scholarly journals Fluid Flow Equations for Rotordynamic Flows in Seals and Leakage Paths

2001 ◽  
Vol 124 (1) ◽  
pp. 176-181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Hsu ◽  
C. E. Brennen

Fluid-induced rotordynamic forces produced by the fluid in an annular seal or in the leakage passage surrounding the shroud of a pump or turbine, are known to contribute substantially to the potential excitation forces acting on the rotor. The present research explores some of the important features of the equations governing bulk-flow models of these flows. This in turn suggests methods which might be used to solve these bulk-flow equations in circumstances where the linearized solutions may not be accurate. This paper presents a numerical method for these equations and discusses comparison of the computed results with experimental measurements for annular seals and pump leakage paths.

Author(s):  
Mihai Arghir ◽  
Antoine Mariot

Experimental results indicating negative direct static stiffness of highly eccentric straight gas annular seals were very recently presented by Childs and Arthur (2013, “Static Destabilizing Behavior for Gas Annular Seals at High Eccentricity Ratios,” ASME Paper No. GT2013-94201). This instability occurred at zero rotation speed and at high eccentricities. Up to then only gas annular seals with zero rotation speed, operating in centered position and with choked exit section were known as being susceptible of developing negative direct static stiffness. The seals and the working conditions presented by Childs and Arthur (2013, “Static Destabilizing Behavior for Gas Annular Seals at High Eccentricity Ratios,” ASME Paper No. GT2013-94201) had clearly no choked exit section. The present work advances a theoretical explanation of results reported by Childs and Arthur (2013, “Static Destabilizing Behavior for Gas Annular Seals at High Eccentricity Ratios,” ASME Paper No. GT2013-94201). The analysis is based on the numerical solution of the bulk flow equations of the flow in the annular seal. Theoretical results show a negative static stiffness at high eccentricities and zero rotation speeds. Other seal geometries and working conditions were tested and showed that the decrease of the direct static stiffness at high eccentricities and zero rotation speeds is a characteristic of all straight annular seals whether the fluid is compressible or not. Nevertheless with increasing rotation speed, the static stiffness becomes again positive and may increase with increasing eccentricity. The negative static stiffness is then limited to very specific working conditions: high eccentricities and zero rotation speed.


Author(s):  
Alexandrina Untaroiu ◽  
Patrick Migliorini ◽  
Houston G. Wood ◽  
Paul E. Allaire ◽  
John A. Kocur

Labyrinth and other annular seals are commonly used in the turbomachinery industry to limit the leakage between different pressure regions. The pressure driven flow these seals experience can produce significant forces on the rotor. These fluid-induced excitation forces can exert a strong influence on the dynamic characteristics of the machine. Such seal forces can cause the rotor to become unstable, or when properly designed, stabilize a troublesome machine. Thus, it is important to accurately quantify the fluid-induced forces exerted on the rotor to effectively predict the dynamic behavior. Traditional annular seal models are based on bulk flow theory. While these methods are computationally efficient, due to the assumptions made to simplify the flow equations, seal bulk flow models lack accuracy when dealing with more complex geometry seals, such as hole-pattern seals. Unlike the bulk flow model, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) makes no simplifying assumption on the seal geometry, shear stress at the wall, relationship between wall shear stress and mean fluid velocity, or characterization of interfaces between control volumes. This paper presents a method to calculate the linearized rotordynamic coefficients for a hole-pattern seal by means of a three dimensional CFD approach to estimate the fluid-induced forces acting on the rotor. The system is modeled as a rigid rotor, with rotational speed, ω, and whirl frequency, Ω, describing non-synchronous whirl orbits around a static operating point. The Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations for fluid flow are solved by dividing the volume of fluid into a discrete number of points at which unknown variables (velocity, pressure, etc.) are computed. As a result, all the details of the flow field, including the fluid forces with potential destabilizing effects, are calculated. A 2nd order regression method is then utilized to express the fluid induced forces in terms of equivalent linearized stiffness, damping, and fluid inertia coefficients.


