scholarly journals Experimental Investigation of Stall Inception Mechanisms of Low Speed Contra Rotating Axial Flow Fan Stage

2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tegegn Dejene Toge ◽  
A. M. Pradeep
Keyword(s):  
Mass Flow ◽  
Wavelet Transforms ◽  
Axial Flow ◽  
Short Length ◽  
Length Scale ◽  
Pressure Data ◽  
Flow Conditions ◽  
Axial Flow Fan ◽  
Stall Inception ◽  
Low Speed

The present paper is an attempt in understanding the stall inception mechanism in a low speed, contra rotating axial flow fan stage, using wavelet transforms. The rotors used in this study have relatively large tip gap (about 3% of the blade span) and aspect ratio of 3. The study was carried out near stall and at stall mass flow conditions for different speed ratios of rotor-2 to rotor-1. Unsteady pressure data from the casing wall mounted sensors are used to understand the stall inception mechanism. The wavelet transform clearly indicates that stall inception occurs mainly through long length scale disturbances for both rotors. It also reveals that short length disturbances occur simultaneously or intermittently in the case of rotor-1. The analysis shows the presence of a strong modal disturbance with 25–80% of the rotor frequency in the case of rotor-1 at the stall mass flow for all the speed combinations studied. The most interesting thing observed in the present study is that the frequency amplitude of the disturbance level is very small for both rotors.

Stall Inception Mechanism in an Axial Flow Fan Under Clean and Distorted Inflows

2010 ◽  
Vol 132 (12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pramod B. Salunkhe ◽  
A. M. Pradeep
Keyword(s):  
Wavelet Transforms ◽  
Flow Characteristics ◽  
Axial Flow ◽  
Short Length ◽  
Flow Coefficient ◽  
Length Scale ◽  
Axial Flow Fan ◽  
Flow Angle ◽  
Stall Inception ◽  
Rotor Rotation

The present paper describes the use of Morlet wavelet transform in understanding the stall inception mechanism in a single stage axial flow fan. Unsteady pressure data from wall mounted sensors were used in the wavelet transforms. This paper was carried out under undistorted and distorted inflow conditions as well as for slow throttle closure and throttle ramping. It was observed from the wavelet transforms that the stall inception under clean inflow (undistorted) and counter-rotating inflow distortions (in the direction opposing the rotor rotation) incur through short length-scale disturbances and through long length-scale disturbances under static and co-rotating inflow distortions (in the same direction of rotor rotation). Modal activity was observed to be insignificant under clean inflow while under static inflow distortion, long length-scale disturbances evolved due to interaction between rotor blades and the distorted sector, especially near the trailing edge of the distortion screen. The presence of a strong mode was observed under both co- and counter-rotating inflow distortions. With throttle ramping, stall inception occurs through long and short length-scale disturbances under co- and counter-rotating inflow distortions, respectively. Some preliminary flow characteristics were studied using a seven hole probe. A significant increase in flow angle and decrease in axial flow coefficient close to the rotor tip were observed under co-rotating inflow distortion as compared with counter-rotating inflow distortion.

Influence of Rotor Stagger Angle on Rotating Stall Inception in an Axial-Flow Fan

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takahiro Nishioka ◽  
Shuuji Kuroda ◽  
Tadashi Kozu
Keyword(s):  
Flow Rate ◽  
Axial Flow ◽  
Rotating Stall ◽  
Short Length ◽  
Rotor Blades ◽  
Length Scale ◽  
Axial Flow Fan ◽  
Stall Inception ◽  
Stall Cells ◽  
Stagger Angle

