Total Pressure Efficiency Research Articles

Effect of aging and manufacturing tolerances on multi-stage transonic axial compressor performance

The Axial compressor is an integrated part of a gas turbine. The central part of compressors is its blades. Blade aerodynamic has a significant effect on compressor performance. Because of the adverse pressure gradient in the compressor, any deviation in the blade profile has a significant influence on the flow field as well as the compressor performance. During the manufacturing and operation of a compressor, the blade profile may deviate from the nominal design. This deviation may happen within the manufacturing process, e.g., changing in stagger angle of the blade, changing in the maximum thickness of the blade profile or may occur in an operation process, e.g., increasing the blade surface roughness. By the way, these deviations affect the compressor performance. In this research, a numerical investigation is carried out to understand better the effects of geometry variability of the blades, including maximum thickness, blade surface roughness, and rotor blades stagger angle on the Transonic Axial compressor performance parameters, including the efficiency and pressure ratio. A CFD code, which solves the Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations, is employed to simulate the complicated 3D flow field of the axial compressor. The code is validated against experimental data for the axial compressor. The numerical result is in good agreement with the test dataand error at the design point for the efficiency was computed to be 0.3%, which shows high accuracy of the numerical method. Then, the effect of geometry variability on the axial compressor blade performance parameters is studied. Results show that increase in the surface roughness, blade thickness, and the rotor blades twist lowers the efficiency, pressure ratio and mass flow significantly in the compressor. Results show with a 10% increase of the blade installation angle at the design point, the mass flow rate decreases 1.93%, and the efficiency and pressure ratio decreases 0.35% and 1.8%, respectively. The blade surface roughness reduces the mass flow rate, total pressure ratio and efficiency of the compressor. The results show that imposing the roughness at the design point of the compressor, mass flow rate and efficiency is reduced 1.8% and 2.75 %, respectively. Meridional view of this compressor is shown in figure 1 in which the blade profiles for the first to fourth stages are DCA type [1].

Optimization design of axial fan blade

ABSTRACTA series airfoil was obtained through optimization design which aimed to promote lift–drag ratio, and the new airfoil series was used to construct a blade. The chord length and installation angle of the blade along the blade height were optimized by using orthogonal optimization. Three design options (straight blades, C-type blades and forward swept blades) are examined in this paper. Taking an axial fan as the research object, the whole 3D numerical simulation was conducted by using Ansys-CFX. Axial fans with three kinds of blades are discussed and compared under design and off-design conditions. The present results show that: under design conditions, the total pressure efficiency of the axial flow fan with the forward swept blade is the highest, and the C-type blade has slightly lower efficiency while the straight blade has the lowest efficiency. Under off-design conditions, the aerodynamic performance of the forward-swept blade and C-type blade fans are better than that of the straight-blade fans.

Multi-objective design optimization of a high efficiency and low noise blower unit of a car air-conditioner

Car air-conditioners consist of a blower unit and a heater unit. A blower unit sends wind to a heater unit, and a heater unit adjusts the temperature inside the vehicle. Blower units of car air-conditioners are required to be smaller, lighter, noiseless, and power-saving. However, it is difficult and expensive to predict the noise directly by computational fluid dynamics simulation. Hereupon, this study employs an indirect noise prediction method based on a noise prediction theory to evaluate noise for blower units inexpensively. This method is investigated through a comparison with actual sound pressure level measurement. Then, using this method, this study moves to design optimization of a blower unit of car air-conditioners. The optimization aims to improve total pressure efficiency and sound pressure level from the current design that has been employed for a real commercial vehicle. This study employs a genetic algorithm to explore global optima in a two-objective problem. The present genetic algorithm is assisted by the Kriging surrogate model to reduce computational cost required for evaluating objective functions. The optimization results indicate that the optimized blower unit involves a multi-blade fan with the high chord-pitch ratio to decrease the loss of total pressure efficiency, which is often induced by the flow separation on the blade and the swirling flow on the meridional plane. In addition, the sound pressure level of blower unit can be reduced by decreasing the local flow velocity on the meridian plane due to a blockage factor. A blower unit, which has a scroll with a large tongue angle, shows high total pressure efficiency because the increase in eddy loss is suppressed at the tongue. They suggest the importance of the matching of multi-blade fan and scroll to achieve the good overall performance of a blower unit.

