Systematic Experimental Evaluations Aimed at Optimizing the Geometry of Axial Casing Groove in a Compressor

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huang Chen ◽  
Subhra Shankha Koley ◽  
Yuanchao Li ◽  
Joseph Katz
Keyword(s):  
Leading Edge ◽  
Low Flow ◽  
Maximum Efficiency ◽  
Flow Angle ◽  
Efficiency Loss ◽  
Stall Margin ◽  
Blade Rotation ◽  
Stall Margin Improvement ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Blade Leading Edge

Abstract Performance and flow measurements are carried out to investigate the impact of varying the geometry of axial casing grooves on the stall margin and efficiency of an axial turbomachine. Prior studies have shown that skewed semi-circular grooves installed near the blade leading edge (LE) have multiple effects on the flow structure, including ingestion of the tip leakage vortex (TLV), suppression of backflow vortices, and periodic variations of flow angle. To determine which of these phenomena is a key contributor, the present study examines the impact of several grooves, all with the same inlet geometry, but with outlets aimed at different directions. The “U” grooves that have circumferential exits aimed against the direction of blade rotation achieve the highest stall margin improvement of well above 60% but cause a 2.0% efficiency loss near the best efficiency point (BEP). The “S” grooves, which have exits aimed with the blade rotation, achieve a relatively moderate stall margin improvement of 36%, but they do not reduce the BEP efficiency. Other grooves, which are aligned with and against the flow direction at the exit from upstream inlet guide vanes, achieve lower improvements. These trends suggest that causing high periodic variations in flow angle around the blade leading edge is particularly effective in extending the stall margin, but also reduces the peak efficiency. In contrast, maintaining low flow angles near the LE achieves more moderate improvement in stall margin, without the maximum efficiency loss. Hence, of the geometries tested, the S grooves appear to have the best overall impact on the machine performance. Velocity measurements and flow visualizations are performed in an axial plane located downstream of the grooves, near the trailing edge of the rotor. Reduced efficiency or performance co-occurs with elevated circumferential velocity in the tip region, but differences in the axial blockage are subtle. Yet, near the BEP, the regions with reduced axial velocity, or even negative velocity between the TLV and the endwall, are wider behind the U grooves compared to the S grooves. The vorticity profiles also show that at low flow rates the TLV is ingested entirely by the grooves, in contrast to the best efficiency point, where a considerable fraction of the TLV rollup occurs downstream of the grooves.

EFFECT OF AXIAL CASING GROOVE GEOMETRY ON ROTOR-GROOVE INTERACTIONS IN THE TIP REGION OF A COMPRESSOR

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-54
Author(s):  
Subhra Shankha Koley ◽  
Huang Chen ◽  
Ayush Saraswat ◽  
Joseph Katz
Keyword(s):  
Rotor Blade ◽  
Leading Edge ◽  
Secondary Flows ◽  
Low Flow ◽  
Flow Angle ◽  
Flow Rates ◽  
Piv Measurements ◽  
Tip Leakage ◽  
Large Vortex ◽  
Blade Leading Edge

Abstract This experimental study characterizes the interactions of axial casing grooves with the flow in the tip region of an axial turbomachine. The tests involve grooves with the same inlet overlapping with the rotor blade leading edge, but with different exit directions located upstream. Among them, U grooves, whose circumferential outflow opposes the blade motion, achieve a 60% reduction in stall flowrate, but degrade the efficiency around the best efficiency point (BEP) by 2%. The S grooves, whose outlets are parallel to the blade rotation, improve the stall flowrate by only 36%, but do not degrade the BEP performance. To elucidate the mechanisms involved, stereo-PIV measurements covering the tip region and interior of grooves are performed in a refractive index matched facility. At low flow rates, the inflow into both grooves, which peaks when they are aligned with the blade pressure side, rolls up into a large vortex that lingers within the groove. By design, the outflow from S grooves is circumferentially positive. For the U grooves, fast circumferentially negative outflow peaks at the base of each groove, causing substantial periodic variations in the flow angle near the blade leading edge. At BEP, interactions with both grooves become milder, and most of the tip leakage vortex remains in the passage. Interactions with the S grooves are limited hence they do not degrade the efficiency. In contrast, the inflow into and outflow from the U grooves reverses direction, causing entrainment of secondary flows, which likely contribute to the reduced BEP efficiency.

