CFD Code Validation and Qualitative Study of Effects of Tip Clearance Variation on Performance of Transonic Axial Compressor Rotor

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aniket R. Patkar ◽  
Srinivethan Rangasamy ◽  
Sreekanth Raghunath ◽  
Vilas Kalamkar
Keyword(s):  
Pressure Ratio ◽  
Splitting Method ◽  
Flow Characteristics ◽  
Axial Compressor ◽  
Tip Clearance ◽  
Maximum Pressure ◽  
Compressor Rotor ◽  
Clearance Flow ◽  
Transonic Axial Compressor ◽  
Multiple Frame

The main objective of this work is the validation of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) code used for analysis of transonic axial compressors. NASA Rotor 35 is used here as test case for validation. In this work, computations are performed using parallelized RANS code, to predict the transonic axial compressor rotor flow characteristics. Advection Upstream Splitting Method (AUSM) scheme has been used. A Multiple Frame of Reference approach has been used to model the rotor passage. Spalart-Allmaras turbulence model is used to model turbulence. Multiblock Structured mesh is used. Performance characteristics for the entire range of operation, from maximum mass flow rate till maximum pressure ratio, have been simulated. The results obtained are comparable with experimental data within 5–10% error. Investigations have been carried out to study the effect of varying tip clearance in NASA Rotor 35. The present work is intended to study the clearance flow trajectory as a function of varying tip clearance. The effects of shock/vortex interaction in tip clearance region are also studied. The effects of tip clearance size on the generation and evolution of the end-wall vortical structures are discussed by investigating their evolutionary trajectories. By this study, it is observed that as tip clearance reduces, clearance flow trajectory moves downstream. From this it can be concluded that if tip clearance increases, tip clearance vortices expand. This may help in casing-treatment or tip-treatment to mitigate the loss in the performance, if the tip clearance increases.

Numerical Investigation of Relation Between Unsteady Behavior of Tip Leakage Vortex and Rotating Disturbance in a Transonic Axial Compressor Rotor

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Yamada ◽  
K. Funazaki ◽  
H. Sasaki
Keyword(s):  
Vortex Breakdown ◽  
Axial Compressor ◽  
Tip Clearance ◽  
Tip Leakage Vortex ◽  
Tip Clearance Flow ◽  
Tip Leakage ◽  
Compressor Rotor ◽  
Clearance Flow ◽  
Transonic Axial Compressor ◽  
Rotating Instability

The purpose of this study is to have a better understanding of the unsteady behavior of tip clearance flow at near-stall condition from a multi-passage simulation and to clarify the relation between such unsteadiness and rotating disturbance. This study is motivated by the following concern. A single passage simulation has revealed the occurrence of the tip leakage vortex breakdown at near-stall condition in a transonic axial compressor rotor, leading to the unsteadiness of the tip clearance flow field in the rotor passage. These unsteady flow phenomena were similar to those in the rotating instability, which is classified in one of the rotating disturbances. In other words it is possible that the tip leakage vortex breakdown produces a rotating disturbance such as the rotating instability. Three-dimensional unsteady RANS calculation was conducted to simulate the rotating disturbance in a transonic axial compressor rotor (NASA Rotor 37). The four-passage simulation was performed so as to capture a short length scale disturbance like the rotating instability and the spike-type stall inception. The simulation demonstrated that the unsteadiness of tip leakage vortex, which was derived from the vortex breakdown at near-stall condition, invoked the rotating disturbance in the rotor, which is similar to the rotating instability.

