scholarly journals Numerical Investigations of a Tip Turbine Aerodynamic Design in a Propulsion System for VTOL Vehicles

Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (15) ◽  
pp. 3003
Author(s):  
Xin Xiang ◽  
Guoping Huang ◽  
Jie Chen ◽  
Lei Li ◽  
Weiyu Lu

High thrust and low specific fuel consumption (SFC) are important for vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) vehicles. An effective way to decrease the SFC is to increase the bypass ratio (BPR) of the propulsion system. The air-driven fan (or fan-in-wing) has a very high bypass ratio and has proved to be successful in VTOL aircrafts. However, the tip turbine that extracts energy for the air-driven fan faces the low-solidity problem and performs inadequately. In this study, we developed a high-reaction method for the aerodynamic design of a tip turbine to solve the low-solidity problem. A typical tip turbine was selected and designed by both conventional and high-reaction methods. Three-dimensional flow fields were numerically simulated through a Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS)-based computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method. The energy extraction rate was proposed to evaluate and display the energy extraction capability of the turbine. The results showed that the high-reaction turbine could solve the low-solidity problem and significantly increase the isentropic efficiency from approximately 80.0% to 85.6% and improve the isentropic work by 71.9% compared with the conventional method (from 10.28 kW/kg to 17.67 kW/kg).

Energies ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 3350 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guoping Huang ◽  
Xin Xiang ◽  
Chen Xia ◽  
Weiyu Lu ◽  
Lei Li

The reduction in specific fuel consumption (SFC) is crucial for small/mid-size cost-controllable aircraft, which is very conducive to reducing cost and carbon dioxide emissions. To decrease the SFC, increasing the bypass ratio (BPR) is an important way. Conventional high-BPR engines have several limitations, especially the conflicting spool-speed requirements of a fan and a low-pressure turbine. This research proposes an air-driven fan with a tip turbine (ADFTT) as a potential device for a high-bypass propulsion system. Moreover, a possible application of this ADFTT is introduced. Thermodynamic analysis results show that an ADFTT can improve thrust from a prototype turbofan. As a demonstration, we selected a typical small-thrust turbofan as the prototype and applied the ADFTT concept to improve this model. Three-dimensional flow fields were numerically simulated through a Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS)-based computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method. The performance of this ADFTT has the possibility of amplifying the BPR more than four times and increasing the thrust by approximately 84% in comparison with the prototype turbofan.


2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (03) ◽  
pp. 1750021 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Niktash ◽  
B. P. Huynh

A windcatcher is a structure for providing natural ventilation using wind power; it is usually fitted on the roof of a building to exhaust the inside stale air to the outside and supplies the outside fresh air into the building interior space working by pressure difference between outside and inside of the building. In this paper, the behavior of free wind flow through a three-dimensional room fitted with a centered position two-canal bottom shape windcatcher model is investigated numerically, using a commercial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software package and LES (Large Eddy Simulation) CFD method. The results have been compared with the obtained results for the same model but using RANS (Reynolds Averaged Navier–Stokes) CFD method. The model with its surrounded space has been considered in both method. It is found that the achieved results for the model from LES method are in good agreement with RANS method’s results for the same model.


2011 ◽  
Vol 55-57 ◽  
pp. 343-347 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi Gang Luan ◽  
Hai Ou Sun

In this article, computational fluid dynamics(CFD) method is used to predict the effect of blade numbers on the pressure drop of axial cyclone separators. A three-dimensional model is built to acquire the resistance of axial cyclone separators with different blade numbers. The flow field inside cyclone separators is calculated using 3D Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations. And turbulence model is used to simulate the Reynold stress. Also pressure drop of cyclone separators with different blade numbers is expressed as a function of different inlet velocities. At the same inlet velocity with increasing the blade numbers, pressure drops of cyclones reduce greatly. And changing the blade number of cyclone separator is an effective method to improve its resistance performance.


