A Method to Evaluate the Sensitivity of Aerodynamic Damping to Mode Shape Perturbations

Author(s):  
Jing Li ◽  
Suryarghya Chakrabarti ◽  
Wei-Min Ren

Abstract Turbomachinery blade mode shapes are routinely predicted by finite element method (FEM) programs and are then used in unsteady computational fluid dynamic (CFD) analyses to predict the aerodynamic damping. This flutter stability assessment process is critical for the last-stage blades (LSBs) of modern heavy-duty gas turbines (HDGTs) which can be particularly susceptible to flutter. Evidences suggest that actual mode shapes may deviate from the FEM predictions due to changes in the FEM boundary or loading conditions, effects of the nonlinear friction contacts, and blade-to-blade variations (mistuning), among others. This uncertainty in the mode shape is accompanied by a general lack of knowledge on the sensitivity of the aerodynamic damping to a small change in mode shape. This paper presents a method to perturb a mode shape and estimate the corresponding change in aerodynamic damping in a framework enabled by linear theories and a rigid-body, quasi-3D treatment of mode shapes. This method is of low computational cost and is suitable for use in the preliminary design cycle. The numerical validation and applications of the method are demonstrated on two LSB blades. Results suggest that the mode shape sensitivity can be substantial and may even exceed the change in aerodynamic damping of a frictionally damped system when subjected to various levels of excitation.

2015 ◽  
Vol 25 (5) ◽  
pp. 1064-1088 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alain Fossi ◽  
Alain DeChamplain ◽  
Benjamin Akih-Kumgeh

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to numerically investigate the three-dimensional (3D) reacting turbulent two-phase flow field of a scaled swirl-stabilized gas turbine combustor using the commercial computational fluid dynamic (CFD) software ANSYS FLUENT. The first scope of the study aims to explicitly compare the predictive capabilities of two turbulence models namely Unsteady Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes and Scale Adaptive Simulation for a reasonable trade-off between accuracy of results and global computational cost when applied to simulate swirl-stabilized spray combustion. The second scope of the study is to couple chemical reactions to the turbulent flow using a realistic chemistry model and also to model the local chemical non-equilibrium(NEQ) effects caused by turbulent strain such as flame stretching. Design/methodology/approach – Standard Eulerian and Lagrangian formulations are used to describe both gaseous and liquid phases, respectively. The computing method includes a two-way coupling in which phase properties and spray source terms are interchanging between the two phases within each coupling time step. The fuel used is liquid jet-A1 which is injected in the form of a polydisperse spray and the droplet evaporation rate is calculated using the infinite conductivity model. One-component (n-decane) and two-component fuels (n-decane+toluene) are used as jet-A1 surrogates. The combustion model is based on the mean mixture fraction and its variance, and a presumed-probability density function is used to model turbulent-chemistry interactions. The instantaneous thermochemical state necessary for the chemistry tabulation is determined by using initially the equilibrium (EQ) assumption and thereafter, detailed NEQ calculations through the steady flamelets concept. The combustion chemistry of these surrogates is represented through a reduced chemical kinetic mechanism (CKM) comprising 1,045 reactions among 139 species, derived from the detailed jet-A1 surrogate model, JetSurf 2.0 using a sensitivity based method, Alternate Species Elimination. Findings – Numerical results of the gas velocity, the gas temperature and the species molar fractions are compared with their experimental counterparts obtained from a steady state flame available in the literature. It is observed that, SAS coupled to the tabulated flamelet-based chemistry, predicts reasonably the main flame trends, while URANS even provided with the same combustion model and computing resources, leads to a poor prediction of the global flame trends, emphasizing the asset of a proper resolution when simulating spray flames. Research limitations/implications – The steady flamelet model even coupled with a robust turbulence model does not reproduce accurately the trend of species with slow oxidation kinetics such as CO and H2, because of the restrictiveness of the solutions space of flamelet equations and the assumption of unity Lewis for all species. Practical implications – This work is adding a contribution for spray flame modeling and can be seen as an extension to the significant efforts for the modeling of gaseous flames using robust turbulence models coupled with the tabulated flamelet-based chemistry approach to considerably reduce computing cost. The exclusive use of a commercial CFD code widely used in the industry allows a direct application of this simulation approach to industrial configurations while keeping computing cost reasonable. Originality/value – This study is useful to engineers interested in designing combustors of gas turbines and others combustion systems fed with liquid fuels.


