mechanical stresses in the impeller. A coupled aero-mechanical optimization was concluded with the purpose of increasing the choke limit and reducing stresses while conserving aero-performance. Subsequently, a modal analysis of the rotor was conducted to determine its vibrational characteristics. The optimization process was set up and controlled in an integrated environment that includes a 3-D Navier-Stokes flow solver and a 3-D finite element (FE) structural solver. The optimization process is based on the use of a database, an artificial neural network (ANN), a user-defined objective function and a genetic algorithm (GA). The overall optimization process achieved an increase in pressure ratio (total-to-total) of 30.6% compared to the initial design while the efficiency (isentropic total-to-total) was increased by 5% at design conditions. A decrease in the surge margin was experienced, but the final surge margin was still acceptable (12%). The choke limit was increased meaningfully. This was achieved while also decreasing the peak von Mises stress from far above the material yield strength to 30% below the yield limit.

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (16) ◽  
pp. 3416 ◽  
Author(s):  
T R Jebieshia ◽  
Senthil Kumar Raman ◽  
Heuy Dong Kim

The present study focuses on the aerodynamic performance and structural analysis of the centrifugal compressor impeller. The performance characteristics of the impeller are analyzed with and without splitter blades by varying the total number of main and splitter blades. The operating conditions of the compressor under centrifugal force and pressure load from the aerodynamic analysis are applied to the impeller blade and hub to perform the one-way Fluid–Structure Interaction (FSI). For the stress assessment, maximum equivalent von Mises stresses in the impeller blades are compared with the maximum allowable stress of the impeller material. The effects of varying the pressure field on the deformation and stress of the impeller are also calculated. The aerodynamic and structural performance of the centrifugal compressor at 73,000 rpm are investigated in terms of the efficiency, pressure ratio, equivalent von Mises stress, and total deformation of the impeller.


Author(s):  
T. R. Jebieshia ◽  
S. K. Raman ◽  
H. D. Kim

Abstract The present study focuses on the aerodynamic performance and structural analysis of the centrifugal compressor impeller. Performance characteristics of the impeller are analyzed with and without splitter blades by varying the total number of main and splitter blades. The operating conditions of the compressor under centrifugal force and pressure load from the aerodynamic analysis were applied to the impeller blade and hub to perform the one-way Fluid-Structure Interaction (FSI). For the stress assessment, maximum equivalent von-Mises stresses in the impeller blades are compared with the maximum allowable stress of the impeller material. The effects of varying pressure field on the deformation and stress of the impeller is also calculated. The aerodynamic and structural performance of the centrifugal compressor at 73000 rpm are investigated in terms of the efficiency, pressure ratio, equivalent von-Mises stress, and total deformation of the impeller.


Author(s):  
Justin (Jongsik) Oh

In many aerodynamic design parameters for the axial-flow compressor, three variables of tailored blading, blade lean and sweep were considered in the re-design efforts of a transonic single stage which had been designed in 1960’s NASA public domains. As Part 1, the re-design was limited to the stator vane only. For the original MCA (Multiple Circular Arc) blading, which had been applied at all radii, the CDA (Controlled Diffusion Airfoil) blading was introduced at midspan as the first variant, and the endwalls of hub and casing (or tip) were replaced with the DCA (Double Circular Arc) blading for the second variant. Aerodynamic performance was predicted through a series of CFD analysis at design speed, and the best aerodynamic improvement, in terms of pressure ratio/efficiency and operability, was found in the first variant of tailored blading. It was selected as a baseline for the next design efforts with blade lean, sweep and both combined. Among 12 variants, a case of positively and mildly leaned blades was found the most attractive one, relative to the original design, providing benefits of an 1.0% increase of pressure ratio at design flow, an 1.7% increase of efficiency at design flow, a 10.5% increase of the surge margin and a 32.3% increase of the choke margin.


