Numerical Investigation of the Flow Behavior Inside a Supercritical CO2 Centrifugal Compressor

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alireza Ameli ◽  
Teemu Turunen-Saaresti ◽  
Jari Backman
Keyword(s):  
Critical Point ◽  
Centrifugal Compressor ◽  
Supercritical Co2 ◽  
Flow Behavior ◽  
Lookup Table ◽  
Liquid Density ◽  
Flow Solver ◽  
Real Gas ◽  
Fluid Behavior ◽  
Fluid Properties

Centrifugal compressors are one of the best choices among compressors in supercritical Brayton cycles. A supercritical CO2 centrifugal compressor increases the pressure of the fluid which state is initially very close to the critical point. When the supercritical fluid is compressed near the critical point, wide variations of fluid properties occur. The density of carbon dioxide at its critical point is close to the liquid density which leads to reduction in compressor work. The investigated compressor is a centrifugal compressor tested in the Sandia supercritical CO2 compression loop. In order to get results with the high accuracy and take into account the non-linear variation of the properties near the critical point, the CFD flow solver is coupled with a lookup table of properties of fluid. Behavior of real gas close to its critical point and the effect of the accuracy of the real gas model on the compressor performance are studied in this paper and the results are compared with the experimental data from the Sandia compression facility.

Numerical Investigation of the Flow Behavior Inside a Supercritical CO2 Centrifugal Compressor

2018 ◽  
Vol 140 (12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alireza Ameli ◽  
Teemu Turunen-Saaresti ◽  
Jari Backman
Keyword(s):  
Critical Point ◽  
Centrifugal Compressor ◽  
Supercritical Co2 ◽  
Flow Behavior ◽  
Liquid Density ◽  
Flow Solver ◽  
Real Gas ◽  
Fluid Behavior ◽  
Test Loop ◽  
Fluid Properties

Centrifugal compressors are one of the best choices among compressors in supercritical Brayton cycles. A supercritical CO2 centrifugal compressor increases the pressure of the fluid which state is initially very close to the critical point. When the supercritical fluid is compressed near the critical point, wide variations of fluid properties occur. The density of carbon dioxide at its critical point is close to the liquid density which leads to reduction in the compression work. This paper explains a method to overcome the simulation instabilities and challenges near the critical point in which the thermophysical properties change sharply. The investigated compressor is a centrifugal compressor tested in the Sandia supercritical CO2 test loop. In order to get results with the high accuracy and take into account the nonlinear variation of the properties near the critical point, the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) flow solver is coupled with a look-up table of properties of fluid. Behavior of real gas close to its critical point and the effect of the accuracy of the real gas model on the compressor performance are studied in this paper, and the results are compared with the experimental data from the Sandia compression facility.

Numerical Approach for Real Gas Simulations: Part II — Flow Simulation for Supercritical CO2 Centrifugal Compressor

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Swati Saxena ◽  
Ramakrishna Mallina ◽  
Francisco Moraga ◽  
Douglas Hofer
Keyword(s):  
Critical Point ◽  
Centrifugal Compressor ◽  
Supercritical Co2 ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Inlet Guide Vane ◽  
Thermodynamic Quantities ◽  
3D Flow ◽  
Real Gas ◽  
The Real ◽  
Operating Range

This paper is presented in two parts. Part I (Tabular fluid properties for real gas analysis) describes an approach to creating a tabular representation of the equation of state that is applicable to any fluid. This approach is applied to generating an accurate and robust tabular representation of the RefProp CO2 properties. Part II (this paper) presents numerical simulations of a low flow coefficient supercritical CO2 centrifugal compressor developed for a closed loop power cycle. The real gas tables presented in part I are used in these simulations. Three operating conditions are simulated near the CO2 critical point: normal day (85 bar, 35C), hot day (105 bar, 50 C) and cold day (70 bar, 20C) conditions. The compressor is a single stage overhung design with shrouded impeller, 155 mm impeller tip diameter and a vaneless diffuser. An axial variable inlet guide vane (IGV) is used to control the incoming swirl into the impeller. An in-house three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) solver named TACOMA is used with real gas tables for the steady flow simulations. The equilibrium thermodynamic modeling is used in this study. The real gas effects are important in the desired impeller operating range. It is observed that both the operating range (minimum and maximum volumetric flow rate) and the pressure ratio across the impeller are dependent on the inlet conditions. The compressor has nearly 25% higher operating range on a hot day as compared to the normal day conditions. A condensation region is observed near the impeller leading edge which grows as the compressor operating point moves towards choke. The impeller chokes near the mid-chord due to lower speed of sound in the liquid-vapor region resulting in a sharp drop near the choke side of the speedline. This behavior is explained by analyzing the 3D flow field within the impeller and thermodynamic quantities along the streamline. The 3D flow analysis for the flow near the critical point provides useful insight for the designers to modify the current compressor design for higher efficiency.

