Development of a Supersonic Ejector for Capturing Very Low-Pressure Vent Gases and Re-Injection Into a High-Pressure Gas Stream

Author(s):  
K. K. Botros ◽  
J. Geerligs ◽  
H. Imran ◽  
W. Thompson

The purpose of the ejector device is to capture the gas leakage from a dry-gas seal at low pressure, and re-inject it into the fuel gas line to the gas generator (without the use of compressors or rotating elements), hence providing a means to utilize the gas that would otherwise be vented to atmosphere. Implementation of this device will also have the benefit of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere. The primary challenge to achieve the above goal lies in the fact that the leakage gas pressure is in the range of 70–340 kPag, while the minimum pressure required upstream of the fuel gas regulator is in the range of 2400–3300 kPag. The device consists of a two-stage supersonic ejector. The first stage is highly supersonic (nozzle exit Mach number ≃ 2.54), while the second stage is moderately supersonic (nozzle exit Mach number ≃ 1.72). Several tests where conducted on various configurations of the two stages on natural gas in order to arrive at the optimum design and operating parameters. The optimum design gave an expansion pressure ratio (motive/suction) of the order of 14.0 and compression pressure ratio (discharge/suction) of around 8.1. These ratios would meet the requirement of the minimum suction and discharge pressure mentioned above. This paper presents the optimum configuration arrived at after several iterations of different geometries of the supersonic nozzles, particularly for the first stage ejector, and presents the performance test results of the integrated system. The results indicate that the device would meet the requirements of capturing the low pressure, low flow dry gas seal leakage and re-inject it into the fuel gas stream with an overall ejector efficiency (based on thermodynamic availability) of 80%.

Author(s):  
Lamyaa A. El-Gabry

A computational study has been performed to predict the heat transfer distribution on the blade tip surface for a representative gas turbine first stage blade. CFD predictions of blade tip heat transfer are compared to test measurements taken in a linear cascade, when available. The blade geometry has an inlet Mach number of 0.3 and an exit Mach number of 0.75, pressure ratio of 1.5, exit Reynolds number based on axial chord of 2.57×106, and total turning of 110 deg. Three blade tip configurations were considered; they are flat tip, a full perimeter squealer, and an offset squealer where the rim is offset to the interior of the tip perimeter. These three tip geometries were modeled at three tip clearances of 1.25, 2.0, and 2.75% of blade span. The tip heat transfer results of the numerical models agree fairly well with the data and are comparable to other CFD predictions in the open literature.


Author(s):  
E. Valenti ◽  
J. Halama ◽  
R. De´nos ◽  
T. Arts

This paper presents steady and unsteady pressure measurements at three span locations (15, 50 and 85%) on the rotor surface of a transonic turbine stage. The data are compared with the results of a 3D unsteady Euler stage calculation. The overall agreement between the measurements and the prediction is satisfactory. The effects of pressure ratio and Reynolds number are discussed. The rotor time-averaged Mach number distribution is very sensitive to the pressure ratio of the stage since the incidence of the flow changes as well as the rotor exit Mach number. The time-resolved pressure field is dominated by the vane trailing edge shock waves. The incidence and intensity of the shock strongly varies from hub to tip due to the radial equilibrium of the flow at the vane exit. The decrease of the pressure ratio attenuates significantly the amplitude of the fluctuations. An increase of the pressure ratio has less significant effect since the change in the vane exit Mach number is small. The effect of the Reynolds number is weak for both the time-averaged and the time-resolved rotor static pressure at mid-span, while it causes an increase of the pressure amplitudes at the two other spans.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sathish Kumar K ◽  
Naren Shankar R ◽  
Anusindhiya K ◽  
Senthil Kumar B.R

