scholarly journals Quasi Three-Dimensional Design for a Novel Turbo-Vapor Compressor and the Last Stage of a Low-Pressure Steam Turbine

Author(s):  
Amin Mobarak ◽  
Mostafa Shawky Abdel Moez ◽  
Shady Ali

Turbo-vapor compressors (TVCs) are used to create a vacuum pressure in the evaporator of a novel combined cycle for electricity and freshwater production invented by Amin Mobarak. A novel design conceived of a TVC is introduced to increase the efficiency, allowable mass flow rate and reduce costs and losses. The system consists of a single axial compressor rotor followed by a single axial turbine rotor, which drives the upstream compressor, allowing high flow rates. A quasi-3D design is carried out for the TVC to calculate the flow velocity components and angles and ensure that the turbo-vapor turbine work is equal to the turbo-vapor compressor work. A preliminary design of the low-pressure power turbine (LPT) is done to examine the size and number of stages. The (LPT) size is twice the size of TVC at typical cycle operating conditions. A three-stage design is the most appropriate choice for the number of stages. It satisfies the accelerating relative flow condition at the last stage over a range of flow coefficients. A quasi-3D design is carried out for the LPT's last stage to ensure a multi-stage power turbine's safe design.

Author(s):  
Kazutoyo Yamada ◽  
Hiroaki Kikuta ◽  
Ken-ichiro Iwakiri ◽  
Masato Furukawa ◽  
Satoshi Gunjishima

The unsteady behavior and three-dimensional flow structure of spike-type stall inception in an axial compressor rotor have been investigated by experimental and numerical analyses. Previous studies have revealed that the test compressor falls into a mild stall after emergence of a spike, in which multiple stall cells, each consisting of a tornado-like vortex, are rotating. However, the flow mechanism from the spike onset to the mild stall remains unexplained. The purpose of this study is to describe the flow mechanism of a spike stall inception in a compressor. In order to capture the transient phenomena of spike-type stall inception experimentally, an instantaneous casing pressure field measurement technique was developed, in which 30 pressure transducers measure an instantaneous casing pressure distribution inside the passage for one blade pitch at a rate of 25 samplings per blade passing period. This technique was applied to obtain the unsteady and transient pressure fields on the casing wall during the inception process of the spike stall. In addition, the details of the three-dimensional flow structure at the spike stall inception have been analyzed by a numerical approach using the detached-eddy simulation (DES). The instantaneous casing pressure field measurement results at the stall inception show that a low-pressure region starts traveling near the leading edge in the circumferential direction just after the spiky wave was detected in the casing wall pressure trace measured near the rotor leading edge. The DES results reveal the vortical flow structure behind the low-pressure region on the casing wall at the stall inception, showing that the low-pressure region is caused by a tornado-like separation vortex resulting from a leading-edge separation near the rotor tip. A leading-edge separation occurs near the tip at the onset of the spike stall and grows to form the tornado-like vortex connecting the blade suction surface and the casing wall. The casing-side leg of the tornado-like vortex generating the low-pressure region circumferentially moves around the leading-edge line. When the vortex grows large enough to interact with the leading edge of the next blade, the leading-edge separation begins to propagate, and then, the compressor falls into a stall with decreasing performance.


1980 ◽  
Vol 102 (4) ◽  
pp. 883-889 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. W. McDonald ◽  
C. R. Bolt ◽  
R. J. Dunker ◽  
H. B. Weyer

The flow field within the rotor of a transonic axial compressor has been computed and compared to measurements obtained with an advanced laser velocimeter. The compressor was designed for a total pressure ratio of 1.51 at a relative tip Mach number of 1.4. The comparisons are made at 100 percent design speed (20,260 RPM) with pressure ratios corresponding to peak efficiency, near surge, and wide open discharge operating conditions. The computational procedure iterates between a blade-to-blade calculation and an intrablade through flow calculation. Calculated Mach number contours, surface pressure distributions, and exit total pressure profiles are in agreement with the experimental data demonstrating the usefulness of quasi three-dimensional calculations in compressor design.


Author(s):  
Mark P. Wernet ◽  
Dale Van Zante ◽  
Tony J. Strazisar ◽  
W. Trevor John ◽  
P. Susan Prahst

The accurate characterization and simulation of rotor tip clearance flows has received much attention in recent years due to their impact on compressor-performance and stability. At NASA Glenn the first known three dimensional Digital Particle Image Velocimetry (DPIV) measurements of the tip region of a low speed compressor rotor have been acquired to characterize the behavior of the rotor tip clearance flow. The measurements were acquired phase-locked to the rotor position so that changes in the tip clearance vortex position relative to the rotor blade can be seen. The DPIV technique allows the magnitude and relative contributions of both the asynchronous motions of a coherent structure and the temporal unsteadiness to be evaluated. Comparison of measurements taken at the peak efficiency and at near stall operating conditions characterizes the mean position of the clearance vortex and the changes in the unsteady behavior of the vortex with blade loading. Comparisons of the 3-D DPIV measurements at the compressor design point to a 3D steady N-S solution are also done to assess the fidelity of steady, single-passage simulations to model an unsteady flow field.


