Axial Flow Research Articles

Quantifying the Tip Leakage Vortex Wandering in a Low-Speed Axial Flow Fan via URANS Simulation

The tip leakage vortex is a dominant noise and aerodynamic loss source of low-speed axial flow fans. The tip leakage vortex often has an unsteady behavior, like the periodic motion of the vortex core: the so-called vortex wandering. This periodic vortex wandering results in additional noise, aerodynamic loss, and an oscillation in the moment acting on the blading, which causes an unfavorable vibration of the rotor. In the research campaigns focusing on vortex wandering, complicated measurement techniques (PIV) or high-fidelity but computationally costly simulations are commonly used. The present paper aims to introduce a relatively cost-effective unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes simulation-based investigation method of vortex wandering. The capabilities of the proposed technique are presented through a low-speed axial flow fan case study.

A study on the internal vortex structure within a single-blade pump via numerical methods and particle image velocimetry experiments

This study investigates the performance and internal flow characteristics of a single-blade centrifugal pump through a comprehensive analysis integrating performance tests, Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) tests, and numerical simulations. Across the operational speed range of 1470–2940 rpm, the predicted pump (head-flow rate curve)performance error between the numerical simulation results and the test results of the pump underrated flow conditions is found to be only 3.4%, demonstrating the high accuracy of the selected numerical method in predicting both performance metrics and internal flow structures. Key findings highlight the presence of significant circumferential and axial secondary flows in the region where the blade wraps back, resulting in the formation of high-intensity vortex structures and subsequent energy dissipation. The interaction of the blade's trailing jet with the volute casing's tongue induces periodic changes in the intensity and spatial size of these vortex structures. Furthermore, pronounced reverse vortex pairs are identified within the volute casing, attributed to axial non-uniformity in impeller outflow. These vortex pairs are associated with the preferential accumulation of solid particles, potentially contributing to wear in the volute casing of single-blade centrifugal pumps. The revelation of the evolution characteristics of vortex structure in single-blade centrifugal pumps provides theoretical support for reducing pressure pulsation and radial force of single-blade centrifugal and provides a potential solution to the technical difficulties of low efficiency and poor stability of single-blade centrifugal pumps. Overall, this study provides valuable insights into optimizing the design and operational efficiency of single-blade centrifugal pumps by elucidating their complex flow dynamics and performance characteristics under varying operational conditions.

Numerical Simulation and Model Test on Pressure Fluctuation and Structural Characteristics of Lightweight Axial Flow Pump

In order to explore the relationship between the hydraulic performance, pressure pulsation, and structural characteristics of lightweight axial flow pumps, this paper takes the axial flow pump as the research object and analyzes pressure pulsation and structural characteristics by changing the blade length and thickness to realize the lightweight design of the axial flow pump impeller. Compared with the initial scheme (Scheme 1), the mass of the impeller is reduced by 17.2% (Scheme 2) and 29.9% (Scheme 3), respectively. The lightweight axial flow pump (Scheme 2 and Scheme 3) has a lower pressure pulsation amplitude at the impeller outlet monitoring point under large flow conditions. After the lightweight design of the axial flow pump impeller, the blade becomes shorter, the mass becomes lighter, and the cavitation performance will become worse. The maximum equivalent stress of Scheme 2 and Scheme 3 is increased by 2.8% and 31.9%, respectively, compared to Scheme 1. The maximum deformation of Scheme 3 increased by 27% compared to Scheme 1. This research can provide guidance for the lightweight optimization design of the axial flow pump.

Stall Inception Analysis on Axial Compressors With Different Rotor Loading Distributions Under Radial Inlet Distortions

Abstract Stability studies were conducted on a single-stage, low-speed compressor with different rotor loading-distribution designs under a uniform inlet, 10% intensity, and 20% intensity total tip pressure distortion inlet conditions via numerical calculations, theoretical model predictions, and experimental methods. The steady numerical performance was in basic agreement with experimentally measured performance. The theoretical prediction model showed an error within 1.5%, which is less than that of the steady numerical calculation. The total tip pressure distortion reduced flow stability. Conversely, the design of moving the rotor loading axially rearward significantly improved the flow stability. The blade loading analysis showed that the radial distortion caused a radial redistribution of rotor loading. The increase in the rotor-tip loading due to tip distortion was the main reason for the reduced flow stability. In contrast, the design of moving the rotor loading axially rearward reduced the rotor-tip leading-edge loading, enhancing the flow stability. Moreover, an analysis of the unsteady flow validated the findings of the blade loading analyses. It was found that the periodic evolution of the tip leakage vortex (TLV) had an adverse effect on flow stability. In addition, the modified rotors could prevent the tip leakage flow (TLF) from spilling from the leading edge and prevent the interaction of different diffusing regions, decreasing the probability of flow separation.

