Twin-entry turbine losses: An analysis using CFD data

2021 ◽  
pp. 146808742110076
Author(s):  
José Galindo ◽  
José Ramón Serrano ◽  
Luis Miguel García-Cuevas ◽  
Nicolás Medina

The current paper presents a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) flow behaviour and losses analysis of twin-entry radial turbines in terms of its Mass Flow Ratio ( MFR, the ratio between the flow passing through one of its intake ports and its total mass flow), focusing on the mixing phenomena in the unequal admission conditions cases. The CFD simulations are first validated with experimental data. Then, the losses mechanisms are analysed and quantified in the different parts of the twin-entry turbine in terms of the MFR value. A sudden expansion is found at the junction of both branches in the interspace between volutes and rotor for unequal and partial admission cases. Tracking the flow coming from each of the turbine intake ports, it has been observed that both flow branches do not fully mix with each other within the rotor. Another source of losses has been identified in the contact between both flow branches due to their momentum exchange that depends on the difference between both flow branches velocities. These losses have not been considered before, and they should be included in mean line loss-based models for twin-entry turbine since they are very significant for unequal admission conditions.

Author(s):  
Kevin Venne ◽  
Laurent Mydlarski ◽  
Federico Torriano ◽  
Mathieu Kirouac ◽  
Jean-Philippe Charest-Fournier ◽  
...  

To ensure the proper operation of hydroelectric generators, their cooling must be well understood. However, the airflow within such machines is difficult to characterize, and although Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) can be a reliable engineering tool, its application to the field of hydroelectric generators is quite recent and has certain limitations which are, in part, due to geometrical and flow complexities, including the coexistence of moving (rotor) and stationary (stator) components. For this reason, experimental measurements are required to validate CFD simulations of such complex flows. Of particular interest is the quantification of the flow within the rotor rim ducts, since it is directly responsible for cooling the poles (one of the most critical components of a hydroelectric generator). Thus, to measure the flow therein, an anemometer was designed. The anemometer had to be accurate, durable, cost-effective, easy to install, and able to withstand the extreme conditions found in hydroelectric generators (temperatures of 45°C, centrifugal forces of 300 g, etc.). In this paper, a thermal mass flow meter and a method for validating its performance, using hot-wire anemometry and a static model of a rotor rim, are described. Preliminary tests demonstrate that the thermal mass flow meter is capable of i) measuring the mass flow rate in the rotor rim ducts with an accuracy of approximately 10%, ii) fitting inside small rectangular ducts (12.2 mm by 51 mm), and iii) resisting forces up to 300 g.


Author(s):  
Rojas Thomas ◽  
Markus Schatz ◽  
Benjamin Kuschel ◽  
Silke Brouwer ◽  
A. M. Pradeep ◽  
...  

The present paper evaluates the impact of casing energized jet flow on the performance of an annular-conical exhaust diffuser. Two different inflow profiles, namely a uniform total pressure and a hub-strong total pressure inlet profile were studied. For both profiles, the flow is observed to separate at the casing. Experiments were performed at different tip jet mass flow rates and two different tip gap heights to understand their effect on the diffuser performance. Apart from wall pressure readings, probe measurements have been done at various locations within the diffuser to study the flow behaviour in more detail. The results show that at the diffuser inlet already small tip jet flows help to prevent casing separation and hence improve pressure recovery noticeably, especially in the front section of the diffuser. On the other hand, higher tip jet flows tend to weaken the core flow at the diffuser exit, thus generating an inhomogeneous outflow velocity profile. To enhance the interpretation of the experimental data, results from Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations are used. Interestingly, the experimental results indicate that while the blowing ratio seems to be the major parameter for the improvement of pressure recovery for a hub-strong inlet profile, the pressure recovery for a uniform profile appears to be more sensitive to the tip jet mass flow rate. However, the numerical results do not show this trend.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (8) ◽  
pp. 2197
Author(s):  
Nayara Rodrigues Marques Sakiyama ◽  
Jurgen Frick ◽  
Timea Bejat ◽  
Harald Garrecht