Author(s):  
Wei Ning ◽  
Stuart Moffatt ◽  
Yansheng Li ◽  
Roger G. Wells

This is part two of a two-part paper. Part One describes the methodologies of a blade forced response prediction system. The emphasis of this part is to demonstrate the capability and computational efficiency of the system for predicting blade forced response. Part two firstly presents verification of the multistage time-linearized unsteady flow solver through comparison of predicted blade surface pressure distributions with data measured on a VKI transonic turbine stage. It concludes with presentation of the results of an analysis carried out on the last stage rotor blade of an ALSTOM three-stage transonic test compressor. In the analysis, strain gauge results together with Finite Element (FE) modal analysis identify the resonant crossings. The mode shape of the blade vibration is used in the CFD code to predict the blade aerodynamic damping. The aerodynamic damping is compared with the blade system damping obtained from the strain gauge tests. The variation is shown of aerodynamic and mechanical damping with blade mode shape. The blade unsteady modal forces induced by the upstream stators are derived from the calculated unsteady flows. The blade vibration at three resonant crossings is compared with those given by strain gauge measurements. Good comparisons and high computational efficiency demonstrate that the forced response methodologies described in Part One can be used in the blade design process to tackle blade aeromechanical issues.


Author(s):  
Markus Jo¨cker ◽  
Torsten H. Fransson

The excitability of single rotor blade mode shapes due to the excitations by upstream stators in high-pressure turbine stages is subject of the present work. An evaluation of unsteady aerodynamic analyses of the stator-rotor interaction towards their sensitivity to the rotor blade mode shape is presented and applied. The unsteady aerodynamic analyses were performed at midspan sections with a well validated 2D/Q3D hybrid Euler/Navier Stokes non-linear flow solver (UNSFLO). The mode shape is parametrized by a torsion axis location in the plane of the blade section, which allows the construction of excitability maps as a function of 2D rigid body mode shapes. Excitability itself is derived from a generalized force analysis. The evaluation demonstrates the high sensitivity of excitability to the mode shape, which suggests that only small modifications in mode shape can significantly change the risk of blade mode excitation. It also highlights the central importance of the relative phase of unsteady blade pressure harmonic. Changes in axial gap can significantly modify the excitability and transform highly excited modes to less excited modes and vice versa. The variation of rotational speed (−5% to +10%) did not show remarkable changes in the mode excitability of the investigated rotor.


2017 ◽  
Vol 139 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dingxi Wang ◽  
Francesco Ornano ◽  
Yan Sheng Li ◽  
Roger Wells ◽  
Christer Hjalmarsson ◽  
...  

This paper presents a new unconventional philosophy for high-pressure (HP) vane design. It is proposed that the most natural design starting point for admitting and accelerating flow with minimum loss and secondary flow is a trumpet-shaped flow-path which gradually turns to the desired angle. Multiple trumpet-shaped inlets are seamlessly blended into the (annular or partitioned) combustor walls resulting in a highly lofted flow-path, rather than a traditional flow-path defined by distinct airfoil and endwall surfaces. We call this trumped-shaped inlet the fully lofted oval vane (FLOvane). The purpose of this paper is to describe the FLOvane concept and to present back-to-back CFD analyses of two current industrial gas turbines with conventional and FLOvane-modified designs. The resulting designs diverge significantly from conventional designs in terms of both process and final geometric form. Computational fluid dynamic predictions for the FLOvane-modified designs show improved aerodynamic performance characteristics, reduced heat load, improved cooling performance, improved thermal–mechanical life, and improved stage/engine efficiency. The mechanisms for improved performance include reduction of secondary flows, reduced mixing of coolant flow with the mainstream flow, reduced skin friction, and improved coolant distribution. In the two current industrial gas turbine engines, the absolute (percentage point) improvement in stage isentropic efficiency when the FLOvane design was included was estimated at 0.33% points and 0.40% points without cooling flow reduction, and 1.5% points in one case and much more is expected for the other case when cooling flow reductions were accounted for.


Author(s):  
A. Arroyo ◽  
M. McLorn ◽  
M. Fabian ◽  
M. White ◽  
A. I. Sayma

Rotor-dynamics of Micro Gas Turbines (MGTs) under 30 kW have been a critical issue for the successful development of reliable engines during the last decades. Especially, no consensus has been reached on a reliable MGT arrangement under 10 kW with rotational speeds above 100,000 rpm, making the understanding of the rotor-dynamics of these high speed systems an important research area. This paper presents a linear rotor-dynamic analysis and comparison of three mechanical arrangements of a 6 kW MGT intended for utilising Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) using a parabolic dish concentrator. This application differs from the usual fuel burning MGT in that it is required to operate at a wider operating speed range. The objective is to find an arrangement that allows reliable mechanical operation through better understanding of the rotor dynamics for a number of alternative shaft-bearings arrangements. Finite Element Analysis (FEA) was used to produce Campbell diagrams and to determine the critical speeds and mode shapes. Experimental hammer tests using a new approach based on optical sensing technology were used to validate the rotor-dynamic models. The FEA simulation results for the natural frequencies of a shaft arrangement were within 5% of the measurements, while the deviation for the shaft-bearings arrangement increased up to 16%.


