Numerical Investigation of Effect of Recess Vane Casing Treatments on an Axial Lift Fan Performance

Author(s):  
Xiangyi Chen ◽  
Wuli Chu ◽  
Haoguang Zhang ◽  
Jinge Li ◽  
Jinhua Lang

Lift fans fitted on hovercraft are often subjected to pressure pulse generated by the sea waves. With a high pressure from the pressure pulse, the fan is driven transiently to a low mass flow rate operating point. The probability that a stall can happen is relatively high. The recess vane casing treatment (RVCT) is used to improve the axial lift fan’s stall margin in this paper. Using the NUMECA software, the fan with solid casing and different RVTC geometry and its flow field are analyzed. The geometry modifications include blade chord exposure variation and cavity outlet axial span. Compared with the solid case, all casing treatments result in a reduction in efficiency. The blade chord exposure is a key factor that affects the efficiency. The RVCT with minimum blade chord exposure provides an inferior stall margin of −0.293% while the others provide 6% to 15% stall margin improvement, respectively. In the study of the physical flow mechanisms, visualization can provide an insight into the flow field. This reveals that characteristics of the mainstream flow are different between near stall point and design point for the solid casing fan. The three-dimensional (3D) flow field suggests that the flow capacity near the blade tip is damaged by the blockage. The rotor blade is considered as a critical tip based on its stalling behavior. By applying RVCT, the flow field near blade tip is modified, and local mass flow ahead of blade leading edge increases while flow distribution of blade downstream along spanwise is almost the same with the solid casing fan. Also, the flow exchange between RVCT and mainstream is established through the introduction of RVCT. In quantitative analysis, the flow exchange is quantified based on the mass flow passing through the cavity. The ability of RVCT to stabilize the fan is based on the size of cavity, the more mass flow passes through cavity, the more stall margin enhancement can be obtained by the fan. However, the flow exchange between RVCT and mainstream can cause intense mixing, which can lead to efficiency loss.

Author(s):  
Hao G Zhang ◽  
Fei Y Dong ◽  
Wei Wang ◽  
Wu L Chu ◽  
Song Yan

This investigation aims to understand the mechanisms of affecting the axial flow compressor performance and internal flow field with the application of self-recirculation casing treatment. Besides, the potentiality of further enhancing the compressor performance and stability by optimizing the geometric structure of self-recirculation casing treatment is discussed in detail. The results show that self-recirculation casing treatment generates about 7.06, 7.89% stall margin improvements in the experiment and full-annulus unsteady calculation, respectively. Moreover, the compressor total pressure and isentropic efficiency are improved among most of operating points, and the experimental and calculated compressor peak efficiencies are increased by 0.7% and 0.6%, respectively. The comparisons between baseline shroud and self-recirculation casing treatment show that the flow conditions of the compressor rotor inlet upstream are improved well with self-recirculation casing treatment, and the degree of the pressure enhancement in the blade top passage for self-recirculation casing treatment is higher than that for baseline. Further, self-recirculation casing treatment can restrain the leading edge-spilled flows made by the blade tip clearance leakage flows and weaken the blade tip passage blockage. Hence, the flow loss near the rotor top passage is reduced after the application of self-recirculation casing treatment. The rotor performance and stability for self-recirculation casing treatment are greater than those for baseline. The flow-field analyses also indicate that the adverse effects caused by the clearance leakage flows of the blades tip rear are greater than those made by the clearance leakage flows of the blades leading edge. When one injecting part of self-recirculation casing treatment is aligned with the inlet of one blade tip passage, the flow-field quality in the passage is not the best among all the passages between two adjacent injecting parts of self-recirculation casing treatment. Further, the flow-field analyses also indicate that the effect of the relative position between the blade and self-recirculation casing treatment on the flows in the self-recirculation casing treatment may be ignored during the optimization of the recirculating loop configuration.