The impact of various forward sweep angles on the performance of an ultra-high-load low-reaction transonic compressor rotor

The impacts of different forward sweep angles (FSAs) at a constant sweep height on the performance and flow field have been investigated by numerical simulation in a newly designed low-reaction ultra-high-load compressor rotor. The main intent is to reveal the underlying physical mechanism of forward sweep blading on the change in performance. The results show that as FSA increases, stall margin presents an increasing upward trend with a maximum enhancement of 27.8%. While total pressure ratio and efficiency increase first and then drop with a maximum improvement (0.40% and 0.19%, respectively, at peak efficiency point) at an FSA of 10 deg. Not all of the schemes can improve efficiency. When FSA exceeds 20 deg, there appears to be a noticeable deficit in peak efficiency for a forward sweep rotor comparing with the unswept rotor. As FSA increases, the passage shock becomes more and more oblique to the incoming flow. The size of the high loss region and tip leakage vortex decrease gradually. The radial vortex on suction surface shrinks at peak efficiency condition but enlarges near stall condition, and tip leakage flow/main flow interface increasingly moves forward.

Aerodynamic Optimization of a Centrifugal Fan Using Response Surface Methodology

In this paper, the optimization scheme of a centrifugal fan under the constraints of the total pressure difference, efficiency and shaft power was carried out. The blade inlet angle ß1A and the blade outlet angle ß2A of the centrifugal impeller were optimized using the Response Surface Methodology (RSM). Nine optimization cases were presented. The aerodynamic performance and the flow field of the optimized model were carefully compared with the original model. The results show that the total pressure difference and the total-pressure efficiency increase by 5.7% and 4.2% respectively after the optimization. Compared with the original fan, the flow field inside the impeller of the optimized fan has been improved. The flow separation existing around the blade suction surface outlet is suppressed significantly. For fields in the volute, the optimization scheme has reduced the local vortex intensity and weakened the vortex scale. The flow field stability around the volute tongue is also correspondingly improved.

The effect of blade slots on flow behaviour in a fan impeller

The use of blade slots is one of the passive methods of controlling flow in a fan impeller. Numerical CFD analyses indicate a possibility of controlling the point of flow separation in the inter-blade space depending on various configurations of the aperture arrangement. Bench studies confirm the possibility of changing the increase of total pressure and internal efficiency. Additionally, the changes affect the noise level during fan operation.

Numeryczna analiza charakterystyk wentylatora osiowego

The paper presents an analysis and comparison of basic characteristics of axial fans, both analytically and numerically. Such characteristics are: the characteristics of the total pressure, power and total efficiency as a function of the volumetric flow rate. The presented results showed significant quantitative and qualitative differences in the characteristics obtained by two methods. The usefulness of numerical methods in relation to the results of the initial analytical project was confirmed.

Design and Optimization of Tandem Arranged Cascade in a Transonic Compressor

This study proposed a design and optimization strategy for a tandem arranged cascade using the Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm (NSGA) II multi-objective optimization algorithm and Back Propagation (BP) neural network technology. The NASA Stage 35 was employed as the initial bench mark in the present study and five geometric control parameters were working as the optimization parameters aiming to enhance the aerodynamic performance in terms of total pressure rise and efficiency. Results showed that the feasibility and capability of the proposed optimization strategy was successfully examined. In view of the fact that the initial tandem cascade (directly scaling down from NASA Stage 35) cannot guarantee the aerodynamic performance, first optimization trial was conducted to optimize the initial design. Results showed that the optimum can improve the flow quality whereas the separation on the blade is decayed or even eliminated particularly at the tip and root regions. However, compared with the initial tandem design, the enhancement in total pressure ratio (0.47%) and efficiency (1%) are too small to be noticed. Second investigation was particularly emphasizing on a high turning tandem compressor with an increment by 28°. The pressure rise and efficiency were augmented by 1.44% and 2.34% (compared to the initial tandem design), respectively. An important conclusion can be drawn that the optimization strategy is worthy to be used in high turning compressors with a considerable performance improvement.

Flow mechanism of affecting an axial flow compressor performance and stability with cross-blade slot casing treatments

The objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of cross-blade slot casing treatment on the stability and performance of an axial flow compressor rotor. The experimental and unsteady calculated results both show that cross-blade slot casing treatment can generate about 22% stall margin improvement, and the compressor peak efficiency is reduced by about 13%. The detailed flow-field analyses indicate that the sucked and injected flow caused by the slots of cross-blade slot casing treatment can restrain the rotor tip passage blockage, which is made by the low energy tip clearance leakage vortex. When cross-blade slot casing treatment is applied, not only the rotor wheel flange work becomes lower in most of the rotor blade span, but also the flow loss in the blade tip passage becomes fairly large due to the strong interaction between the mainstream and the injected flows made by the slots. As a result, the compressor total pressure ratio and efficiency for cross-blade slot casing treatment are reduced obviously. Three kinds of new cross-blade slot casing treatment were designed according to the previous successful experience and investigated in this paper. The numerical results show that the new three cross-blade slot casing treatments both generate about 54% stall margin improvement at the cost of minor peak efficiency. For one new cross-blade slot casing treatment (CSCT2), the compressor peak efficiency is reduced by about 0.3%. The low energy TLV, which is present for cross-blade slot casing treatment, is removed by the strong sucked flow made by CSCT2. Moreover, the interaction between the mainstream and the injected flows caused by CSCT2 becomes weak obviously, and the corresponding flow loss is reduced greatly. Hence, the compressor stability and performance with CSCT2 are higher than those with cross-blade slot casing treatment.

Experimental and Numerical Investigation of a Circumferential Groove Casing Treatment in a Low-Speed Axial Research Compressor at Different Tip Clearances

The demand of increasing pressure ratios for modern high pressure compressors leads to decreasing blade heights in the last stages. As tip clearances (TC) cannot be reduced to any amount and minimum values might be necessary for safety reasons, the TC ratios of the last stages can reach values notably higher than current norms. This can be intensified by a compressor running in transient operations where thermal differences can lead to further growing clearances. For decades, the detrimental effects of large clearances on an axial compressor's operating range and efficiency are known and investigated. The ability of circumferential casing grooves in the rotor casing to improve the compressor's operating range has also been in the focus of research for many years. Their simplicity and ease of installation are one reason for their continuing popularity nowadays, where advanced methods to increase the operating range of an axial compressor are known. In the authors' previous paper, three different circumferential groove casing treatments were investigated in a single-stage environment in the low-speed axial research compressor at TU Dresden. One of these grooves was able to notably improve the operating range and the efficiency of the single stage compressor at very large rotor TC (5% of chord length). In this paper, the results of tests with this particular groove type in a three stage environment in the low-speed axial research compressor are presented. Two different rotor TC sizes of 1.2% and 5% of tip chord length were investigated. At the small TC, the grooves are almost neutral. Only small reductions in total pressure ratio and efficiency compared to the solid wall can be observed. If the compressor runs with large TC, it notably benefits from the casing grooves. Both, total pressure and efficiency can be improved by the grooves in a similar extent as in single stage tests. Five-hole probe measurements and unsteady wall pressure measurements show the influence of the groove on the flow field. With the help of numerical investigations, the different behavior of the grooves at the two TC sizes will be discussed.

Design of a Three-Dimensional Centrifugal Fan with Controlled Blade Loading Approach

The high flow-rate centrifugal fan needs a three-dimensional impeller to achieve a high efficiency. In this paper, the design procedure of a high-efficiency three-dimensional centrifugal fan is presented. First, the main dimensions of the fan were calculated by using the conventional one-dimensional method. Then, the blade loading or the angular momentum distribution along the meridional streamline on the blade surfaces is prescribed. After that, the three-dimensional blade is determined by using the streamline curvature method. With the aid of numerical simulations, the performance of the three-dimensional fan was improved and some of the key influence factors were investigated. The analyses indicate that, as to the high flow-rate centrifugal fan, the Stanitz modified formula is recommended to calculate the separation radius, rb. A proper increase in the separation radius is beneficial for the fan’s performance. It is also indicated that a decrease in the angular momentum on the hub leads to an increase in total pressure efficiency, under the condition of a given constant mean angular momentum at the outlet of the blade. In addition, the installation of a fairing on the hub plate can improve the fan’s efficiency evidently when the streamline curvature method is adopted to design the three-dimensional impeller.

Formation of near-Chapman–Jouguet oblique detonation wave over a dual-angle ramp

A study on the formation of oblique detonation waves (ODW) over a non-uniform ramp is presented, and a method for obtaining a Chapman–Jouguet (CJ) ODW has been explored. In particular, the method is discussed for practical application in a propulsion system. A dual-angle ramp that is inclined at two subsequent angles, overdriven and CJ, supports an induction oblique shock wave (OSW), an expansion wave, and an ODW. Conditions for reaction initiation are achieved across a strong OSW followed by the formation of an ODW attached to a weaker OSW. The CJ ramp and ODW angles for the upstream flow conditions are calculated analytically for a stoichiometric H2–air mixture. Numerical simulation is carried out using an unsteady compressible reactive flow solver in OpenFOAM, with detailed chemistry and thermodynamics. Results are obtained for plain and dual-angle ramp cases, and compared in terms of combustion efficiency and total pressure recovery. With a dual-angle ramp, the induction length can be significantly reduced through a high overdriven ramp angle. Despite a strong induction OSW, the near-CJ ODW that forms over the CJ ramp section does not suffer from higher loss in total pressure or combustion efficiency. This is contributed by lower ODW angle, and a further decrease in induction length is possible over a dual-angle ramp. The method allows for obtaining an ODW of required induction delay or strength at any given upstream flow condition. This study proposes a simple and practical method of obtaining near-CJ ODW that is beneficial for propulsive applications.