Author(s):  
Toshiaki Sakurazawa ◽  
Takeo Oda ◽  
Satoshi Takami ◽  
Atsushi Okuto ◽  
Yasuhiro Kinoshita

This paper describes the development of the Dry Low Emission (DLE) combustor for L30A gas turbine. Kawasaki Heavy Industries, LTD (KHI) has been producing relatively small-size gas turbines (25kW to 30MW class). L30A gas turbine, which has a rated output of 30MW, achieved the thermal efficiency of more than 40%. Most continuous operation models use DLE combustion systems to reduce the harmful emissions and to meet the emission regulation or self-imposed restrictions. KHI’s DLE combustors consist of three burners, a diffusion pilot burner, a lean premix main burner, and supplemental burners. KHI’s proven DLE technologies are also adapted to the L30A combustor design. The development of L30 combustor is divided in four main steps. In the first step, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analyses were carried out to optimize the detail configuration of the combustor. In a second step, an experimental evaluation using single-can-combustor was conducted in-house intermediate-pressure test facility to evaluate the performances such as ignition, emissions, liner wall temperature, exhaust temperature distribution, and satisfactory results were obtained. In the third step, actual pressure and temperature rig tests were carried out at the Institute for Power Plant Technology, Steam and Gas Turbines (IKDG) of Aachen University, achieving NOx emission value of less than 15ppm (O2=15%). Finally, the L30A commercial validation engine was tested in an in-house test facility, NOx emission is achieved less than 15ppm (O2=15%) between 50% and 100% load operation point. L30A field validation engine have been operated from September 2012 at a chemical industries in Japan.


1999 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. A. Lipsey ◽  
Y. W. Kwon

Abstract Damage reduces the flexural stiffness of a structure, thereby altering its dynamic response, specifically the natural frequency, damping values, and the mode shapes associated with each natural frequency. Considerable effort has been put into obtaining a correlation between the changes in these parameters and the location and amount of the damage in beam structures. Most numerical research employed elements with reduced beam dimensions or material properties such as modulus of elasticity to simulate damage in the beam. This approach to damage simulation neglects the non-linear effect that a crack has on the different modes of vibration and their corresponding natural frequencies. In this paper, finite element modeling techniques are utilized to directly represent an embedded crack. The results of the dynamic analysis are then compared to the results of the dynamic analysis of the reduced modulus finite element model. Different modal parameters including both mode shape displacement and mode shape curvature are investigated to determine the most sensitive indicator of damage and its location.


Author(s):  
E Swain

A one-dimensional centrifugal compressor performance prediction technique that has been available for some time is updated as a result of extracting the component performance from three-dimensional computational fluid dynamic (CFD) analyses. Confidence in the CFD results is provided by comparison of overall performance for one of the compressor examples. The extracted impeller characteristic is compared with the original impeller loss model, and this indicated that some improvement was desirable. The position of least impeller loss was determined using a traditional axial compressor cascade method, and suitable algebraic expressions were derived to match the CFD data. The merit of the approach lies with the relative ease that CFD component performance currently can be achieved and adjusting one-dimensional methods to agree with the CFD-derived models.


Author(s):  
Bernd Beirow ◽  
Felix Figaschewsky ◽  
Arnold Kühhorn ◽  
Alfons Bornhorn

The potential of intentional mistuning to reduce the maximum forced response is analyzed within the development of an axial turbine blisk for ship diesel engine turbocharger applications. The basic idea of the approach is to provide an increased aerodynamic damping level for particular engine order excitations and mode shapes without any significant distortions of the aerodynamic performance. The mistuning pattern intended to yield a mitigation of the forced response is derived from an optimization study applying genetic algorithms. Two blisk prototypes have been manufactured a first one with and another one without employing intentional mistuning. Hence, the differences regarding the real mistuning and other modal properties can be experimentally determined and evaluated as well. In addition, the experimental data basis allows for updating structural models which are well suited to compute the forced response under operational conditions. In this way, the real benefit achieved with the application of intentional mistuning is demonstrated.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document