Design of an Air-Cooled Radial Turbine: Part 1 — Computational Modelling

Author(s):  
Yang Zhang ◽  
Tomasz Duda ◽  
James A. Scobie ◽  
Carl M. Sangan ◽  
Colin D. Copeland ◽  
...  

This paper is part of a two-part publication that aims to design, simulate and test an internally air cooled radial turbine. To achieve this, the additive manufacturing process, Selective Laser Melting (SLM), was utilized to allow internal cooling passages within the blades and hub. This is, to the authors’ knowledge, the first publication in the open literature to demonstrate an SLM manufactured, cooled concept applied to a small radial turbine. In this paper, the internally cooled radial turbine was investigated using a Conjugate Heat Transfer (CHT) numerical simulation. Topology Optimisation was also implemented to understand the areas of the wheel that could be used safely for cooling. In addition, the aerodynamic loss and efficiency of the design was compared to a baseline non-cooled wheel. The experimental work is detailed in Part 2 of this two-part publication. Given that the aim was to test the rotor under representative operating conditions, the material properties were provided by the SLM technology collaborator. The boundary conditions for the numerical simulation were derived from the experimental testing where the inlet temperature was set to 1023 K. A polyhedral unstructured mesh made the meshing of internal coolant plenums including the detailed supporting structures possible. The simulation demonstrated that the highest temperature at the blade leading edge was 117 K lower than the uncooled turbine. The coolant mass flow required by turbine was 2.5% of the mainstream flow to achieve this temperature drop. The inertia of the turbine was also reduced by 20% due to the removal of mass required for the internal coolant plenums. The fluid fields in both the coolant channels and downstream of the cooled rotor were analyzed to determine the aerodynamic influence on the temperature distribution. Furthermore, the solid stress distribution inside the rotor was analyzed using Finite Element Analysis (FEA) coupled with the CFD results.

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Z. Hao ◽  
X. Yang ◽  
Z. Feng

Abstract Particulate deposits in aero-engine turbines change the profile of blades, increase the blade surface roughness and block internal cooling channels and film cooling holes, which generally leads to the degradation of aerodynamic and cooling performance. To reveal particle deposition effects in the turbine, unsteady simulations were performed by investigating the migration patterns and deposition characteristics of the particle contaminant in a one-stage, high-pressure turbine of an aero-engine. Two typical operating conditions of the aero-engine, i.e. high-temperature take-off and economic cruise, were discussed, and the effects of particle size on the migration and deposition of fly-ash particles were demonstrated. A critical velocity model was applied to predict particle deposition. Comparisons between the stator and rotor were made by presenting the concentration and trajectory of the particles and the resulting deposition patterns on the aerofoil surfaces. Results show that the migration and deposition of the particles in the stator passage is dominated by the flow characteristics of fluid and the property of particles. In the subsequential rotor passage, in addition to these factors, particles are also affected by the stator–rotor interaction and the interference between rotors. With higher inlet temperature and larger diameter of the particle, the quantity of deposits increases and the deposition is distributed mainly on the Pressure Side (PS) and the Leading Edge (LE) of the aerofoil.


Author(s):  
J. M. Lane

While the radial in-flow turbine has consistently demonstrated its capability as a high-performance component for small gas turbine engines, its use has been relegated to lower turbine-inlet-temperature cycles due to insurmountable problems with respect to the manufacturing of radial turbine rotors with internal cooling passages. These cycle temperature limitations are not consistent with modern trends toward higher-performance, fuel-conservative engines. This paper presents the results of several Army-sponsored programs, the first of which addresses the performance potential for the high-temperature radial turbine. The subsequent discussion presents the results of two successful programs dedicated to developing fabrication techniques for internally cooled radial turbines, including mechanical integrity testing. Finally, future near-term capabilities are projected.


Author(s):  
Shashank Shetty ◽  
Xianchang Li ◽  
Ganesh Subbuswamy

Due to the unique role of gas turbine engines in power generation and aircraft propulsion, significant effort has been made to improve the gas turbine performance. As a result, the turbine inlet temperature is usually elevated to be higher than the metal melting point. Therefore, effective cooling of gas turbines is a critical task for engines’ efficiency as well as safety and lifetime. Film cooling has been used to cool the turbine blades for many years. The main issues related to film cooling are its poor coverage, aerodynamic loss, and increase of heat transfer coefficient due to strong mixing. To overcome these problems, film cooling with backward injection has been found to produce a more uniform cooling coverage under low pressure and temperature conditions and with simple cylindrical holes. Therefore, the focus of this paper is on the performance of film cooling with backward injection at gas turbine operating conditions. By applying numerical simulation, it is observed that along the centerline on both concave and convex surfaces, the film cooling effectiveness decreases with backward injection. However, cooling along the span is improved, resulting in more uniform cooling.


