scholarly journals Reconstructing Compressor Non-Uniform Circumferential Flow Field From Spatially Undersampled Data: Part 1 — Methodology and Sensitivity Analysis

Author(s):  
Fangyuan Lou ◽  
Nicole L. Key

Abstract The flow field in a compressor is circumferentially non-uniform due to the wakes from upstream stators, the potential field from both upstream and downstream stators, and blade row interactions. This non-uniform flow impacts stage performance as well as blade forced vibrations. Historically, experimental characterization of the circumferential flow variation is achieved by circumferentially traversing either a probe or the stator rows. This involves the design of complex traverse mechanisms and can be costly. To address this challenge, a novel method is proposed to reconstruct compressor nonuniform circumferential flow field using spatially under-sampled data points from a few probes at fixed circumferential locations. The paper is organized into two parts. In the present part of the paper, details of the multi-wavelet approximation for the reconstruction of circumferential flow and use of the Particle Swarm Optimization algorithm for selection of probe positions are presented. Validation of the method is performed using the total pressure field in a multi-stage compressor representative of small core compressors in aero engines. The circumferential total pressure field is reconstructed from 8 spatially distributed data points using a triple-wavelet approximation method. Results show good agreement between the reconstructed and the true total pressure fields. Also, a sensitivity analysis of the method is conducted to investigate the influence of probe spacing on the errors in the reconstructed signal.

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Fangyuan Lou ◽  
Nicole L. Key

Abstract The flow field in a compressor is circumferentially non-uniform due to the wakes from upstream stators, the potential field from both upstream and downstream stators, and blade row interactions. This non-uniform flow impacts stage performance as well as blade forced vibrations. Historically, experimental characterization of the circumferential flow variation is achieved by circumferentially traversing either a probe or the stator rows. This involves the design of complex traverse mechanisms and can be costly. To address this challenge, a novel method is proposed to reconstruct compressor nonuniform circumferential flow field using spatially under-sampled data points from a few probes at fixed circumferential locations. The paper is organized into two parts. In the present part of the paper, details of the multi-wavelet approximation for the reconstruction of circumferential flow and use of the Particle Swarm Optimization algorithm for selection of probe positions are presented. Validation of the method is performed using the total pressure field in a multi-stage compressor representative of small core compressors in aero engines. The circumferential total pressure field is reconstructed from 8 spatially distributed data points using a triple-wavelet approximation method. Results show good agreement between the reconstructed and the true total pressure fields. Also, a sensitivity analysis of the method is conducted to investigate the influence of probe spacing on the errors in the reconstructed signal.


Author(s):  
Fangyuan Lou ◽  
Douglas R. Matthews ◽  
Nicholas J. Kormanik ◽  
Nicole L. Key

Abstract In the previous part of the paper, a novel method to reconstruct the compressor non-uniform circumferential flow field using spatially under-sampled data points is developed. In this part of the paper, the method is applied to two compressor research articles to further demonstrate the potential of the novel method in resolving the important flow features associated with these circumferential non-uniformities. In the first experiment, the static pressure field at the leading edge of a vaned diffuser in a high-speed centrifugal compressor is reconstructed using pressure readings from nine static pressure taps placed on the hub of the diffuser. The magnitude and phase information for the first three dominant wavelets are characterized. Additionally, the method shows significant advantages over the traditional averaging methods for calculating repeatable mean values of the static pressure. While using the multi-wavelet approximation method, the errors in the mean static pressure with one dropout measurement are 70% less than the pitchwise-averaging method. In the second experiment, the full-annulus total pressure field downstream of Stator 2 in a three-stage axial compressor is reconstructed from a small segment of data representing 20% coverage of the annulus. Results show very good agreement between the reconstructed total pressure profile and the experiment at a variety of spanwise locations from near hub to near shroud. The features associated with blade-row interactions accounting for passage-to-passage variations are resolved in the reconstructed total pressure profile.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Fangyuan Lou ◽  
Nicholas J. Kormanik III ◽  
Douglas Matthews ◽  
Nicole L. Key

