The Influence of Geometry Deformation on a Multistage Compressor

Author(s):  
Xin Teng ◽  
WuLi Chu ◽  
HaoGuang Zhang ◽  
Kai Liu ◽  
JinGe Li

Over the service time, the rotating parts of turbine engine vary in their geometry. When aircraft take off or fly through a volcanic ash cloud, the particles are sucked into the engine, impinge the blade and gradually erode the surface. The impinging between particles and blades is responsible for the increase of the surface roughness. Also, during the long-time operation, the function of the blade’s stacking law combined with the centrifugal force could cause deviation of the stagger angle. Moreover, blade tip clearance could vary because of the casing deformation. All the deformation of geometry could severely reduce the engine performance and thus engine life. The work presented in this paper focused on the influence of geometry deformation in a real low-pressure compressor. The investigation is more difficult than most of the previously published researches with a total of five stages being considered. Due to the irregularities in geometry, it is difficult to numerically assess the performance of the compressor. The aim of this study is to give an analysis method that allows an efficient and accurate estimation of the performance for multistage compressor with geometry deformation. In the first step, the geometry models with different deviation in tip clearance, roughness and stagger angle were established respectively. A CFD study was then applied to the compressor with RANS method to calculate the flow field with different types of deformation. The variation of overall performance due to the deformation was finally analyzed to identify the dominant factor on influencing the performance of the compressor among different types of geometry deformation. A method based on polytropic efficiency analysis and flow field analysis was also established to specifically analyze which stage is most sensitive to the geometry deformation. The results show a significant influence of geometric deformation on the efficiency, total pressure rise and flow range of the multistage compressor. The conclusions of this study would provide an important guidance for engine overhaul in the factory.

Author(s):  
P. V. Ramakrishna ◽  
M. Govardhan

The present numerical work studies the flow field in subsonic axial compressor stator passages for: (a) preceding rotor sweep (b) preceding rotor re-staggering (three stagger angle changes: 0°, +3° and +5°); and (c) stator sweeping (two 20° forward sweep schemes). The following are the motives for the study: at the off-design conditions, compressor rotors are re-staggered to alleviate the stage mismatching by adjusting the rows to the operating flow incidence. Fundamental to this is the understanding of the effects of rotor re-staggering on the downstream component. Secondly, sweeping the rotor stages alters the axial distance between the successive rotor-stator stages and necessitates that the stator vanes must also be swept. To the best of the author’s knowledge, stator sweeping to suit such scenarios has not been reported. The computational model for the study utilizes well resolved hexahedral grids. A commercial CFD package ANSYS® CFX 11.0 was used with standard k-ω turbulence model for the simulations. CFD results were well validated with experiments. The following observations were made: (1) When the rotor passage is closed by re-staggering, with the same mass flow rate and the same stator passage area, stators were subjected to negative incidences. (2) Effect of stator sweeping on the upstream rotor flow field is insignificant. Comparison of total pressure rise carried by the downstream stators suggests that an appropriate redesign of stator is essential to match with the swept rotors. (3) While sweeping the stator is not recommended, axial sweeping is preferable over true sweeping when it is necessary.


2003 ◽  
Vol 125 (3) ◽  
pp. 405-415
Author(s):  
Ammar A. Al-Nahwi ◽  
James D. Paduano ◽  
Samir A. Nayfeh

This paper presents a first principles-based model of the fluid-induced forces acting on the rotor of an axial compressor. These forces are primarily associated with the presence of a nonuniform flow field around the rotor, such as that produced by a rotor tip clearance asymmetry. Simple, analytical expressions for the forces as functions of basic flow field quantities are obtained. These expressions allow an intuitive understanding of the nature of the forces and—when combined with a rudimentary model of an axial compressor flow field (the Moore-Greitzer model)—enable computation of the forces as a function of compressor geometry, torque and pressure-rise characteristics, and operating point. The forces predicted by the model are also compared to recently published measurements and more complex analytical models, and are found to be in reasonable agreement. The model elucidates that the fluid-induced forces comprise three main contributions: fluid turning in the rotor blades, pressure distribution around the rotor, and unsteady momentum storage within the rotor. The model also confirms recent efforts in that the orientation of fluid-induced forces is locked to the flow nonuniformity, not to tip clearance asymmetry as is traditionally assumed. The turning and pressure force contributions are shown to be of comparable magnitudes—and therefore of equal importance—for operating points between the design point and the peak of the compressor characteristic. Within this operating range, both “forward” and “backward” rotor whirl tendencies are shown to be possible. This work extends recent efforts by developing a more complete, yet compact, description of fluid-induced forces in that it accounts for all relevant force contributions, both tangential and radial, that may influence the dynamics of the rotor. Hence it constitutes an essential element of a consistent treatment of rotordynamic stability under the action of fluid-induced forces, which is the subject of Part II of this paper.