Sensitivity Analysis for Flow Stability of Axial Compressor Based on Meridional Flow

Sensitivity Analysis for Flow Stability of Axial Compressor Based on Meridional Flow

The Influence of Bleed Position on the Stability Expansion Effect of Self-Circulating Casing Treatment

The self-circulating casing treatment can effectively expand the stable working range of the compressor, with little impact on its efficiency. With a single-stage transonic axial flow compressor NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) Stage 35 as the research object, a multi-channel unsteady numerical calculation method was used here to design three types of self-circulating casing treatment structures: 20% Ca (axial chord length of the rotor blade tip), 60% Ca, and 178% Ca (at this time, the bleed position is at the stator channel casing) from the leading edge of the blade tip. The effects of these three bleed positions on the self-circulating stability expansion effect and compressor performance were studied separately. The calculation results indicate that the further the bleed position is from the leading edge of the blade tip, the weaker the expansion ability of the self-circulating casing treatment, and the greater the negative impact on the peak efficiency and design point efficiency of the compressor. This is because the air inlet of the self-circulating casing with an air intake position of 20% Ca is located directly above the core area of the rotor blade top blockage, which can more effectively extract low-energy fluid from the blockage area. Compared to the other two bleed positions, it has the greatest inhibitory effect on the leakage vortex in the rotor blade tip gap and has the strongest ability to improve the blockage at the rotor blade tip. Therefore, 20% Ca from the leading edge of the blade tip has the strongest stability expansion ability, achieving a stall margin improvement of 11.28%.

A Simplified Model for Propeller Thrust in Oblique Flow

New aircraft architectures are being proposed for unmanned aerial vehicles and air taxis, which include tilt-able motor and propellers. These propulsive units operate with a propeller axis at an angle oblique to the flight direction, and thus it is important to understand and model how thrust is produced by a propeller operating under these conditions. Propellers in oblique flow have been modeled using Blade Element Momentum Theory coupled to an inflow model, and the Vortex Lattice Method. In the present work, we develop a much simpler approach that neglects the crossflow component of the incoming air velocity. An advance ratio is developed based on the parallel inflow component, and is coupled to existing propeller data collected in axial flow conditions. The proposed model is evaluated using existing experimental data collected under oblique flow conditions, and is predicts thrust to within \(5\,\%\) of experimental values for most conditions. The greatest discrepancy between the model and experiments occurs in the pure crossflow case, which is of lesser importance in the application to unmanned aerial vehicles and air taxis.

Influence of manufacturing errors on the aerodynamic working stability of axial flow compressors

In turbomachinery, manufacturing errors in blades have been found to impact aerodynamic performance. This paper aims to investigate the effect of manufacturing errors on the stability of compressor operation. To this end, a geometric uncertainty reduced-order model is developed to generate the normal profile error of rotor blades based on specific tolerances, considering the simultaneous variation of blade parameters during manufacturing. The stability margin improvement of the compressor is then calculated using computational fluid dynamics (CFD), and a neural network is employed to predict the relationship between the uncertainty input variables and the stability margin improvement. Finally, a large number of samples are generated using the Quasi-Monte Carlo method, and Sobol sensitivity analysis is performed. According to the results, manufacturing errors can reduce the stability margin by an average of 0.9% and up to 3% in the limiting case. The parameters that have the greatest impact on the stability of the compressor are the blade chord length of the hub section and the maximum thickness of the tip section. These two parameters affect blade tip blockage by influencing spanwise secondary flow on the suction surface. Additionally, the decrease in maximum thickness at the tip section affects the separation of the boundary layers on the suction surface, resulting in additional effects.