Design and Test of a Transonic Axial Splittered Rotor

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Garth V. Hobson ◽  
Anthony J. Gannon ◽  
Scott Drayton
Keyword(s):  
Mass Flow ◽  
Pressure Ratio ◽  
Axial Compressor ◽  
Design Procedure ◽  
Tip Clearance ◽  
Turbine Engine ◽  
Transonic Compressor ◽  
Compressor Rotor ◽  
Transonic Axial Compressor ◽  
Commercial Off The Shelf

A new design procedure was developed that uses commercial-off-the-shelf software (MATLAB, SolidWorks, and ANSYS-CFX) for the geometric rendering and analysis of a transonic axial compressor rotor with splitter blades. Predictive numerical simulations were conducted and experimental data were collected in a Transonic Compressor Rig. This study advanced the understanding of splitter blade geometry, placement, and performance benefits. In particular, it was determined that moving the splitter blade forward in the passage between the main blades, which was a departure from the trends demonstrated in the few available previous transonic axial compressor splitter blade studies, increased the mass flow range with no loss in overall performance. With a large 0.91 mm (0.036 in) tip clearance, to preserve the integrity of the rotor, the experimentally measured peak total-to-total pressure ratio was 1.69 and the peak total-to-total isentropic efficiency was 72 percent at 100 percent design speed. Additionally, a higher than predicted 7.5 percent mass flow rate range was experimentally measured, which would make for easier engine control if this concept were to be included in an actual gas turbine engine.

scholarly journals Experimental and Computational Investigation of the Tip Clearance Flow in a Transonic Axial Compressor Rotor

1996 ◽  
Vol 118 (2) ◽  
pp. 218-229 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. L. Suder ◽  
M. L. Celestina
Keyword(s):  
Axial Compressor ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Tip Clearance ◽  
Vortex Interaction ◽  
Peak Efficiency ◽  
Tip Clearance Flow ◽  
Compressor Rotor ◽  
Clearance Flow ◽  
Transonic Axial Compressor ◽  
Design Speed

Experimental and computational techniques are used to investigate tip clearance flows in a transonic axial compressor rotor at design and part-speed conditions. Laser anemometer data acquired in the endwall region are presented for operating conditions near peak efficiency and near stall at 100 percent design speed and at near peak efficiency at 60 percent design speed. The role of the passage shock/leakage vortex interaction in generating endwall blockage is discussed. As a result of the shock/vortex interaction at design speed, the radial influence of the tip clearance flow extends to 20 times the physical tip clearance height. At part speed, in the absence of the shock, the radial extent is only five times the tip clearance height. Both measurements and analysis indicate that under part-speed operating conditions a second vortex, which does not originate from the tip leakage flow, forms in the end-wall region within the blade passage and exits the passage near midpitch. Mixing of the leakage vortex with the primary flow downstream of the rotor at both design and part-speed conditions is also discussed.

scholarly journals Experimental and Computational Investigation of the Tip Clearance Flow in a Transonic Axial Compressor Rotor

1994 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth L. Suder ◽  
Mark L. Celestina
Keyword(s):  
Axial Compressor ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Tip Clearance ◽  
Vortex Interaction ◽  
Peak Efficiency ◽  
Tip Clearance Flow ◽  
Compressor Rotor ◽  
Clearance Flow ◽  
Transonic Axial Compressor ◽  
Design Speed

Experimental and computational techniques are used to investigate tip clearance flows in a transonic axial compressor rotor at design and part speed conditions. Laser anemometer data acquired in the endwall region are presented for operating conditions near peak efficiency and near stall at 100% design speed and at near peak efficiency at 60% design speed. The role of the passage shock / leakage vortex interaction in generating endwall blockage is discussed. As a result of the shock / vortex interaction at design speed, the radial influence of the tip clearance flow extends to 20 times the physical tip clearance height. At part speed, in the absence of the shock, the radial extent is only 5 times the tip clearance height. Both measurements and analysis indicate that under part-speed operating conditions a second vortex, which does not originate from the tip leakage flow, forms in the endwall region within the blade passage and exits the passage near midpitch. Mixing of the leakage vortex with the primary flow downstream of the rotor at both design and part speed conditions is also discussed.

