Evaluation of the Numerical Modelling of a High Pressure Turbine Test Rig

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Luquet ◽  
Francois Julienne ◽  
Aurélien Arntz ◽  
Eric Lippinois
Keyword(s):  
High Pressure ◽  
Infrared Imaging ◽  
Guide Vane ◽  
Fuel Efficiency ◽  
Temporal Variations ◽  
Test Rig ◽  
High Pressure Turbine ◽  
Lean Burn ◽  
Multi Stage ◽  
The Impact

Abstract To improve the fuel efficiency demanded by airlines and regulations, the turbomachinery industry is required to steadily enhance engine performances and numerical prediction capabilities. One of the solutions is the lean burn combustor which dramatically reduces NOx levels compared to rich one. However, one drawback of this technology is its impact on the High-pressure turbine due to large swirl and reduced cooling airflow, inducing large spatial and temporal variations in the turbine inlet condition. This can drastically change the operation of the turbine and our ability to model it using standard practice, usually RANS computation. To investigate this combustor-turbine interaction, the European Commission-funded project FACTOR (Full Aerothermal Combustor-Turbine interactiOns Research) was launched several years ago. A test rig of a combustor simulator coupled with a 1.5 stage turbine was built at a DLR facility. An extensive test campaign comprising 5 holes probes and infrared imaging was performed. These produced an array of aerodynamic quantities at different points of interest along the machine axis. With this project reaching its term by the end of 2017, results have been disseminated to the partners. This allows a comparison of measurements with RANS modeling on this configuration. The present paper deals with this analysis using several RANS computations and the results of the test campaign. First, single row computation of the Nozzle Guide Vane and rotor blade were performed. To impose the boundary conditions, the experimental map were azimuthally averaged to obtain profiles of total temperature, total pressure and flow angles. Second, the impact of some geometrical features was investigated. This was done using the recent addition of unstructured mesh capability in the elsA solver. Finally, multi-stage computations, both steady (mixing plane) and unsteady (sliding mesh) give an insight on the relative accuracy of these interstage models. All these computations were then used to investigate the behavior of this particular turbine. In addition to classical analysis using profiles of averaged data, the loss sources were identified by computing the viscous and thermal entropy production. This paves the way for a better understanding of the possibilities and limitations of our simulation capabilities.

Investigation of Combustor-Turbine-Interaction in a Rotating Cooled Transonic High-Pressure Turbine Test Rig: Part 2 — Numerical Modelling and Simulation

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Gövert ◽  
Federica Ferraro ◽  
Alexander Krumme ◽  
Clemens Buske ◽  
Marc Tegeler ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Pressure ◽  
Flame Stabilization ◽  
Test Facility ◽  
Test Rig ◽  
High Pressure Turbine ◽  
Lean Burn ◽  
Turbine Inlet ◽  
Measurement Results ◽  
Aero Engine ◽  
Inlet Conditions

Abstract Reducing the uncertainties in the prediction of turbine inlet conditions is a crucial aspect to improve aero engine designs and further increase engine efficiencies. To meet constantly stricter emission regulations, lean burn combustion could play a key role for future engine designs. However, these combustion systems are characterized by significant swirl for flame stabilization and reduced cooling air mass flows. As a result, substantial spatial and transient variations of the turbine inlet conditions are encountered. To investigate the effect of the combustor on the high pressure turbine, a rotating cooled transonic high-pressure configuration has been designed and investigated experimentally at the DLR turbine test facility ‘NG-Turb’ in Göttingen, Germany. It is a rotating full annular 1.5 stage turbine configuration which is coupled to a combustor simulator. The combustor simulator is designed to create turbine inlet conditions which are hydrodynamically representative for a lean-burn aero engine. A detailed description of the test rig and its instrumentation as well as a discussion of the measurement results is presented in part I of this paper. Part II focuses on numerical modeling of the test rig to further extend the understanding of the measurement results. Integrated simulations of the configuration including combustor simulator and nozzle guide vanes are performed for leading edge and passage clocking position and the effect on the hot streak migration is discussed. The simulation and experimental results at the combustor-turbine interface are compared showing a good overall agreement. The relevant flow features are correctly predicted in the simulations, proving the suitability of the numerical model for application to integrated combustor-turbine interaction analysis.