Inception patterns of rotating stall in a low-speed axial flow fan have been investigated experimentally. Experiments have been carried out at two different stagger angle settings for rotor blades. Pressure and velocity fluctuations were measured to elucidate the features of the stall cells and the stall inception patterns. At the design stagger angle setting for the rotor blades, a short length-scale stall cell known as a “spike” and multiple short length-scale stall cells appear when the slope of pressure-rise characteristic is almost zero. These stall cells grow into a long length-scale stall cell as flow rate decreases. The spike and the multiple short length-scale stall cells do not make the slope of the characteristic positive. However, the long length-scale stall cell induces a full-span stall, and makes the slope of the characteristic positive. At the small stagger angle, a long length-scale disturbance known as a “modal oscillation” is observed first, when the slope of the characteristic is positive. Then the spikes appear together with the modal oscillation as flow rate decreases. The long length-scale stall cell is generated by the spikes without change in the size of the modal oscillation. Suction-tip corner stall occurs in the stator passage near the peak of the characteristic at both the design and the small stagger angle settings. At the design stagger angle, however, the corner stall does not induce the modal oscillation and does not make the characteristic positive. In contrast, the corner stall at the small stagger angle induces the modal oscillation and makes the characteristic positive because it is larger than that at the design stagger angle. It is concluded from these results that the rotating stall inception patterns depend on the rotor stagger angle, which influences blade loading and rotor-stator matching.

Experimental Investigation of Stall Inception and its Propagation in a Contra Rotating Axial Fan Under Radial Inflow Distortion

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tegegn Dejene Toge ◽  
A. M. Pradeep
Keyword(s):  
Wavelet Transform ◽  
Mass Flow ◽  
Wavelet Transforms ◽  
Fourier Transforms ◽  
Incidence Angle ◽  
Axial Flow ◽  
Pressure Data ◽  
Axial Fan ◽  
Stall Inception ◽  
Unsteady Pressure

Radial inflow distortion is encountered by any turbomachine in some form or the other. Radial inflow distortion alters the design blade loading distribution by redistributing the velocity along the blade span. The present experimental study is aimed to understand the influence of radially distorted inflow on the stall inception and propagation in a low speed contra rotating axial flow fan (CRAF). The study is carried out near-stall and at stall mass flow conditions for the design speed and off-design rotational speed combinations of the rotors. Total pressure rakes and Kiel probe rakes are used for flow characterization at the inlet of rotor-1 and rotor-2. Data from seven-hole probe measurement is also used to calculate the incidence angle at rotors inlet and the total press loss at relative frame of reference. Unsteady pressure data from the casing wall mounted sensors is used to understand the stall inception mechanism. The unsteady pressure data is analyzed using wavelet transforms and Fast Fourier Transforms (FFT). Wavelet transform is used to identify the stall inception mechanism, whereas FFT is used for quantification of the stall parameters. The study reveals that the performance and the stability of the CRAF stage is highly affected in case of hub covered radial distorted inflow condition and the stall incepts at a higher mass flow compared with the undistorted flow. However, the effect of tip covered radial distorted inflow on the performance and stability is negligible, and the stall incepts at nearly the same mass flow rate as that of the undistorted flow. Moreover, the CRAF stage gives better performance at higher mass flow for tip radially distorted inflow compared with the undistorted case. The wavelet transform clearly indicates that stall inception occurs mainly through long length-scale disturbances (LLSDs) for both the rotors. It is also observed that in some cases, spikes are embedded within LLSDs. The combined effect of stall initiated due to inflow distortion and direct interaction of the wake and the tip leakage vortex from rotor-1 with rotor-2 made the LLSDs and spikes type disturbances much stronger for rotor-2 compared with rotor-1.

1997 Best Paper Award—Turbomachinery Committee: A Study of Spike and Modal Stall Phenomena in a Low-Speed Axial Compressor

1998 ◽  
Vol 120 (3) ◽  
pp. 393-401 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. R. Camp ◽  
I. J. Day
Keyword(s):  
High Speed ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Axial Compressor ◽  
Short Length ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Length Scale ◽  
Stall Inception ◽  
Low Speed ◽  
The Stability ◽  
Dimensional Instability

