Bifurcation Characteristics of Flows in Rectangular Sudden Expansion Channels

The effect of three-dimensionality on low Reynolds number flows past a symmetric sudden expansion in a channel was investigated. The geometric expansion ratio of in the current study was 2:1 and the aspect ratio was 6:1. Both experimental velocity measurements and two- and three-dimensional simulations for the flow along the centerplane of the rectangular duct are presented for Reynolds numbers in the range of 150 to 600. Comparison of the two-dimensional simulations with the experiments revealed that the simulations fail to capture completely the total expansion effect on the flow, which couples both geometric and hydrodynamic effects. To properly do so requires the definition of an effective expansion ratio, which is the ratio of the downstream and upstream hydraulic diameters and is therefore a function of both the expansion and aspect ratios. When the two-dimensional geometry was consistent with the effective expansion ratio, the new results agreed well with the three-dimensional simulations and the experiments. Furthermore, in the range of Reynolds numbers investigated, the laminar flow through the expansion underwent a symmetry-breaking bifurcation. The critical Reynolds number evaluated from the experiments and the simulations was compared to other values reported in the literature. Overall, side-wall proximity was found to enhance flow stability, helping to sustain laminar flow symmetry to higher Reynolds numbers in comparison to nominally two-dimensional double-expansion geometries. Lastly, and most importantly, when the logarithm of the critical Reynolds number from all these studies was plotted against the reciprocal of the effective expansion ratio, a linear trend emerged that uniquely captured the bifurcation dynamics of all symmetric double-sided planar expansions.

The Aerodynamics of Three-Dimensional Vaned Diffusers in Industrial Centrifugal Compressors

Vaned diffusers have been used successfully as efficient and compact dynamic pressure recovery devices in industrial centrifugal compressor stages. Typically such diffusers consist of a cascade of two-dimensional blades distributed circumferentially at close proximity to the impeller exit. In this paper three low-solidity diffuser blade geometries are numerically investigated. The first geometry employs variable stagger stacking of similar blade sections along the blade span. The second employs linearly inclined stacking to generate blade lean along the diffuser span. The third geometry employs the conventional two-dimensional low-solidity diffuser geometry with no variable stagger or lean. The variable stagger blade arrangement has the potential of better aligning the diffuser leading edges with the highly non-uniform flow leaving the impeller. Both variable stagger and linearly leaned diffuser blade arrangements, however, have the effect of redistributing the blade loading and flow streamlines in the spanwise direction leading to improved efficiency and pressure recovery capacity of the diffuser. In this paper a description of the proposed diffuser geometries is presented. The results of Three-dimensional Navier-Stokes numerical simulations of the three centrifugal compressor arrangements are discussed. Comparisons between the performance of the two and three-dimensional diffuser blade geometries are presented. The comparisons indeed show that the variable stagger and leaned diffusers present an improvement in the diffuser operating range and pressure recovery capacity over the conventional two-dimensional diffuser geometry.

Modeling of the Vortex-Structure in a Particle-Laden Mixing-Layer

Numerical calculations of a particle-laden turbulent horizontal mixing-layer based on the Eulerian-Lagrangian approach are presented. Emphasis is given to the determination of the stochastic fluctuating fluid velocity seen by the particles in anisotropic turbulence. The stochastic process for the fluctuating velocity is a “Particle Langevin equation Model”, based on the Simplified Langevin Model. The Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes equations are closed by the standard k-epsilon turbulence model. The calculated concentration profile and the mean, the root-mean-square (rms) and the cross-correlation terms of the particle velocities are compared with particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements. The numerical results agree reasonably well with the PIV data for all of the mentioned quantities. The importance of the modeled vortex structure “seen” by the particles is discussed.