Author(s):  
Sivakumar Subramanian ◽  
B. V. S. S. S. Prasad ◽  
S. Krishnan ◽  
C. Janakamma

Prediction of three-dimensional flow through a multi-stage axial compressor involving multiple frames of reference is one of the challenging tasks in CFD. When the axial gap between the stationary and rotating blade rows is reduced, the blade row interactions become important. Therefore, a detailed knowledge of flow features is essential for the optimum design of multi stage compressor. As the design and conduct of experiments and evaluation of compressor performance is expensive and time consuming, many aerospace industries prefer to obtain the same information by the computational efforts. In this context, a number of CFD codes for modelling and analysis of turbomachinery flows are used. The most exigent aspect of simulating multi-stage compressor is representing the interactions between the rotor and stator. The present work is to find out the best-suited method for the analysis of a low-pressure three-stage compressor that gives reliable results. The motivation for this effort is derived from the inability to consistently compare predicted performance parameters obtained from using the interface models with the experimental results, which is especially true for off-design operation.


2012 ◽  
Vol 135 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kazutoyo Yamada ◽  
Hiroaki Kikuta ◽  
Ken-ichiro Iwakiri ◽  
Masato Furukawa ◽  
Satoshi Gunjishima

The unsteady behavior and three-dimensional flow structure of spike-type stall inception in an axial compressor rotor were investigated by experimental and numerical analyses. Previous studies revealed that the test compressor falls into a mild stall after emergence of a spike, in which multiple stall cells, each consisting of a tornado-like vortex, are rotating. However, the flow mechanism from the spike onset to the mild stall remains unexplained. The purpose of this study is to describe the flow mechanism of a spike stall inception in a compressor. In order to capture the transient phenomena of spike-type stall inception experimentally, an instantaneous casing pressure field measurement technique was developed, in which 30 pressure transducers measure an instantaneous casing pressure distribution inside the passage for one blade pitch at a rate of 25 samplings per blade passing period. This technique was applied to obtain the unsteady and transient pressure fields on the casing wall during the inception process of the spike stall. In addition, the details of the three-dimensional flow structure at the spike stall inception were analyzed by a numerical approach using the detached-eddy simulation (DES). The instantaneous casing pressure field measurement results at the stall inception show that a low-pressure region starts traveling near the leading edge in the circumferential direction just after the spiky wave was detected in the casing wall pressure trace measured near the rotor leading edge. The DES results reveal the vortical flow structure behind the low-pressure region on the casing wall at the stall inception, showing that the low-pressure region is caused by a tornado-like separation vortex resulting from a leading-edge separation near the rotor tip. A leading-edge separation occurs near the tip at the onset of the spike stall and grows to form the tornado-like vortex connecting the blade suction surface and the casing wall. The casing-side leg of the tornado-like vortex generating the low-pressure region circumferentially moves around the leading-edge line. When the vortex grows large enough to interact with the leading edge of the next blade, the leading-edge separation begins to propagate, and then the compressor falls into a stall with decreasing performance.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva Alvarez-Regueiro ◽  
Esperanza Barrera-Medrano ◽  
Ricardo Martinez-Botas ◽  
Srithar Rajoo

Abstract This paper presents a CFD-based numerical analysis on the potential benefits of non-radial blading turbine for low speed-low pressure applications. Electric turbocompounding is a waste heat recovery technology consisting of a turbine coupled to a generator that transforms the energy left over in the engine exhaust gases, which is typically found at low pressure, into electricity. Turbines designed to operate at low specific speed are ideal for these applications since the peak efficiency occurs at lower pressure ratios than conventional high speed turbines. The baseline design consisted of a vaneless radial fibre turbine, operating at 1.2 pressure ratio and 28,000rpm. Experimental low temperature tests were carried out with the baseline radial blading turbine at nominal, lower and higher pressure ratio operating conditions to validate numerical simulations. The baseline turbine incidence angle effect was studied and positive inlet blade angle impact was assessed in the current paper. Four different turbine rotor designs of 20, 30, 40 and 50° of positive inlet blade angle are presented, with the aim to reduce the losses associated to positive incidence, specially at midspan. The volute domain was included in all CFD calculations to take into account the volute-rotor interactions. The results obtained from numerical simulations of the modified designs were compared with those from the baseline turbine rotor at design and off-design conditions. Total-to-static efficiency improved in all the non-radial blading designs at all operating points considered, by maximum of 1.5% at design conditions and 5% at off-design conditions, particularly at low pressure ratio. As non-radial fibre blading may be susceptible to high centrifugal and thermal stresses, a structural analysis was performed to assess the feasibility of each design. Most of non-radial blading designs showed acceptable levels of stress and deformation.


