Numerical Performance and Flow Field Study of Centrifugal Compressor With Supercritical Carbon-Dioxide (SCO2)

The Supercritical carbon-dioxide Brayton cycle main attraction is due to the Supercritical characteristic of the working fluid, carbon-dioxide (SCO2). Some of the advantages of using SCO2 are relatively low turbine inlet temperature, the compression work will be low, and the system will be compact due to the variation of thermodynamic properties (like density, and specific heat ratio) of SCO2 near the critical point. SCO2 behave more like liquid when its state is near the critical point (Total Pressure = 7.39 MPa, Total Temperature = 305 K), operating compressor inlet near critical point can minimize compression work. For present study the centrifugal compressor was designed to operate at 75,000 rpm with pressure ratio (P.R) = 1.8 and mass flow rate = 3.53 kg/s as available from Sandai report. Meanline design for centrifugal compressor with SCO2 properties was done. The blade geometry was developed using commercial CAD Ansys Bladegen. The flow domain was meshed using Ansys TurboGrid. ANSYS CFX was used as a solver for present numerical study. The thermodynamic properties of SCO2 were imported from the ANSYS flow material library using SCO2.RPG [NIST thermal physics properties of fluid system]. In order to ensure the change in flow physics the mesh independence study was also conducted. The present paper discuss about the performance and flow field study targeting different mass flow rates as exit boundary condition. The comparison of overall performance (Pressure Ratio, the Blade loading, Stage efficiency and Density variation) was done with three different mass flow rates. The designed and simulated centrifugal compressor meets the designed pressure rise requirement. The variation of mass flow rate on performance of centrifugal compressor was tend to be similar to conventional centrifugal compressor. The paper discusses about the effect of variation in density, specific heat ratio and pressure of SCO2 with different mass flow outlet condition. The performance map of numerical study were validated with experiment results and found in good agreement with experimental results. The change in flow properties within the rotor flow passage are found to be interesting and very informative for future such centrifugal compressor design for special application of SCO2 Brayton cycle. 80% mass flow rate has given better results in terms of aerodynamic performance. Abrupt change in thermodynamic properties was observed near impeller inlet region. Strong density variations are observed at compressor inlet.

Enclosure Phenomenon in Varying Forced Flow Convection

Systematic experimentation was carried out on forced convection heat transfer apparatus under varying non-linear flow conditions to understand the energy transfer as heat, with the purpose of enhancing performance of numerous engineering applications. Plate orientations, types of enclosures (solid, meshed, perforated), flow velocity variations etc. are taken as governing parameters to effect convective heat transfer phenomenon which is perceived as deviations in value of heat transfer coefficient. RV zonal system is utilized to simplify the fundamental understanding of heat transfer coefficient variation with surface orientation under varying flow field. The objectives of this work are as follows: 1) To establish relative effectiveness of forced convective heat transfer under varying flow field. 2) To investigate the implications of varying shapes and sizes of perforations on confined forced convective heat transfer. To understand the controlling mechanism and role of key controlling parameters.

Finite Element Model Based Full Spectrum Response Analysis of a Cracked Rotor With Internal and External Damping

The ratio of internal and external damping is one of the important fault parameters and it leads to instability of a rotor shaft at higher spin speeds. The crack in a rotor is one of the sources of its instability due to the crack internal damping. A rotor with crack internal damping that originates from the rubbing action between the two crack faces. For a sustained stable operation of the rotor, it is imperative to analyze rotor parameters such as the internal and external damping and other parameters, like the additive crack stiffness and disc eccentricity. Therefore, the present work considers a full spectrum response analysis of a transverse cracked shaft based on the finite element method. The rotary and translations of inertia are considered including of gyroscopic effect in the rotor system. The transverse crack is modeled based on the switching crack assumption. The crack in the rotor gives forcing with multiple harmonics with the forward and backward. The equation of motion has been developed for the rotor system having four degrees of freedom at each node and using MATLAB™ Simulink the responses are generated for a numerical example.

