Suction Side Research Articles

Design method based on a new slip-diffusion parameter of centrifugal pump for multiple conditions in wide operation region

Centrifugal pumps are widely used in industrial production, agricultural irrigation, water transportation, energy storage pump station and ocean engineering, and the development prospect of centrifugal pump is to work in a wide operation region with high efficiency. In this work, the achievement of high-efficiency operation for multiple conditions in a wide operation region is strenuously realized by a new design method from the perspective of flow mechanism analysis and theoretical derivation. A new dimensionless slip-diffusion parameter Φ on consideration of the slip effect and diffusion effect in impeller is proposed. On the basis of the new parameter Φ, a new design method of centrifugal pump is established to improve the pump efficiency for multiple conditions in a wide region. Two centrifugal pumps with different specific speeds of 102 and 127 are designed to validate the proposed design method. When the slip-diffusion parameter Φ ≈ 0.677, the centrifugal pump can achieve the maximum average efficiency for multiple conditions. For Φ < 0.677, the pump efficiency rapidly drops at the high flow rate region. For Φ > 0.677, the pump efficiency rapidly drops at the low flow rate region. Two centrifugal pumps are numerically simulated to obtain the flow pattern, and the entropy production method is used to analyze the relationship between flow field and energy performance of the pumps. Entropy production mainly appears at the blade suction side and the impeller outlet. For different flow rates, the total entropy productions of pumps with Φ ≈ 0.677 are always the minimum.

Fluidic Flow Control Devices for Gust Load Alleviation

A reduction in the structural weight and climate-relevant emissions of future transport aircraft can be realized through active gust load alleviation, limiting the peak aerodynamic loads experienced in flight. Two fluidic concepts, surface and Coandă jets, offer promising solutions. The surface jet induces a separated flow region on the wing’s suction side near the trailing edge, while the Coandă jet utilizes tangential blowing over a rounded trailing edge to make use of the Coandă effect for direct circulation control. This study investigates these fluidic actuation concepts using two-dimensional unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes simulations on a supercritical airfoil to alleviate gust-induced lift increases. Results reveal that fluidic concepts can surpass the load reduction capability of a trailing edge flap. Notably, the Coandă-type design, while more efficient, exhibits limited control authority compared to surface jet, achieving maximum gust load reductions of 40% versus 70% for surface jet. Optimizing the temporal deployment of the surface jet leads to increased peak lift reduction. Even under challenging conditions with reduced gust anticipation time and actuator placement near the wing tip with a reduced chord length, the surface jet maintains consistent performance and therefore offers a promising solution for active gust load alleviation on future aircraft.

Study on mechanism of unsteady gas-liquid two-phase flow in liquid-ring vacuum pump

To investigate the gas-liquid two-phase flow mechanism in liquid-ring vacuum pump, the large-eddy simulation coupled with volume-of-fluid method (LES-VOF) was used to numerically simulate the unsteady gas-liquid flow characteristics in pump. The structure of gas-liquid flow within pump and its dynamic evolution characteristics were studied, and the hydraulic excitation characteristics induced by gas-liquid flow were analyzed. The result shows that the channel vortex inside the impeller on the pump suction side gradually flows out of the flow passage with the rotation of the impeller, and continuously mixes with the wake vortex at the outlet of the impeller and the separation vortex at the inner wall of the casing. The evolution and development of vortex structures with different intensities and scales near the inner wall of the suction side casing have a relatively large contribution to pressure fluctuation. The wake vortex at the impeller outlet of the exhaust side gradually enters the flow passage and dissipates gradually with time. There is an obvious high-intensity backflow vortex in the exhaust section due to the pressure difference between the flow channels near the leading edge of the exhaust port, which leads to obvious rotor-stator interaction in the exhaust section.

Impact of tapered leading-edge micro-cylinder on the performance of wells turbine for wave energy conversion: CFD-optimization algorithms coupling study

Oscillating water column-based Wells turbine is one of the potential possibilities for wave energy conversion. The early turbine stall caused an early performance loss, limiting the power produced and the operating range. The present work intends to boost the output power and operating range of the Wells turbine by using a tapered leading-edge micro-cylinder. This design is unique in that the micro-cylinder's diameter and its distance from the leading-edge change along the blade span. A response surface optimization technique based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is used to determine the optimal dimensions of the new design. Utilizing the optimal new design in the upgraded Wells turbine significantly increases power output and operating range, specifically by 78.13% and 33.33%, respectively. According to comprehensive flow analysis, the novel micro-cylinder design generates a pair of vortices that successfully reduce axial flow velocities close to the suction side across a sizable portion of the blade span. This, in turn, results in the postponement of flow separation towards the trailing edge.