Dual-Stage Turbocharger Matching and Boost Control Options

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Byungchan Lee ◽  
Dohoy Jung ◽  
Dennis Assanis ◽  
Zoran Filipi
Keyword(s):  
High Pressure ◽  
Diesel Engines ◽  
Pressure Ratio ◽  
Boost Pressure ◽  
High Pressure Turbine ◽  
Multi Stage ◽  
Bypass Valve ◽  
Dual Stage ◽  
Engine System ◽  
The Impact

Diesel engines are gaining in popularity, penetrating even the luxury and sports vehicle segments that have traditionally been strongly favored gasoline engines as the performance and refinement of diesel engines have improved significantly in recent years. The introduction of sophisticated technologies such as common rail injection (CRI), advanced boosting systems such as variable geometry and multi-stage turbocharging, and exhaust gas after-treatment systems have renewed the interest in Diesel engines. Among the technical advancements of diesel engines, the multi-stage turbocharging is the key to achieve such high power density that is suitable for the luxury and sports vehicle applications. Single-stage turbocharging is limited to roughly 2.5 bar of boost pressure. In order to raise the boost pressure up to levels of 4 bar or so, another turbocharger must be connected in series further multiplying the pressure ratio. The dual-stage turbocharging, however, adds system complexity, and the matching of two turbochargers becomes very costly if it is to be done experimentally. This study presents a simulation-based methodology for dual-stage turbocharger matching through an iterative procedure predicting optimal configurations of compressors and turbines. A physics-based zero-dimensional Diesel engine system simulation with a dual-stage turbocharger is implemented in SIMULINK environment, allowing easy evaluation of different configurations and subsequent analysis of engine system performance. The simulation program is augmented with a turbocharger matching program and a turbomachinery scaling routine. The configurations considered in the study include a dual-stage turbocharging system with a bypass valve added to the high pressure turbine, and a system with a wastegate valve added to a low-pressure turbine. The systematic simulation study allows detailed analysis of the impact of each of the configurations on matching, boost characteristics and transient response. The configuration with the bypass valve across high pressure turbine showed better results in terms of both steady state engine torque and transient behavior.

Advanced Statistical Analysis Estimating the Heat Load Issued by Hot Streaks and Turbulence on a High-Pressure Vane in the Context of Adiabatic Large Eddy Simulations

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Thomas ◽  
Florent Duchaine ◽  
Laurent Gicquel ◽  
Charlie Koupper
Keyword(s):  
High Pressure ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Guide Vane ◽  
Large Eddy Simulations ◽  
High Pressure Turbine ◽  
Substantial Impact ◽  
Lean Combustion ◽  
Large Eddy ◽  
Inlet Conditions ◽  
The Impact

The next generation of lean combustion engines promises to further decrease environmental impact and cost of air traffic. Compared to the currently employed Rich Quench Lean (RQL) concept, the flow field at the exit of a lean combustion chamber is characterized by stronger variations of velocity as well as temperature and higher levels of turbulence. These specific features may have a substantial impact on the aerothermal performance of the high-pressure turbine and thereby on the efficiency of the entire engine. Indeed, high levels of turbulence in the Nozzle Guide Vane (NGV) passages locally impact the heat flux and result in globally over dimensioned cooling systems of the NGV. In this study, Large Eddy Simulations (LES) are performed on an engine representative lean combustion simulator geometry to investigate the evolution of turbulence and the migration of hot streaks through the high-pressure turbine. To investigate the impact of non-uniform stator inlet conditions on the estimated thermal stress on the NGVs, adiabatic LES predictions of the lean combustor NGV FACTOR configuration are analyzed through the use of high statistical moments of temperature and two point statistics for the assessment of turbulent quantities. Relations between temperature statistical features and turbulence are evidenced on planes through the NGV passage pointing to the role of mixing and large scale features along with marked wall temperatures that locally can largely differ from obtained mean values.