Effect of Tip Gap Variation on the Performance of the Transonic Fan Stage With Tandem Stator

The main goal of modern axial compressor development is to increase the power to weight ratio with higher efficiency. In the present investigation, highly loaded single stage axial compressor with tandem stator vanes is used. Tandem vanes help in attaining the compact compressor stage along with high pressure loading. It is designed for a stage pressure ratio of 2, mass flow rate of 9.02 kg/s operating at 30800 rpm resulting in transonic flow field. The aerodynamic performance of this compressor detoriates due to the tip leakage and secondary flows. Steady-state numerical investigation is carried out to study the flow structures near the tip region of transonic rotor and how different tip gaps influence the overall performance of the compressor. Further the effects of tip leakage flow variation on the performance of tandem vanes are also highlighted. Transonic fan stage with baseline tip gap of 0.5mm is analyzed along with different tip clearance values ranging from 0 % to 3 % of axial chord. Three-dimensional viscous Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes (RANS) equations are solved using SST k-ω turbulence model. Computational domain discretized with high quality hexahedral elements (Y+ < 2) in AUTOGRID, Numeca. The numerical procedure is verified against the experimental results of Rotor37 transonic rotor test case. Tip leakage losses contribute a substantial amount to the total loss of stage. Overall performance and the stall characteristics for the compressor stage has been evaluated for different tip gap variations.. Further, the topological properties are exploited to visualize the critical points and separation lines on rotor and tandem vanes. Increase in rotor total pressure loss coefficient is observed with increasing tip gap. In contrary, overall total pressure loss coefficient improves for smaller tip gap values and then detoriates. It is observed optimum tip gap height lies close to the 1.125mm, 2% of baseline design value.

Studies on the Outline of Flow Improvement With Speed Ratio in a Counter Rotating Turbine

Flow through the Counter Rotating Turbine (CRT) stage is more complex due to the presence of two rotors that rotate in the opposite direction, the spacing between them and the tip clearance provided on rotors. This flow aspect may change, if we change the parameters like speed, spacing and blade angles. Current effort contains simulation studies on the flow topology of CRT through dissimilar speed ratios in the range of 0.85–1.17. CRT components stator and the rotors are modelled. At nozzle inlet, stagnation pressure boundary condition is used. At the turbine stage or rotor 2 outlet, mass flow rate is specified. Skin friction lines are drawn on rotor 1 as well as rotor 2 on all over the blade. Not much variation of skin friction lines is witnessed in rotor 1 on the pressure side with exception to the position of the separation line close to leading edge. On suction side, skin friction lines are more uniform when the speed ratio is greater than 1. Skin friction lines on rotor 2 pressure surface show the presence of re-attachment lines. The position of the nodal point of separation near the hub remained same, but the strength is decreasing with speed ratio. On rotor 2 suction side, near the tip, all along the stream wise direction, line of re-attachment is observed that spreads from leading edge to trailing edge, whose strength is varying with speed ratio. Near the hub as well, line of re-attachment is observed, which is of more intensity in lower speed ratios. For the same region in rotor 1, there is proper reattachment as nodes are observed instead of lines, suggesting that more improved flow is occurring in rotor 1 than rotor 2. Thus, the present paper identifies the flow modification with speed ratio in a counter rotating turbine. Also, effort is made to see the consequence of flow change on the output of CRT.

Identification of Wake Convection and Flow Outline in the Interface Region of Blade Rows With Axial Gap in a Counter Rotating Turbine

In a Counter Rotating Turbine (CRT), the stationary nozzle is trailed by two rotors that rotate in the opposite direction to each other. Flow in a CRT stage is multifaceted and more three dimensional, especially, in the gap between nozzle and rotor 1 as well as rotor 1 and rotor 2. By varying this gap between the blade rows, the flow and wake pattern can be changed favorably and may lead to improved performance. Present work analyzes the aspect of change in flow field through the interface, especially the wake pattern and deviation in flow with change in spacing. The components of turbine stage are modeled for different gaps between the components using ANSYS® ICEM CFD 14.0. Normalized flow rates ranging from 0.091 to 0.137 are used. The 15, 30, 50 and 70% of the average axial chords are taken as axial gaps in the present analysis. CFX 14.0 is used for simulation. At nozzle inlet, stagnation pressure boundary condition is used. At the turbine stage or rotor 2 outlet, mass flow rate is specified. Pressure distribution contours at the outlets of the blade rows describe the flow pattern clearly in the interface region. Wake strength at nozzle outlet is more for the lowest gap. At rotor 1 outlet, it is less for x/a = 0.3 and increases with gap. Incidence angles at the inlets of rotors are less for the smaller gaps. Deviation angle at the outlet of rotor 1 is also considered, as rotor 1-rotor 2 interaction is more significant in CRT. Deviation angle at rotor 1 outlet is minimum for this gap. Also, for the intermediate mass flow rate of 0.108, x/a = 0.3 is giving more stage performance. This suggests that at certain axial gap, there is better wake convection and flow outline, when compared to other gap cases. Further, it is identified that for the axial gap of x/a = 0.3 and the mean mass flow rate of 0.108, the performance of CRT is maximum. It is clear that the flow pattern at the interface is changing the incidence and deviation with change in axial gap and flow rate. This study is useful for the gas turbine community to identify the flow rates and gaps at which any CRT stage would perform better.