Author(s):  
D. Ramesh Rajakumar ◽  
S. Ramamurthy ◽  
M. Govardhan

Experimental Investigations are carried out to study the effect of tip clearance flow in a mixed flow compressor stage. Two configurations, namely; constant and variable clearance gaps between impeller and stationary shroud are considered. For the purpose of the present investigations, a mixed flow compressor stage is designed and fabricated. The flow investigations were carried out in a closed circuit compressor rig. Detailed steady and unsteady measurements were carried out for three clearance gaps, namely; 0.5 mm, 0.75 mm, 0.9 mm. From the experimental investigations it is shown that constant tip clearance configurations show better performance in terms of pressure ratio and efficiency compared to variable clearance configurations. For a given configuration the pressure ratio and efficiency of the stage decrease with increase in the tip gap without indicating any optimum value. Tip clearance flow has considerable effect on the flow through the diffuser and the unsteady flow gets amplified and carried away into the vane diffuser.


Author(s):  
Hong Won Kim ◽  
Jae Hoon Chung ◽  
Hyo Seong Lee ◽  
Min Ouk Choi

The primary design goal of a compressor is focused on improving efficiency. Secondary objective is to widen the compressor’s operating range. This paper presents a numerical and experimental investigation of the influence of the bleed slot to enlarge operating range for the 1.2MW class centrifugal compressor installed in a turbocharger. The main design parameters of the bleed slot casing are upstream slot position, inlet pipe slope, downstream slot position and width. The DOE (design of experiment) method was carried out to optimize the casing design. Numerical analyses were done by the commercial code ANSYS-CFX based on the three dimensional Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations. From the analysis, as the downstream slot position and width are smaller and upstream position is located away from impeller inlet, efficiency and pressure ratio are increased. Experimental works were done with and without the bleed slot casing. The simulation results were in good agreement with the test data. In case without the bleed slot casing, the surge margin value came out to be only 11.8% but with the optimized bleed slot design, the surge margin reached 23%. Therefore, the surge margin increase of 11.2% was achieved.


Paleobiology ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 494-515 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily J. Rayfield ◽  
Angela C. Milner

The aim of this analysis was to establish the basic mechanical principles of simple archosaur cranial form. In particular we estimated the influence of two key archosaur innovations, the secondary palate and the antorbital fenestra, on the optimal resistance of biting-induced loads. Although such simplified models cannot substitute for more complex cranial geometries, they can act as a clearly derived benchmark that can serve as a reference point for future studies incorporating more complex geometry. We created finite element (FE) models comprising either a tall, domed (oreinirostral) snout or a broad, flat (platyrostral) archosaur snout. Peak von Mises stress was recorded in models with and without a secondary palate and/or antorbital fenestra after the application of bite loads to the tooth row. We examined bilateral bending and unilateral torsion-inducing bites for a series of bite positions along the jaw, and conducted a sensitivity analysis of material properties. Pairwise comparison between different FE morphotypes revealed that oreinirostral models are stronger than their platyrostral counterparts. Oreinirostral models are also stronger in bending than in torsion, whereas platyrostral models are equally susceptible to either load type. As expected, we found that models with a fenestra always have greatest peak stresses and by inference are “weaker,” significantly so in oreinirostral forms and anterior biting platyrostral forms. Surprisingly, although adding a palate always lowers peak stress, this is rarely by large magnitudes and is not significant in bilateral bending bites. The palate is more important in unilateral torsion-inducing biting. Two basic principles of archosaur cranial construction can be derived from these simple models: (1) forms with a fenestra are suboptimally constructed with respect to biting, and (2) the presence or absence of a palate is significant to cranial integrity in unilaterally biting animals. Extrapolating these results to archosaur cranial evolution, it appears that if mechanical optimization were the only criterion on which skull form is based, then most archosaurs could in theory strengthen their skulls to increase resistance to biting forces. These strengthened morphotypes are generally not observed in the fossil record, however, and therefore archosaurs appear subject to various non-mechanical morphological constraints. Carnivorous theropod dinosaurs, for example, may retain large suboptimal fenestra despite generating large bite forces, owing to an interplay between craniofacial ossification and pneumatization. Furthermore, living crocodylians appear to strengthen their skull with a palate and filled fenestral opening in the most efficient way possible, despite being constrained perhaps by hydrodynamic factors to the weaker platyrostral morphotype. The future challenge is to ascertain whether these simple predictions are maintained when the biomechanics of complex cranial geometries are explored in more detail.


