Blade Aerodynamic Damping Variation With Rotor-Stator Gap: A Computational Study Using Single-Passage Approach

2003 ◽  
Vol 127 (3) ◽  
pp. 573-579 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. D Li ◽  
L. He

One of the outstanding issues in turbomachinery aeromechanic analysis is the intrarow interaction effects. The present work is aimed at a systematic examination of rotor-stator gap effects on blade aerodynamic damping by using a three-dimensional (3D) time-domain single-passage Navier-Stokes solver. The method is based on the upwind finite volume discretization and the single-passage shape-correction approach with enhanced accuracy and efficiency for unsteady transonic flows prediction. A significant speedup (by a factor of 20) over to a conventional whole annulus solution has been achieved. A parametric study with different rotor-stator gaps (56%–216% rotor tip chord) for a 3D transonic compressor stage illustrates that the reflection from an adjacent stator row can change rotor aerodynamic damping by up to 100% depending on the intrarow gap spacing. Furthermore, this rotor aerodamping dependency on the intrarow gap seems also to be affected by the number of stator blades. The predicted nonmonotonic relationship between the rotor blade aerodynamic damping and the gap spacing suggests the existence of an optimum gap regarding rotor flutter stability and/or forced response stress levels.

Author(s):  
H. D. Li ◽  
L. He

One of the outstanding issues in turbomachinery aeromechanic analysis is the intra-row interaction effects. The present work is aimed at a systematic examination of rotorstator gap effects on blade aerodynamic damping by using a 3D time-domain single-passage Navier-Stokes solver. The method is based on the upwind finite volume discretization (AUSMD/V) and the single-passage Shape-Correction approach with enhanced accuracy and efficiency for unsteady transonic flows prediction. A significant speed up (by a factor of 20) over to a conventional whole annulus solution has been achieved. A parametric study with different rotor-stator gaps (56%–216% chord) for a 3D transonic compressor stage illustrates that the reflection from an adjacent stator row can change rotor aerodynamic damping by up to 100%. It is shown that this intra-row interference effect on the rotor aero-damping can be qualitatively altered by changing the number of stator blades. Thus, the stator blade count could be considered as a useful aeromechanical control/design parameter. Furthermore, the predicted non-monotonic relationship between the rotor blade aerodynamic damping and the gap distance suggests the existence of an optimum gap regarding rotor flutter stability and/or forced response stress levels.


Author(s):  
H. D. Li ◽  
L. He

Prediction of blade forced response and flutter is of great importance to turbomachinery designers. However, calculations of unsteady turbomachinery flows using conventional time-domain methods typically would lead to the use of multi-passage/whole-annulus domains due to the required direct periodic condition. This makes numerical computations extremely time-consuming and is one of the major difficulties for nonlinear unsteady calculations to be applied in a blading design environment. A single-passage approach to three-dimensional unsteady Navier-Stokes calculations using the Fourier-series based Shape-Correction method has been developed, and been applied to analyze inlet distortion driven response and flutter of a transonic fan rotor (NASA Rotor-67). The key feature is that the Shape-Correction method enables a single-passage solution to unsteady flows in blade rows under influences of multiple disturbances with arbitrary inter-blade phase angles. The results show that the single-passage solution can capture deterministic unsteadiness as well as time-averaged flows in good agreement with conventional multi-passage solutions, while the corresponding computing time can be reduced dramatically.


1997 ◽  
Vol 119 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-84 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. S. Abhari ◽  
M. Giles

An unsteady, compressible, two-dimensional, thin shear layer Navier–Stokes solver is modified to predict the motion-dependent unsteady flow around oscillating airfoils in a cascade. A quasi-three-dimensional formulations is used to account for the stream-wise variation of streamtube height. The code uses Ni’s Lax–Wendroff algorithm in the outer region, an implicit ADI method in the inner region, conservative coupling at the interface, and the Baldwin–Lomax turbulence model. The computational mesh consists of an O-grid around each blade plus an unstructured outer grid of quadrilateral or triangular cells. The unstructured computational grid was adapted to the flow to better resolve shocks and wakes. Motion of each airfoil was simulated at each time step by stretching and compressing the mesh within the O-grid. This imposed motion consists of harmonic solid body translation in two directions and rotation, combined with the correct interblade phase angles. The validity of the code is illustrated by comparing its predictions to a number of test cases, including an axially oscillating flat plate in laminar flow, the Aeroelasticity of Turbomachines Symposium Fourth Standard Configuration (a transonic turbine cascade), and the Seventh Standard Configuration (a transonic compressor cascade). The overall comparison between the predictions and the test data is reasonably good. A numerical study on a generic transonic compressor rotor was performed in which the impact of varying the amplitude of the airfoil oscillation on the normalized predicted magnitude and phase of the unsteady pressure around the airfoil was studied. It was observed that for this transonic compressor, the nondimensional aerodynamic damping was influenced by the amplitude of the oscillation.