Author(s):  
Mihai Arghir ◽  
Jean Frene

This work is an overview of theoretical approaches used for estimating the characteristics of straight or grooved annular seals. The flow in annular seals is dominated by inertia forces. The goal of the static analysis is to describe the relation between the pressure difference across the seal and the (mass) flow rate. The presentation introduces different approaches of the static problem (analytic, simplified–“bulk flow” and CFD) and underlines the main difficulties in analysing annular seals. The forces on an eccentric rotor are described as a superposition between three effects (Lomakin, viscous and Bernoulli forces). This approach is then used to describe the dynamic characteristics of the seal for a rotor whirling around its centred position. The specific aspects that compressibility adds to gas annular seals analysis are next discussed, with its most important consequence, the flow choking in the exit section. Finally, some recent findings concerning the analysis of textured stator annular seals are presented. The results show that the presence of textures engenders stator and rotor friction coefficients obeying different laws. The use of these new friction coefficients in the bulk-flow equations enables to match the values of the experimental dynamic coefficients. A discussion about the further needs (development and research) in annular seals analysis is carried out at the end of this work.


2004 ◽  
Vol 126 (2) ◽  
pp. 316-325 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mihai Arghir ◽  
Jean Frene

The bulk-flow equations used for inertia dominated thin-film flows is an attractive model for the analysis of circumferentially grooved annular seals because the solutions based on the numerical integration of the complete Navier-Stokes equations can be very time-consuming. By using three types of control volumes and some user-tuned constants, the bulk-flow model can be used for calculating the static and the dynamic characteristics. Until now, this has been carried out for centered seals where the flow is governed by ordinary differential equations but no solutions have yet been given for eccentric working conditions. In this latter case, the model is governed by partial differential equations of an elliptic type. The main problem is that for describing the groove effects, the pressure field must incorporate the concentrated drop or recovery effects that occur at the interface between the groove and the land zone. This means that the numerical procedure used for solving the elliptic equations should be able to handle a pressure field having discontinuous values and discontinuous first order derivatives. In the present work, the method used for integrating the system of bulk-flow equations is the SIMPLE algorithm. The algorithm is extended for handling pressure jumps by adding two pressure values on each side of the discontinuity. These values are then expressed in terms of cell centered pressures by imposing the mass conservation and the generalized Bernoulli equation at the discontinuity. This numerical solution is original and has never previously been presented in the finite volume related literature. Comparisons between the numerical predictions (leakage flow rate and rotordynamic coefficients) and experimental data taken from the literature Marquette and Childs (1997) are subsequently presented for an eccentric ten-groove annular seal.


1999 ◽  
Vol 121 (3) ◽  
pp. 633-637 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert V. Uy ◽  
Christopher E. Brennen

Unsteady forces generated by fluid flow through the impeller shroud leakage path of a centrifugal pump were investigated. Different pump shroud geometries were compared, and the effect of leakage path inlet swirl (pump discharge swirl) on the rotordynamic forces was examined for various ratios of fluid throughflow velocity to impeller tip speed. A short axial length leakage path reduced the measured forces, while curvature appeared to increase the destabilizing forces when inlet swirl was present. It was observed that changing the inlet swirl velocity does not appear to significantly affect the measured forces for a given leakage flow coefficient, but any nonzero inlet swirl is destabilizing when compared to cases with no inlet swirl.