Impact of Uncertainty On Prediction of Supercritical CO2 Properties and Nusselt Numbers

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neil Sullivan ◽  
Yang Chao ◽  
Sandra Boetcher ◽  
Mark Ricklick
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Critical Point ◽  
Supercritical Co2 ◽  
Transfer Rates ◽  
Nusselt Numbers ◽  
Property Data ◽  
Highly Sensitive ◽  
Fluid Properties ◽  
Temperature And Pressure ◽  
The Impact

Abstract The impact of measurement uncertainty on heat transfer coefficient correlations for supercritical CO2 is investigated. Selection of appropriate temperature- and pressure-dependent reference quantities for these correlations, such as thermal conductivity, appears to have a large effect on predicting heat transfer rates. Supercritical CO2 work heavily depends on tabular real fluid property data, which show that fluid properties have very large gradients with respect to temperature and pressure near the critical point. The sharp gradients imply heat transfer predictions are highly sensitive to the accuracy of temperature and pressure experimental measurements in this region. Root sum of squares (RSS) uncertainties of various property values indicate predictably large (on the order of 1000%) uncertainties in calculated Reynolds, Prandtl, and Nusselt numbers near the critical point. Interestingly, uncertainties remain several times the calculated value for operating pressures (between 7.5 and 8.5 MPa) common in the experimental literature, highlighting a need for careful application of correlations near the pseudocritical line, and the benefits of presenting dimensional data in the literature.

Numerical Approach for Real Gas Simulations: Part I — Tabular Fluid Properties for Real Gas Analysis

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco Moraga ◽  
Doug Hofer ◽  
Swati Saxena ◽  
Ramakrishna Mallina
Keyword(s):  
Equation Of State ◽  
Error Analysis ◽  
Critical Point ◽  
Ideal Gas ◽  
Phase Region ◽  
System Level ◽  
Component Level ◽  
Power Cycles ◽  
Real Gas ◽  
Fluid Properties

Recently there has been increased interest in the use of carbon dioxide (CO2) in closed loop power cycles. As these power cycles capitalize on the non-ideal gas behavior of CO2, their analysis both at the system level and at the detailed component level requires an advanced equation of state. Commonly used analytical equations of state as BWRS (BenedictWebbRubin equation of State) or Peng-Robinson are known to have high errors near the critical point and are thus unsuitable for the analysis of cycles or components where the flow conditions approach the critical point. An accurate equation of state is required at all phases of the development process from high level cycle calculations to the detailed component CFD. The NIST RefProp software package provides accurate CO2 fluid properties across the thermodynamic space but suffers from high computational over-head. This study is presented in two parts. Part I (this part) of this paper describes an approach to creating a tabular representation of the equation of state that is applicable to any fluid. This approach is applied to generating an accurate, fast and robust tabular representation of the RefProp CO2 properties and an error analysis is performed to meet the accuracy requirements. The paper also discusses two approaches used to define speed of sound in the two-phase region and their sensitivity analysis on the 3D compressor flow. Part II of the paper details the numerical simulations of a supercritical CO2 centrifugal compressor using the tabular approach. This paper shows that table resolution can be tailored to match the accuracy requirements while minimizing the time used to evaluate the tabulated thermo-physical functions. Error analysis are shown to demonstrate the level of accuracy possible with this approach.

scholarly journals Design of a Centrifugal Compressor Stage and a Radial-Inflow Turbine Stage for a Supercritical CO2 Recompression Brayton Cycle by Using 3D Inverse Design Method

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiangnan Zhang ◽  
Pedro Gomes ◽  
Mehrdad Zangeneh ◽  
Benjamin Choo
Keyword(s):  
Centrifugal Compressor ◽  
Supercritical Co2 ◽  
Design Method ◽  
Ideal Gas ◽  
Inverse Design ◽  
Brayton Cycle ◽  
Real Gas ◽  
Radial Inflow Turbine ◽  
Inverse Design Method ◽  
The Ideal

It is found that the ideal gas assumption is not proper for the design of turbomachinery blades using supercritical CO2 (S-CO2) as working fluid especially near the critical point. Therefore, the inverse design method which has been successfully applied to the ideal gas is extended to applications for the real gas by using a real gas property lookup table. A fast interpolation lookup approach is implemented which can be applied both in superheated and two-phase regimes. This method is applied to the design of a centrifugal compressor blade and a radial-inflow turbine blade for a S-CO2 recompression Brayton cycle. The stage aerodynamic performance (volute included) of the compressor and turbine is validated numerically by using the commercial CFD code ANSYS CFX R162. The structural integrity of the designs is also confirmed by using ANSYS Workbench Mechanical R162.