On the Interactions of a Rotor Blade Tip Flow With Axial Casing Grooves in an Axial Compressor Near the Best Efficiency Point

2018 ◽  
Vol 141 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Huang Chen ◽  
Yuanchao Li ◽  
Joseph Katz
Keyword(s):  
Rotor Blade ◽  
Leading Edge ◽  
Secondary Flows ◽  
Maximum Efficiency ◽  
Leakage Flow ◽  
Tip Leakage Flow ◽  
Flow Angle ◽  
Tip Leakage ◽  
Blade Tip ◽  
The Impact

Experiments in a refractive index-matched axial turbomachine facility show that semicircular skewed axial casing grooves (ACGs) reduce the stall flowrate by 40% but cause a 2.4% decrease in the maximum efficiency. Aiming to elucidate mechanism that might cause the reduced efficiency, stereo-PIV measurements examine the impact of the ACGs on the flow structure and turbulence in the tip region near the best efficiency point (BEP), and compare them to those occurring without grooves and at low flowrates. Results show that the periodic inflow into the groove peaks when the rotor blade pressure side (PS) overlaps with the downstream end of the groove, but diminishes when this end faces the suction side (SS). Entrainment of the PS boundary layer and its vorticity generates a vortical loop at the entrance to the groove, and a “discontinuity” in the tip leakage vortex (TLV) trajectory. During exposure to the SS, the backward tip leakage flow separates at the entrance to the groove, generating a counter-rotating circumferential “corner vortex,” which the TLV entrains into the passage at high flowrates. Interactions among these structures enlarge the TLV and create a broad area with secondary flows and elevated turbulence near the groove's downstream corner. A growing shear layer with weaker turbulence also originates from the upstream corner. The groove also increases the flow angle upstream of the blade tip and varies it periodically. Accordingly, the circulation shed from the blade tip and strength of leakage flow increase near the blade leading edge (LE).

Effect of the Foam Metal Casing Treatment on a Low-Speed Axial Compressor

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jia Li ◽  
Dakun Sun ◽  
Reize Xu ◽  
Xu Dong ◽  
Xiaofeng Sun
Keyword(s):  
Axial Compressor ◽  
Leading Edge ◽  
Metal Ring ◽  
Efficiency Loss ◽  
Stall Inception ◽  
Stall Margin ◽  
Casing Treatment ◽  
Foam Metal ◽  
Metal Casing ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Foam metal is a foam-like substance made out of metal and can be used in flow control, vibration damping and acoustic absorption mainly based on their special physical properties. A kind of foam metal casing treatment is proposed and tested in this study. The impact of the foam metal casing treatment on compressor stability and noise reduction are experimentally investigated. The foam metal selected in the experiments is constructed from ferronickel and its PPI (pores per inch) is 35. The foam metal casing treatment comprises annular support casing and foam metal ring. The effect of foam metal location on stability of the test compressor are investigated by placing shims in support casing. Both time-mean and high-response instrumentation are applied to capture the steady and unsteady compressor performances with the presence of the foam metal casing treatment. 20 microphones of G.R.A.S type are used to measure in-duct acoustic level of the compressor. It is found that the SMI (stall margin improvement) is 36.1% and the efficiency loss is 1.5% at location 7. When foam metal moves to rotor leading edge, the SMI as well as the efficiency loss are getting smaller. The optimal location in the experiments is location 4 where the SMI of compressor is 14.9% and the efficiency loss is 0.1%. The interaction of foam metal with flow in the blade tip region at these locations are investigated and presented in detail. The PSD (power spectrum density) analysis is carried out to show the unsteady signal development in stall inception. The noise attenuation varies in 0.18∼1.6 dB when foam metal is at different locations. Finally, the mechanism and application of the foam metal casing treatment are also discussed.

Effects of Flow Injection From Outer Casing Upon Turbine Nozzle Vane Flow Field

2002 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Funazaki ◽  
C. F. F. Favaretto ◽  
T. Tanuma
Keyword(s):  
Flow Field ◽  
Flow Injection ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Leading Edge ◽  
Main Stream ◽  
Flow Angle ◽  
Aerodynamic Loss ◽  
Nozzle Vane ◽  
Design Variables ◽  
The Impact

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.

Flow Field Analysis and Nearfield Acoustic Signature Reduction of a Stationary Fan Blade Array

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Syed Qasim Zaheer ◽  
Peter Disimile
Keyword(s):  
Flow Field ◽  
Vortex Shedding ◽  
Leading Edge ◽  
Pressure Side ◽  
Validation Data ◽  
Array Configuration ◽  
Blade Cascade ◽  
Fan Blade ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Blade Leading Edge