Author(s):  
Mihai Arghir ◽  
Antoine Mariot

Experimental results indicating negative direct static stiffness of highly eccentric straight gas annular seals were very recently presented in [1] by Childs and Arthur. This instability occurred at zero rotation speed and at high eccentricities. Up to then only gas annular seals with zero rotation speed, operating in centered position and with choked exit section were known as being susceptible of developing negative direct static stiffness. The seals and the working conditions presented in [1] had clearly no choked exit section. The present work advances a theoretical explanation of results reported in [1]. The analysis is based on the numerical solution of the bulk flow equations of the flow in the annular seal. Theoretical results show a negative static stiffness at high eccentricities and zero rotation speeds. Other seal geometries and working conditions were tested and showed that the decrease of the direct static stiffness at high eccentricities and zero rotation speeds is a characteristic of all straight annular seals whether the fluid is compressible or not. Nevertheless with increasing rotation speed, the static stiffness becomes again positive and may increase with increasing eccentricity. The negative static stiffness is then limited to very specific working conditions: high eccentricities and zero rotation speed.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 338-351
Author(s):  
Usha Shankar ◽  
N. B. Naduvinamani ◽  
Hussain Basha

AbstractA two-dimensional mathematical model of magnetized unsteady incompressible Williamson fluid flow over a sensor surface with variable thermal conductivity and exterior squeezing with viscous dissipation effect is investigated, numerically. Present flow model is developed based on the considered flow geometry. Effect of Lorentz forces on flow behaviour is described in terms of magnetic field and which is accounted in momentum equation. Influence of variable thermal conductivity on heat transfer is considered in the energy equation. Present investigated problem gives the highly complicated nonlinear, unsteady governing flow equations and which are coupled in nature. Owing to the failure of analytical/direct techniques, the considered physical problem is solved by using Runge-Kutta scheme (RK-4) via similarity transformations approach. Graphs and tables are presented to describe the physical behaviour of various control parameters on flow phenomenon. Temperature boundary layer thickens for the amplifying value of Weissenberg parameter and permeable velocity parameter. Velocity profile decreased for the increasing squeezed flow index and permeable velocity parameter. Increasing magnetic number increases the velocity profile. Magnifying squeezed flow index magnifies the magnitude of Nusselt number. Also, RK-4 efficiently solves the highly complicated nonlinear complex equations that are arising in the fluid flow problems. The present results in this article are significantly matching with the published results in the literature.


2011 ◽  
Vol 189-193 ◽  
pp. 2285-2288
Author(s):  
Wen Hua Jia ◽  
Chen Bo Yin ◽  
Guo Jin Jiang

Flow features, specially, flow rate, discharge coefficient and efflux angle under different operating conditions are numerically simulated, and the effects of shapes and the number of notches on them are analyzed. To simulate flow features, 3D models are developed as commercially available fluid flow models. Most construction machineries in different conditions require different actions. Thus, in order to be capable of different actions and exhibit good dynamic behavior, flow features should be achieved in designing an optimized proportional directional spool valve.


Author(s):  
Patrick J. Migliorini ◽  
Alexandrina Untaroiu ◽  
William C. Witt ◽  
Neal R. Morgan ◽  
Houston G. Wood

Annular seals are used in turbomachinery to reduce secondary flow between regions of high and low pressure. In a vibrating rotor system, the non-axisymmetric pressure field developed in the small clearance between the rotor and the seal generate reactionary forces that can affect the stability of the entire rotor system. Traditionally, two analyses have been used to study the fluid flow in seals, bulk-flow analysis and computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Bulk-flow methods are computational inexpensive, but solve simplified equations that rely on empirically derived coefficients and are moderately accurate. CFD analyses generally provide more accurate results than bulk-flow codes, but solution time can vary between days and weeks. For gas damper seals, these analyses have been developed with the assumption that the flow can be treated as isothermal. Some experimental studies show that the difference between the inlet and outlet temperature temperatures is less than 5% but initial CFD studies show that there can be a significant temperature change which can have an effect on the density field. Thus, a comprehensive analysis requires the solution of an energy equation. Recently, a new hybrid method that employs a CFD analysis for the base state, unperturbed flow and a bulk-flow analysis for the first order, perturbed flow has been developed. This method has shown to compare well with full CFD analysis and experimental data while being computationally efficient. In this study, the previously developed hybrid method is extended to include the effects of non-isothermal flow. The hybrid method with energy equation is then compared with the isothermal hybrid method and experimental data for several test cases of hole-pattern seals and the importance of the use of energy equation is studied.


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