Impact of Individual High-Pressure Turbine Rotor Purge Flows on Turbine Center Frame Aerodynamics

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Zerobin ◽  
C. Aldrian ◽  
A. Peters ◽  
F. Heitmeir ◽  
E. Göttlich
Keyword(s):  
High Pressure ◽  
Pressure Loss ◽  
Turbine Rotor ◽  
Flow Conditions ◽  
High Pressure Turbine ◽  
Reference Case ◽  
University Of Technology ◽  
Purge Flow ◽  
Generation Mechanisms ◽  
The Impact

This paper presents an experimental study of the impact of individual high-pressure turbine purge flows on the main flow in a downstream turbine center frame duct. Measurements were carried out in a product-representative one and a half stage turbine test setup, installed in the Transonic Test Turbine Facility at Graz University of Technology. The rig allows testing at engine-relevant flow conditions, matching Mach, Reynolds, and Strouhal number at the inlet of the turbine center frame. The reference case features four purge flows differing in flow rate, pressure, and temperature, injected through the hub and tip, forward and aft cavities of the high-pressure turbine rotor. To investigate the impact of each individual cooling flow on the flow evolution in the turbine center frame, the different purge flows were switched off one-by-one while holding the other three purge flow conditions. In total, this approach led to six different test conditions when including the reference case and the case without any purge flow ejection. Detailed measurements were carried out at the turbine center frame duct inlet and outlet for all six conditions and the post-processed results show that switching off one of the rotor case purge flows leads to an improved duct performance. In contrast, the duct exit flow is dominated by high pressure loss regions if the forward rotor hub purge flow is turned off. Without the aft rotor hub purge flow, a reduction in duct pressure loss is determined. The purge flows from the rotor aft cavities are demonstrated to play a particularly important role for the turbine center frame aerodynamic performance. In summary, this paper provides a first-time assessment of the impact of four different purge flows on the flow field and loss generation mechanisms in a state-of-the-art turbine center frame configuration. The outcomes of this work indicate that a high-pressure turbine purge flow reduction generally benefits turbine center frame performance. However, the forward rotor hub purge flow actually stabilizes the flow in the turbine center frame duct and reducing this purge flow can penalize turbine center frame performance. These particular high-pressure turbine/turbine center frame interactions should be taken into account whenever high-pressure turbine purge flow reductions are pursued.

Effects of Non-Uniform Combustor Exit Flow on Turbine Aerodynamics

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stavros Pyliouras ◽  
Heinz-Peter Schiffer ◽  
Erik Janke ◽  
Lars Willer
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Condition ◽  
Test Rig ◽  
Lean Burn ◽  
Lean Combustion ◽  
Flow Mechanisms ◽  
Low Nox Combustion ◽  
Inhomogeneous Temperature ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Inlet Boundary Condition ◽  
Insight Into

Very-low NOx combustion concepts require a high swirl number of the flow in the combustion chamber to allow for lean burn combustion. This article deals with the influence of the resulting combustor exit swirl on the turbine aerodynamics of the first stage. This investigation is based on numerical simulations. According to the literature research additional insight into combustor-turbine interaction is achieved by taking into account a fully two dimensional inlet boundary condition. Up to now published results on combustor-turbine interaction were mostly restricted to the inhomogeneous temperature distribution at the turbine inlet. The investigations are carried out on a real engine geometry — the E3E Core 3/2 — a research project of Rolls-Royce Deutschland on lean combustion. Calculations are conducted by means of the Rolls-Royce plc code Hydra. The swirled inlet boundary condition is further scaled to test rig conditions to check for the transferability between the test rig and the real engine geometry. The results show a significant impact of the inhomogeneous turbine inflow on the stage efficiency and the thermal load. The optimization potential due to the clocking position of the combustor swirl is analyzed. The impact on the secondary flow mechanisms is analyzed with a novel visualization technique. A frequency spectrum analysis is carried out to investigate the effects of the 2D inlet boundary condition on the rotor row.

