Numerical simulations for swirlmeter on flow fields and metrological performance

2016 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 1072-1081 ◽  
Author(s):  
Desheng Chen ◽  
Baoling Cui ◽  
Zuchao Zhu

Measurements of flow rates of fluids are important in industrial applications. Swirlmeters (vortex precession meters) are widely used in the natural gas industry because of their advantage in having a large measurement range and strong output signal. In this study, using air as a working medium, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations of a swirlmeter were conducted using the Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) and renormalization group (RNG) k–ε turbulence models. The internal flow characteristics and the influence of the tube structure (geometric parameter of flow passage) on metrological performance were studied, with a particular focus on the meter factor. Calibration experiments were performed to validate the CFD predictions; the results show good agreement with those from simulations. From the streamline distributions, a clear vortex precession is found in the throat region. At the end of throat, the pressure fluctuation reached a maximum accompanied by the largest shift in the vortex core from the centreline. There exists a large reverse flow zone in the vortex core region in the convergent section. To mitigate the influence of reverse flow on vortex precession, a suitable length of throat is required. For a larger convergent angle, the fluid undergoes higher acceleration leading to an increase in velocity that produces more intensive pressure fluctuations. The minor diameter of the throat also produces a higher velocity and larger meter factor. Compared with both divergent angle and throat length, the convergent angle and throat diameter play a more important role in determining precession frequency.

Processes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 1182
Author(s):  
Seung-Jun Kim ◽  
Yong Cho ◽  
Jin-Hyuk Kim

Under low flow-rate conditions, a Francis turbine exhibits precession of a vortex rope with pressure fluctuations in the draft tube. These undesirable flow phenomena can lead to deterioration of the turbine performance as manifested by torque and power output fluctuations. In order to suppress the rope with precession and a swirl component in the tube, the use of anti-swirl fins was investigated in a previous study. However, vortex rope generation still occurred near the cone of the tube. In this study, unsteady-state Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes analyses were conducted with a scale-adaptive simulation shear stress transport turbulence model. This model was used to observe the effects of the injection in the draft tube on the unsteady internal flow and pressure phenomena considering both active and passive suppression methods. The air injection affected the generation and suppression of the vortex rope and swirl component depending on the flow rate of the air. In addition, an injection level of 0.5%Q led to a reduction in the maximum unsteady pressure characteristics.


Author(s):  
Thomas G. Shepard ◽  
John Wentz ◽  
Tucker Bender ◽  
Derek Olmschenk ◽  
Alex Gutenberg

Abstract Flow conduits made via additive manufacturing, commonly referred to as 3-D printing, are of increasing interest for a variety of industrial applications due to the ability to create unique and conformal flow paths that would not be possible with other fabrication techniques. Fused filament fabrication (FFF) is an additive manufacturing technique that is seeing new interest in the creation of internal flow channels with its ability to print high-temperature polymers and soluble supports. Printing parameter choices in the FFF printing process result in surfaces that can have significant profile differences that may significantly impact the flow characteristics within the conduits. In this study, two print parameters were experimentally studied for turbulent water flow through circular pipes created by fused filament fabrication out of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS). The print layer orientation relative to the flow was investigated for printing layers parallel, perpendicular, and at 45 degrees from the flow axis. Layer thickness were varied from 0.254 mm to 0.330 mm and all channels were created using soluble support structures. Pressure drops were measured for fully developed flow through pipes with an inside diameter of 5 mm and Reynolds numbers up to 62,000. Results are presented in terms of relative pressure drops as well as the wall surface roughness that would lead to such impacts. These flow-determined grain surface roughnesses are then compared against measurements of print surface roughness.


2016 ◽  
Vol 693 ◽  
pp. 251-256
Author(s):  
Zhi Qiang Yang ◽  
C.J. Wu

The aerodynamic noise of a cross flow fan with uneven blade spacing in room air-conditioner was simulated by computational aerodynamic acoustics (CAA) method. It is detailed to analyze the vorticity distribution of the flow field and the power spectral density of measured points’ pressure fluctuations, and the results demonstrate the non-uniform impeller used in this paper can significantly improve internal flow characteristics. Thus the broadband noise got reduced.