Abstract In the previous part of the paper, a novel method to reconstruct the compressor non-uniform circumferential flow field using spatially under-sampled data points is developed. In this part of the paper, the method is applied to two compressor research articles to further demonstrate the potential of the novel method in resolving the important flow features associated with these circumferential non-uniformities. In the first experiment, the static pressure field at the leading edge of a vaned diffuser in a high-speed centrifugal compressor is reconstructed using pressure readings from nine static pressure taps placed on the hub of the diffuser. The magnitude and phase information for the first three dominant wavelets are characterized. Additionally, the method shows significant advantages over the traditional averaging methods for calculating repeatable mean values of the static pressure. While using the multi-wavelet approximation method, the errors in the mean static pressure with one dropout measurement are 70% less than the pitchwise-averaging method. In the second experiment, the full-annulus total pressure field downstream of Rotor 2 in a three-stage axial compressor is reconstructed from a small segment of data representing 20% coverage of the annulus. Results show very good agreement between the reconstructed total pressure profile and the experiment at a variety of spanwise locations from near hub to near shroud. The features associated with blade-row interactions accounting for passage-to-passage variations are resolved in the reconstructed total pressure profile.


Author(s):  
M Sivapragasam

The flow field behind a complex total pressure distortion screen is investigated experimentally and numerically. The distortion screen is designed using an established design methodology and fabricated by water-jet cutting technique. The distorted total pressure field behind the screen is quantified by a distortion index parameter, which is evaluated from computations and experiments for several values of inlet Mach number. The root-mean-square error between the target total pressure values and that achieved by the screen design at the aerodynamic interface plane is 4.75%. The evolution of the distorted total pressure field downstream of the screen is presented in detail in terms of radial and circumferential total pressure distributions and their gradients. An alternative interpretation of the distorted total pressure field is made by means of defining a total pressure flux existing behind the screen and expanding it using derivative-moment transformation technique. It is seen that the circumferential vorticity is a major contributing factor to the total pressure flux.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fangyuan Lou ◽  
Douglas R. Matthews ◽  
Nicholas J. Kormanik ◽  
Nicole L. Key

Abstract The flow field in a compressor is circumferentially non-uniform due to geometric imperfections, inlet flow nonuniformities, and blade row interactions. Therefore, the flow field, as represented by measurements from discrete stationary instrumentation, can be skewed and contribute to uncertainties in both calculated one-dimensional performance parameters and aerodynamic forcing functions needed for aeromechanics analyses. Considering this challenge, this paper documents a continued effort to account for compressor circumferential flow nonuniformities based on discrete, under-sampled measurements. First, the total pressure field downstream of the first two stators in a three-stage axial compressor was measured across half of the annulus. The circumferential nonuniformities in the stator exit flow, including vane wake variability, were characterized. In addition, the influence of wake variation on stage performance calculations and aerodynamic forcing functions were investigated. In the present study for the compressor with an approximate pressure ratio of 1.3 at design point, the circumferential nonuniformity in total pressure yields an approximate 2.4-point variation in isentropic efficiency and 54% variation in spectral magnitudes of the fundamental forcing frequency for the embedded stage. Furthermore, the stator exit circumferential flow nonuniformity is accounted for by reconstructing the full-annulus flow using a novel multi-wavelet approximation method. Strong agreement was achieved between experiment and the reconstructed total pressure field from a small segment of measurements representing 20% coverage of the annulus. Analysis shows the wake-wake interactions from the upstream vane rows dominate the circumferentially nonuniform distributions in the total pressure field downstream of stators. The features associated with wake-wake interactions accounting for passage-to-passage variations are resolved in the reconstructed total pressure profile, yielding representative mean flow properties and aerodynamic forcing functions.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. VQB6CK
Author(s):  
Thomas Kächele ◽  
Rudolf P. M. Rademakers ◽  
Tim Schneider ◽  
Reinhard Niehuis

Integrated propulsion plays a major role in future civil and military aircraft design. A key component of these systems are highly bent intake geometries. As the flow passes through such ducts, combined total pressure and swirl distortions are generated which have a negative impact on compressor performance, safety margin, and durability. Due to weight and space limitations, a close coupling of intake and compressor is necessary. An experimental test case including a highly bent intake geometry and a state of the art turbofan engine was established and extensive measurement data was acquired. This publication compares results of three different numerical approaches to this test data: Isolated intake simulations, isolated compressor simulations with distorted inflow conditions, and a coupled simulation of intake and three stage compressor. The isolated intake simulation is able to reproduce the static wall pressure field of the intake as well as the occurring flow separation. Towards the interface plane to the compressor however, significant deviations are observed. The upstream effect of the compressor working under the combined pressure swirl distortion is assessed via the second simulation approach. The influence of the swirl and total pressure distortion on the compressor is first simulated separately and then compared to the impact of the combined distortion. The coupled intake-compressor simulation reveals the manipulation of the intake flow field by an upstream static pressure field. In contrast to experiments a slightly unsteady operation point and an asymmetric intake flow field were observed.