Purpose This study aims to present the numerical study on supersonic jet mixing characteristics of the co-flow jet by varying lip thickness (LT). The LT chosen for the study is 2 mm, 7.75 mm and 15 mm. Design/methodology/approach The primary nozzle is designed for delivering Mach 2.0 jet, whereas the secondary nozzle is designed for delivering Mach 1.6 jet. The Nozzle pressure ratio chosen for the study is 3 and 5. To study the mixing characteristics of the co-flow jet, total pressure and Mach number measurements were taken along and normal to the jet axis. To validate the numerical results, the numerical total pressure values were also compared with the experimental result and it is proven to have a good agreement. Findings The results exhibit that, the 2 mm lip is shear dominant. The 7.75 mm and 15 mm lip is wake dominant. The jet interaction along the jet axis was also studied using the contours of total pressure, Mach number, turbulent kinetic energy and density gradient. The radial Mach number contours at the various axial location of the jet was also studied. Practical implications The effect of varying LT in exhaust nozzle plays a vital role in supersonic turbofan aircraft. Originality/value Supersonic co-flowing jet mixing effectiveness by varying the LT between the primary supersonic nozzle and the secondary supersonic nozzle has not been analyzed in the past.


Author(s):  
Majed Sammak ◽  
Egill Thorbergsson ◽  
Tomas Grönstedt ◽  
Magnus Genrup

The aim of this study was to compare single- and twin-shaft oxy-fuel gas turbines in a semiclosed oxy-fuel combustion combined cycle (SCOC–CC). This paper discussed the turbomachinery preliminary mean-line design of oxy-fuel compressor and turbine. The conceptual turbine design was performed using the axial through-flow code luax-t, developed at Lund University. A tool for conceptual design of axial compressors developed at Chalmers University was used for the design of the compressor. The modeled SCOC–CC gave a net electrical efficiency of 46% and a net power of 106 MW. The production of 95% pure oxygen and the compression of CO2 reduced the gross efficiency of the SCOC–CC by 10 and 2 percentage points, respectively. The designed oxy-fuel gas turbine had a power of 86 MW. The rotational speed of the single-shaft gas turbine was set to 5200 rpm. The designed turbine had four stages, while the compressor had 18 stages. The turbine exit Mach number was calculated to be 0.6 and the calculated value of AN2 was 40 · 106 rpm2m2. The total calculated cooling mass flow was 25% of the compressor mass flow, or 47 kg/s. The relative tip Mach number of the compressor at the first rotor stage was 1.15. The rotational speed of the twin-shaft gas generator was set to 7200 rpm, while that of the power turbine was set to 4800 rpm. A twin-shaft turbine was designed with five turbine stages to maintain the exit Mach number around 0.5. The twin-shaft turbine required a lower exit Mach number to maintain reasonable diffuser performance. The compressor turbine was designed with two stages while the power turbine had three stages. The study showed that a four-stage twin-shaft turbine produced a high exit Mach number. The calculated value of AN2 was 38 · 106 rpm2m2. The total calculated cooling mass flow was 23% of the compressor mass flow, or 44 kg/s. The compressor was designed with 14 stages. The preliminary design parameters of the turbine and compressor were within established industrial ranges. From the results of this study, it was concluded that both single- and twin-shaft oxy-fuel gas turbines have advantages. The choice of a twin-shaft gas turbine can be motivated by the smaller compressor size and the advantage of greater flexibility in operation, mainly in the off-design mode. However, the advantages of a twin-shaft design must be weighed against the inherent simplicity and low cost of the simple single-shaft design.


Author(s):  
Lamyaa A. El-Gabry

A computational study has been performed to predict the heat transfer distribution on the blade tip surface for a representative gas turbine first stage blade. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) predictions of blade tip heat transfer are compared with test measurements taken in a linear cascade, when available. The blade geometry has an inlet Mach number of 0.3 and an exit Mach number of 0.75, pressure ratio of 1.5, exit Reynolds number based on axial chord of 2.57×106, and total turning of 110 deg. Three blade tip configurations were considered; a flat tip, a full perimeter squealer, and an offset squealer where the rim is offset to the interior of the tip perimeter. These three tip geometries were modeled at three tip clearances of 1.25%, 2.0%, and 2.75% of the blade span. The tip heat transfer results of the numerical models agree well with data. For the case in which side-by-side comparison with test measurements in the open literature is possible, the magnitude of the heat transfer coefficient in the “sweet spot” matches data exactly and shows 20–50% better agreement with experiment than prior CFD predictions of this same case.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ben Mohankumar ◽  
Cesare A. Hall ◽  
Mark J. Wilson

