Numerical Investigation Into Fully and Partially Wetted Disk Geometries With Relevance to Intershaft Hydraulic Seals

Author(s):  
Achinie Warusevitane ◽  
Kathy Johnson ◽  
Stephen Ambrose ◽  
Mike Walsh ◽  
Colin Young

Abstract Civil aero-engines contain two or three shafts that are supported by bearings. Seals are required both between pairs of rotating shafts and between static elements and shafts. Seals located between two co/contra rotating shafts within the bearing chamber are known as intershaft seals and are typically classified as either hydraulic or oil backed. This paper focuses on research relevant to intershaft hydraulic seals. A hydraulic seal is formed by a seal fin on the inner shaft immersed in an annulus of oil in the outer shaft where the oil in the annulus is centrifuged outwards by the radial pressure gradient. Once formed a hydraulic seal does not allow air to flow across the seal and any pressure difference across the seal creates different oil levels either side of the fin. Despite their reliable operation with zero leakage, the application of hydraulic seals is restricted due to temperature limitations, oil degradation and coking. Research and development of the next generation of hydraulic seals needs to focus on addressing these issues so that the seals can be utilized in hotter zones in future engines. Understanding of the detailed fluid dynamic behaviour during hydraulic seal operation is relatively limited with very little published data. There is an acknowledged need for improved knowledge and this is the context for the current study. The ability to accurately computationally model hydraulic seals is highly desirable. Prior experimental and analytical investigations into fully and partially wetted rotating disks have been used to aid understanding of the performance and flow characteristics of hydraulic seals as there are many geometric and operational similarities. These fundamental experimental investigations in the literature provide validation data that allows the authors to establish a CFD modelling methodology. This paper initially compares the flow characteristics of a fully wetted rotating disk against experimental results available in literature including the radial and tangential velocity components. This paper subsequently investigates the flow characteristics of a partially wetted disk by examining the effect on the angular velocity of the fluid core with varying engagement and spacing ratios for two flow regimes.

Processes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 2152
Author(s):  
Mohammad Sobir Abdul Basith ◽  
Nabihah Sallih ◽  
William Pao King Soon ◽  
Shinji Thomas Shibano ◽  
Ramesh Singh ◽  
...  

Selection of inlet perturbations, multiphase equations, and the turbulence equation may affect the development of slug flow using computational fluid dynamic simulation tools. The inlet perturbation, such as sinusoidal and random perturbations, play an essential role in inducing slug formation. Multiphase equations such as volume of fluid and level set methods are used to track and capture the gas-liquid immiscible interface. Similarly, turbulence equations such as Spalart Allmaras (SA), Detached Eddy Simulations (DES), k-omega, and k-epsilon can be used to predict the evolution of turbulence within the flow. At present, no direct comparison is available in the literature on the selection of (i) types of inlet perturbations, (ii) the choice of multiphase equations, and (iii) the turbulence equation on the development of slug flow using the Altair computational package. This article aims to compare the effects of the selection of inlet perturbations, multiphase models and turbulence equations on slug flow characteristics using Altair® AcuSolve™. The findings by Altair® simulation were compared to published experimental data and simulation works using ANSYS and STAR-CCM+. The slug flow characteristics of interest include slug morphology, a body length-to-diameter ratio, velocity, frequency, and pressure gradient. It was found that the slug flow could be developed for all combinations of settings. Although level set approach in Altair® can track fluid motion successfully, it has a limitation in modelling the convective transport of the multiphase mixture well, unlike ANSYS and STAR-CCM+. Compared to the standard level set method, the coupling of back-and-forth error compensation and correction with the level set function helps to capture the internal boundary more accurately by reducing errors caused by numerical diffusion in the transport of the level set. It was revealed that the Spalart Allmaras turbulence equation could mimic published experimental result better than DES as it produced the closest slug translational velocity. Since the frequency of the slugs for the developed models showed a good agreement with the published data, the models could be sufficient for the investigation of fluid-structure interaction.


Author(s):  
Dong-Yuan Sheng ◽  
Qiang Yue

The quantified residence time distribution (RTD) provides a numerical characterization of mixing in the continue casting tundish, thus allowing the engineer to better understand the metallurgical performance of the reactor. This paper describes a computational fluid dynamic (CFD) modelling study for analyzing the flow pattern and the residence time distribution in a five-strand tundish. Two passive scalar transport equations are applied to separately calculate the E-curve and F-curve in the tundish. The numerical modelling results are compared to the water modelling results for the validation of the mathematical model. The volume fraction of different flow regions (plug, mixed and dead) and the intermixing time during the ladle changeover are calculated to study the effects of the flow control device (FCD) on the tundish performance. The result shows that a combination of the U-baffle with deflector holes and the turbulence inhibitor has three major effects on the flow characteristics in the tundish: i) reduce the extent of the dead volume; ii) evenly distribute the liquid streams to each strand and iii) shorten the intermixing time during the ladle changeover operation.