2011 ◽  
Vol 52-54 ◽  
pp. 267-272 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yong Hua Zhang ◽  
Jian Hui He ◽  
Guo Qing Zhang

This paper aims to understand influence of the obliquity of fin ray on its motion performance. An environment-friendly propulsion system mimicking undulating fins of stingray had been built. Investigations were presented by using three-dimensional unsteady Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) method. An unstructured, grid-based, unsteady Navier-Stokes solver with automatic adaptive remeshing was used to compute the unsteady flow around the fin through twenty complete cycles. The pressure distribution on fin surface was computed and integrated to provide fin forces which were decomposed into lift and thrust. Vortex contour maps of the fin with different obliquity of fin ray were displayed and compared. Finally, we draw a conclusion that the generated propulsion force of the biomimetic propulsor is gradually increase with the obliquity of the fin ray from 0 degree till a certain angle and then gradually decrease with the obliquity of the fin ray from the certain angle till 90 degree. The results provide valuable information for the optimization of robotic underwater undulating propulsor design.


Author(s):  
Qiangqiang Huang ◽  
Xinqian Zheng ◽  
Aolin Wang

Air often flows into compressors with inlet prewhirl, because it will obtain a circumferential component of velocity via inlet distortion or swirl generators such as inlet guide vanes. A lot of research has shown that inlet prewhirl does influence the characteristics of components, but the change of the matching relation between the components caused by inlet prewhirl is still unclear. This paper investigates the influence of inlet prewhirl on the matching of the impeller and the diffuser and proposes a flow control method to cure mismatching. The approach combines steady three-dimensional Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) simulations with theoretical analysis and modeling. The result shows that a compressor whose impeller and diffuser match well at zero prewhirl will go to mismatching at non-zero prewhirl. The diffuser throat gets too large to match the impeller at positive prewhirl and gets too small for matching at negative prewhirl. The choking mass flow of the impeller is more sensitive to inlet prewhirl than that of the diffuser, which is the main reason for the mismatching. To cure the mismatching via adjusting the diffuser vanes stagger angle, a one-dimensional method based on incidence matching has been proposed to yield a control schedule for adjusting the diffuser. The optimal stagger angle predicted by analytical method has good agreement with that predicted by computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The compressor is able to operate efficiently in a much broader flow range with the control schedule. The flow range, where the efficiency is above 80%, of the datum compressor and the compressor only employing inlet prewhirl and no control are just 25.3% and 31.8%, respectively. For the compressor following the control schedule, the flow range is improved up to 46.5%. This paper also provides the perspective of components matching to think about inlet distortion.


1996 ◽  
Vol 118 (3) ◽  
pp. 529-535 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. W. Giel ◽  
J. R. Sirbaugh ◽  
I. Lopez ◽  
G. J. Van Fossen

Experimental measurements in the inlet of a transonic turbine blade cascade showed unacceptable pitchwise flow nonuniformity. A three-dimensional, Navier–Stokes computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis of the imbedded bellmouth inlet in the facility was performed to identify and eliminate the source of the flow nonuniformity. The blockage and acceleration effects of the blades were accounted for by specifying a periodic static pressure exit condition interpolated from a separate three-dimensional Navier–Stokes CFD solution of flow around a single blade in an infinite cascade. Calculations of the original inlet geometry showed total pressure loss regions consistent in strength and location to experimental measurements. The results indicate that the distortions were caused by a pair of streamwise vortices that originated as a result of the interaction of the flow with the imbedded bellmouth. Computations were performed for an inlet geometry that eliminated the imbedded bellmouth by bridging the region between it and the upstream wall. This analysis indicated that eliminating the imbedded bellmouth nozzle also eliminates the pair of vortices, resulting in a flow with much greater pitchwise uniformity. Measurements taken with an installed redesigned inlet verify that the flow nonuniformity has indeed been eliminated.


Author(s):  
Anil K. Tolpadi ◽  
James A. Tallman ◽  
Lamyaa El-Gabry

Conventional heat transfer design methods for turbine airfoils use 2-D boundary layer codes (BLC) combined with empiricism. While such methods may be applicable in the mid span of an airfoil, they would not be very accurate near the end-walls and airfoil tip where the flow is very three-dimensional (3-D) and complex. In order to obtain accurate heat transfer predictions along the entire span of a turbine airfoil, 3-D computational fluid dynamics (CFD) must be used. This paper describes the development of a CFD based design system to make heat transfer predictions. A 3-D, compressible, Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes CFD solver with k-ω turbulence modeling was used. A wall integration approach was used for boundary layer prediction. First, the numerical approach was validated against a series of fundamental airfoil cases with available data. The comparisons were very favorable. Subsequently, it was applied to a real engine airfoil at typical design conditions. A discussion of the features of the airfoil heat transfer distribution is included.