임펠러 앞전 위치에 따른 원심압축기 성능특성 분석

본 논문은 원심압축기 임펠러의 앞전 위치가 성능특성에 어떠한 영향을 미치는지 알아보기 위한 연구를 수행하였다. 앞전의 위치가 다른 다섯 개의 임펠러를 계산 모델로 선정하여 전산해석을 수행하였다. 입구에서 출구까지의 자오면상 거리에 대해서 임펠러 날개 앞전이 입구로부터 10% 떨어진 위치에 있을 때 압력비 및 효율이 가장 좋은 결과를 보였다. 또한, 이 경우가 임펠러 출구에서 박리영역의 강도가 약하여 상대적으로 유동이 가장 균일한 결과를 보였다. 그리고 이 위치보다 멀어질수록 낮은 압력비와 효율을 보였다. 또한, 이 경우가 임펠러 출구에서 불균일한 유동을 가져 압축기의 성능이 감소하였다. A study was conducted on the effect of leading edge location for the performance characteristics of a centrifugal compressor impeller. Five impellers with different leading edge location were selected for numerical analysis. The impeller with leading edge located 10% away from the inlet about meridional distance from entrance to exit showed the best total pressure ratio and efficiency. Also, this case showed relatively uniform flow distribution because of a weak intensity of the separation region at impeller exit. The impeller with leading edge located far from this location showed lowest total pressure ratio and efficiency. Performance of compressor also decreased due to non-uniform flow distribution at impeller exit.

Effects of shaft supporting structure on performance test of axial flow fan

CFD numerical simulation combined with theoretical analysis are used to research and discuss the obstructing effect, caused by the supporting structure of torsion meter and connecting shaft, on the outlet airflow of axial-flow fan in type-C ducted inlet device. The relations between axial flow fan's total pressure efficiency and flow rate are studied when the distance between supporting structure and outlet section is different, which may provide a reference for the proper design of the performance test device.

Genetic Algorithm Optimization of the Volute Shape of a Centrifugal Compressor

A numerical model for the genetic optimization of the volute of a centrifugal compressor for light commercial vehicles is presented. The volute cross-sectional shape is represented by cubic B-splines and its control points are used as design variables. The goal of the global optimization is to maximize the average compressor isentropic efficiency and total pressure ratio at design speed and four operating points. The numerical model consists of a density-based solver in combination with the SSTk-ωturbulence model with rotation/curvature correction and the multiple reference frame approach. The initial validation shows a good agreement between the numerical model and test bench measurements. As a result of the optimization, the average total pressure rise and efficiency are increased by over1.0%compared to the initial designs of the optimization, while the maximum efficiency rise is nearly 2.5% atm˙corr=0.19 kg/s.

Effects of perforation number of blade on aerodynamic performance of dual-rotor small axial flow fans

Compared with single rotor small axial flow fans, dual-rotor small axial flow fans is better regarding the static characteristics. But the aerodynamic noise of dual-rotor small axial flow fans is worse than that of single rotor small axial flow fans. In order to improve aerodynamic noise of dual-rotor small axial flow fans, the pre-stage blades with different perforation numbers are designed in this research. The RANS equations and the standard k-ɛ turbulence model as well as the FW-H noise model are used to simulate the flow field within the fan. Then, the aerodynamic performance of the fans with different perforation number is compared and analyzed. The results show that: (1) Compared to the prototype fan, the noise of fans with perforation blades is reduced. Additionally, the noise of the fans decreases with the increase of the number of perforations. (2) The vorticity value in the trailing edge of the pre-stage blades of perforated fans is reduced. It is found that the vorticity value in the trailing edge of the pre-stage blades decreases with the increase of the number of perforations. (3) Compared to the prototype fan, the total pressure rising and efficiency of the fans with perforation blades drop slightly.