A Perspective on the Process and Turbomachinery Design of Compressed Air Energy Storage Systems

Abstract The present paper will describe the Baker Hughes experience in the development of the turbomachinery equipment for Hydrostor's advanced compressed air energy storage (A-CAES) system. At the core of a compressed air energy storage (CAES) plant, there is an air compressing system, followed by an air expander used to recover the stored energy. To achieve a reliable and effective solution, the expander is obtained from the architecture of Baker Hughes steam turbines, which was adapted to match the specific process needs. The criticalities that were addressed and solved to derive the expanders from the original steam turbine are presented. Specifically, the paper describes the activities performed to optimize the inlet and exhaust sections of each segment, the development of the blades for high atmospheric volume flow, and the implications that thermal transients have on the machine reliability. The inlet and exhaust sections were arranged according to the layout constraints, which were set to mitigate the effects of the thermal stresses and to reduce the weight to facilitate the machine transportation, while maintaining high aero-performance. As for the expander, a single-body configuration was selected to optimize capital expenditures and reduce leakage to atmosphere. A new set of blades derived from Baker Hughes's Steam Turbine stages were developed. This new stage is characterized by rotating blades with high radius ratio (HRR); therefore, an optimization strategy was adopted to include the mechanical constraints from the beginning of the design cycle and obtain a final geometry that can be used with different flow path and operating conditions. Finally, the three-dimensional full Navier Stokes Computational fluid dynamics analysis was used to assess the performance of the new stages in nominal and off-design conditions. A detailed analysis of the thermal transient of the expander parts with finite element analysis methods was performed to assess the life expectations of the equipment. The finite element analysis results are discussed in the paper to show the capability of the machine to sustain an extremely fast start up sequence. Compressor train is characterized by a multiple body configuration. A detailed optimization was performed to improve the efficiency and the availability of the selected solution. The low-pressure axial compressor discharge section has been optimized to reduce losses and a detailed study of rotor has been performed to evaluate the capability to withstand a high number of start and stop cycles.

Numerical investigation of the influence of suction surface synthetic jet on the performance of transonic axial flow compressor

In order to investigate the effect of suction surface synthetic jet on the aerodynamic performance of transonic axial compressor, Rotor35 was used for numerical simulation. The results show that at four different positions, the stability margin of the compressor is slightly reduced by suction surface excitation, but there is an optimal position that can improve the compressor total pressure ratio and efficiency. At this position, there is little change in the total pressure ratio at the peak efficiency, and the efficiency is improved by 0.58%. The total pressure ratio and efficiency of the design point are increased by 0.18% and 0.55%, respectively. The periodic excitation of synthetic jet can effectively separate the suction surface and reduce the separation loss, which is the reason for the improvement of compressor efficiency. However, for the transonic compressor, synthetic jet on the suction surface obstructs the radial migration vortex that reaches the tip to the exit, but cause it to gather in the tip channel, resulting in the blockage and reduction of the stability margin of the compressor. In order to take into account the stability margin of the compressor, the coupled flow control is carried out by combining the casing treatment with synthetic jet on the suction surface. The results show that the flow margin of the compressor is increased by 8.76%, the total pressure ratio is increased by 1.76%, and the efficiency is only decreased by 0.13%. In coupled flow control, the suction and injection effects of the casing treatment can make up for the negative influence of synthetic jet on the tip flow, effectively improve the tip flow and expand the stable working range of the compressor. Compared with flow control that only carries out casing treatment, coupled flow control can exert the advantages of synthetic jet suppressing suction surface separation, reduce shock loss, outlet loss and casing treatment loss, and make up for the shortage of excessive efficiency reduction after casing treatment, which is the main reason for the improvement of compressor performance.