This paper presents a study of stall inception mechanisms in a low-speed axial compressor. Previous work has identified two common flow breakdown sequences, the first associated with a short length-scale disturbance known as a “spike,” and the second with a longer length-scale disturbance known as a “modal oscillation.” In this paper the physical differences between these two mechanisms are illustrated with detailed measurements. Experimental results are also presented that relate the occurrence of the two stalling mechanisms to the operating conditions of the compressor. It is shown that the stability criteria for the two disturbances are different: Long length-scale disturbances are related to a two-dimensional instability of the whole compression system, while short length-scale disturbances indicate a three-dimensional breakdown of the flow-field associated with high rotor incidence angles. Based on the experimental measurements, a simple model is proposed that explains the type of stall inception pattern observed in a particular compressor. Measurements from a single-stage low-speed compressor and from a multistage high-speed compressor are presented in support of the model.

Long-to-Short Length Scale Transition: A Stall Inception Phenomenon in an Axial Compressor With Inlet Distortion

2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Feng Lin ◽  
Meilin Li ◽  
Jingyi Chen
Keyword(s):  
Axial Compressor ◽  
Axial Flow ◽  
Short Length ◽  
Scale Model ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Length Scale ◽  
Stall Inception ◽  
Inlet Distortion ◽  
Scale Transition ◽  
Asymmetric Flows

A theoretical and experimental study of stall inception processes in a three-stage low-speed axial flow compressor with inlet distortion is presented in this paper. Since inlet distortion provides asymmetric flows imposing onto the compressor, the main goal of this research is to unveil the mechanism of how such flows initiate long and/or short length-scale disturbances and how the compression system reacts to those disturbances. It is found that the initial disturbances are always triggered by the distorted flows, yet the growth of such disturbances depends on system dynamics. While in many cases the stall precursors were the short length scale spikes, there were some cases where the compressor instability was triggered after the disturbances going through a long-to-short length scale transition. A Moore-Greitzer based (system scale) model was proposed to qualitatively explain this phenomenon. It was found that when the compressor operated in a region where the nonlinearity of the characteristics dominated, long length-scale disturbances induced by the inlet distortion would evolve into short length-scale disturbances before they disappeared or triggered stall. However, the model was not able to predict the fact that many disturbances that were triggered by the distorted sector(s) were completely damped out in the undistorted sector(s). It is thus suggested that in future research of compressor instability, one should consider the flows in blade passage scale, the dynamics in system scale and their interaction simultaneously.

Short and Long Length-Scale Disturbances Leading to Rotating Stall in an Axial Compressor Stage With Different Stator/Rotor Gaps

2001 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Inoue ◽  
M. Kuroumaru ◽  
S. Yoshida ◽  
M. Furukawa
Keyword(s):  
High Frequency ◽  
Wavelet Transforms ◽  
Wave Length ◽  
Axial Compressor ◽  
Leading Edge ◽  
Rotating Stall ◽  
Short Length ◽  
Length Scale ◽  
Compressor Stage ◽  
Stall Inception

The transient processes of rotating stall evolution have been investigated experimentally in a low-speed axial compressor stage with three stator-rotor gaps. The pressure traces at 8 circumferential locations on the casing wall near the rotor leading edge have been analyzed by the wavelet transforms. With the appropriate mother wavelets, the evolution of short and long length-scale disturbances leading to the stall can be captured clearly. Behavior of these disturbances is different depending on the stator-rotor gap. For the large and middle gap, the stall inception is detected by a spiky short length-scale disturbance, and the number of spiky waves increases to generate the high frequency waves. They becomes the short length-scale part-span stall cells at the mild stall for the large gap, while they turn into a big stall cell with growth of a long length-scale disturbance for the middle gap. In the latter case, therefore, the stalling process was identified with ‘high frequency stall inception’. For the small stator-rotor gap, the stalling process is identified with ‘long wave-length stall inception’, and supported the recent computational model for the short wave-length stall inception by showing that closing the rotor-stator gaps suppressed the growth of short length-scale disturbances. From the measurement of the pressure field traces on the casing wall, a hypothesis has been built up that the short length-scale disturbance should result from a separation vortex from a blade surface to reduce circulation. The processes of the stall evolution are discussed on this hypothesis.