Predicting building air change rates is a challenge for designers seeking to deal with natural ventilation, a more and more popular passive strategy. Among the methods available for this task, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) appears the most compelling, in ascending use. However, CFD simulations require a range of settings and skills that inhibit its wide application. With the primary goal of providing a pragmatic CFD application to promote wind-driven ventilation assessments at the design phase, this paper presents a study that investigates natural ventilation integrating 3D parametric modeling and CFD. From pre- to post-processing, the workflow addresses all simulation steps: geometry and weather definition, including incident wind directions, a model set up, control, results’ edition, and visualization. Both indoor air velocities and air change rates (ACH) were calculated within the procedure, which used a test house and air measurements as a reference. The study explores alternatives in the 3D design platform’s frame to display and compute ACH and parametrically generate surfaces where air velocities are computed. The paper also discusses the effectiveness of the reference building’s natural ventilation by analyzing the CFD outputs. The proposed approach assists the practical use of CFD by designers, providing detailed information about the numerical model, as well as enabling the means to generate the cases, visualize, and post-process the results.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 2961
Author(s):  
Nikola Čajová Kantová ◽  
Alexander Čaja ◽  
Marek Patsch ◽  
Michal Holubčík ◽  
Peter Ďurčanský

With the combustion of solid fuels, emissions such as particulate matter are also formed, which have a negative impact on human health. Reducing their amount in the air can be achieved by optimizing the combustion process as well as the flue gas flow. This article aims to optimize the flue gas tract using separation baffles. This design can make it possible to capture particulate matter by using three baffles and prevent it from escaping into the air in the flue gas. The geometric parameters of the first baffle were changed twice more. The dependence of the flue gas flow on the baffles was first observed by computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations and subsequently verified by the particle imaging velocimetry (PIV) method. Based on the CFD results, the most effective is setting 1 with the same boundary conditions as those during experimental PIV measurements. Setting 2 can capture 1.8% less particles and setting 3 can capture 0.6% less particles than setting 1. Based on the stoichiometric calculations, it would be possible to capture up to 62.3% of the particles in setting 1. The velocities comparison obtained from CFD and PIV confirmed the supposed character of the turbulent flow with vortexes appearing in the flue gas tract, despite some inaccuracies.


Author(s):  
Makoto Yamamoto ◽  
Masaya Suzuki

Multi-Physics CFD Simulation will be one of key technologies in various engineering fields. There are two strategies to simulate a multi-physics phenomenon. One is “Strong Coupling”, and the other is “Weak Coupling”. Each can be employed, based on time-scales of physics embedded in a problem. That is, when a time-scale of one physics is nearly same as that of the other physics, we have to use Strong Coupling to take into account the interaction between two physics. On the other hand, when one time-scale is quite different from the other one, Weak Coupling can be applied. Considering the present computer performance, Strong Coupling is difficult to be used in engineering design processes now. Therefore, we are focusing on Weak Coupling, and it has been applied to a number of multi-physics CFD simulations in engineering. We have successfully simulated sand erosion, ice accretion, particle deposition, electro-chemical machining and so on, with using Weak Coupling method. In the present study, the difference between strong and weak couplings is briefly described, and two examples of our multi-physics CFD simulations are expressed. The numerical results indicate that Weak Coupling strategy is promising in a lot of multi-physics CFD simulations.


2018 ◽  
Vol 141 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Björn Gwiasda ◽  
Matthias Mohr ◽  
Martin Böhle

Suction performance, pressure rise, and efficiency for four different inducers are examined with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations and experiments performed with 18,000 rpm and 24,000 rpm. The studies originate from a research project that includes the construction of a new test bench in order to judge the design of the different inducers. This test bench allows to conduct experiments with a rotational speed of up to 40,000 rpm and high pressure ranges from 0.1 bar to 40 bar with water as working fluid. Experimental results are used to evaluate the accuracy of the simulations and to gain a better understanding of the design parameter. The influence of increasing the rotating speed from 18,000 rpm to 24,000 rpm on the performance is also shown.