Abstract Sweep in a transonic fan is conventionally used to reduce design point losses by inclining the passage shock relative to the incoming flow. However, future low pressure ratio fans operate to lower Mach numbers meaning the role of sweep at cruise is diminished. Instead, sweep might be repurposed to improve the performance of critical high Mach number off-design conditions such as high angle of attack (AOA). In this paper, we use unsteady computational fluid dynamics to compare two transonic low pressure ratio fans, one radially stacked and one highly swept, coupled to a short intake design, at the high AOA flight condition. The AOA considered is 35°, which is sufficient to separate the intake bottom lip. The midspan of the swept fan was shifted upstream to add positive sweep to the outer span. Based on previous design experience, it was hypothesised the swept fan would reduce transonic losses when operating at high AOA. However, it was found the swept fan increased the rotor loss by 24% relative to the radial fan. Loss was increased through two key mechanisms. i) Rotor choking: flow is redistributed around the intake separation and enters the rotor midspan with high Mach numbers. Sweeping the fan upstream reduced the effective intake length, which increased the inlet relative Mach number and amplified choking losses. ii): Rotor-separation interaction (RSI): the rotor tip experiences low mass flow inside the separation, which increases the pressure rise across the casing to a point where the boundary layer separates. The swept fan diffused the casing streamtube, causing the casing separation to increase in size and persist in the passage for longer. High RSI loss indicated the swept fan was operating closer to the rotating stall point.


Author(s):  
D. P. Kenny

A novel analysis of the hub and shroud wall boundary layer growth through the diffusing system of a centrifugal compressor is proposed to model the physical processes. It is shown that the diffuser throat blockage and total pressure loss characteristics can be accurately predicted for a 6:1 PR stage. The static pressure effectiveness and stalling limit are successfully predicted qualitatively, but are underestimated and overestimated by 14 and 12 percent respectively. It is argued that diffuser performance is largely controlled by the combined effect of the boundary layer conditions on the hub and shroud walls at impeller exit and the diffusion required to the diffuser throat. For this reason, it is contended that, for best performance at high pressure ratio (≃ 12:1), impeller exit Mach number must be minimized by employing zero to negative prewhirl at impeller entry which in turn maximizes impeller entry shroud relative Mach number. Performance maps are presented for a single-stage centrifugal compressor based on this premise with specific speed = 90. At 15, 12 and 101 PR, 72, 75 and 76.8 percent efficiency, respectively, were attached at 2.6 lb/sec.


1963 ◽  
Vol 67 (628) ◽  
pp. 268-269 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Arens

References 1 and 2 discuss the shock position in over-expanded nozzles, and in particular the transition from nozzle flow characterised by a normal shock in the nozzle to nozzle flow characterised by oblique shocks and separation from the wall. As is well known, the shock position and pressure distribution for unseparated overexpanded flow can be adequately explained using one-dimensional fluid mechanics. Ref. 2, while suggesting a criterion for transition to separated flow, maintains that the separation point is not predictable. The criterion suggested by ref. 2 is that whenever the pressure ratio p2/p0, associated with expansion to the nozzle exit plane followed by normal shock compression at the exit Mach number exceeds the nozzle pressure ratio pb/p0, separated flow will occur. Based on this criterion and the double valuedness of the p2/p0 locus, it is argued that at a nozzle pressure ratio of 0·624, a continuous increase of nozzle exit to throat area ratio will provide for transition from unseparated normal shock flow to separated flow and back to unseparated normal shock flow.


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