Numerical Simulation Studies on the Performance of a Diffuser Attached With Last Stage Compressor Outlet Guide Vanes

Combustor pre-diffuser is an important element connecting the compressor and combustor. The design of pre-diffuser should be in such a way that the flow velocity to be within allowable limit to hold the flame in the combustor and also it should recover pressure with less amount of total pressure loss. The general practice is to design the compressor and combustor separately for their performance. However, integrated design of outlet guide vanes and pre-diffuser is given importance, on nowadays, to improve the overall performance. Basically, the outlet guide vane blades are modified to improve the performance. In the present work, numerical simulations studies have been carried out for a well-known high speed compressor, NASA Stage 37, to identify the influence of blade parameters. The computational domain consists of compressor rotor, stator and combustor pre-diffuser. The stator blades serve as outlet guide vanes. In literature, studies were shown that there is improvement in introducing blade sweep. Also, blade lean was shown some advantages for the case of a pre-diffuser with axial inlet and radial outlet with flow turning. However, in the present case of axial inlet and axial outlet, blade lean has not shown improvement in the performance. A diffuser showing slightly unstable condition in the conventional design, Area Ratio (AR) of 1.5 in the present case, has shown improvement with the presence of blade sweep.

Numerical Prediction of Cooling Performance Sensitivity of 1st Stage Nozzle Guide Vane Under Aerothermal Conditions

To obtain high power and thermal efficiency, the 1st stage nozzle guide vanes of a high-pressure turbine need to operate under serious circumstances from burned gas coming out of combustors. This leads to vane suffering from effects of high thermal load, high pressure and turbulence, including flow-separated transition. Therefore, it is necessary to improve vane cooling performance under complex flow and heat transfer phenomena caused by the integration of these effects. In fact, these effects on a high-pressure turbine vane are controlled by several factors such as turbine inlet temperature, pressure ratio, turbulence intensity and length scale, vane curvature and surface roughness. Furthermore, if the vane is cooled by film cooling, hole configuration and blowing ratio are important factors too. These factors can change the aerothermal conditions of the vane operation. The present work aims to numerically predict sensitivity of cooling performances of the 1st stage nozzle guide vane under aerodynamic and thermal variations caused by three parameters i.e. pressure ratio, coolant inlet temperature and height of vane surface roughness using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) with Conjugate Heat Transfer (CHT) approach. Numerical results show that the coolant inlet temperature and the vane surface roughness parameters have significant effects on the vane temperature, thereby affecting the vane cooling performances significantly and sensitively.

Design, Fabrication and Analysis of an Electric Ducted Fan

Driven by rapid development in battery technology and increase in scope for electric air taxi vehicles, developing an efficient combustion free propulsion system to pair with an electric aircraft is crucial for future of aircraft industry. However, with current technology, ducted fan configuration engines are the only feasible option when it comes to combustion free propulsion system which are already being used in many unmanned drones and unmanned aerial vehicles. In the present work, simple design, analysis and fabrication of ducted fan is performed. Propeller fan and duct is designed using basic principles of blade element theory and momentum theory. Using the parameters from the theoretical design phase, 3D model is made and fabricated using 3D printing and assembled to fit with tolerances suitable for mounting motor. A test stand capable of measuring thrust by varying rpm is designed and built using Arduino based interface. Finally, the designed model is analyzed in Ansys CFX for thrust output using an MRF simulation.

Local-Correlation Based Zero-Equation Transition Model for Turbomachinery

In this paper, we present a new local-correlation based zero-equation transition model. The new model, which is derived from the local-correlation based one-equation gamma transition model (Menter, F. R., Smirnov, P. E., Liu, T., and Avancha, R., A One-Equation Local Correlation-Based Transition Model, Flow, Turbulence and Combustion, vol. 95, 2015, pp. 583619.), does not require any additional equation to be solved, by defining a new variable, which captures the turbulent kinetic energy and intermittency collectively. The new model only adds three more source terms to the existing transport equation of turbulent kinetic energy. Hence the new model is straightforward to implement in already existing RANS solvers and reduces the computational memory requirement as compared to the other transition models. The transition prediction capability of the new model is tested and compared against the one-equation gamma transition model, especially for turbomachinery applications, where bypass transition is the primary transition mechanism, using a standard flat plate test case, and S809 airfoil. Preliminary results show that the new zero-equation transition model produces satisfactory results in terms of transition-location prediction.