Cavitation Experiments on Turbopump Inducers and Hydrofoils at Alta/Centrospazio: Overview and Future Activities

The aim of the present paper is to provide some highlights about the most interesting experimental activities carried out during the years 2000–2004 through the CPRTF (Cavitating Pump Rotordynamic Test Facility) at Centrospazio/Alta S.p.A. After a brief description of the facility, the experimental activities carried out on a NACA 0015 hydrofoil for the characterization of the pressure coefficient on the suction side and evaluation the cavity length and oscillations are presented. Then, the results obtained to characterize the performance and the cavitation instabilities on three different axial inducers are showed: in particular, a commercial three-bladed inducer, the four-bladed inducer installed in the LOX turbopump of the Ariane Vulcain MK1 rocket engine and the “FAST2”, a two-bladed one manufactured by Avio S.p.A. using the criteria followed for the VINCI180 LOX inducer. The most interesting results are related to the effects of the temperature on the cavitation instabilities on hydrofoils and inducers. Experiments showed that some instabilities, like the cloud cavitation on hydrofoils and the surge on inducers, are strongly affected by the temperature, while others seem not to be influenced by the thermal effects. In the final part of this paper, some indications of the main experimental activities scheduled for the next future are provided.

Pump Performance Improvement by Restraining Back Flow in Screw-Type Centrifugal Pump

The authors have been investigating the various characteristics of screw-type centrifugal pumps, such as pressure fluctuations in impellers, flow patterns in volute casings, and pump performance in air-water two-phase flow conditions. During these investigations, numerical results of our investigations made it clear that three back flow regions existed in this type of pump. Among these, the back flow from the volute casing toward the impeller outlet was the most influential on the pump performance. Thus the most important factor to achieve higher pump performance was to reduce the influence of this back flow. One simple method was proposed to obtain the restraint of back flow and so as to improve the pump performance. This method was to set up a Ring-like wall at the suction cover casing between the impeller outlet and the volute casing. Its effects on the flow pattern and the pump performance have been discussed and clarified to compare the calculated results with experimental results done under two conditions — namely, one with and one without this Ring-type wall. The influence of wall’s height on the pump head was investigated by numerical simulations. In addition, the difference due to the wall’s effect was clarified to compare its effects on two kinds of volute casing. From the results obtained it can be said that restraining the back flow of such pumps was very important to achieve higher pump performance. Furthermore, another method was suggested to restrain back-flow effectively. This method was to attach a wall at the trailing edge of impeller. This method was very useful for avoiding the congestion of solids because this wall was smaller than that used in the first method. The influence of these factors on the pump performance was also discussed by comparing simulated calculations with actual experiments.

Numerical Simulation of Boiling Flows Using an Eulerian Multi-Fluid Model

A mathematical model to simulate boiling flows in industrial applications is presented. Following the Eulerian multifluid framework, separate sets of mass, momentum, and energy conservation equations are solved for liquid and vapor phases, respectively. The interactions between the phases are accounted for by including relevant mass, momentum, heat exchanges and turbulent dispersion effects. Velocity-pressure coupling is achieved through a multiphase version of the SIMPLE method and the standard k-ε turbulence model is employed. In order to validate and assess the accuracy of the boiling model, subcooled nucleate boiling flows in a vertical annular pipe are simulated in the steady-state mode. The computed axial velocities, volume fractions, temperature profiles are compared with available experimental data (Roy et al., ASME J. of Heat Transfer, Vol. 119, 1997). The result obtained by assuming a constant value for the bubble diameter shows a reasonable agreement, but several limitations are observed in the details. A more advanced mathematical model incorporating separate transport equations for the bubble number density and the interfacial area is suggested.

