Data-Driven Analysis of Tortuous Gas Turbine Inlet Truncation to Reduce Computational Cost

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To computationally simulate the flow profile at the aerodynamic interface plane of a compressor coupled with a tortuous inlet system, copious amounts of computational power are required if the ducting is modeled in its entirety. Numerous computational fluid dynamic studies have truncated the inlet system at different locations, however, the full implications of this decision on the distortion profile have not been delineated, nor is there strong substantiation in open literature to justify this modeling choice. This paper analyzes the effects of this decision. Experimental inlet distortion data from an auxiliary power unit inlet system installed onto the Single Stage Centrifugal Compressor facility were utilized to determine model performance. The experimental distortion data were utilized to assess the modeling capabilities of a reduced computational model that was truncated at the radial-to-axial inlet plenum compared to a full-fidelity simulation modeling the inlet system in its entirety. The results demonstrate that if the inlet system terminates in a radial-to-axial inlet plenum with subsonic flow, then only modeling this component with a uniform total pressure deficit at the inlet of the plenum provides comparable results to a full-fidelity simulation while drastically reducing model size.