Short and Long Length-Scale Disturbances Leading to Rotating Stall in an Axial Compressor Stage With Different Stator/Rotor Gaps

2002 ◽  
Vol 124 (3) ◽  
pp. 376-384 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Inoue ◽  
M. Kuroumaru ◽  
S. Yoshida ◽  
M. Furukawa
Keyword(s):  
High Frequency ◽  
Wavelet Transforms ◽  
Axial Compressor ◽  
Leading Edge ◽  
Rotating Stall ◽  
Short Length ◽  
Length Scale ◽  
Compressor Stage ◽  
Stall Inception ◽  
High Frequency Waves

The transient processes of rotating stall evolution have been investigated experimentally in a low-speed axial compressor stage with three stator-rotor gaps. The pressure traces at eight circumferential locations on the casing wall near the rotor leading edge have been analyzed by the wavelet transforms. With the appropriate mother wavelets, the evolution of short and long length-scale disturbances leading to the stall can be captured clearly. Behavior of these disturbances is different depending on the stator-rotor gap. For the large and middle gap, the stall inception is detected by a spiky short length-scale disturbance, and the number of spiky waves increases to generate the high frequency waves. They become the short length-scale part-span stall cells at the mild stall for the large gap, while they turn into a big stall cell with growth of a long length-scale disturbance for the middle gap. In the latter case, therefore, the stalling process was identified with “high-frequency stall inception.” For the small stator-rotor gap, the stalling process is identified with “long wavelength stall inception” and supported the recent computational model for the short wavelength stall inception by showing that closing the rotor-stator gaps suppressed the growth of short length-scale disturbances. From the measurement of the pressure field traces on the casing wall, a hypothesis has been developed that the short length-scale disturbance should result from a separation vortex from a blade surface to reduce circulation. The processes of the stall evolution are discussed on this hypothesis.

Performance and Short Length-Scale Disturbance Generation in an Axial Compressor With Non-Uniform Tip Clearance

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott C. Morris ◽  
Joshua D. Cameron ◽  
Matthew A. Bennington ◽  
G. Scott McNulty ◽  
Aspi Wadia
Keyword(s):  
Flow Field ◽  
Mass Flow ◽  
Axial Compressor ◽  
Rotating Stall ◽  
Short Length ◽  
Tip Clearance ◽  
Length Scale ◽  
Stagnation Temperature ◽  
Local Flow ◽  
Stall Inception

The performance, efficiency, and stall inception of an axial compressor was investigated experimentally with small levels of rotor centerline offset. The measurements were acquired using a high-speed, single-stage compressor. The rotor was levitated magnetically during operation which allowed precise positioning of the rotor centerline within the circular casing. The offset magnitude used in this study was 0.23% of the rotor tip chord, equivalent to approximately 24% of the nominal gap value. The resulting asymmetry in the tip gap resulted in circumferential and radial variations in the measured stagnation pressure and stagnation temperature downstream of the stage. However, the spatially averaged performance of the compressor was not measurably different from that obtained with a concentric rotor. An array of unsteady (Kulite) pressure transducers was used to investigate the flow field during stall inception. These measurements were recorded during transient throttle movements which quickly decreased the mass flow in the compressor until the onset of rotating stall. A second set of measurements was acquired during quasi-transient throttling starting from a mass flow about 1% larger than the stalling mass flow. In both the symmetric and offset cases the flow breakdown was consistent with spike type inception. The measurements with offset indicated that the asymmetries in the local compressor flow field produced significant changes in the number of short-length scale rotating disturbances observed during throttling to stall. These disturbances appeared in the region of the annulus where the local flow coefficient was lowest and usually decayed upon rotating to the higher flow region. In this way, the addition of very small amounts of rotor offset tended to fix the disturbance generation location in the stationary reference frame. This was in contrast to the symmetric tip clearance case where the location of spike generation appeared stochastic.

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