2008 ◽  
Vol 5 (28) ◽  
pp. 1291-1301 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sam Van Wassenbergh ◽  
Peter Aerts

Most theoretical models of unsteady aquatic movement in organisms assume that including steady-state drag force and added mass approximates the hydrodynamic force exerted on an organism's body. However, animals often perform explosively quick movements where high accelerations are realized in a few milliseconds and are followed closely by rapid decelerations. For such highly unsteady movements, the accuracy of this modelling approach may be limited. This type of movement can be found during pivot feeding in pipefish that abruptly rotate their head and snout towards prey. We used computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to validate a simple analytical model of cranial rotation in pipefish. CFD simulations also allowed us to assess prey displacement by head rotation. CFD showed that the analytical model accurately calculates the forces exerted on the pipefish. Although the initial phase of acceleration changes the flow patterns during the subsequent deceleration phase, the accuracy of the analytical model was not reduced during this deceleration phase. Our analysis also showed that prey are left approximately stationary despite the quickly approaching pipefish snout. This suggests that pivot-feeding fish need little or no suction to compensate for the effects of the flow induced by cranial rotation.


Author(s):  
Daniel Barreca ◽  
Matthew Franchek ◽  
Mayank Tyagi

Reliability of blowout preventers (BOP) is central for the safety of both rig workers and the surrounding environment. Analysis of dynamic fluid conditions within the wellbore and BOP can provide quantitative data related to this reliability. In cases of a hard shut in, it is suspected that the sudden closure of rams can cause a water hammer effect, creating pressure vibrations within the wellbore. Additionally, as the blowout preventer reaches a fully closed state, fluid velocity can drastically increase. This results in increased erosion rates within the blowout preventer. To investigate fluid movement and pressure vibrations during a well shut-in, CFD simulations will be conducted. Dynamic meshing techniques within ANSYS® FLUENT can be utilized to simulate closing blowout preventer configurations for both 2-D and 3-D geometries. These simulations would deliver information that could lead to a better understanding of certain performance issues during well shut-ins. Such information includes flow velocity magnitude within the BOP and maximum pressure pulse values within the wellbore.


RBRH ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mayara Francisca da Silva ◽  
Fábio Veríssimo Gonçalves ◽  
Johannes Gérson Janzen

ABSTRACT Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations of a leakage in a pressurized pipe were undertaken to determine the empirical effects of hydraulic and geometric factors on the leakage flow rate. The results showed that pressure, leakage area and leakage form, influenced the leakage flow rate significantly, while pipe thickness and mean velocity did not influence the leakage flow rate. With relation to the interactions, the effect of pressure upon leakage flow rate depends on leakage area, being stronger for great leakage areas; the effects of leakage area and pressure on leakage flow rate is more pronounced for longitudinal leakages than for circular leakages. Finally, our results suggest that the equations that predict leakage flow rate in pressurized pipes may need a revision.


Author(s):  
A. Kumar ◽  
P. B. Nair ◽  
A. J. Keane ◽  
S. Shahpar

This paper presents a probabilistic analysis of the effect of erosion on the performance of compressor fan blades. A realistic parametric CAD model is developed to represent eroded blades. Design of Experiments (DOE) techniques are employed to generate a set of candidate points, which are combined with a parametric geometry modeling and grid generation routine to produce a hybrid mesh. A multigrid Reynolds-Averaged Navier Stokes (RANS) solver HYDRA with Spalart Allmaras turbulence model is used for Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations. The data generated is used to create a surrogate model for efficient uncertainty propagation. This method is applied to a typical Rolls Royce compressor fan blade section. Monte Carlo Simulation, using the surrogate model, is executed for the probabilistic analysis of the compressor fan blade. Results show upto 5% increase in pressure loss for the eroded compressor fan blades.


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