Unsteady Flow Structure of Rotating Instability in a 1.5-Stage Axial Compressor

Abstract Unsteady flow structure of the rotating instability (RI) in a 1.5-stage axial compressor is investigated through experimental and numerical analyses. In the tested compressor, the total pressure rise of the rotor stagnates at a certain flow coefficient before it increases again towards lower flow rate in a case involving a wide tip clearance. The RI appears beyond this stagnant point as the compressor is throttled. The RI indicates a gentle hump in the frequency spectra of wall pressure or the flow velocity near the tip in a range approximately 20 to 40% of the blade-passing frequency. As the flow rate decreases, the mode order of the RI increases, in contrast to more commonly reported tendency, while the propagation velocity remains constant. These features are well captured by DES of the half-annulus model. At its onset, RI is formed by the collision of the tip leakage vortex onto the pressure surface of the adjacent blade and subsequent vortex segmentation. This vortex structure spans two blade passages and propagates in the direction opposite to the rotor rotation. As the compressor is throttled, RI becomes more dominated by the circumferential propagation of vortex breakdown of tip leakage vortices, which occur simultaneously among neighboring passages with slight phase differences. The mechanism is discussed in relation to the temporal change in the blade tip loading. The frequency of vortex shedding increases with the reduction in flow rate and thus the increase in the number of RI disturbances.

Numerical implementation of electrostatic solver within OpenFOAM for GT intake filtration

Abstract Gas turbines require filtered air to preserve operability, availability, and efficiency. Fouling, corrosion, and erosion severely affect the performance of the axial compressor and it can be in part prevented by filtering the air intake. For this reason, it is possible to use multiple filter stages in series to obtain a high level of capture efficiency. Traditionally, separation is achieved using porous material cartridges, which guarantee a high level of filtration but with an increasing pressure drop over time. Another common type of filter is the inertial one, whose operating principle is based on the inertial force acting on the solid particles to separate them from the mainstream. The capturing efficiency of the inertial filter is not comparable with that of the porous one, so it is used upstream as a pre-filter. In recent years, another technique has been developed to filter air flows thanks to an electrostatic field induced inside the flow. In the present work, numerical investigations are carried out to simulate the effect of the electrostatic force on gas turbine filtering systems. The CFD tool used is OpenFOAM, whose official release does not contain a library able to simulate the electrostatic force acting on the discrete phase. A new library was developed to calculate: the electric field, the electric potential, and the charge density of the continuous phase. Simulation results show how the calculation of these quantities allows us to predict the electrostatic force acting on particle flows in the presence of electrostatic fields

Modeling Stochastical Particle Rebound based on High Velocity Experiments

Abstract Solid particle erosion is a major deterioration process which contributes to performance deterioration of modern axial compressors. The prediction of this deterioration process requires the correct computation of particle movement through the machine and their resulting impacts on the effected components. Especially for particles with high Stokes numbers the movement is determined mainly by the particle wall interaction, which is described by coefficients of restitution. Today, they are derived from experiments featuring high particle velocities and target materials, which are representative for turbomachinery applications. In this study, an already published rebound model is optimized for particle materials and velocities within high pressure compressors. The statistical spread of the rebound experiment is evaluated and the implementation into the rebound model is shown, which improves the prediction capability of the model. The model is implemented into a CFD software and numerical simulations are performed. The model is applied to a cylinder test specimen within a sand blast facility. The simulation shows the importance of the stochastics of the rebound, which is often neglected in particle wall models. Moreover, the numerical study shows requirements for the test specimen and its positioning in the experimental setup, which are prerequisites for the derivation of the coefficients of restitution using two dimensional particle evaluation equipment.

Multi-Fidelity Aeromechanical Design Framework for High Flow Speed Multistage Axial Compressors

Abstract The development of novel engine architectures is vital in achieving the aviation sector’s net-zero carbon emission target by 2050. With today’s digital decade providing support for an accelerated technology maturation, the challenge for turbomachinery design remains to significantly push the limits of current performance within an ambitious development lead time. In this context, it is essential to adopt a design framework where the predictive models or simulations employed target a sufficiently reliable performance assessment. These models must be tailored to the dynamics of evolving industrial design processes, and therefore continuously balance required design flexibility, robust evaluation, appropriate fidelity (i.e. the level of detail and accuracy they provide), and resulting evaluation time. This paper discusses a framework for designing axial compressors and its application to the aeromechanical optimisation of a high-speed compressor rotor. The design environment integrates geometry parametrisation, modular evaluation with different levels of fidelity for the aerodynamic and structural models, and surrogate-based optimisation (SBO) capabilities. It is shown how the combination of a modular sequencing of the different models and the acceleration enabled by high-performance computing (HPC) and machine learning allows for a more advanced preliminary design. A significant gain in isentropic efficiency is attained while satisfying all structural constraints. At the same time, it is demonstrated that the framework is compatible with the characteristics of the preliminary design phase: both in its ability to adapt to cycle and design changes as well as regarding the turnaround time of the optimisation itself.