Numerical investigation and parametric study of NACA 0009 airfoil with bumps inspired by mako-shark skin denticles

In the current research, a numerical study of 53 airfoils inspired by the surface scales of the mako-shark skin based on NACA0009 airfoil has been performed. The airflow simulations were performed in different angles of attack from 4° to 11° and the validations are presented in two stages compared with two different studies. The diagrams of [Formula: see text] parameter, shear stress, pressure coefficient, and also the contours of velocity and streamlines are reported. The results of the lift, drag, and diagram of lift to drag ratios have been presented and analyzed for different geometries and angles of attack. The results show that by creating bumps’ pattern taken from the shark skin mounted over the suction side of the airfoils the ratio of lift to drag increases. For example up to 28% increment of average of Cl/Cd in the above mentioned range of angles of attack can be obtained utilizing just one bump with 0.7 mm thickness (0.7% of chord length) mounted at 23% of the chord on suction side.

Influence mechanism of tip clearance on flutter stability with different aerodynamic coupling effects for transonic compressor

Flutter is a highly destructive aeroelastic problem in modern compressors, which hinders the improvements of aero-engine performance and reliability. Because the aerodynamic work is mainly concentrated in the blade tip region, the tip clearance which is associated to the complex tip clearance flow has a considerable effect on the flutter stability. In this paper, in order to investigate the influence mechanism of the tip clearance on the flutter stability at different nodal diameters (ND), a series of compressor models were established with different tip clearances based on a transonic compressor rotor. The aerodynamic damping at each ND is obtained by influence coefficient method (ICM), while phase-shifted boundary method (PSB) is adopted to analyze the influence of the tip clearance on the flutter stability at different NDs. The results indicate the worst flutter stability for each tip clearance always appears at ND=1, where the aerodynamic damping exhibits a nonmonotonic trend of increasing first and decreasing thereafter along with the rising tip clearance. Two kinds of action are exerted by the tip clearance flow on the flow structures to alter the flutter stability: one is the tip clearance vortices which is generated on the suction side and impinge on the pressure side; the other is the interference of tip clearance vortices to the shock wave and to the flow separation. Besides, the influence of the changing aerodynamic coupling effect makes the above action bring about more drastic fluctuations to the unsteady pressure. At larger NDs, the unsteady pressure amplitude and phase fluctuate more sharply for larger tip clearances. Therefore, diverse change trends of the aerodynamic damping with the increasing tip clearance appear at different NDs, while the impingement of tip clearance vortices on the adjacent pressure side has a constantly stabilizing effect at different NDs.

On the dynamics of the turbulent flow past a three-element wing

A comprehensive analysis of the unsteady flow dynamics past the 30P30N three-element high lift wing is performed by means of large eddy simulations at different angles of attack (α = 5°, 9°, and 23°) and at a Reynolds number of Rec=750 000 (based on the nested chord). Results are compared with experimental and numerical investigations, showing a quantitatively good agreement and, thus, proving the reliability and accuracy of the present simulations. Within the slat and main coves, large recirculation bubbles are bounded by shear layers, where the onset of turbulence is triggered by Kelvin–Helmholtz instabilities. In the energy spectrum of the velocity fluctuations, the footprint of these instabilities is detected as a broadband peak; its frequency being moved toward lower values as the angle of attack increases. Kelvin–Helmholtz vortices roll-up and break down into small scales that eventually impinge into the slat and main coves lower surfaces. The slat impingement shows to be more prominent, and hence, larger velocity and pressure fluctuations are observed. The impingement strength diminishes with the angle of attack in both coves, while higher fluctuations are originated on the slat and main respective suction sides, leading to larger boundary layers. This is associated with the displacement of the stagnation point with the angle of attack. Another salient feature observed is the laminar-to-turbulent flow transition in the main and flap leading edges although the average location of this transition seems to not be affected by the angle of attack. Tollmien–Schlichting instabilities precede this transition, with the disturbances amplified by the inviscid mode at low angles of attack, while at α=23°, the local Reynolds number on the main suction side is incremented and the viscous mode becomes important. The analysis shows that the turbulent wake formed at the trailing edge of all elements dominates the dynamics downstream. This is especially true at the higher angle of attack, where a large region of velocity deficit above the flap is observed, thus indicating the onset of stall conditions.