Abstract A highly cambered and loaded stationary fan blade cascade of an in-service centrifugal fan is analyzed in this research work at flow conditions corresponding to design point operation of subject fan. The configuration of enclosed blade cascade includes upstream and downstream ducts. A preliminary analysis of flow variables and nearfield acoustic spectra is carried out experimentally which then provided boundary conditions and validation data for an extensive numerical analysis using Embedded Large Eddy Simulation turbulence model in ANSYS Fluent 19.0 ® environment. The comprehensive analysis of flow field and nearfield aeroacoustics of blade array configuration reveals vortex shedding from blade leading edge and its interaction with pressure side surface of adjacent blade becomes one of major source in the aeroacoustics signature of blade array. The vortex shedding frequency and the frequency of upstream turbulence interaction with blade leading edge are identified. A novel method of placing rectangular cavity on pressure side of blade array to suppress the impact of impingement of leading-edge vortex via cavity acoustic wave is explored. The numerical results reveal a reduction in noise by 6dB encouraging the efficacy of this method as a passive technique to reduce aeroacoustics signature of researched blade array configuration.

Mechanism investigation of enhancing the stability of an axial flow rotor by blade angle slots

2019 ◽  
Vol 233 (13) ◽  
pp. 4750-4764 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haoguang Zhang ◽  
Wenhao Liu ◽  
Enhao Wang ◽  
Yanhui Wu ◽  
Weidong Yao
Keyword(s):  
Axial Flow ◽  
Maximum Efficiency ◽  
Smooth Wall ◽  
Blade Angle ◽  
Stall Margin ◽  
Casing Treatment ◽  
Flow Losses ◽  
Stable Operating ◽  
Stall Margin Improvement ◽  
The Stability

This paper seeks to reveal the mechanisms of enhancing the stability of a subsonic axial flow rotor by applying blade angle slots casing treatment (BSCT). When blade angle slots are applied, there is about 9% stall margin improvement for the experiment and about 8% stall margin improvement for the calculation, but the decrease in the rotor maximum efficiency is about 11% for the experiment and the calculation. The compared results between smooth wall and blade angle slots indicate that the backflow in the rotor top passage is weakened by the injected and sucked flows formed inside the slots of BSCT. Moreover, the injected flows inside the slots interfere with the flows in the rotor passage upstream, and this interference leads to large flow losses. Therefore, the rotor efficiency for blade angle slots is much lower than that for smooth wall. To confirm that the structural optimization of blade angle slots can effectively improve the compressor stability with small efficiency losses, optimized blade angle slots casing treatment (BSCT1) was designed according to the past experience of slot casing treatment. The calculated result shows that the optimized blade angle slots generate about 59% stall margin improvement, and the compressor maximum efficiency with the optimized blade angle slots is about 0.05% more than that for smooth wall. The flow field analyses show that the strong sucked flows formed inside the slots for BSCT1 can prevent the backflow, which exists in the rotor top passage for BSCT, from appearing. In addition, the level of interference of the flows in the rotor passage upstream for BSCT1 is much lower than that for BSCT, and the corresponding losses with BSCT1 become lower. Therefore, the rotor with BSCT1 has a larger stable operating range and better efficiencies than that with BSCT.

Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Effect of Center Offset Degree on Compressor Stability With Circumferential Grooved Casing Treatment

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
HaoGuang Zhang ◽  
Feng Tan ◽  
YanHui Wu ◽  
WuLi Chu ◽  
Wei Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Axial Compressor ◽  
Leading Edge ◽  
Groove Depth ◽  
Tip Clearance ◽  
Central Difference ◽  
Stall Margin ◽  
Casing Treatment ◽  
Compressor Rotor ◽  
Stall Margin Improvement ◽  
Blade Tip

For compressor blade tip stall, one effective way of extending stable operating range is with the application of circumferential grooved casing treatment and its validity was proved by a lot of experimental and numerical investigations. The emphases of most circumferential grooved investigations are focused on the influence of groove depth and groove number on compressor stability, and there is few investigations dealt with the center offset degree of circumferential grooves casing treatment. Hence, an axial compressor rotor with casing treatment (CT) was investigated with experimental and numerical methods to explore the effect of center offset degree on compressor stability and performance. In the work reported here, The center offset degree is defined as the ratio of the central difference between rotor tip axial chord and CT to the axial chord length of rotor tip. When the center of CT is located within the upstream direction of the center of rotor tip axial chord, the value of center offset degree is positive. The experimental and numerical results show that stall margin improvement gained with CT is reduced as the value of center offset degree varies from 0 to 0.33 or −0.33, and the CT with −0.33 center offset degree achieves the lowest value of stall margin improvement at 53% and 73% design rotational speed. The detailed analysis of the flow-field in compressor tip indicates that there is not positive effect made by grooves on leading edge of rotor blade tip when the value of center offset degree is −0.33. As the mass flow of compressor reduces further, tip clearance leakage flow results in the outlet blockage due to the absence of the positive action of grooves near blade tip tail when the value of center offset degree is 0.33. Blockage does not appear in rotor tip passage owing to utilizing the function of all grooves with CT of 0 center offset degree.