Author(s):  
Kevin Cremanns ◽  
Dirk Roos ◽  
Arne Graßmann

In order to meet the requirements of rising energy demand, one goal in the design process of modern steam turbines is to achieve high efficiencies. A major gain in efficiency is expected from the optimization of the last stage and the subsequent diffuser of a low pressure turbine (LP). The aim of such optimization is to minimize the losses due to separations or inefficient blade or diffuser design. In the usual design process, as is state of the art in the industry, the last stage of the LP and the diffuser is designed and optimized sequentially. The potential physical coupling effects are not considered. Therefore the aim of this paper is to perform both a sequential and coupled optimization of a low pressure steam turbine followed by an axial radial diffuser and subsequently to compare results. In addition to the flow simulation, mechanical and modal analysis is also carried out in order to satisfy the constraints regarding the natural frequencies and stresses. This permits the use of a meta-model, which allows very time efficient three dimensional (3D) calculations to account for all flow field effects.


1999 ◽  
Vol 122 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Inoue ◽  
M. Kuroumaru ◽  
T. Tanino ◽  
M. Furukawa

Evolution and structure of multiple stall cells with short-length-scale in an axial compressor rotor have been investigated experimentally. In a low-speed research compressor rotor tested, a short-length-scale stall cell appeared at first, but did not grow rapidly in size, unlike a so-called “spike-type stall inception” observed in many multistage compressors. Alternatively, the number of cells increased to a certain stable state (a mild stall state) under a fixed throttle condition. In the mild stall state the multiple stall cells, the size of which was on the same order of the inception cell (a few blade spacings), were rotating at 72 percent of rotor speed and at intervals of 4.8 blade spacings. With further throttling, a long-length-scale wave appeared overlapping the multiple short-length-scale waves, then developed to a deep stall state with a large cell. In order to capture the short-length-scale cells in the mild stall state, a so-called “double phase-locked averaging technique” has been developed, by which the flow field can be measured phase locked to both the rotor and the stall cell rotation. Then, time-dependent ensemble averages of the three-dimensional velocity components upstream and downstream of the rotor have been obtained with a slanted hot-wire, and the pressure distributions on the casing wall with high-response pressure transducers. By a physically plausible explanation for the experimental results, a model for the flow mechanism of the short-length-scale stall cell has been presented. The distinctive feature of the stall cell structure is on the separation vortex bubble with a leg traveling ahead of the rotor, with changing the blade in turn on which the vortex leg stands. [S0889-504X(00)00701-7]


Author(s):  
Kirubakaran Purushothaman ◽  
Sankar Kumar Jeyaraman ◽  
Ajay Pratap ◽  
Kishore Prasad Deshkulkarni

This paper describes a methodology for obtaining correct blade geometry of high aspect ratio axial compressor blades during running condition taking into account of blade untwist and bending. It discusses the detailed approach for generating cold blade geometry for axial compressor rotor blades from the design blade geometry using fluid structure interaction technique. Cold blade geometry represents the rotor blade shape at rest, which under running condition deflects and takes a new operating blade shape under centrifugal and aerodynamic loads. Aerodynamic performance of compressor primarily depends on this operating rotor blade shape. At design point it is expected to have the operating blade shape same as the intended design blade geometry and a slight mismatch will result in severe performance deterioration. Starting from design blade profile, an appropriate cold blade profile is generated by applying proper lean and pre-twist calculated using this methodology. Further improvements were carried out to arrive at the cold blade profile to match the stagger of design profile at design operating conditions with lower deflection and stress for first stage rotor blade. In rear stages, thermal effects will contribute more towards blade deflection values. But due to short blade span, deflection and untwist values will be of lower values. Hence difference between cold blade and design blade profile would be small. This methodology can especially be used for front stage compressor rotor blades for which aspect ratio is higher and deflections are large.


Author(s):  
Wei Zhu ◽  
Songtao Wang ◽  
Longxin Zhang ◽  
Jun Ding ◽  
Zhongqi Wang

This study aimed to enhance the understanding of flow phenomena in low-reaction aspirated compressors. Three-dimensional, multi-passage steady and unsteady numerical simulations are performed to investigate the performance sensitivity to tip clearance variation on the first-stage rotor of a multistage low-reaction aspirated compressor. Three kinds of tip clearance sizes including 1.0τ, 2.0τ and 3.0τ are modeled, in which 1.0τ corresponds to the designed tip clearance size of 0.2 mm. The steady numerical simulations show that the overall performance of the rotor moves toward lower mass flow rate when the tip clearance size is increased. Moreover, energy losses, efficiency reduction and stall margin decrease are also observed with increasing tip clearance size. This can be mostly attributed to the damaging impact of intense tip clearance flow. For unsteady simulation, the result shows periodical oscillation of the tip leakage vortex and a “two-passage periodic structure” in the tip region at the near-stall point. The occurrence of the periodical oscillation is due to the severe interaction between the tip clearance flow and the shock wave. However, the rotor operating state is still stable at this working point because a dynamic balance is established between the tip clearance flow and incoming flow.


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