Computational Fluid Dynamic Simulation of a Supercritical CO2 Compressor Performance Map

2015 ◽  
Vol 137 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Enrico Rinaldi ◽  
Rene Pecnik ◽  
Piero Colonna
Keyword(s):  
Supercritical Co2 ◽  
Fluid Dynamic ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Computational Fluid Dynamic Simulation ◽  
Lookup Table ◽  
Navier Stokes ◽  
Performance Map ◽  
Fluid Properties ◽  
Fluid Characterization ◽  
Compressor Map

The performance map of a radial compressor operating with supercritical CO2 is computed by means of three-dimensional steady state Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes simulations. The geometry investigated is part of a 250 kW prototype which was tested at Sandia National Laboratories (SNL). An in-house fluid dynamic solver is coupled with a lookup table algorithm to evaluate the fluid properties. Tables are generated using a multiparameter equation of state, which ensures high accuracy in the fluid characterization. The compressor map is calculated considering three different rotational speeds (45 krpm, 50 krpm, and 55 krpm). For each speed-line, several mass flow rates are simulated. Numerical results are compared to experimental data from SNL to prove the potential of the methodology.

scholarly journals Stabilizing Effects of Supercritical CO2 Fluid Properties on Compressor Operation†

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 20
Author(s):  
Alexander Johannes Hacks ◽  
Sebastian Schuster ◽  
Dieter Brillert
Keyword(s):  
Critical Point ◽  
Supercritical Co2 ◽  
Cooling Power ◽  
Inlet Temperature ◽  
Stabilizing Effect ◽  
Fluid Properties ◽  
Compressor Inlet ◽  
Applicable Range ◽  
Temperature And Pressure ◽  
Inlet Conditions

This paper aims to give an understanding of an effect which stabilizes the inlet conditions of compressors for supercritical CO2 (sCO2) operating close to the critical point. The effect was observed during testing of the turbomachine within the sCO2-HeRo project, and is caused by the sCO2 real gas properties close to the pseudocritical line. Under theoretical consideration, strong gradients in the fluid properties around this line—dependent on the static temperature and pressure of sCO2—can result in strong variation of compressor performance and finally lead to unstable cycle behavior. However, this paper demonstrates reduced gradients in density at the compressor inlet when varying the cooling power and taking advantage of a stabilizing effect. The applicable range and the significance of this stabilizing effect depended on the cooler inlet temperature and pressure, and was used to evaluate the relevance for individual cycles. Controlling the cooling power and the measurement of the inlet density allowed control of the compressor inlet conditions equally well, independent of the operating point, even close to the critical point.

scholarly journals An Investigation of Real Gas Effects in Supercritical CO2 Centrifugal Compressors

2015 ◽  
Vol 137 (9) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikola D. Baltadjiev ◽  
Claudio Lettieri ◽  
Zoltán S. Spakovszky
Keyword(s):  
Critical Point ◽  
Supercritical Co2 ◽  
Pressure Curve ◽  
Compressor Stage ◽  
Local Flow ◽  
Real Gas ◽  
Flow Acceleration ◽  
Vapor Pressure Curve ◽  
Thermodynamic Conditions ◽  
Real Gas Effects

This paper presents a comprehensive assessment of real gas effects on the performance and matching of centrifugal compressors operating in supercritical CO2. The analytical framework combines first principles based modeling with targeted numerical simulations to characterize the internal flow behavior of supercritical fluids with implications for radial turbomachinery design and analysis. Trends in gas dynamic behavior, not observed for ideal fluids, are investigated using influence coefficients for compressible channel flow derived for real gas. The variation in the properties of CO2 and the expansion through the vapor-pressure curve due to local flow acceleration are identified as possible mechanisms for performance and operability issues observed near the critical point. The performance of a centrifugal compressor stage is assessed at different thermodynamic conditions relative to the critical point using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) calculations. The results indicate a reduction of 9% in the choke margin of the stage compared to its performance at ideal gas conditions due to variations in real gas properties. Compressor stage matching is also impacted by real gas effects as the excursion in corrected mass flow per unit area from inlet to outlet increases by 5%. Investigation of the flow field near the impeller leading edge at high flow coefficients shows that local flow acceleration causes the thermodynamic conditions to reach the vapor-pressure curve. The significance of two-phase flow effects is determined through a nondimensional parameter that relates the time required for liquid droplet formation to the residence time of the flow under saturation conditions. Applying this criterion to the candidate compressor stage shows that condensation is not a concern at the investigated operating conditions. In the immediate vicinity of the critical point however, this effect is expected to become more prominent. While the focus of this analysis is on supercritical CO2 compressors for carbon capture and sequestration (CCS), the methodology is directly applicable to other nonconventional fluids and applications.