The Behavior of Tip Clearance Flow at Near-Stall Condition in a Transonic Axial Compressor Rotor

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Yamada ◽  
K. Funazaki ◽  
M. Furukawa
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Shock Wave ◽  
Axial Compressor ◽  
Boundary Layer Separation ◽  
Tip Clearance ◽  
Suction Surface ◽  
Tip Clearance Flow ◽  
Compressor Rotor ◽  
Clearance Flow ◽  
Transonic Axial Compressor

It is known that the tip clearance flow is dominant and very important flow phenomena in axial compressor aerodynamics because the tip clearance flow has a great influence on the stability as well as aerodynamic loss of compressors. Our goal is to clarify the behavior of tip clearance flow at near-stall condition in a transonic axial compressor rotor (NASA Rotor 37). In the present work, steady and unsteady RANS simulations were performed to investigate vortical flow structures and separated flow field near the tip for several different clearance cases. Boundary layer separation on the casing wall and blade suction surface was investigated in detail for near-stall and stall condition. In order to understand such complicated flow field, vortex cores were identified using the critical point theory and a topology of the three-dimensional separated and vortical flows was analyzed. In the nominal clearance case, the breakdown of tip leakage vortex has occurred at a near-stall operating condition because of the interaction of the vortex with the shock wave, leading to a large blockage and unsteadiness in the rotor tip. On the other hand, the calculation with no clearance suggested that the separation on the suction surface was different from that with the nominal clearance. Since the shock wave induced the boundary layer separation on the blade suction surface in the transonic axial compressor rotor, focal-type critical points appeared on the suction surface near the tip at near-stall condition.

Effect of tip clearance size on the performance of a low-reaction transonic axial compressor rotor

2019 ◽  
Vol 234 (2) ◽  
pp. 127-142
Author(s):  
Wei Zhu ◽  
Songtao Wang ◽  
Longxin Zhang ◽  
Jun Ding ◽  
Zhongqi Wang
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Simulations ◽  
Dynamic Balance ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Axial Compressor ◽  
Tip Clearance ◽  
Stall Margin ◽  
Tip Clearance Flow ◽  
Compressor Rotor ◽  
Clearance Flow ◽  
Flow Phenomena

This study aimed to enhance the understanding of flow phenomena in low-reaction aspirated compressors. Three-dimensional, multi-passage steady and unsteady numerical simulations are performed to investigate the performance sensitivity to tip clearance variation on the first-stage rotor of a multistage low-reaction aspirated compressor. Three kinds of tip clearance sizes including 1.0τ, 2.0τ and 3.0τ are modeled, in which 1.0τ corresponds to the designed tip clearance size of 0.2 mm. The steady numerical simulations show that the overall performance of the rotor moves toward lower mass flow rate when the tip clearance size is increased. Moreover, energy losses, efficiency reduction and stall margin decrease are also observed with increasing tip clearance size. This can be mostly attributed to the damaging impact of intense tip clearance flow. For unsteady simulation, the result shows periodical oscillation of the tip leakage vortex and a “two-passage periodic structure” in the tip region at the near-stall point. The occurrence of the periodical oscillation is due to the severe interaction between the tip clearance flow and the shock wave. However, the rotor operating state is still stable at this working point because a dynamic balance is established between the tip clearance flow and incoming flow.

scholarly journals Blockage Development in a Transonic, Axial Compressor Rotor

1997 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth L. Suder
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Axial Compressor ◽  
Flow Region ◽  
Tip Clearance ◽  
Surface Boundary ◽  
Core Flow ◽  
The Core ◽  
Compressor Rotor ◽  
Transonic Axial Compressor ◽  
The Impact

A detailed experimental investigation to understand and quantify the development of blockage in the flow field of a transonic, axial flow compressor rotor (NASA Rotor 37) has been undertaken. Detailed laser anemometer measurements were acquired upstream, within, and downstream of a transonic, axial compressor rotor operating at 100%, 85%, 80%, and 60% of design speed which provided inlet relative Mach numbers at the blade tip of 1.48, 1.26, 1.18, and 0.89 respectively. The impact of the shock on the blockage development, pertaining to both the shock / boundary layer interactions and the shock / tip clearance flow interactions, is discussed. The results indicate that for this rotor the blockage in the endwall region is 2–3 times that of the core flow region, and the blockage in the core flow region more than doubles when the shock strength is sufficient to separate the suction surface boundary layer.