2002 ◽  
Vol 124 (2) ◽  
pp. 285-292 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. D. Li ◽  
L. He

Computations of unsteady flows due to inlet distortion driven blade vibrations, characterized by long circumferential wavelengths, typically need to be carried out in multi-passage/whole-annulus domains. In the present work, a single-passage three-dimensional unsteady Navier-Stokes approach has been developed and applied to unsteady flows around vibrating blades of a transonic fan rotor (NASA Rotor-67) with inlet distortions. The phase-shifted periodic condition is applied using a Fourier series based method, “shape-correction,” which enables a single-passage solution to unsteady flows under influences of multiple disturbances with arbitrary interblade phase angles. The computational study of the transonic fan illustrates that unsteady flow response to an inlet distortion varies greatly depending on its circumferential wavelength. The response to a long wavelength (whole-annulus) distortion is strongly nonlinear with a significant departure of its time-averaged flow from the steady state, while that at a short wavelength (two passages) behaves largely in a linear manner. Nevertheless, unsteady pressures due to blade vibration, though noticeably different under different inlet distortions, show a linear behavior. Thus, the nonlinearity of the flow response to inlet distortion appears to influence the aerodynamic damping predominantly by means of changing the time-averaged flow. Good agreements between single-passage solutions and multi-passage solutions are obtained for all the conditions considered, which clearly demonstrates the validity of the phase-shifted periodicity at a transonic nonlinear distorted flow condition. For the present cases, typical CPU time saving by a factor of 5–10 is achieved by the single-passage solutions.


2005 ◽  
Vol 127 (3) ◽  
pp. 589-598 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. D. Li ◽  
L. He

Multistage effects on both aerodynamics and aeromechanics have been identified as significant. Thus, design optimizations for both aerodynamic performance and aeromechanical stability should be done in the unsteady multistage environment. The key issue preventing such a procedure to be carried out is the enormous computing time cost of multistage unsteady simulations. In this paper, a methodology based on the single-passage shape-correction method integrated with an interface disturbance truncation technique has been developed. The capability, efficiency, and accuracy of the developed methodology have been demonstrated for a one and a half stage quasi-three-dimensional transonic compressor with realistic blade counts. Furthermore, the interface disturbance truncation technique enables us to separate multirow interaction effects from the upstream and the downstream, which makes it possible to superimpose different rotor upstream gap effects and rotor downstream gap effects on the middle row rotor aerodynamic damping. In addition, a gap influence coefficient approach has been developed for investigation of all the possible gap spacing combinations of M upstream stator-rotor gaps and N downstream rotor-stator gaps. Then the number of cases that need to be computed has been reduced from M×N to M+N, which saved substantial computing time. The optimization analysis shows significant damping variation (∼300%) within the chosen intrarow gap design space. The intrarow gap spacing could have either stabilizing or destabilizing effects so that the stabilizing axial spacing could be utilized to increase flutter-free margin in aeromechanical designs. The current approach also can be used for setting aeromechanical constraints for aerodynamic performance optimizations.


1997 ◽  
Vol 119 (1) ◽  
pp. 122-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. L. Puterbaugh ◽  
W. W. Copenhaver

An experimental investigation concerning tip flow field unsteadiness was performed for a high-performance, state-of-the-art transonic compressor rotor. Casing-mounted high frequency response pressure transducers were used to indicate both the ensemble averaged and time varying flow structure present in the tip region of the rotor at four different operating points at design speed. The ensemble averaged information revealed the shock structure as it evolved from a dual shock system at open throttle to an attached shock at peak efficiency to a detached orientation at near stall. Steady three-dimensional Navier Stokes analysis reveals the dominant flow structures in the tip region in support of the ensemble averaged measurements. A tip leakage vortex is evident at all operating points as regions of low static pressure and appears in the same location as the vortex found in the numerical solution. An unsteadiness parameter was calculated to quantify the unsteadiness in the tip cascade plane. In general, regions of peak unsteadiness appear near shocks and in the area interpreted as the shock-tip leakage vortex interaction. Local peaks of unsteadiness appear in mid-passage downstream of the shock-vortex interaction. Flow field features not evident in the ensemble averaged data are examined via a Navier-Stokes solution obtained at the near stall operating point.