Impact of Main and Splitter Blade Leading Edge Contour on the Performance of High Pressure Ratio Centrifugal Compressors

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodrigo R. Erdmenger ◽  
Vittorio Michelassi
Keyword(s):  
High Pressure ◽  
Pressure Ratio ◽  
Leading Edge ◽  
Tip Clearance ◽  
Flow Coefficient ◽  
Centrifugal Compressors ◽  
Operating Range ◽  
High Pressure Ratio ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Blade Leading Edge

The impact of leading edge sweep in an attempt to reduce shock losses and extend the stall margin on axial compressors has been extensively studied, however only a few studies have looked at understanding the impact of leading edge contouring on the performance of centrifugal compressors. The present work studies the impact of forward and aft sweep on the main and splitter blade leading edge of a generic high flow coefficient and high pressure ratio centrifugal compressor design and the impact on its overall peak efficiency, pressure ratio and operating range. The usage of aft sweep on the main blade led to an increase of the pressure ratio and efficiency, however it also led to a reduction of the stable operating range of the impeller analyzed. The forward sweep cases analyzed where the tip leading edge was displaced axially forward showed a slight increase in pressure ratio, and a significant increase on operating range. The impact of leading edge sweep on the sensitivity of the impeller performance to tip clearance was also studied. The impeller efficiency was found to be less sensitive to an increase of tip clearance for both aft and forward sweep cases studied. The forward sweep cases studied also showed a reduced sensitivity from operating range to tip clearance. The studies conducted on the splitter leading edge profile indicate that aft sweep may help to increase the operating range of the impeller analyzed by up to 16% while maintaining similar pressure ratio and efficiency characteristics of the impeller. The improvement of operating range obtained with the leading edge forward sweep and splitter aft sweep was caused by a reduction of the interaction of the tip vortex of the main blade with the splitter tip, and a reduction of the blockage caused by this interaction.

The Effect of Blade Leading Edge Platform Shape on Upstream Disk Cavity to Mainstream Flow Interaction of a High-Pressure Turbine Stage

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Remo Marini ◽  
Sami Girgis
Keyword(s):  
Leading Edge ◽  
Cavity Flow ◽  
Flow Interaction ◽  
Passage Vortex ◽  
Mainstream Flow ◽  
Transient Simulations ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Stage Efficiency ◽  
Engine Condition ◽  
Blade Leading Edge

This paper presents a CFD study of a transonic highpressure 1-stage turbine that includes the blade upstream disk cavity. The emphasis of the analysis was to understand and quantify the impact of the blade leading edge platform shape on the flow interaction between the upstream disk cavity flow and the gaspath mainstream flow. Two blade platform shapes were analyzed: a recessed and a raised leading edge shape. The results presented include steadystate and transient simulations in order to describe the flow interaction and quantify the impact on stage efficiency. A sensitivity analysis on the amount of cavity flow was performed to investigate the impact on secondary losses (interpreted by entropy generation) and stage efficiency. It was found that the blade leading edge platform shape and cavity flow amount affected the blade hub passage vortex structure and location. At the nominal engine condition, the raised leading edge platform shape showed an improvement in stage efficiency. It also showed a reduced sensitivity of stage efficiency due to cavity flow amount.

scholarly journals Stall margin improvement in a low-speed axial compressor rotor using a blockage-optimised single circumferential casing groove

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 79-89
Author(s):  
Ahmad Fikri Mustaffa ◽  
Vasudevan Kanjirakkad
Keyword(s):  
Axial Compressor ◽  
Pressure Rise ◽  
Leading Edge ◽  
Tip Leakage Flow ◽  
Stall Margin ◽  
Low Speed ◽  
Tip Leakage ◽  
Compressor Rotor ◽  
Stall Margin Improvement ◽  
Edge Based

The stall margin of tip-critical axial compressors can be improved by using circumferential casing grooves. From previous studies, in the literature, the stall margin improvement due to the casing grooves can be attributed to the reduction of the near casing blockage. The pressure rise across the compressor as the compressor is throttled intensifies the tip leakage flow. This results in a stronger tip leakage vortex that is thought to be the main source of the blockage. In this paper, the near casing blockage due to the tip region aerodynamics in a low-speed axial compressor rotor is numerically studied and quantified using a mass flow-based blockage parameter. The peak blockage location at the last stable operating point for a rotor with smooth casing is found to be at about 10% of the tip chord aft of the tip leading edge. Based on this information, an optimised single casing groove design that minimises the peak blockage is found using a surrogate-based optimisation approach. The implementation of the optimised groove is shown to produce a stall margin improvement of about 5%.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document