Author(s):  
Behnam H. Beheshti ◽  
Kaveh Ghorbanian ◽  
Bijan Farhanieh ◽  
Joao A. Teixeira ◽  
Paul C. Ivey

This paper presents a state of the art design for the blade tip injection. The design includes the means to inject high-pressure gas jet directly into a circumferential casing groove formed in the shroud adjacent to the blade tip. The casing groove is positioned over the blade tip and exceeds 30% of the blade axial chord beyond the impeller to both upstream and downstream directions. In order to validate the multi block model used in the tip gap region, main flow characteristics are verified with the experimental data for smooth casing with a design clearance of 0.5% span. Three arbitrary mass flow rates (1.75%, 2.45%, and 4.35% of choked mass flow) have been studied. The results indicate remarkable advantageous effects on the compressor stability margin. Further, compared to classical design for tip injection, the current design can significantly improve the compressor stall margin due to direct injection of flow. An increase of the injected air may enhance the stall margin improvement. Furthermore, results for injection at different angles, shows that the compressor stability margin reaches a maximum when the bleed air in the relative coordinates is aligned with the mean camber line of the blade leading edge. The main objective of this research is to present an improved design for tip injection as well as to determine its effect on the stability enhancement of the compressor. The current research also provides guidelines to an optimum design of tip injection.


Author(s):  
Roberto Biollo ◽  
Ernesto Benini

This paper compares the aerodynamic behaviour of baseline and redesigned versions of the well-known NASA Rotor 37. The aerodynamic behaviour of the two rotors was evaluated using an accurate and validated 3-D CFD RANS model. The redesigned version showed both higher efficiency and wider stall margin. The new rotor was modeled by giving to the radial stacking line of baseline blade a three-dimensional shape. The blade was curved mainly toward the direction of rotor rotation. The applied blade curvature comes from previous personal investigations on the effects of stacking line shape in transonic bladings. Steady-state simulations were carried out to calculate the flow field inside the two rotors. The numerical model was developed using a commercial CFD code. The code was validated by simulating the Rotor 37 and comparing the computed results to the experimental data available in the open literature. The validation process gave a satisfactory agreement between predictions and measurements, showing that the overall features of the three-dimensional shock structure, shock-boundary layer interaction and tip clearance flows are calculated well in the numerical solution. With respect to the baseline rotor, the redesigned version gave a higher efficiency in a large part of the operating range, with a maximum increment of about 1.2 percentage points around the peak efficiency condition. The improvements in efficiency can be associated with a less detrimental shock-blade boundary layer interaction at the outer span, probably due to the different three-dimensional shock structure developed. At the outer span, in fact, the new blade showed a blade-to-blade shock front more oblique than in the baseline rotor. Further, the new blade positively impacted the flow field near the casing at low flow operating conditions. A less detrimental shock-tip clearance vortex-boundary layer interaction, along with a considerable reduction of the low momentum fluid region after the shock, was observed. CFD flow visualizations showed clearly a higher stall margin. The last stable operating point provided by the numerical model implemented gave a normalized mass flow of about 92% in the case of Rotor 37 (in accordance with experimental data) and about 90% in the case of redesigned version. The two rotors showed a similar choking mass flow rate.


Author(s):  
J. Paulon ◽  
C. Fradin ◽  
J. Poulain

Industrial pumps are generally used in a wide range of operating conditions from almost zero mass flow to mass flows larger than the design value. It has been often noted that the head-mass flow characteristic, at constant speed, presents a negative bump as the mass flow is somewhat smaller than the design mass flows. Flow and mechanical instabilities appear, which are unsafe for the facility. An experimental study has been undertaken in order to analyze and if possible to palliate these difficulties. A detailed flow analyzis has shown strong three dimensional effects and flow separations. From this better knowledge of the flow field, a particular device was designed and a strong attenuation of the negative bump was obtained.