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.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 168781402199439
Author(s):  
Baofeng Tu ◽  
Bin Xuan ◽  
Chuanpeng Li ◽  
Xinyu Zhang ◽  
Jun Hu

A distortion generator equipped with a motor-activated movable flat baffle was installed just upstream of a rectangular plenum entrance to investigate the effects of inlet total pressure distortion on the stability and performance of an auxiliary power unit (APU). Experiments and numerical simulations on a direct connect scale inlet model of the APU were carried out to obtain a quantitative relationship between the insertion depth of the flat baffle in the flow stream and the total pressure distortion intensity and region. In the experiments, the blocking coefficient and total pressure distortion coefficient were controlled by adjusting the insertion depth of the flat baffle and the mass flow. In the simulations, detailed flow field was analyzed based on the detached-eddy simulation (DES) method. The results show that the pressure distribution of the distorted flow on the aerodynamic interface plane (AIP) can be divided into a high-pressure region, a transition region, and a low-pressure region. The area affected by the distorted flow was larger than the inserting area of the flat baffle. That area was more related to the relative blocking coefficient, and less affected by the mass flow. The total pressure distortion coefficient had a linear relationship with the mass flow rate and is positively correlated with the relative blocking coefficient. As the relative blocking coefficient increased to a certain value, an exponential growth in the total pressure distortion coefficient occurred, and consequently, the flow field distortion was intensified. In the flow field, a pair of corner vortices were formed at the corner between the flat baffle and the bottom wall of the inlet pipe, and a large separation zone was formed behind the flat baffle and exhibits certain unsteady characteristics.


2013 ◽  
Vol 773 ◽  
pp. 749-754
Author(s):  
Zhen Ya Duan ◽  
Fu Lin Zheng ◽  
Hui Ling Shi ◽  
Jun Mei Zhang

In this paper, the numerical model of multi-stage liquid column scrubber was established. The flow field of liquid column scrubber with different inlet structure was respectively simulated by a commercial CFD code, Fluent. Considering the distribution characteristics of static pressure and velocity in the scrubber, this inlet type, single horizontal gas inlet with a notch at the bottom, is regarded as the most reasonable structure. On one hand, that structure has uniform distribution of static pressure. On the other hand, the velocity profile of its field presents saddle shape, i.e. the low central velocity exists between two peaks, which could contribute to weakening wall-flow phenomenon and obtaining uniform gas-liquid distribution.


Author(s):  
Chunill Hah ◽  
Douglas C. Rabe ◽  
Thomas J. Sullivan ◽  
Aspi R. Wadia

The effects of circumferential distortions in inlet total pressure on the flow field in a low-aspect-ratio, high-speed, high-pressure-ratio, transonic compressor rotor are investigated in this paper. The flow field was studied experimentally and numerically with and without inlet total pressure distortion. Total pressure distortion was created by screens mounted upstream from the rotor inlet. Circumferential distortions of 8 periods per revolution were investigated at two different rotor speeds. The unsteady blade surface pressures were measured with miniature pressure transducers mounted in the blade. The flow fields with and without inlet total pressure distortion were analyzed numerically by solving steady and unsteady forms of the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations. Steady three-dimensional viscous flow calculations were performed for the flow without inlet distortion while unsteady three-dimensional viscous flow calculations were used for the flow with inlet distortion. For the time-accurate calculation, circumferential and radial variations of the inlet total pressure were used as a time-dependent inflow boundary condition. A second-order implicit scheme was used for the time integration. The experimental measurements and the numerical analysis are highly complementary for this study because of the extreme complexity of the flow field. The current investigation shows that inlet flow distortions travel through the rotor blade passage and are convected into the following stator. At a high rotor speed where the flow is transonic, the passage shock was found to oscillate by as much as 20% of the blade chord, and very strong interactions between the unsteady passage shock and the blade boundary layer were observed. This interaction increases the effective blockage of the passage, resulting in an increased aerodynamic loss and a reduced stall margin. The strong interaction between the passage shock and the blade boundary layer increases the peak aerodynamic loss by about one percent.


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