Experimental study on multiple characteristics of multi-source AE signals during cavitation process of waterjet propulsion pump

In order to investigate the cavitation-induce acoustic emission (AE) characteristics of a waterjet propulsion pump, a synchronous experimental system consisting of a test pump, a high-speed camera, and acoustic emission sensors has been established. The characteristic parameters of AE signals are extracted to established the quantitative relationships between cavitation status and AE signals. These characteristic parameters mainly consist of the ringing count rate Rc , energy release rate Er , and Hurst index Hi . The cavitation status of the test pump is reflected in the characteristic parameters of the AE signals obtained by the sensors installed at different locations. The incipient blade suction side (SS) cavitation as well as the blade tip gap cavitation can be detected through the change of characteristic parameters of AE signals at impeller inlet. The start of head drop can be reflected by the variety of characteristic parameters of AE signals at impeller middle. Large-scale cavitation will lead to the breakdown of pump performance and dramatically characteristic parameters’ change of AE signals can be measured by the sensors located at impeller outlet.

Experimental investigation of pressure fluctuation in a mixed-flow pump under gas–liquid two-phase flow conditions

The flow in mixed-flow pumps under gas–liquid operating conditions is complex, involving special phenomena such as secondary flow and bubble breakup and coalescence. As a result, its pressure fluctuation characteristic is far different from that under pure water conditions. In this work, the energy performance, pressure fluctuation characteristics, and flow pattern under different inlet gas volume fractions (IGVFs) are studied through a visualization test in a mixed-flow pump. The air pocket forms easily close to the suction side of diffuser vanes, where two pressure fluctuation monitoring points are set up. The pressure increment decreases continuously when the IGVF increases, and the flow pattern shows a transition from bubble, condensed bubble, and air pocket to separated flow. Moreover, the pressure fluctuation amplitude and peak-to-peak values increase. The main frequency under different IGVFs is maintained as the blade passing frequency. When the IGVF increases to 15%, the peak-to-peak amplitude at P1 reaches the maximum, which is 2.24 times that of the pure water condition. Some amplitudes at one frequency fluctuate at different times when the IGVF is higher than 10%. The findings contribute theoretical support in improving the stability of multiphase pumps.

Effects of tip clearance on non-synchronous aerodynamic excitation of compressor rotor blades

The unstable tip flow of compressor rotor may cause the aeroelastic problems, inducing the non-synchronous vibration with high amplitude level, which has a significant effect on blade high cycle fatigue and safety. In order to investigate the effects of tip clearance on non-synchronous aerodynamic excitation of compressor rotor blades, the full annular numerical simulations were conducted for the unsteady flow field of a 1.5-stage compressor under near stall conditions. The frequency characteristics of non-synchronous aerodynamic excitation and tip unstable flow structure were analysed for different tip clearances (0.5%C, 1.0%C, 2.0%C, and 3.0%C). The results showed that the frequency and amplitude are strongly influenced by the tip clearance size. For 0.5%C tip clearance, the main frequency of non-synchronous aerodynamic excitation is the low-frequency aerodynamic excitation frequency, which is mainly caused by tornado-like vortex in the tip suction side, the dominant aerodynamic disturbance mode number is 19. For 2.0%C and 3.0%C tip clearance, the dominant aerodynamic disturbance mode number is 47, and the main aerodynamic excitation frequency is high frequency non-synchronous aerodynamic excitation frequency, mainly caused by the shedding vortices propagating circumferentially at the blade tip, exhibiting the feature of “rotating instability”.