Unsteady tip clearance flow pattern in an isolated axial compressor rotor with micro tip injection

2007 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 309-320 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shaojuan Geng ◽  
Hongwu Zhang ◽  
Jingyi Chen ◽  
Weiguang Huang
Keyword(s):  
Flow Pattern ◽  
Axial Compressor ◽  
Tip Clearance ◽  
Tip Clearance Flow ◽  
Compressor Rotor ◽  
Clearance Flow ◽  
Tip Injection

Performance and Stability Enhancement of NASA Rotor 37 Applying Abradable Coating

2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Behnam H. Beheshti ◽  
Bijan Farhanieh ◽  
Kaveh Ghorbanian ◽  
Joao A. Teixeira ◽  
Paul C. Ivey
Keyword(s):  
Flow Characteristics ◽  
Axial Compressor ◽  
Tip Clearance ◽  
Leakage Flow ◽  
Tip Leakage Flow ◽  
Axial Compressors ◽  
Compressor Rotor ◽  
Abradable Coating ◽  
Blade Tip ◽  
Stability Enhancement

Improvements in sealing mechanism between the rotating and the stationary parts of a turbomachine can extensively reduce the endwall leakage flow. In this regard, abradable seals are incorporated into compressor and turbine blade-tip region. In a gas turbine, equipped with abradable seals, tip of the rotor blade is designed to cut into the material coating of the casing and to form a close fitted circumferential groove for the movement of the blade tip. As a result, the resistance to the leakage flow in the tip gap region increases due to smaller tip clearances (available without any rub-induced damages). Minimizing the tip clearance size can lead to an increase in performance and stability. This paper presents a numerical investigation of abradable coating as a means to seal the tip leakage flow in NASA Rotor 37, a transonic axial compressor rotor. In order to validate the multi block model used in the tip gap region, various flow characteristics are verified with the experimental data for smooth casing at a design clearance of 0.5% span. To have a better understanding of how an abradable seal affects the passage flow field, smooth casing and abradable coating are studied and results are compared for various models including two different incursion depth and width. Results indicate that the application of abradable coating in transonic axial compressors can efficiently improve the performance and stability.

Effects of Number of Circumferential Casing Grooves on Stall Flow Characteristics of a Transonic Axial Compressor

2013 ◽  
Vol 284-287 ◽  
pp. 727-732
Author(s):  
Jin Hyuk Kim ◽  
Kwang Yong Kim ◽  
Kyung Hun Cha
Keyword(s):  
Mass Flow ◽  
Stokes Equations ◽  
Pressure Ratio ◽  
Flow Analysis ◽  
Flow Characteristics ◽  
Axial Compressor ◽  
Flow Region ◽  
High Mass ◽  
Convergence Criteria ◽  
Transonic Axial Compressor

This work investigates the effects of circumferential casing grooves on stall flow characteristics of a transonic axial compressor. Numerical analysis is conducted by solving three-dimensional steady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations with the shear stress transport turbulence model. The results of flow analysis for an axial compressor with smooth casing are validated in comparison with experimental data for the pressure ratio and adiabatic efficiency. The numerical stall inception point is identified from the last converged point by convergence criteria, and the stall margin is predicted numerically. The peak adiabatic efficiency point is also obtained by reducing the normalized mass flow in the high mass flow region. In order to explore the influence of number of the circumferential casing grooves on the performance of the compressor, the stall margins and peak adiabatic efficiencies are evaluated compared to the case smooth casing. The stability of the axial compressor with circumferential casing grooves is found to be sensitively influenced by the number of grooves.

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