Author(s):  
Juan Du ◽  
Joerg R. Seume

Casing treatments (CTs) have been proved to beneficially affect the behavior of tip clearance flow and compressor stability. This paper presents the design of casing treatment for a mixed-flow compressor with a very small tip gap of 0.1mm. In the first part, the potential of applying two traditional types of casing treatments, i.e. circumferential grooves and axial slots, to enhance the stability of a mixed-flow compressor is investigated. The flow details in the reference compressor with smooth casing are examined first. It is found that a separating vortex is formed due to the reversed flow on the blade suction side near the rotor trailing edge at the near-stall point. It is supposed to be responsible for the decrease in total pressure ratio when the compressor approaches to stall. The numerical stall, i.e. the breakdown of the simulation, is initiated from the spillage of tip leakage flow over the rotor blade leading edge. The effect of circumferential grooves on the compressor performances is not remarkable. The implement of axial slots ameliorates the total pressure ratio and extend the flow range substantially, but with higher efficiency penalty than the circumferential grooves. The recirculation formed in the axial skewed slots eliminates the separation vortex near the trailing edge and suppresses the spillage of the tip leakage flow forward the rotor leading edge simultaneously. The axial skewed slots are further designed and optimized numerically by DoE (Design of Experiments). As DoE factors the axial length, the height, the open area ratio, and the number per blade passage of the slots are varied. Their effects on the two target values stall margin and polytropic efficiency are investigated. The plot of stall margin improvement (SMI) with a function of the peak efficiency improvement (PEI) indicates that the SMI changes reversely with the PE. There are two trends in the correlation curves of SMI with PE. For the configurations with the open area ratio of 20%, the SMI is changed from 9% to 23% with 1% decrease in PE by varying other three factors. For the CTs with the open area ratio of 60% the augment in SMI from 17.8% to 26.3% produces extra efficiency loss of 4.2%.


1992 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. R. Kirtley ◽  
T. A. Beach ◽  
Cass Rogo

A numerical simulation of a transonic mixed flow turbine stage has been carried out using an average passage Navier-Stokes analysis. The mixed flow turbine stage considered here consists of a transonic nozzle vane and a highly loaded rotor. The simulation was run at the design pressure ratio and is assessed by comparing results with those of an established throughflow design system. The three-dimensional aerodynamic loads are studied as well as the development and migration of secondary flows and their contribution to the total pressure loss. The numerical results indicate that strong passage vortices develop in the nozzle vane, mix out quickly, and have little impact on the rotor flow. The rotor is highly loaded near the leading edge. Within the rotor passage, strong spanwise flows and other secondary flows exist along with the tip leakage vortex. The rotor exit loss distribution is similar in character to that found in radial inflow turbines. The secondary flows and non-uniform work extraction also tend to significantly redistribute a non-uniform inlet total temperature profile by the exit of the stage.


Author(s):  
Harri Pitkänen ◽  
Hannu Esa ◽  
Petri Sallinen ◽  
Jaakko Larjola

In this study, centrifugal compressor performance was predicted using CFD. Three-dimensional time-averaged impeller and volute simulations were performed using a Navier–Stokes code. The presented performance prediction method has been divided into three phases. Firstly, the impeller was calculated with a vaneless diffuser. That gives inlet boundary conditions for the volute analysis and the pressure ratio at the diffuser exit. Next, the volute analysis was performed and a static pressure recovery coefficient obtained. Finally, that result was combined with the pressure ratio prediction from the impeller analysis, and the overall compressor performance thus obtained.


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