Performance of Supercritical CO2 Dry Gas Seals Near the Critical Point

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohd Fairuz Zakariya ◽  
Ingo H. J. Jahn
Keyword(s):  
Critical Point ◽  
Supercritical Co2 ◽  
Closed Loop ◽  
High Pressures ◽  
Thermal Power ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Real Gas ◽  
Dry Gas Seal ◽  
Gas Seals ◽  
And Performance

The Queensland Geothermal Energy Centre of Excellence is investigating the use of supercritical CO2 closed loop Brayton cycles in the Concentrated Solar Thermal power cycle plant. One of the important components in the turbomachinery within the plant are seals. As the cycle is closed loop and operating at high pressures, dry gas seals have been recommended for future use in these systems. One of the main challenges of using supercritical CO2 dry gas seals is that operating conditions are near the critical point. In the supercritical region in the vicinity of the critical point (304 K, 7.4 MPa), CO2 behaves as a real-gas, exhibiting large and abrupt non-linear changes in fluid and transport properties and high densities. To correctly predict the seal operation and performance, the interaction between this real gas and the seal rotor (primary ring) and the seal stator (mating ring) need to analysed and investigated in detail, as they can lead to significant changes in flow and seal performance. Results from this paper show that increased centrifugal effects caused by higher gas densities can reduce the pressure in the sealing dam region. This adversely affects the loading capacity of the dry gas seal. However, it also benefits seal performances by reducing the leakage rate. The current work presents an investigation of the supercritical CO2 dry gas seals operating close to the critical point with an inlet pressure and temperature of 8.5Mpa and 370K respectively and a speed of 30000 RPM. Results highlighting the effects of the groove length or dam to groove ratio on the performance of the dry gas seal are presented. The seal is simulated using Computational Fluid Dynamics to study the flow behaviour of the supercitical CO2 in the dry gas seal. Supercritical CO2 fluid properties are based on the fluid database REFPROP. The numerical model was validated with previous work and good agreement was demonstrated.

An Investigation of Real Gas Effects in Supercritical CO2 Centrifugal Compressors

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Baltadjiev ◽  
C. Lettieri ◽  
Z. Spakovszky
Keyword(s):  
Critical Point ◽  
Supercritical Co2 ◽  
Pressure Curve ◽  
Compressor Stage ◽  
Local Flow ◽  
Real Gas ◽  
Flow Acceleration ◽  
Vapor Pressure Curve ◽  
Thermodynamic Conditions ◽  
Real Gas Effects

This paper presents a comprehensive assessment of real gas effects on the performance and matching of centrifugal compressors operating in supercritical CO2. The analytical framework combines first principles based modeling with targeted numerical simulations to characterize the internal flow behavior of supercritical fluids with implications for radial turbomachinery design and analysis. Trends in gas dynamic behavior, not observed for ideal fluids, are investigated using influence coefficients for compressible channel flow derived for real gas. The variation in the properties of CO2 and the expansion through the vapor-pressure curve due to local flow acceleration are identified as possible mechanisms for performance and operability issues observed near the critical point. The performance of a centrifugal compressor stage is assessed at different thermodynamic conditions relative to the critical point using CFD calculations. The results indicate a reduction of 9% in the choke margin of the stage compared to its performance at ideal gas conditions due to variations in real gas properties. Compressor stage matching is also impacted by real gas effects as the excursion in corrected mass flow per unit area from inlet to outlet increases by 5%. Investigation of the flow field near the impeller leading edge at high flow coefficients shows that local flow acceleration causes the thermodynamic conditions to reach the vapor-pressure curve. The significance of two-phase flow effects is determined through a non-dimensional parameter that relates the time required for liquid droplet formation to the residence time of the flow under saturation conditions. Applying this criterion to the candidate compressor stage shows that condensation is not a concern at the investigated operating conditions. In the immediate vicinity of the critical point however, this effect is expected to become more prominent. While the focus of this analysis is on supercritical CO2 compressors for carbon capture and sequestration, the methodology is directly applicable to other non-conventional fluids and applications.

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