Author(s):  
Wei-lin Yi ◽  
Xiao-hang Zhang ◽  
Lu-cheng Ji ◽  
Jiang Chen

The rotating cavities of aero-engine compressors are the main part of secondary air flow system. It is known that there are typical multidisciplinary fluid-thermal-solid coupling characteristics in them. The high precision prediction of disc surface temperature is very important for structure designer to select materials, control blade clearances et al. The aim of this paper is to investigate the aerodynamic-thermal simulation model to obtain the method and tool for reliable temperature prediction. The paper firstly selected publicly available experimental data of two rotating cavity geometries with twin-discs to validate the precision of established fluid-thermal simulation model with the different grids, difference schemes and turbulence models. The results showed that the RNG-KE turbulence model with QUICK scheme has the better simulation precision for flow structure and Nusselt number distribution. Based on the above research, a fluid-thermal-solid coupling simulation of a twin-cavities model which is approaching to the real conditions of aero-engine has been carried out. The wall temperature distribution on inner surface has been obtained and its maximum error comparing with the experimental value is 8°C. Also the results further validated the reliabilities of the flow model, heat transfer model and fluid-thermal-solid coupling model. The paper also shows the flow field structure of rotating cavity for further understanding the internal flow characteristics.


Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (14) ◽  
pp. 3657
Author(s):  
Weidong Cao ◽  
Jiayu Mao ◽  
Wei Li

In order to understand the pressure fluctuation characteristics of a semi-open cutting pump, the three-dimensional unsteady flow fields were calculated. External and internal flow characteristics of four schemes with different relative angles between the rotary cutter and the impeller were studied. The pressure fluctuations in the lower plate, the upper plate, the clearance between the rotary cutter and the fixed cutter, the first section in volute and nearby parts of the tongue were all analyzed, which are all the places that pressure distributions are greatly affected by the static and dynamic interaction, and at the same time, the force on the impeller was also analyzed. The results show that the fluctuations at different positions change periodically; the main frequency is blade frequency. The amplitude of pressure fluctuation decreases from near the rotating part to far away, from near the tongue to far from the tongue. Due to the influence of both impeller and rotary cutter, the pressure fluctuation on the lower plate is the largest. The pressure fluctuation is affected by flow rate, the larger the flow rate, the greater the pressure fluctuation. The radial and axial forces of the impeller change periodically with time, and the number of wave peaks and wave valleys is the same as the number of blades.


Author(s):  
Marc C. Goldbach ◽  
Mesbah Uddin

While Reynolds-averaged simulatons (RAS) have found success in the evaluation of many canonical shear flows, and moderately separated flows, their application to highly separated flows have shown notable deficiencies. This study aims to investigate these deficiencies in the eddy-viscosity formulation of four commonly used turbulence models under separated flow in an attempt to aid in the improved formulation of such models. Analyses are performed on the flow field around a wall mounted cube at a Reynolds number of 40,000 based on the cube height, h, and free stream velocity, U0. While a common occurrence in industrial applications, this type of flow constitutes a complex structure exhibiting a large separated wake region, high anisotropy, and multiple vortex structures. As well, interactions between vortices developed off of different faces of the cube significantly alter the overall flow characteristics, posing a significant challenge for the commonly used industrial turbulence models. Comparison of mean flow characteristics show remarkable agreement between experimental values and turbulence models which are capable of predicting transitional flow. Evaluation of turbulence parameters show the general underestimation of Reynolds stress for transitional models, while fully turbulent models show this value to be overestimated, resulting in completely disparate representations of mean flow structures between the two classes of models (transitional and fully turbulent).


2019 ◽  
Vol 141 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Neeta A. Mandhare ◽  
K. Karunamurthy ◽  
Saleel Ismail

Centrifugal pumps are one of the significant consumers of electricity and are one of the most commonly encountered rotodynamic machines in domestic and industrial applications. Centrifugal pumps operating at off-design conditions are often subject to different periodic flow randomness, which in turn hampers functionality and performance of the pump. These limitations can be overcome by modification in the conventional design of different components of a centrifugal pump, which can assuage flow randomness and instabilities, reconstitute flow pattern and minimize hydraulic flow losses. In this article, flow vulnerabilities like pressure and flow inconsistency, recirculation, boundary layer separation, adverse rotor–stator interaction, and the effects on operation and performance of a centrifugal pump are reviewed. This article also aims to review design modification attempts made by different researchers such as impeller trimming, rounding, geometry modification of different components, providing microgrooves on the impeller and others. Based on the findings of this study, it is concluded that some design modifications of the impeller, diffuser, and casing result in improvement of functionality, efficiency, and reduction in pressure fluctuations, flow recirculation, and vibrations. Design modifications should improve the performance without hampering functionality and useful operational range of the pump. Considerable research is still necessary to continue understanding and correlating flow physics and design modifications for the pump impeller, diffuser, and casing.