2010 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 657-661 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammed Zubair ◽  
Vizy Nazira Riazuddin ◽  
Mohammed Zulkifly Abdullah ◽  
Rushdan Ismail ◽  
Ibrahim Lutfi Shuaib ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: It is of clinical importance to examine the nasal cavity pre-operatively on surgical treatments. However, there is no simple and easy way to measure airflow in the nasal cavity. Objectives: Visualize the flow features inside the nasal cavity using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method, and study the effect of different breathing rates on nasal function. Method: A three-dimensional nasal cavity model was reconstructed based on computed tomographic images of a healthy Malaysian adult nose. Navier-Stokes and continuity equations for steady airflow were solved numerically to examine the inspiratory nasal flow. Results: The flow resistance obtained varied from 0.026 to 0.124 Pa.s/mL at flow-rate from 7.5 L/min to 40 L/min. Flow rates by breathing had significant influence on airflow velocity and wall shear-stress in the vestibule and nasal valve region. Conclusion: Airflow simulations based on CFD is most useful for better understanding of flow phenomenon inside the nasal cavity.


2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yutaka Masuyama ◽  
Yusuke Tahara ◽  
Toichi Fukasawa ◽  
Naotoshi Maeda

Database of full-scale three-dimensional sail shapes are presented with the aerodynamic coefficients for the upwind condition of IMS type sails. Three-dimensional shape data are used for the input of numerical calculations and the results are compared with the measured sail performance. The sail shapes and performance are measured using a sail dynamometer boat Fujin. The Fujin is a 34-foot LOA boat, in which load cells and charge coupled devices (CCD) cameras are installed to measure the sail forces and shapes simultaneously. The sailing conditions of the boat, such as boat speed, heel angle, wind speed, wind angle, and so on, are also measured. The tested sail configurations are as follows: mainsail with 130% jib, mainsail with 75% jib and mainsail alone. Sail shapes are measured at several height positions. The measured shape parameters are chord length, maximum draft, maximum draft position, entry angle at the luff and exit angle at the leech. From these parameters three-dimensional coordinates of the sails are calculated by interpolation. These three-dimensional coordinates are tabulated with the aerodynamic coefficients. Numerical calculations are performed using the measured sail shapes. The calculation methods are of two types; Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS)-based CFD and vortex lattice methods (VLM). A multi-block RANS-based CFD method was developed by one of the authors and is capable of predicting viscous flows and aerodynamic forces for complicated sail configuration for upwind as well as downwind conditions. Important features of the numerical method are summarized as follows: a Finite- Analytic scheme to discretize transport equations, a PISO type velocity-pressure coupling scheme, multi-block domain decomposition capability, and several choices of turbulence models depending on flows of interest. An automatic grid generation scheme is also included. Another calculation method, the vortex lattice method is also adopted. In this case, step-by-step calculations are conducted to attain the steady state of the sail in steady wind. Wake vortices are generated step-by-step, which flow in the direction of the local velocity vector. These calculated sail forces are compared with the measured one, and the validity of the numerical method is studied. The sail shape database and comparison with numerical calculations will provide a good benchmark for the sail performance analysis of the upwind condition of IMS type sails.


Author(s):  
Zhang Lisheng ◽  
Jiang Jin ◽  
Xiao Zhihuai ◽  
Li Yanhui

In this paper numerical simulations were conducted to analyze the effects of design parameters and distribution of balancing-hole on the axial-force of a partial emission pump. The studied pump is a single stage pump with a Barske style impeller. Based on the original impeller, we designed 7 pumps with different balancing-hole diameters and the partial emission pump equipped with different impellers were simulated employing the commercial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software Fluent 12.1 to solve the Navier-Stokes equations for three-dimensional steady flow. A sensitivity analysis of the numerical model was performed with the purpose of balancing the contradiction of numerical accuracy and the cost of calculation. The results showed that, with increasing of the capacity, the axial force varies little. The diameter of the inner balancing-hole plays a dominant role of reducing axial-force of partial emission pump, the axial-force decreases with increasing of inner balancing-hole diameter on the whole range of operation, the axial-force of impeller without inner balancing-hole is approximately 3 times larger than that of impeller with inner balancing-hole. While the diameter of outer balancing-hole has a reverse effects compared with that of inner balancing-hole. With increasing of outer balancing-hole, the axial force increases accordingly.


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