Multidisciplinary Prediction of Spatial–Temporal Evolution of Creep Damage on an Internally Cooled Turbine Vane

Abstract One of the main causes of damage to gas turbine nozzle guide vanes (NGVs) is creep, which threatens the safety and reliability of gas turbines. Although creep life prediction has been applied to design and maintenance, creep damage is still frequently observed. Inadequate knowledge of the spatial–temporal evolution of creep damage makes it difficult to evaluate and accurately protect NGVs against abnormal creep damage. An integrated aero-thermal-structural simulation method based on conjugate heat transfer (CHT), computational fluid dynamics (CFD), and finite element method (FEM) is proposed to predict the spatial–temporal evolution of creep damage in the NGVs with internal cooling structures. In the temporal dimension, creep life is calculated by Larson–Miller parameters. In the spatial dimension, creep damage is characterized by a parametric modeling and CHT mesh generation procedure. The predicted results show that creep damage forms a groove or crack along the span at the leading edge of the suction side where the stress concentrates, which is similar to the frequently observed damage on the actual NGVs. The interactions between creep damage, flow, and heat transfer are discussed. The increase in turbine inlet temperature significantly shortens the time required for creep formation and evolution. It is suggested that creep damage through the NGV wall could radically alter the heat transfer and flow, resulting in a 30 K increase in average leading edge temperature. As a result, the evolution of creep damage is self-promotingly accelerated.

Heat Transfer Coefficient and Adiabatic Effectiveness Measurements on a Nozzle Guide Vane With a Single Row of Cylindrical Holes

Abstract Film-cooling injection significantly affects the thermal behavior of turbine vane surfaces. In addition to the beneficial effect of the film shielding the vane from the hot gas flow, alteration of the thermal boundary layer should also be taken into account. The aim of the present work is to detail the film-cooling performance in terms of adiabatic effectiveness and external heat transfer coefficient on a 2D nozzle guide vane. A single row of cylindrical holes was tested on both pressure and suction sides of a literature vane, the VKI LS89, in a linear cascade. The employed measurement technique is a transient thermal method based on infrared thermography, which was thoroughly described and validated in a previous work. The influence of inlet freestream turbulence and blowing ratio was evaluated, and two different injection angles were considered for both pressure and suction sides. Spatially resolved distributions of adiabatic effectiveness and heat transfer coefficient (HTC) on the vane surface allow us to precisely quantify the above-mentioned aspects and highlight qualitative differences between pressure side and suction side behavior. Details regarding the generated non-uniformities in the measured parameters could be also provided, to emphasize how average quantities are not always sufficient to characterize such complex phenomena. The impact of different reference conditions to scale HTC results was also investigated. Such effect was found not negligible on the overall performance of the film-cooling system, especially on the suction side where transition plays a critical role. Ultimately, the collected results constitute a wide and detailed experimental database for numerical modeling validation in a well-studied environment as the LS89 configuration.

Numerical study on the three-dimensional flow of water film on the outer surface of the hollow stationary blade

In order to figure out the influence of water film on the performance of the turbomachinery, understand the mechanism of the interaction between the high-speed airflow and the water film in turbomachinery, and provide a reference for the design of the subsequent experiments and hollow stationary blade water removal by heating. The commercial software FLUENT with the Eulerian Wall Films model is used to establish a solution method for simulating the flow of water film on the blade. The accuracy of the solution method is verified by comparing it with the results of the water film thickness experiment on the surface of the plate. The distribution of the water film on the outer surface of the vane as well as the influence of the water film on the mainstream field are numerically studied in the condition of the wet steam mainstream. The results show that the gradient of water film thickness on the pressure surface is relatively gentle and is along the radial direction. The gradient of water film thickness on the suction side is along the axial direction, and the value is larger; There is a V-shaped water film agglomeration area on the suction surface near the trailing edge where the water film thickness is greater than 45.7 μm; The top areas on both the suction side and pressure side produce a local water film agglomeration area with the dual effect of the secondary flow and the centrifugal force of the mainstream; The water film flow on the blade surface has little influence of the steam velocity and the speed of the mainstream. The increase of local pressure on the surface leads to an increase in the pressure of the adjacent mainstream areas.