Author(s):  
Richard A. Barrett ◽  
Eimear O’Hara ◽  
Padraic E. O’Donoghue ◽  
Sean B. Leen

The changing face of fossil fuel power generation is such that next generation plants must be capable of operating under (i) flexible conditions to accommodate renewal sources of energy and (ii) higher steam pressures and temperatures to improve plant efficiency. These changes result in increased creep and fatigue degradation of plant components. The key limiting factor to achieving more efficient, flexible plant operation is the development of advanced materials capable of operating under such conditions. MarBN is a new precipitate strengthened 9Cr martensitic steel, with added boron and tungsten, designed to provide enhanced creep strength and precipitate stability at high temperature. Accurate characterisation of this material is necessary so that it can be used under flexible plant operating conditions with high temperature fatigue. This paper presents a combined work program of experimental testing and computational modelling on a cast MarBN material. To characterise and assess the fatigue performance of MarBN, an experimental program of high temperature low cycle fatigue (HTLCF) tests is conducted at a temperature of 600 °C. MarBN is found to give an increased stress range compared to previous P91 steel experiments, as well as considerable cyclic softening. To characterise the constitutive behaviour of the cast MarBN material, a recently developed unified cyclic viscoplastic material model is calibrated and validated across a range of strain-rates and strain-ranges, with good correlation achieved with the measured data throughout.


2021 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
pp. 122-128
Author(s):  
Renan Rezende ◽  
Ednilton Tavares de Andrade ◽  
Jefferson Luiz Gomes Correa ◽  
Ricardo Rodrigues Magalhães

A model is a representation of a real system that can be analysed and yield predictions under different operating conditions. The aim of this study was to model a milk cooling tank that cools milk to 4 °C to preserve its quality after milking at the farm. The model was developed and simulated using the software Ansys for finite element analysis. The results from the simulations were compared to experimental data. The model simulated milk cooling in the tank with an error lower than 2%, which is considered acceptable for numerical simulations. In other words, the model satisfactorily represents the real system. Thus, alternatives can be directly tested in the computational model to improve and optimise the milk cooling process and to better use the system without actually implementing them in the real system.


Author(s):  
Sourabh Kumar ◽  
R. S. Amano

Improvement in thermal efficiency of gas turbine can be obtained by operating it at high inlet temperatures. In addition to improving the performance, the cons of high inlet temperature is high thermal stresses on the turbine blades. To improve life and performance of the blade, improved cooling technologies are desired. The main objective of this paper is to perform computational analysis of the ribs with varying height and compare this with 90 degree ribbed channel and smooth channels. The numerical analysis is carried out using ANSYS-Fluent, a flow modeling simulation software. The flow is assumed to be steady state and flow turbulence is modeled using the k-ε with Standard Wall Functions. Local heat transfer and friction loss in a square duct roughened with 90 degree ribs with varying height is investigated for different Reynolds number. The pitch of the rib is considered to be 10 times the height of rib which is 0.0635 m. The square cross section of the channel is .0508x .0508 m2. The pitch of rib to rib height ratio varies from 10 to 20 at the center of the channel. There is a rib considered at the turn section as well. The numerical simulation produced higher heat transfer for the varying height ribs as compared to 90 degree ribbed channel and smooth channel.


Author(s):  
Yang Zhang ◽  
Tomasz Duda ◽  
James A. Scobie ◽  
Carl M. Sangan ◽  
Colin D. Copeland ◽  
...  