An Experimental Study on the Effects of Nonuniform Vane Spacing on Forced Response Reduction in a Mistuned Rotor Blisk in a Multistage Axial Compressor

Abstract Stators with nonuniform vane spacing (NUVS) are known to effectively reduce the forced response of adjacent rotors by spreading the primary engine order (EO) excitation at a certain speed to a series of weaker excitations at nearby EOs over a wider speed range. To be used in a real gas turbine engine, it is essential to know the forced response vibratory reduction that can be achieved for a specific NUVS configuration at different operating conditions. The classical estimation method to predict the blade response reduction is to quantify the reduction of the forcing function at a potential resonance crossing by conducting a circumferential Fourier analysis of the asymmetric flow field. However, besides excitation reduction, the blade forced response also depends on other factors, such as damping and blade-to-blade interactions due to mistuning. To study the blade forced response reduction in a realistic environment, a comprehensive experimental study was conducted in the Purdue three-stage axial research compressor at three different loading conditions. The vibratory response of the first torsion (1 T) mode forced response of rotor 2 was measured by strain gages (SGs) for two different upstream stator 1 configurations: the symmetric 38-vaned stator 1 configuration and the NUVS stator 1 configuration with 18–20 vane halves. As expected, the strong 38EO-1T response from the symmetric stator reduced to a series of weaker responses from 35EO to 41EO in the NUVS configuration. The overlap of adjacent EO responses caused considerable beating phenomena in the blade SG time–history data. There was substantial blade-to-blade variation in blade response for both symmetric and asymmetric stator 1 configurations due to the inherent nonintentional mistuning in the rotor 2 blisk. This, in turn, causes a large blade-to-blade variation in the reduction factors. While higher responding blades tend to have larger reduction factors, some blades show almost no forced response reduction when switching to the NUVS stator. In addition, the reduction factors for each blade and the maximum reduction factor for the whole blisk also change significantly with loading conditions. The measured reduction factors and the peak response EO are not well predicted by the classical estimation method. This indicates that both damping and mistuning effects need to be considered in the NUVS reduction factor prediction.

An Analytical Study on the Effects of Non-Uniform Vane Spacing on Forced Response Reduction in a Mistuned Blisk Rotor in a Multistage Axial Compressor

Abstract Stators with non-uniform vane spacing (NUVS) have been sought as an effective way to reduce the rotor-forced response at certain resonance crossing of concern. A comprehensive experimental study has been conducted in Purdue three-stage axial research compressor to evaluate the effectiveness of the NUVS stator on reducing the forced response of the downstream rotor using strain gauge measurement. The experimental results showed that the classical estimation method failed to predict the reduction factor correctly, mainly due to the lack of consideration for the damping and mistuning effects. To better understand the experimental results, and to provide an efficient and more accurate analysis tool for the rotor forced response under NUVS stator excitation, a detailed analytical study was conducted in this paper. The blade-forced response was solved using an efficient, steady-state linearized approach. A single-blade analysis was done first to study the effect of damping. The case studies show that higher damping causes more overlap of the blade forced response from adjacent engine order excitations and, thus, increases the total normalized blade response under NUVS stator excitation. A mistuned blisk aeroelastic model was introduced next, with the mistuning effect modeled using the fundamental mistuning model. Both structural coupling and aerodynamic coupling effects can be included in the aeroelastic model. Similar to the experimental results, the mistuned blisk case study shows a large blade-to-blade variation in the blade-forced response under both symmetric and asymmetric NUVS stator excitation, even at a low, non-intentional mistuning level. A statistical study with 100 randomly generated mistuned blisks shows that the forced response reduction effect of a specific NUVS design could vary significantly with a small change of the mistuning pattern, which suggests that mistuning has to be carefully considered in the design, evaluation, and optimization of the NUVS stator.