Energies ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 2401
Author(s):  
Weimin Song ◽  
Yufei Zhang ◽  
Haixin Chen

This paper focuses on the design and optimization of the axial distribution of the circumferential groove casing treatment (CGCT). Effects of the axial location of multiple casing grooves on the flow structures are numerically studied. Sweep and lean variations are then introduced to the blade tip, and their influences on the grooves are discussed. The results show that the ability of the CGCT to relieve the blockage varies with the distribution of grooves, and the three-dimensional blading affects the performance of both the blade and the CGCT. Accordingly, a multi-objective optimization combining the CGCT design with the sweep and lean design is conducted. Objectives, including the total pressure ratio and the adiabatic efficiency, are set at the design point; meanwhile, the choking mass flow and the near-stall performance are constrained. The coupling between the CGCT and the blade is improved, which contributes to an optimal design point performance and a sufficient stall margin. The sweep and lean in the tip redistribute the spanwise and chordwise loading, which enhances the ability of the CGCT to improve the blade’s performance. This work shows that the present CGCT-blade integrated optimization is a practical engineering strategy to develop the working capacity and efficiency of a compressor blade while achieving the stall margin extension.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 3860
Author(s):  
Song Huang ◽  
Jinxin Cheng ◽  
Chengwu Yang ◽  
Chuangxin Zhou ◽  
Shengfeng Zhao ◽  
...  

Due to the complexity of the internal flow field of compressors, the aerodynamic design and optimization of a highly loaded axial compressor with high performance still have three problems, which are rich engineering design experience, high dimensions, and time-consuming calculations. To overcome these three problems, this paper takes an engineering-designed 2.5-stage highly loaded axial flow compressor as an example to introduce the design process and the adopted design philosophies. Then, this paper verifies the numerical method of computational fluid dynamics. A new Bezier surface modeling method for the entire suction surface and pressure surface of blades is developed, and the multi-island genetic algorithm is directly used for further optimization. Only 32 optimization variables are used to optimize the rotors and stators of the compressor, which greatly overcome the problem of high dimensions, time-consuming calculations, and smooth blade surfaces. After optimization, compared with the original compressor, the peak efficiency is still improved by 0.12%, and the stall margin is increased by 2.69%. The increase in peak efficiency is mainly due to the rotors. Compared with the original compressor, for the second-stage rotor, the adiabatic efficiency is improved by about 0.4%, which is mainly due to the decreases of total pressure losses in the range of above 30% of the span height and 10%–30% of the chord length. Besides, for the original compressor, due to deterioration of the flow field near the tip region of the second-stage stator, the large low-speed region eventually evolves from corner separation into corner stall with three-dimensional space spiral backflow. For the optimized compressor, the main reason for the increased stall margin is that the flow field of the second-stage stator with a span height above 50% is improved, and the separation area and three-dimensional space spiral backflow are reduced.


Author(s):  
K. Wolter ◽  
A. Giboni ◽  
P. Peters ◽  
J. R. Menter ◽  
H. Pfost

This paper presents the results of unsteady probe measurements and numerical flow calculations in a 1.5-stage low speed axial turbine with a straight labyrinth seal on a rotor shroud. The unsteady development of the leakage flow in the three cavities is described and analysed in detail. For the investigation of the leakage flow detailed time-accurate measurements of the three-dimensional flow field were carried out in five measurement planes from casing to the rotor shroud over more than one pitch. These measurements were carried out with a miniature pneumatic five-hole probe and miniature triple hot-wire probes. Both probes have a spherical head for better adjustment in flow direction. The high resolution of 330 measurement points in each of the five measurement planes represents the flow field in great detail. The unsteady experimental data was compared with the results of the unsteady numerical simulation of the turbine flow, calculated by the 3D-Navier-Stokes Solver CFX-TASCflow. The calculated data correspond well with the experimental results and allow a detailed analysis of the flow in the cavities of the labyrinth. As demonstrated in this paper the investigations show that the leakage flow at the inlet ant outlet of the labyrinth is strongly influenced by the different positions of the rotor to the stator. The unsteady experimental and numerical data indicates intensive effects of the leakage flow caused and influenced by the trailing edge of the first stator and the potential effect of the rotor leading edge. An intensive vortex develops depending on the rotor position in the first cavity. This vortex is also influenced by a small corner vortex above the axial inlet gap of the labyrinth. After the fins this unsteady influence of the leakage flow decreases and below the jet a large vortex moves in circumferential direction. The intensity of this circulation vortex is reduced at the end of the last cavity due to the interaction with the main flow and the flow direction out of the labyrinth. Therefore the unsteady behaviour of the leakage flow grows up, which is also caused by its uneven entry into the main flow.