Author(s):  
Ammar A. Al-Nahwi ◽  
James D. Paduano ◽  
Samir A. Nayfeh

This paper presents a first principles-based model of the fluid-induced forces acting on the rotor of an axial compressor. These forces are primarily associated with the presence of a nonuniform flow field around the rotor, such as that produced by a rotor tip clearance asymmetry. Simple, analytical expressions for the forces as functions of basic flow field quantities are obtained. These expressions allow an intuitive understanding of the nature of the forces and—when combined with a rudimentary model of an axial compressor flow field (the Moore-Greitzer model)—enable computation of the forces as a function of compressor geometry, torque and pressure-rise characteristics, and operating point. The forces predicted by the model are also compared to recently published measurements and more complex analytical models, and are found to be in reasonable agreement. The model elucidates that the fluid-induced forces comprise three main contributions: fluid turning in the rotor blades, pressure distribution around the rotor, and unsteady momentum storage within the rotor. The model also confirms recent efforts in that the orientation of fluid-induced forces is locked to the flow nonuniformity, not to tip clearance asymmetry as is traditionally assumed. The turning and pressure force contributions are shown to be of comparable magnitudes—and therefore of equal importance—for operating points between the design point and the peak of the compressor characteristic. Within this operating range, both “forward” and “backward” rotor whirl tendencies are shown to be possible. This work extends recent efforts by developing a more complete, yet compact, description of fluid-induced forces in that it accounts for all relevant force contributions, both tangential and radial, that may influence the dynamics of the rotor. Hence it constitutes an essential element of a consistent treatment of rotordynamic stability under the action of fluid-induced forces, which is the subject of Part II of this paper.


2012 ◽  
Vol 468-471 ◽  
pp. 1749-1752
Author(s):  
Chun Yao Wang ◽  
Xue Nong Wang ◽  
Fa Chen ◽  
Yue Liu ◽  
Jiu Peng Chi ◽  
...  

This article uses the flow field numerical simulation technology, it does simulation research for the flow field of the whole pneumatic conveying cotton trunk, through studying different types of jet orifice of the conveying trunk of comb—type cotton picker, finding out the influence of jet orifice width on pressure and velocity field, further understanding flow field distribution characteristics of the internal pneumatic cotton conveyance system, and providing necessary basis for the machine.


Author(s):  
H-L Wang ◽  
G Xi ◽  
J-Y Li ◽  
M-J Yuan

The effects of impeller tip clearance variation on centrifugal compressor performance have been investigated experimentally and numerically in a centrifugal compressor. In order to accurately calculate the real tip clearance, the influence of impeller geometry deformation caused by the thermal load (temperature variation) and mechanical loads (aerodynamic pressure and centrifugal force) under working condition on the compressor aerodynamic performance is taken into account by fluid/solid interaction method during the computational fluid dynamics flow field analysis process. In this article, tip clearance flow under the real working environment is investigated with three different tip clearance cases. The impeller deformation combined with the adjustment of tip clearance causes some influence on the aerodynamic performance and on the structure reliability of the compressor system. For the aerodynamic design, an increase in the impeller tip clearance decreases the overall pressure rise and isentropic efficiency of the compressor, mainly due to the tip clearance loss in the impeller. Regarding structure design, the uniform relative tip clearance from the inlet to the outlet CR = 7.3 per cent is changed to non-uniform distribution from 6.4 per cent to 4.15 per cent. The largest deformation location occurs at the blade inducer and trailing-edge tip. The relative clearance near the outlet of the blade is reduced about 3.15 per cent which will cause great influence on the impeller working reliability.


2015 ◽  
Vol 77 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
M. H. Padzillah ◽  
S. Rajoo ◽  
R. F. Martinez-Botas

Traditionally, the turbocharger has been an essential tool to boost the engine power especially the diesel engine. However, in recent years it is seen as an enabling technology for engine downsizing of all internal combustion engines. The use of mixed flow turbine as replacement for radial turbine in an automotive turbocharger has been proven to deliver better efficiency at high loading conditions. Furthermore, the use vanes that match the geometrical properties at the turbine leading edge could further increase its performance. However, improvement on the overall turbocharger performance is currently limited due to lack of understanding on the flow feature within the turbine stage. Therefore, the use of validated Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) in resolving this issue is necessary. This research attempts to provide description of flow field within the turbocharger turbine stage by plotting velocity and pressure contours at different planes. To achieve this aim, a numerical model of a full stage turbocharger turbine operating at 30000rpm under its optimum condition (pressure ratio of 1.3) is developed and validated. Results indicated strong tip-clearance flow downstream of the turbine mid-chord. Evidence of flow separations at the turbine leading edge are also seen despite turbine operating at its optimum condition.