Using CFD to Reduce Resonant Stresses on a Single-Stage, High-Pressure Turbine Blade

2002 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. P. Clark ◽  
A. S. Aggarwala ◽  
M. A. Velonis ◽  
R. E. Gacek ◽  
S. S. Magge ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Pressure ◽  
Turbine Blade ◽  
Guide Vane ◽  
Turbine Blades ◽  
Suction Side ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Single Stage ◽  
Navier Stokes ◽  
High Pressure Turbine ◽  
Time Resolved

The ability to predict levels of unsteady forcing on high-pressure turbine blades is critical to avoid high-cycle fatigue failures. In this study, 3D time-resolved computational fluid dynamics is used within the design cycle to predict accurately the levels of unsteady forcing on a single-stage high-pressure turbine blade. Further, nozzle-guide-vane geometry changes including asymmetric circumferential spacing and suction-side modification are considered and rigorously analyzed to reduce levels of unsteady blade forcing. The latter is ultimately implemented in a development engine, and it is shown successfully to reduce resonant stresses on the blade. This investigation builds upon data that was recently obtained in a full-scale, transonic turbine rig to validate a Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) flow solver for the prediction of both the magnitude and phase of unsteady forcing in a single-stage HPT and the lessons learned in that study.

Assessment of the Indirect Combustion Noise Generated in a Transonic High-Pressure Turbine Stage

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dimitrios Papadogiannis ◽  
Florent Duchaine ◽  
Laurent Gicquel ◽  
Gaofeng Wang ◽  
Stéphane Moreau ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Pressure ◽  
Acoustic Waves ◽  
Gas Turbines ◽  
Guide Vane ◽  
Combustion Noise ◽  
Dynamic Mode Decomposition ◽  
Dynamic Mode ◽  
Noise Generation ◽  
Turbine Stage ◽  
High Pressure Turbine

Indirect combustion noise, generated by the acceleration and distortion of entropy waves through the turbine stages, has been shown to be the dominant noise source of gas turbines at low-frequencies and to impact the thermoacoustic behavior of the combustor. In the present work, indirect combustion noise generation is evaluated in the realistic, fully 3D transonic high-pressure turbine stage MT1 using Large-Eddy Simulations (LES). An analysis of the basic flow and the different turbine noise generation mechanisms is performed for two configurations: one with a steady inflow and a second with a pulsed inlet, where a plane entropy wave train at a given frequency is injected before propagating across the stage generating indirect noise. The noise is evaluated through the Dynamic Mode Decomposition of the flow field. It is compared with previous 2D simulations of a similar stator/rotor configuration, as well as with the compact theory of Cumpsty and Marble. Results show that the upstream propagating entropy noise is reduced due to the choked turbine nozzle guide vane. Downstream acoustic waves are found to be of similar strength to the 2D case, highlighting the potential impact of indirect combustion noise on the overall noise signature of the engine.

Numerical Prediction of Cooling Performance Sensitivity of 1st Stage Nozzle Guide Vane Under Aerothermal Conditions

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Prasert Prapamonthon ◽  
Bo Yin ◽  
Guowei Yang ◽  
Mohan Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Surface Roughness ◽  
High Pressure ◽  
Guide Vane ◽  
Pressure Ratio ◽  
Inlet Temperature ◽  
High Pressure Turbine ◽  
Cooling Performance ◽  
Nozzle Guide Vane ◽  
Nozzle Guide

Abstract To obtain high power and thermal efficiency, the 1st stage nozzle guide vanes of a high-pressure turbine need to operate under serious circumstances from burned gas coming out of combustors. This leads to vane suffering from effects of high thermal load, high pressure and turbulence, including flow-separated transition. Therefore, it is necessary to improve vane cooling performance under complex flow and heat transfer phenomena caused by the integration of these effects. In fact, these effects on a high-pressure turbine vane are controlled by several factors such as turbine inlet temperature, pressure ratio, turbulence intensity and length scale, vane curvature and surface roughness. Furthermore, if the vane is cooled by film cooling, hole configuration and blowing ratio are important factors too. These factors can change the aerothermal conditions of the vane operation. The present work aims to numerically predict sensitivity of cooling performances of the 1st stage nozzle guide vane under aerodynamic and thermal variations caused by three parameters i.e. pressure ratio, coolant inlet temperature and height of vane surface roughness using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) with Conjugate Heat Transfer (CHT) approach. Numerical results show that the coolant inlet temperature and the vane surface roughness parameters have significant effects on the vane temperature, thereby affecting the vane cooling performances significantly and sensitively.