A Novel Vibrating Ribbon Technique

A novel vibrating ribbon apparatus is described that is active over the full span of a wind tunnel test section. The spanwise uniformity of the vibration amplitude and other ribbon characteristics are considered in detail. The height of each end of the ribbon above the test plate can be adjusted in situ, while the ribbon is vibrating and with flow in the test section, thereby allowing the response of the layer to be easily tuned. The growth of the wave amplitude downstream of the ribbon is shown to agree with numerical predictions. However, two or three wavelengths of development are required before the wave amplitude follows the predicted growth. The flow around an inactive ribbon is examined using a commercial CFD solver and features such as a miniature separation bubble just downstream of the ribbon are revealed. The distance required for the mean flow to recover from the disturbance introduced by the ribbon is greater when the ribbon is located further from the wall. The mean flow recovers to form a boundary layer that is slightly thicker than the undisturbed flow. Experimental measurements indicate that the distance required for the wave motions to follow predicted behavior is about 4 or 5 times larger than distance for recovery of the mean flow.

An Analytic and Experimental Investigation of the Aerodynamic Performance Enhancements of Multiple Winglet Configurations

An experimental effort was undertaken to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of three winglets mounted chordwise to the tip of a rectangular wing (NACA 0018 section). The winglets, with an aspect ratio of 3.6, were mounted on a half-span wing having an aspect ratio of 3.1. Twenty configurations of varying dihedral arrangements were analyzed with a vortex lattice method and tested in a low-speed wind tunnel at a Reynolds number of 600,000. In general, the arrangements involving high dihedral angles had lower performance increments, due to lower lift and higher interference drag. More specifically, the results showed that the winglets placed at 60, 45, and 30 degrees, respectively, produced nominal 4% higher lift and 46% lower drag. The most dramatic findings from this study show that positioning the winglet dihedral angles had the result of adjusting the point of maximum L/D and the magnitude of the pitching moment coefficient. These observations suggest that multiple winglet dihedral changes affect the lift, drag, and pitching moment in such a way that they are feasible for use as actively-controlled surfaces to improve the performance of aircraft at various flight conditions and to “tune” the longitudinal stability characteristics of the wing.

Flow Field Analysis of Under-Expanded Supersonic Jets Impinging on an Inclined Flat Plate: Analysis With PSP/Schlieren Images and CFD Simulations

Flow fields of Mach number 2.2 jet impinging on an inclined flat plate are experimentally investigated using the Pressure Sensitive Paints (PSP) and Schlieren flow visualization. The flow filed structure is mainly determined by two geometrical parameters (nozzle-plate distance and plate angle against the jet) and one flow parameter (pressure ratio). The results suggest that all the observed flow fields can actually be classified into three types of flow structure based on the three parameters above. As an extension of the authors’ earlier work, experiments are carried out for higher plate angles. The new results show the effectiveness and limitation of the classification that we proposed. To find out the flow structure, some of the flow fields are computationally simulated. Good agreement of the pressure distributions with the experiment validates the simulation. Although analysis so far is limited, the result reveals three dimensional complex flow structure that created pressure peaks over the plate surface.

Experimental Study of Vortex Shedding From a Solid Sphere in Turbulent Freestream

The study of vortex shedding from a sphere assumes an important role because of its relevance to numerous aerodynamic and hydrodynamic applications. Parameters such as coefficient of drag and static pressure distribution are largely influenced by vortex shedding, and it is found by past studies that the freestream turbulence can interact and alter the vortex formation and shedding drastically. Most of these studies, however, were conducted in the low Reynolds number regime and the vortex shedding results had been described only qualitatively. To better understand the aerodynamics of a sphere in turbulent flow, an experimental study was initiated in a low speed wind tunnel to quantify the vortex shedding characteristics. The Reynolds number of the flow, based on the diameter of the sphere (d), was set at 3.3 × 104, 5 × 104 and 6.6 × 104 by varying the mean flow velocity. The sphere was placed at 20D (= 7.5d) downstream from a perforated plate, where D = 37.5 mm is the size of the holes in the perforated plate, uniquely designed for generating near-isotropic turbulence. Hot-wire measurements were taken at 10D (= 3.75d), 20D (= 7.5d) and 30D (= 11.25d) downstream of the sphere in absence and presence of the perforated plate. The vortex shedding frequency was deduced from the instantaneous flow velocity data.