Natural laminar flow airfoil design via adjoint-based transition onset delay

This work is focused on the aerodynamic shape optimization (ASO) of airfoils with the aim of attaining natural laminar flow (NLF) designs. The two-equation Amplification Factor Transport (AFT) model is utilized for an accurate prediction of the transitional boundary layer flows. The NLF designs are achieved by utilizing two different objective functions. In the first approach, the conventional drag minimization problem is solved with a target lift coefficient. In addition, a second approach is proposed in this work that directly aims at delaying the transition onset on both the pressure and suction sides, thus expanding the natural laminar flow region around the airfoil. It is shown that by utilizing a sigmoid fitting of the turbulence index profile, the transition onset locations can be accurately predicted in a differentiable and smooth fashion, which is essential to the adjoint-based sensitivity analysis of the RANS solver. The efficacy of the proposed technique for NLF design has been tested for NACA 0012 and RAE 2822 airfoils at moderate lift coefficients. Results have shown that a significantly lower drag count can be achieved by delaying the transition onset locations compared to the case where only a drag minimization is sought. Additionally, the transition onset locations on both sides of the airfoil are delayed using our proposed technique which results in a significant expansion of the natural laminar flow region.

Numerical investigation of wind turbine wake characteristics using a coupled CFD-CSD method considering blade and tower flexibility

With the increase in wind turbine sizes, careful investigation into wind turbine wake effect is crucial for operational safety. This study proposes a two-way fluid-structure interaction (FSI) model combining large eddy simulation (LES) and computational structural dynamics (CSD) to investigate wind turbine wake characteristics. Examining the effect of blade and tower flexibility and inflow conditions, the study reveals negligible influence of blade and tower flexibility on mean velocity deficit under both inflow conditions. However, they significantly impact turbulence intensity under uniform inflow condition. The tower motion produces a maximum increase of approximately 45% while the blade flap-wise motion has the second-largest impact, increasing the maximum turbulence intensity by approximately 33% when compared with the fully rigid case. Additionally, the study quantitatively examines wake vortex inclination based on the inclination angle of the second-circle wake vortex structure. Finally, the study concludes that the streamline near the blade tip follows the blade surface, while the flow separation occurs near the blade root, generating two vortices on the suction side. As the tower motion is considered, the larger vortex exhibits alternate vortex shedding while the smaller vortex remains stable in both uniform and turbulent winds.

Experimental study on cylindircal particle movement in a slurry pump guide vane

To investigate the movement characteristics of cylindrical particles within a slurry pump, the particle trajectories, particle distributions, particle velocity, and passing time of particles in the guide vane are tested by high speed photography. The test results indicate that the pump performance decreases and the wear of the blade pressure side deteriorates with the increase of cylindrical particle densities. The particles primarily flow into the guide vanes from the suction side and flow out from the pressure side. The velocity loss of particles in the guide vanes increases, and the time for particles passing through the guide vanes increases with particle densities. As the cylindrical particle concentrations increase, the pump performance decreases, and the wear of the blade pressure side deteriorates. Additionally, the total velocity loss of particles in the guide vane increases, and the time for particles passing through the guide vane increases with concentrations. Compared with spherical particles, the pump performance is better when the pump conveys cylindrical particles, and the cylindrical particles are more likely to wear the middle of the guide vane flow channel. The particles mainly flow into the guide vanes from the suction side and flow out from the pressure side. The velocity loss of cylindrical particles in the guide vane is smaller than that of the spherical particles. The time of cylindrical particles passing through the guide vane is shorter than that of the spherical particles.

Numerical Study of the Boundary Layer Separation of a Low‐Pressure Turbine Cascade at Different Incidence Angles

Modern low‐pressure turbine (LPT) pursues high blade loading to improve its efficiency while the possibility of boundary layer separation on the blades is still a challenging problem. The incidence angle is one of the main factors affecting the flow separation and laminar‐turbulent transition, which is of key importance for the design of LPT. In this work, based on the initial simulation results obtained using the Reynolds‐averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) method, the flow past a single LPT cascade at three representative incident angles (i = −10°, 0°, +10°) is investigated using large‐eddy simulation (LES) method with approximately 26 million structured grids. The simulations are carried out with Open Source Field Operation and Manipulation (OpenFOAM) for an off‐design low Reynolds number condition Re = 40,000 and Ma = 0.5. The time‐averaged aerodynamic performances and three‐dimensional instantaneous flow characteristics of the LPT cascade are discussed in detail, and the results show that the blade loading and the transverse pressure gradient (TPG) from the pressure side to the suction side of leading edge (LE) increase with increasing incidence angle. At the incidence angle of +10°, the LPT cascade undergoes separation and reattachment from the LE to around 20% Cax on the suction surface, which weakens the separation phenomenon at the rear half of the suction surface and the total pressure loss downstream of the trailing edge (TE). It is worth noting that the RANS method underpredicts the blade boundary layer separation region compared with LES under these extreme conditions. These results may offer off‐design condition data for the future improvement of RANS models or experimental studies.