Experimental Investigation of Tip Clearance Flow in a Transonic Compressor With and Without Plasma Actuators

Blade tip losses represent a major performance penalty in low aspect ratio transonic compressors. This paper reports on the experimental evaluation of the impact of tip clearance with and without plasma actuator flow control on performance of an U.S. Air Force-designed low aspect ratio, high radius ratio single-stage transonic compressor rig. The detailed stage performance measurements without flow control at three clearance levels, classified as small, medium, and large, are presented. At design-speed, increasing the clearance from small to medium resulted in a stage peak efficiency drop of almost six points with another four point drop in efficiency with the large clearance (LC). Comparison of the speed lines at high-speed show significantly lower pressure rise with increasing tip clearance, the compressor losing 8% stall margin (SM) with medium clearance (MC) and an additional 1% with the LC. Comparison of the stage exit radial profiles of total pressure and adiabatic efficiency at both part-speed and design-speed and with throttling are presented. Tip clearance flow-control was investigated using dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) type plasma actuators. The plasma actuators were placed on the casing wall upstream of the rotor leading edge and the compressor mapped from part-speed to high-speed at three clearances with both axial and skewed configurations at six different frequency levels. The plasma actuators did not impact steady state performance. A maximum SM improvement of 4% was recorded in this test series. The LC configuration benefited the most with the plasma actuators. Increased voltage provided more SM improvement. Plasma actuator power requirements were almost halved going from continuous operation to pulsed plasma. Most of the improvement with the plasma actuators is attributed to the reduction in unsteadiness of the tip clearance vortex near-stall resulting in additional reduction in flow prior to stall.

Parametric modeling and stagger angle optimization of an axial flow fan

Axial flow fans are widely used in every field of social production. Improving their efficiency is a sustained and urgent demand of domestic industry. The optimization of stagger angle is an important method to improve fan performance. Parametric modeling and calculation process automation are realized in this paper to improve optimization efficiency. Geometric modeling and mesh division are parameterized based on GAMBIT. Parameter setting and flow field calculation are completed in the batch mode of FLUENT. A control program is developed in Visual C++ to dominate the data exchange of mentioned software. It also extracts calculation results for optimization algorithm module (provided by Matlab) to generate directive optimization control parameters, which as feedback are transferred upwards to modeling module. The center line of the blade airfoil, based on CLARK y profile, is constructed by non-constant circulation and triangle discharge method. Stagger angles of six airfoil sections are optimized, to reduce the influence of inlet shock loss as well as gas leak in blade tip clearance and hub resistance at blade root. Finally an optimal solution is obtained, which meets the total pressure requirement under given conditions and improves total pressure efficiency by about 6%.

PAC용 양흡입 시로코홴의 공력성능에 관한 실험적 연구

Abstract ：The aerodynamic performance of double inlet sirocco fan is strongly dependent upon the design factors of impeller and scroll. In this paper, the change of scroll size was adopted to investigate the aerodynamic performances of double inlet sirocco fan and indoor PAC. Especially, a scroll expansion angle and a cut-off clearance ratio were considered to change the scroll size. In addition, the installation depth between double inlet sirocco fan and indoor PAC was considered. As a result, the total pressure efficiency of double inlet sirocco fan shows about 62%∼73% according to the change of scroll expansion angles. Moreover, the flowrate performance of indoor PAC is the best at the condition of a scroll expansion angle of 8°, an installation depth of 15 mm and a cut-off clearance ratio of 8%. Key Words ：Aerodynamic Performance, Cut-off Clearance Ratio, Double Inlet Sirocco Fan, Sirocco Impeller, Package Air-Conditioner, Scroll, Scroll Expansion Angle *†김장권(교신저자) : 군산대학교 동력기계시스템공학과E-mail : flowkim@kunsan.ac.kr, Tel : 063-469-1848** 오석형 : 군산대학교 기계공학부*†Jang-Kweon Kim(corresponding author) : Department of Power System Engineering, Kunsan National University.E-mail : flowkim@kunsan.ac.kr, Tel : 063-469-1848** Seok-Hyung Oh : School of Mechanical Engineering, Kunsan National University.

임펠러 블레이드 두께가 터보블로워 성능에 미치는 영향

This study is concerned with effects of impeller blade thickness on performance of a turbo blower. This turbo blower is developed as an air supply system in 250 ㎾ MCFC system. The turbo blower consists of an impeller, two vaneless diffusers, a vaned diffuser and a volute. The three dimensional, steady state numerical analysis is simultaneously conducted for the impeller, diffuser and volute to investigate the performance of total system. To consider the non-uniform condition in volute inlet due to volute tongue, full diffuser passages are included in the calculation. The results of numerical analysis are validated with experimental results of thin blade thickness. Total pressure ratio, efficiency, slip factor and blade loading are compared in two cases. The slip factor is different in two cases and the comparison of two cases shows a good performance in thin blade thickness in all aspects.