2000 ◽  
Vol 42 (10-11) ◽  
pp. 335-342 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. E. Salter ◽  
C. T. Ta ◽  
S. K. Ouki ◽  
S. C. Williams

A series of facultative lagoons operated by Thames Water treating industrial wastewater in Thailand were found to be performing poorly, particularly with respect to the removal of biological oxygen demand (BOD). A review of the design parameters for the site found that all the lagoons are of a sufficient area for the flow and BOD load. However, observations of the lagoons suggested that there may be significant hydraulic short-circuiting. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling was therefore carried out on one of the lagoons to establish the hydraulic regime. Two consecutive simulations were carried out, both with and without baffles; the first to establish steady flow conditions, and the second using a chemical species transport model to obtain the residence time distribution (RTD). The results of the modelling indicate that the lagoons do currently suffer from significant short-circuiting, and large dead-zones are present. The installation of baffles in the CFD model improved the plug-flow characteristics of the lagoons, substantially reducing the short-circuiting and the size of the dead-zones. It has therefore been concluded that the installation of baffles in the lagoons will lead to an improvement in their performance, by increasing the retention time of the system.


Author(s):  
Ziqiang Zhao ◽  
Xiaomin He ◽  
Guoyu Ding ◽  
Mingyu Li ◽  
Ping Jiang ◽  
...  

Triple-swirler plays an important role for aero-engine combustors to achieve high temperature rise. In this paper, experimental investigations were carried out to explore the effect of triple-swirler rotational direction on swirling flow field in atmospheric condition. Two-dimensional-planar particle image velocimetry measurements show that the central toroidal recirculation zone (CTRZ) formation is significantly affected by the swirler rotational direction combinations: an obvious CTRZ can be formed by the triple-swirler with co-rotating intermediate swirler and outer swirler, while a much smaller CTRZ was obtained by the triple-swirler with a counter-rotating intermediate and outer swirler. Furthermore, the swirl level of the mixed flow is significantly affected by the rotational direction combination, and the integrated swirl numbers were calculated to help evaluating the swirl level generated by triple-swirlers. The rotational direction combination plays a key role on the tangential velocity distribution. The tangential velocity distribution is not only closely related to rotational direction, but also the swirl number combination and mass proportion of each swirler in a triple-swirler.


2011 ◽  
Vol 86 ◽  
pp. 893-897
Author(s):  
Yang Liu ◽  
Yong Hong Zhang ◽  
Guo Ding Chen ◽  
Ran Wan

A fundamental study has been performed to analysis the fluid dynamic characteristics of the gas medium in a rotating disk cavity through the commercial software CFX11.0. This paper aims to discuss the impact of the speed of rotating disk, axial and radial size and parietal lubricant film velocity and other factors on the gas flow state in cavity. Several conclusions have been obtained: the speed of rotating disk has a great impact on velocity distribution of gas flow field; the dimensionless tangential velocity of the gas medium decreases along the radial direction, and with the speed increasing, it shows a certain regularity; Dimensionless radial velocity decreases along the radial direction, and the speed of rotating disk nearly has no influence on this; The shear stress distribution along the radial direction and the distribution of tangential velocity have similar regularity; the impact of disk cavity height on the distribution of the tangential velocity along radial direction in the gas flow field is much more obvious than the impact of disk cavity width.


Author(s):  
Michael G. Izenson ◽  
Waiter L. Swift ◽  
Ronald H. Aungier

Experiments have been performed to investigate the sealing flow requirements for a shrouded, rotating disk with external swirling flow. In some gas turbine applications, it is desirable to provide sealing flow to prevent ingress of process gas into the cavity between the turbine disk and its stator. The tangential or swirl component in flow leaving the nozzles can significantly affect the amount of flow required to seal the turbine disk. The experimental flow model used water as a working fluid and was hydrodynamically scaled to match conditions typical of hot gas expander turbines used for energy recovery in the petrochemical industry. Flow in the seal gap was observed using a stream of dye injected on the stator face near the periphery. Differential pressures were measured on the stator face and related to the observed direction of flow on the stator face. The pressures and sealing flows were normalized by the disk and gap geometry and the applied flow conditions, then compared to published data for shrouded, rotating disks with no applied, external flow. For tests where the external tangential velocity was roughly equal to twice the rim speed of the disk, sealing flow requirements were found to be 1.5 to 2.0 times greater than for a disk without the applied, external flow.


2017 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 357-362
Author(s):  
Denis Vyacheslavovich Anokhin ◽  
Evgenia Sergeevna Dyagileva ◽  
Oleg Petrovich Minin ◽  
Dmitrii Aleksandrovich Olishevskii ◽  
Sergei Grigorievich Shevel'kov

2011 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 263-270 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Klepiszewski ◽  
M. Teufel ◽  
S. Seiffert ◽  
E. Henry

Generally, studies investigating the treatment efficiency of tank structures for storm water or waste water treatment observe pollutant flows in connection with conditions of hydraulic loading. Further investigations evaluate internal processes in tank structures using computational fluid dynamic (CFD) modelling or lab scale tests. As flow paths inside of tank structures have a considerable influence on the treatment efficiency, flow velocity profile (FVP) measurements can provide a possibility to calibrate CFD models and contribute to a better understanding of pollutant transport processes in these structures. This study focuses on tests carried out with the prototype FVP measurement device OCM Pro LR by NIVUS in a sedimentation tank with combined sewer overflow (CSO) situated in Petange, Luxembourg. The OCM Pro LR measurement system analyses the echo of ultrasonic signals of different flow depths to get a detailed FVP. A comparison of flow velocity measured by OCM Pro LR with a vane measurement showed good conformity. The FVPs measured by OCM Pro LR point out shortcut flows within the tank structure during CSO events, which could cause a reduction of the cleaning efficiency of the structure. The results prove the applicability of FVP measurements in large-scale structures.


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