Author(s):  
Cheng-Chi Wang ◽  
Ya-Yen Chou ◽  
Shane-Rong Sheu ◽  
Ming-Jyi Jang ◽  
Jyun-Syuan Chen ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
L. Porreca ◽  
T. Behr ◽  
J. Schlienger ◽  
A. I. Kalfas ◽  
R. S. Abhari ◽  
...  

A unique comparative experimental and numerical investigation carried out on two test cases with shroud configurations differing only in the labyrinth seal path, is presented in this paper. The blade geometry and tip clearance is identical in the two test cases. The geometries under investigation are representative of an axial turbine with a full and partial shroud, respectively. Global performance and flow field data were acquired and analyzed. Computational simulations were carried out to complement the investigation and to facilitate the analysis of the steady and unsteady flow measurements. A detailed comparison between the two test cases is presented in terms of flow field analysis and performance evaluation. The analysis focuses on the flow effects reflected on the overall performance in a multi-stage environment. Strong interaction between the cavity flow and the blade tip region of the rotor blades is observed up to the blade mid span. A marked effect of this interaction can be seen in the downstream second stator where different vortex structures are observed. Moreover, in the partial shroud test case, a strong tip leakage vortex is developed from the first rotor and transported through the downstream blade row. A measurable change in the second stage efficiency was observed between the two test cases. In low aspect ratio blades within a multistage environment, small changes in the cavity geometry can have a significant effect on the mainstream flow. The present analysis has shown that an integrated and matched blade-shroud aerodynamic design has to be adopted to reach optimal performances. The additional losses resulting from small variations of the sealing geometry could result in a gain of up to one point in the overall stage efficiency.


Author(s):  
Saeed Mirzaee ◽  
Xinqian Zheng ◽  
Yun Lin

The occurrence of surge or stall in a centrifugal compressor and the role of the tip clearance flow in the instability in the centrifugal compressor are investigated in this study. A computational method is used to study the flow field in the centrifugal compressor in order to gain a better understanding of the surge or stall mechanism. It is found that, near surge or stall conditions, the tip leakage flow at the leading edge deflects more upstream; as the deflection increases, a more severe spillage occurs which finally leads to instability of the compressor. A ring air jet injection is used to eliminate the instabilities and to extend the stable flow range of the compressor. Using an air jet injection, the stable flow range of the compressor was successfully increased with minimal decrease in the efficiency of the compressor. The effects of different injection parameters such as the mass flow, the yaw angle, the injection angle, the slot width and the slot distance on the compressor flow field are studied, and an optimum design for the air jet injection is developed. Further investigation of the compressor with the optimum injection configuration shows that, near surge or stall conditions, the tip leakage at the leading edge is still under control, manifesting a much smaller spillage than does the Dresser–Rand Datum compressor without an air injection. The dominant factor for the instability of the compressor with an injection is found to be the leading-edge separation rather than the tip leakage.


Author(s):  
Martin Lange ◽  
Matthias Rolfes ◽  
Ronald Mailach ◽  
Henner Schrapp

Since the early work on axial compressors the penalties due to radial clearances between blades and side walls are known and an ongoing focus of research work. The periodic unsteadiness of the tip clearance vortex, due to its interaction with the stator wakes, has only rarely been addressed in research papers so far. The current work presents experimental and numerical results from a four stage low speed research compressor modeling a state of the art compressor design. Time-resolved experimental measurements have been carried out at three different rotor tip clearances (gap to tip chord: 1.5%, 2.2%, 3.7%) to cover the third rotor’s casing static pressure and exit flow field. These results are compared with either steady simulations using different turbulence models or harmonic RANS calculations to discuss the periodical unsteady tip clearance vortex development at different clearance heights. The prediction of the local tip leakage flow is clearly improved by the EARSM turbulence model compared to the standard SST model. The harmonic RANS calculations (using the SST model) improve the prediction of time-averaged pressure rise and are used to analyze the rotor stator interaction in detail. The interaction of the rotor tip flow field with the passing stator wakes cause a segmentation of the tip clearance vortex and result in a sinusoidal variation in blockage downstream the rotor row.


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