2020 ◽  
Vol 143 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Leilei Ji ◽  
Wei Li ◽  
Weidong Shi ◽  
Ramesh K. Agarwal

Abstract The Wray–Agarwal (WA) turbulence model is selected to simulate the internal and external characteristics of a centrifugal pump with semispiral suction chamber; the numerical results are compared with the experimental data and computed results predicted by standard k–ε, renormalization group (RNG) k–ε, and shear stress transport (SST) k–ω turbulence models. The results show that the WA model could be effectively used to compute the energy performance of centrifugal pump under full range of operating conditions and gives higher accuracy than other models. Overall, the WA model shows closer similarity to the experimental data and gives more uniform flow field in the impeller region compared to that predicted by other models. In prediction of internal flow fields of the pump, overall the WA model is more accurate and efficient being a one-equation model. The control of undamped eddy viscosity variable R (= k/ω) in WA model does not allow the overestimation of turbulent kinetic energy and turbulent eddy frequency obtained with other models, which leads to its advantage in accurate prediction of both internal and external flow characteristics of centrifugal pump.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shunya Takao ◽  
Shinichi Konno ◽  
Shinichiro Ejiri ◽  
Masahiro Miyabe

Abstract The objective of this research is to suppress pressure fluctuation by machining slits to the diffuser vanes and clarify its effect on the diffuser rotating stall from the hydrodynamics point of view. In order to investigate pressure fluctuations due to the diffuser rotating stall, both experiment and CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) calculations were conducted. In the experiment, two kinds of pump (one is original and another is with slit vanes) characteristics and time history of static pressure were measured. Then, data processing of wave form were conducted by FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) analysis. The static pressure transducers were mounted at casing-side of diffuser inlet in two passages. On the other hand, the CFD calculations were carried out to investigate the behavior of the diffuser rotating stall and the effect of slit vanes using a commercial CFD software, ANSYS CFX. A positive slope of head-flow characteristics is confirmed around at ϕ = 0.036 in the case of original pump. On the other hand, it has been shifted to lower flow rate, ϕ = 0.020 in the case of slit vanes. The periodic pressure fluctuations were observed for both cases at those flow rate, respectively. Then, it was confirmed that the diffuser rotating stall occurs and the number of cell is one from the co-relation between pressure wave form of two flow passages. The unsteady RANS (Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes) calculations were conducted for two kinds of pump. Then the internal flow within the diffuser were compared and the differences were clarified.


Author(s):  
Marc C. Goldbach ◽  
Mesbah Uddin

Abstract While Reynolds-averaged simulations have found success in the evaluation of many canonical shear flows and moderately separated flows, their application to highly separated flows have shown notable deficiencies. This study aimed to investigate these deficiencies in the eddy-viscosity formulation of four commonly used turbulence models under separated flow in an attempt to aid in the improved formulation of such models. Analyses are performed on the flow field around a wall-mounted cube (WMC) at a Reynolds number of 40,000 based on the cube height, h, and freestream velocity, U0. While a common occurrence in industrial applications, this type of flow constitutes a complex structure exhibiting a large separated wake region, high anisotropy, and multiple vortex structures. As well, interactions between vortices developed off of different faces of the cube significantly alter the overall flow characteristics, posing a significant challenge for the commonly used industrial turbulence models. Comparison of mean flow characteristics show remarkable agreement between experimental values and turbulence models which are capable of predicting transitional flow. Evaluation of turbulence parameters show the general underestimation of Reynolds stress for transitional models, while fully turbulent models show this value to be overestimated, resulting in completely disparate representations of mean flow structures between the two classes of models (transitional and fully turbulent).


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