Analysis on stall mechanism of axial flow compressor with rotating inlet distortion by dynamic mode decomposition

To study the impact of rotating inlet distortion on stall mechanism of an axial compressor, the full-annulus unsteady simulation results are analysed using dynamic mode decomposition (DMD). Firstly, the frequency and energy ratio of each mode at near stall condition for the compressor with uniform inflow are obtained. A dominating frequency band 0.3–0.6 BPF regarded as the characteristic frequency of unsteady tip leakage flow is observed. The distribution of eigenvalues further confirms that there are a few critical unstable modes in the flow field. With further throttling, four large-scale disturbance structures are captured by the second-order mode, whose frequency is twice as the rotor frequency. The circumferential propagation velocity of the stall cell is thus deduced to be about 50% of the rotor speed. Further, when the compressor is subjected to rotating inlet distortion, the change of stalling process is related to the relative position of distortion plate and stall cell according to the DMD mode frequency and shape. The addition of rotating distortion does not change the stall type of the compressor, but the unstable modes indicate that the number and shape of the stall cells have been varied.

RANS Capabilities for Transonic Axial Compressor: A Perspective From GPPS Computational Fluid Dynamics Workshop

Abstract Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) simulations currently serve as the prevailing industrial method for simulating axial compressor flows, and this status is expected to persist in the foreseeable future. To evaluate the capabilities of contemporary RANS solvers for compressors, this article presents a statistical analysis of RANS simulation results submitted to the first and the second Global Power and Propulsion Society (GPPS) computational fluid dynamics (CFD) workshops, where blind tests on the TUDa-GLR-OpenStage transonic axial compressor were performed. The workshops were held online in December 2021 and in a hybrid format at Chania, Greece, in September 2022, which are the first primary turbomachinery CFD workshops following the 1994 International Gas Turbine Institute (IGTI) CFD blind test event on NASA Rotor 37. A total of 35 submissions were received from 12 distinct RANS solvers, contributed by 14 participants affiliated with 11 organizations across 5 countries. Participants include academic researchers, engineers from the turbomachinery industry, and developers of commercial CFD solvers. First, the grid convergence behavior exhibited by various solvers employing different turbulence models is examined. Afterward, the prediction accuracy of the ensemble of the simulation results is evaluated, and the representative simulation results are compared and analyzed in detail. The key factors that improve the prediction accuracy are identified. These results foster improved usage and further development of turbomachinery RANS solvers.

Modeling and Visualization of Coolant Flow in a Fuel Rod Bundle of a Small Modular Reactor

This article presents the results of an experimental study of the coolant flow in a fuel rod bundle of a nuclear reactor fuel assembly of a small modular reactor for a small ground-based nuclear power plant. The aim of the work is to experimentally determine the hydrodynamic characteristics of the coolant flow in a fuel rod bundle of a fuel assembly. For this purpose, experimental studies were conducted in an aerodynamic model that included simulators of fuel elements, burnable absorber rods, spacer grids, a central displacer, and stiffening corners. During the experiments, the water coolant flow was modeled using airflow based on the theory of hydrodynamic similarity. The studies were conducted using the pneumometric method and the contrast agent injection method. The flow structure was visualized by contour plots of axial and tangential velocity, as well as the distribution of the contrast agent. During the experiments, the features of the axial flow were identified, and the structure of the cross-flows of the coolant was determined. The database obtained during the experiments can be used to validate CFD programs, refine the methods of thermal-hydraulic calculation of nuclear reactor cores, and also to justify the design of fuel assemblies.

Analysis of single shaft turbojet engines structures and evaluation their safety with the use of FDM-A and FAM-C diagnostic methods

The article reviews the main stages of development of single-shaft turbojet engines. Selected construction of these engines are presented divided into three periods (before, during and after World War II) and two main jet engine schemes were discussed (with a centrifugal compressor and an axial compressor). The SO-3 jet engine installed on the TS-11 “Spark” aircraft was chosen to present the method of assessing the safety of structures. The FDM-A diagnostic methods developed in AFIT were used to experimentally verify the technical condition of the engine and FAM-C, based on the analysis of disturbances in the instantaneous rotational speed of the engine shaft. The results of tests related to the assessment of engine shaft misalignment, the assessment of the degree of wear of the engine shaft bearings and the assessment of the shaft clamping force in the bearings are presented. The summary lists the main advantages of single-shaft turbojet engines (simplicity of design for a solution with a centrifugal compressor and high thrust enabling breaking the sound barrier) and their disadvantages (complex design for a solution with an axial compressor and high failure rate of shaft bearing supports as the most loaded engine component).