The paper focuses on manufacture and testing of an additively manufactured, cooled radial turbine. To the authors knowledge, this is the first published work that provides experimental temperature data for a small, internally cooled radial wheel constructed using Selective Laser Melting. This work is highly relevant observing the close correlation between turbine inlet temperature and system efficiency. An internally cooled radial turbine was tested on the hot gas turbocharger rig at the University of Bath and compared with a baseline uncooled rotor. Thermal history paint was applied to the turbine rotor surfaces to determine the distribution of maximum exposed metal temperature. Both the uncooled and internally cooled turbine rotors were manufactured using Selective Laser Melting (SLM) technology. The resolution and strength of the printed prototype was tested prior to the high speed and high temperature experiment. The highest temperature at turbine leading edge and overall average thermal loading were compared quantitatively between the baseline uncooled rotor and the cooled rotor with internal secondary air plenums. The coolant was supplied from the compressor to the turbine through the centerline of the rotor shaft. The aerodynamic performance and component efficiency were also measured during the experiments. The test results indicate that the internally cooled turbine has a pronounced temperature drop at the blade leading edge and, indeed, throughout the blade passage. This increases the potential for increased turbine inlet temperature in order to achieve improved cycle efficiency. This experimental work has established a foundation for radial turbine internal cooling technology in the turbocharger and micro gas turbine industry.


Author(s):  
Sergio Amaral ◽  
Tom Verstraete ◽  
Rene´ Van den Braembussche ◽  
Tony Arts

This first paper describes the Conjugate Heat Transfer (CHT) method and its application to the performance and lifetime prediction of a high pressure turbine blade operating at a very high inlet temperature. It is the analysis tool for the aerothermal optimization described in a second paper. The CHT method uses three separate solvers: a Navier-Stokes (NS) solver to predict the non-adiabatic external flow and heat flux, a Finite Element Analysis (FEA) to compute the heat conduction and stress within the solid, and a 1D aero-thermal model based on friction and heat transfer correlations for smooth and rib-roughened cooling channels. Special attention is given to the boundary conditions linking these solvers and to the stability of the complete CHT calculation procedure. The Larson-Miller parameter model is used to determine the creep-to-rupture failure lifetime of the blade. This model requires both the temperature and thermal stress inside the blade, calculated by the CHT and FEA. The CHT method is validated on two test cases: a gas turbine rotor blade without cooling and one with 5 cooling channels evenly distributed along the camber line. The metal temperature and thermal stress distribution in both blades are presented and the impact of the cooling channel geometry on lifetime is discussed.


2017 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-84 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexey Mazin ◽  
Alexander Kapustin ◽  
Mikhail Soloviev ◽  
Alexander Karanets

ABSTRACT Numerical simulation based on finite element analysis is now widely used during the design optimization of tires, thereby drastically reducing the time investment in the design process and improving tire performance because it is obtained from the optimized solution. Rubber material models that are used in numerical calculations of stress–strain distributions are nonlinear and may include several parameters. The relations of these parameters with rubber formulations are usually unknown, so the designer has no information on whether the optimal set of parameters is reachable by the rubber technological possibilities. The aim of this work was to develop such relations. The most common approach to derive the equation of the state of rubber is based on the expansion of the strain energy in a series of invariants of the strain tensor. Here, we show that this approach has several drawbacks, one of which is problems that arise when trying to build on its basis the quantitative relations between the rubber composition and its properties. An alternative is to use a series expansion in orthogonal functions, thereby ensuring the linear independence of the coefficients of elasticity in evaluation of the experimental data and the possibility of constructing continuous maps of “the composition to the property.” In the case of orthogonal Legendre polynomials, the technique for constructing such maps is considered, and a set of empirical functions is proposed to adequately describe the dependence of the parameters of nonlinear elastic properties of general-purpose rubbers on the content of the main ingredients. The calculated sets of parameters were used in numerical tire simulations including static loading, footprint analysis, braking/acceleration, and cornering and also in design optimization procedures.


Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 314
Author(s):  
Miroslav Pástor ◽  
Martin Hagara ◽  
Ivan Virgala ◽  
Adam Kaľavský ◽  
Alžbeta Sapietová ◽  
...  

This paper presents a uniquely designed device combining the hole-drilling technique with two optical systems based on the PhotoStress and digital image correlation (DIC) method, where the digital image correlation system moves with the cutting tool. The authors aimed to verify whether the accuracy of the drilled hole according to ASTM E837-13a standard and the positioning accuracy of the device were sufficient to achieve accurate results. The experimental testing was performed on a thin specimen made from strain sensitive coating PS-1D, which allowed comparison of the results obtained by both methods. Although application of the PhotoStress method allows analysis of the strains at the edge of the cut hole, it requires a lot of experimenter’s practical skills to assess the results correctly. On the other hand, the DIC method allows digital processing of the measured data. However, the problem is not only to determine the data at the edge of the hole, the results also significantly depend on the smoothing levels used. The quantitative comparison of the results obtained was performed using finite element analysis.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document