Suppression and utilisation of aeroelastic behaviour in turbine-based combined cycle inlet

Abstract

This study develops a two-way loosely coupled aeroelastic analysis framework based on a finite-volume fluid solver, a nonlinear finite-element solid solver and the Mesh-based parallel Code Coupling Interface. Research focuses on aeroelastic behaviour in a turbine-based combined cycle inlet after verifying the fluid solver and the coupling strategy through three benchmarks consisting of the inlet experimental model, the classical panel flutter problem and the deformation of a cantilever plate subjected to a shock tube flow. Coupling calculation shows that structural damping is limited only to the vibration suppression of deformable components under constant backpressure but exerts no evident influence on flow field oscillation induced by splitter plate vibration or perturbation from downstream dynamic backpressure. Interestingly, panel deformation (or forced vibration) has a positive impact on the stabilisation of the flow field. The use of a flexible panel with low thickness (e05) successfully prevents the shock train from transitioning, stabilising the performance profiles at the outlet even under dynamic backpressure. Pressure adjustment in the potentially unstable region through panel deformation is assumed to be the solution to weakening the disturbance from splitter plate vibration, which differs from the energy transfer theory under dynamic backpressure that is often found in the literature.