Weibull Distributions Applied to Cost and Risk Analysis for Aero Engines

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. S. Pascovici ◽  
K. G. Kyprianidis ◽  
F. Colmenares ◽  
S. O. T. Ogaji ◽  
P. Pilidis
Keyword(s):  
High Pressure ◽  
Risk Analysis ◽  
Economic Model ◽  
Spare Parts ◽  
Weibull Distributions ◽  
High Pressure Turbine ◽  
Aero Engines ◽  
The Cost ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Different Parts

This paper presents the use of Weibull formulation to the life analysis of different parts of the engine in order to estimate the cost of maintenance, the direct operating costs (DOC) and net present cost (NPC) of future type turbofan engines. The Weibull distribution is often used in the field of life data analysis due to its flexibility—it can mimic the behavior of other statistical distributions such as the normal and the exponential. The developed economic model is composed of three modules: a lifing module, an economic module and a risk module. The lifing module estimates the life of the high pressure turbine blades through the analysis of creep and fatigue over a full working cycle of the engine. The value of life calculated by the lifing is then taken as the baseline distribution to calculate the life of other important modules of the engine using the Weibull approach. Then the lower of the values of life of all the distributions is taken as time between overhaul (TBO), and used into the economic module calculations. The economic module uses the TBO together with the cost of labour and the cost of the engine (needed to determine the cost of spare parts) to estimate the cost of maintenance and DOC of the engine. In the present work five Weibull distributions are used for five important sources of interruption of the working life of the engine: Combustor, Life Limited Parts (LLP), High Pressure Compressor (HPC), General breakdowns and High Pressure Turbine (HPT). The risk analysis done in this work shows the impact of the breakdown of different parts of the engine on the NPC and DOC, the importance that each module of the engine has in its life, and how the application of the Weibull theory can help us in the risk assessment of future aero engines. A detailed explanation of the economic model is done in two other works (Pascovici et. al. [6] and Pascovici et. al. [7]), so in this paper only a general overview is done.

Assessment of RANS Against LES for the Aero-Thermal Behavior of High Pressure Turbine Stages Under Realistic Inlet Conditions

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefano Vagnoli ◽  
Tom Verstraete ◽  
Charlie Koupper ◽  
Guillaume Bonneau
Keyword(s):  
High Pressure ◽  
Thermal Behavior ◽  
Turbulence Modeling ◽  
Engine Performance ◽  
High Pressure Turbine ◽  
Lean Burn ◽  
Field Development ◽  
Safety Margins ◽  
Inlet Conditions ◽  
Hot Streak

Modern Lean Burn combustors generate a complex field at the High Pressure turbine (HPT) inlet, characterized by non-uniform velocity and temperature distributions, together with very high turbulence levels (up to 25%). For these extreme conditions, classical numerical methods employed for the HPT design, such as Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes (RANS) simulation, suffer from a lack of validation. This leads to a reduced confidence in predicting the combustor-turbine interactions, which requires to use extra safety margins, to the detriment of the overall engine performance. Within the European FACTOR project, a 360° non reactive combustor simulator and a 1.5 HPT stage are designed to get more insight into the mutual interaction of these two components. A first experimental and numerical campaign has demonstrated the potential of Large Eddy Simulations (LES) to accurately reproduce the turbulent flow field development at the combustor outlet. The aim of the present paper is to exploit the accuracy of LES to validate less time-consuming RANS models in predicting the hot streak migration in the turbine stage. In this sense, LES results are used as a reference to discriminate the different RANS simulations in terms of turbulence modeling and aerothermal predictions. The current investigations clearly indicate that turbulence and hot streak diffusion within the HPT are strongly linked. In this sense, the choice of the RANS turbulence model and the inlet turbulent conditions plays a major role in modeling the thermal behavior for the stator and rotor blades.

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