1993 ◽  
Vol 115 (2) ◽  
pp. 283-295 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. N. Dawes

This paper describes recent developments to a three-dimensional, unstructured mesh, solution-adaptive Navier–Stokes solver. By adopting a simple, pragmatic but systematic approach to mesh generation, the range of simulations that can be attempted is extended toward arbitrary geometries. The combined benefits of the approach result in a powerful analytical ability. Solutions for a wide range of flows are presented, including a transonic compressor rotor, a centrifugal impeller, a steam turbine nozzle guide vane with casing extraction belt, the internal coolant passage of a radial inflow turbine, and a turbine disk cavity flow.


Author(s):  
Minghao Pan ◽  
Paul Petrie-Repar ◽  
Hans Mårtensson ◽  
Tianrui Sun ◽  
Tobias Gezork

In turbomachines, forced response of blades is blade vibrations due to external aerodynamic excitations and it can lead to blade failures which can have fatal or severe economic consequences. The estimation of the level of vibration due to forced response is dependent on the determination of aerodynamic damping. The most critical cases for forced response occur at high reduced frequencies. This paper investigates the determination of aerodynamic damping at high reduced frequencies. The aerodynamic damping was calculated by a linearized Navier-Stokes flow solver with exact 3D non-reflecting boundary conditions. The method was validated using Standard Configuration 8, a two-dimensional flat plate. Good agreement with the reference data at reduced frequency 2.0 was achieved and grid converged solutions with reduced frequency up to 16.0 were obtained. It was concluded that at least 20 cells per wavelength is required. A 3D profile was also investigated: an aeroelastic turbine rig (AETR) which is a subsonic turbine case. In the AETR case, the first bending mode with reduced frequency 2.0 was studied. The 3D acoustic modes were calculated at the far-fields and the propagating amplitude was plotted as a function of circumferential mode index and radial order. This plot identified six acoustic resonance points which included two points corresponding to the first radial modes. The aerodynamic damping as a function of nodal diameter was also calculated and plotted. There were six distinct peaks which occurred in the damping curve and these peaks correspond to the six resonance points. This demonstrates for the first time that acoustic resonances due to higher order radial acoustic modes can affect the aerodynamic damping at high reduced frequencies.


Author(s):  
I. Sladojevic´ ◽  
E. P. Petrov ◽  
M. Imregun ◽  
A. I. Sayma

The paper presents the results of a study looking into changes in the forced response levels of bladed disc assemblies subject to both structural and aerodynamic mistuning. A whole annulus FE model, representative of a civil aero-engine fan with 26 blades was used in the calculations. The forced response of all blades of 1000 random mistuned patterns was calculated. The aerodynamic parameters, frequency shifts and damping, were calculated using a three-dimensional Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes aero-elasticity code. They were randomly varied for each mistuning pattern, with the assumption that the system would remain stable, i.e. flutter would not occur due to aerodynamic mistuning. The results show the variation of the forced response with different types of mistuning, with structural mistuning only, with aerodynamic mistuning only and with both structural and aerodynamic mistuning.


2018 ◽  
Vol 140 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Harald Schoenenborn

The aeroelastic prediction of blade forcing is still a very important topic in turbomachinery design. Usually, the wake from an upstream airfoil and the potential field from a downstream airfoil are considered as the main disturbances. In recent years, it became evident that in addition to those two mechanisms, Tyler–Sofrin modes, also called scattered or spinning modes, may have a significant impact on blade forcing. It was recently shown in literature that in multirow configurations, not only the next but also the next but one blade row is very important as it may create a large circumferential forcing variation, which is fixed in the rotating frame of reference. In the present paper, a study of these effects is performed on the basis of a quasi three-dimensional (3D) multirow and multipassage compressor configuration. For the analysis, a harmonic balancing code, which was developed by DLR Cologne, is used for various setups and the results are compared to full-annulus unsteady calculations. It is shown that the effect of the circumferentially different blade excitation is mainly contributed by the Tyler–Sofrin modes and not to blade-to-blade variation in the steady flow field. The influence of various clocking positions, coupling schemes and number of harmonics onto the forcing is investigated. It is also shown that along a speed-line in the compressor map, the blade-to-blade forcing variation may change significantly. In addition, multirow flutter calculations are performed, showing the influence of the upstream and downstream blade row onto aerodynamic damping. The effect of these forcing variations onto random mistuning effects is investigated in the second part of the paper.


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