Author(s):  
K. Funazaki ◽  
C. F. F. Favaretto ◽  
T. Tanuma

In the present paper steady three-dimensional numerical calculations were performed in order to investigate the effects of flow injection from the outer casing upon turbine nozzle vane flow field. Several test cases were analyzed by applying different nozzle vane configurations such as the blade lean, injection slot width and distance from the leading edge. Numerical simulations were conducted considering the no injection case, 5% and 10% main stream flow injection from the outer casing. The impact of the flow injection design variables and the blade lean angle on the aerodynamic loss in terms of the energy loss coefficient and the outlet flow angle were analyzed through a parametric study.


Author(s):  
Hongwei Ma ◽  
Jun Zhang

The purpose of this paper is to investigate numerically the effects of the tip geometry on the performance of an axial compressor rotor. There are three case studies which are compared with the base line tip geometry. 1) baseline (flat tip); 2) Cavity (tip with a cavity); 3) SSQA (suction side squealer tip) and 4) SSQB (modified suction side squealer tip). The case of SSQB is a combination of suction side squealer tip and the cavity tip. From leading edge to 10% chord, the tip has a cavity. From 10% chord to trailing edge, the tip has a suction side squealer. The numerical results of 2) show that the cavity tip leads to lower leakage mass flow and greater loss in tip gap and the rotor passage. The loading near the blade tip is lower than the baseline, thus the tangential force of the blade is lower. It leads to lower pressure rise than the baseline. The performance of the compressor for the tip with cavity is worse than the baseline. The results of 3) show that the higher curvature of the suction side squealer increases the loading of the blade and the tangential blade force. With the suction side squealer tip, the leakage flow experiences two vena contractor thus the mass of the leakage flow is reduced which is benefit for the performance of the compressor. The loss in the tip gap is lower than baseline. The performance is better than the baseline with greater pressure rise of the rotor, smaller leakage mass flow and lower averaged loss. For the case the SSQB, the leakage mass flow is lower than the SSQA and the loss in the tip gap and the rotor passage is greater than SSQA. The performance of the case of the SSQB is worse than the case of SSQA.


2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pin Liu ◽  
Norimasa Shiomi ◽  
Yoichi Kinoue ◽  
Ying-zi Jin ◽  
Toshiaki Setoguchi

In order to clarify the effect of rotor inlet geometry of half-ducted propeller fan on performance and velocity fields at rotor outlet, the experimental investigation was carried out using a hotwire anemometer. Three types of inlet geometry were tested. The first type is the one that the rotor blade tip is fully covered by a casing. The second is that the front one-third part of blade tip is opened and the rest is covered. The third is that the front two-thirds are opened and the rest is covered. Fan test and internal flow measurement at rotor outlet were conducted about three types of inlet geometry. At the internal flow measurement, a single slant hotwire probe was used and a periodical multisampling technique was adopted to obtain the three-dimensional velocity distributions. From the results of fan test, the pressure-rise characteristic drops at high flowrate region and the stall point shifts to high flowrate region, when the opened area of blade tip increases. From the results of velocity distributions at rotor outlet, the region with high axial velocity moves to radial inwards, the circumferential velocity near blade tip becomes high, and the flow field turns to radial outward, when the opened area increases.


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