Effect of laser hardening and post hardening shot peening on residual stress evolution in X5CrNiCuNb16-4 steel for steam turbine blade applications

Laser-hardening process produces higher surface hardness and provides deeper hardness profile into the material. This increment in hardness reduces water-droplet erosion on steam turbine blades. In the present study, a steam turbine blade profile was subjected to laser-hardening process primarily on the suction side of the profile. This hardening process transformed tempered martensite structure of the unaffected material to a fine martensite structure at the processed zone with an intermediate transition zone being present in between them. The fine martensite was responsible for spike in hardness profile at the surface. When the laser-hardened blade was subjected to operational stresses, a number of parallel cracks formed on the blade profile in the direction perpendicular to the blade axis. Detailed investigations in the form of residual stress mapping revealed that a narrow interfacial region beside laser-hardened zone over the profile of the processed blade material, indicated presence of tensile residual stresses. This region was responsible for the formation of parallel cracks over the blade profile. A shot peening process was introduced post laser-hardening which resulted in the elimination of the tensile residual stress, thus, mitigating crack formation over the blade profiles upon application of operational stresses.

Role of wall roughness on interaction of leakage flow and main flow in a mixed flow pump with tip clearance

Due to machining precision, spraying coating, cavitation, and erosion, walls of pump flow passage components have different roughness, which will affect the flow state near the wall and even the main flow. In the present work, four types of roughness Ra = 0, 0.1, 1, and 10 μm are set to investigate the influence of wall roughness on the interaction of leakage flow and main flow in a mixed flow pump with tip clearance. Results show that the interaction area of leakage flow and main flow can be divided into three regions: (a) tip clearance zone, (b) shear flow zone, and (c) primary vortex zone. In the tip clearance zone, as roughness increases, the velocity magnitude and its derivative at the same wall distance gradually decrease, and the velocity angle at blade tip continuously increases in the inner circular boundary layer. As the roughness increases, the leakage flow gradually decreases, especially in the center chord region. In the shear flow zone, the velocity gradient rapidly decreases along the direction of pressure side to suction side, and finally, it becomes stable. As roughness increases, the velocity gradient intensity decreases, and the main reason is that the differences of velocity magnitude and velocity direction between the inner circular boundary layer and potential region decrease. In the primary vortex zone, the tip leakage vortex core indicated by the Liutex vortex method coincides with the low-pressure core location. As the roughness increases, the tip leakage vortex core becomes closer to the next blade. The pressure coefficient and vorticity of the tip leakage vortex core decrease with increasing of roughness, and the slopes remain constant on different cross sections with value of 5.9 × 103 and 2.4 × 103 m−1, respectively.

Energy dissipation mechanism of tip-leakage cavitation in mixed-flow pump blades

Tip leakage flow is one of the significant factors influencing the internal flow stability of mixed-flow pumps, and in severe cases, it can lead to channel blockage and energy loss. In order to gain a deeper understanding of the energy dissipation mechanism induced by tip leakage vortex cavitation, this study is based on the Wray–Agarwal (WA) turbulence model and the homogeneous flow model, investigating the cavitation flow characteristics of mixed-flow pumps. Additionally, the entropy production theory is employed to evaluate the energy losses within the mixed-flow pump and analyze the components of energy loss in the impeller and guide vanes. The research results reveal that with increasing cavitation intensity, the low-pressure region at the leading edge of the blade extends toward the trailing edge, influencing the static pressure distribution on the blade's pressure side. Leakage flow and the spatial distribution of leakage vortices move closer to the suction side of the blade with increasing cavitation intensity. Cavitation primarily affects the energy losses in the impeller region, with turbulent dissipation being the main source of energy loss. High turbulent dissipation zones are concentrated at the trailing edge of the blade, correlating with recirculation vortices and trailing-edge vortices. This study provides theoretical insights with practical implications for enhancing the cavitation performance of mixed-flow pumps, offering valuable guidance for design and operation.