The Influence of Shrouded Stator Cavity Flows on Multistage Compressor Performance

1999 ◽  
Vol 121 (3) ◽  
pp. 486-497 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. R. Wellborn ◽  
T. H. Okiishi
Keyword(s):  
Axial Flow ◽  
Pressure Rise ◽  
Tip Clearance ◽  
Cavity Flows ◽  
Suction Surface ◽  
Work Input ◽  
Tangential Momentum ◽  
Compressor Performance ◽  
Multistage Compressor ◽  
Flow Compressor

Experiments were performed on a low-speed multistage axial-flow compressor to assess the effects of shrouded stator cavity flows on aerodynamic performance. Five configurations, which involved systematic changes in seal-tooth leakage rates and/or elimination of the shrouded stator cavities, were tested. Rig data indicate increasing seal-tooth leakage substantially degraded compressor performance. For every 1 percent increase in seal-tooth clearance-to-span ratio, the decrease in pressure rise was 3 percent and the reduction in efficiency was 1 point. These observed performance penalties are comparable to those commonly reported for rotor and cantilevered stator tip clearance variations. The performance degradation observed with increased leakage was brought about in two distinct ways. First, increasing seal-tooth leakage directly spoiled the near-hub performance of the stator row in which leakage occurred. Second, the altered stator exit flow conditions, caused by increased leakage, impaired the performance of the next downstream stage by decreasing the work input of the rotor and increasing total pressure loss of the stator. These trends caused the performance of downstream stages to deteriorate progressively. Numerical simulations of the test rig stator flow field were also conducted to help resolve important fluid mechanic details associated with the interaction between the primary and cavity flows. Simulation results show that fluid originating in the upstream cavity collected on the stator suction surface when the cavity tangential momentum was low and on the pressure side when it was high. The convection of cavity fluid to the suction surface was a mechanism that reduced stator performance when leakage increased.

scholarly journals The Influence of Shrouded Stator Cavity Flows on Multistage Compressor Performance

1998 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven R. Wellborn ◽  
Theodore H. Okiishi
Keyword(s):  
Axial Flow ◽  
Pressure Rise ◽  
Tip Clearance ◽  
Cavity Flows ◽  
Suction Surface ◽  
Work Input ◽  
Tangential Momentum ◽  
Compressor Performance ◽  
Multistage Compressor ◽  
Flow Compressor

Experiments were performed on a low-speed multistage axial-flow compressor to assess the effects shrouded stator cavity flows on aerodynamic performance. Five configurations, which involved systematic changes in seal-tooth leakage rates and/or elimination of the shrouded stator cavities, were tested. Rig data indicate increasing seal-tooth leakage substantially degraded compressor performance. For every 1% increase in seal-tooth clearance-to-span ratio the decrease in pressure rise was 3% and the reduction in efficiency was 1 point. These observed performance penalties are comparable to those commonly reported for rotor and cantilevered stator tip clearance variations. The performance degradation observed with increased leakage was brought about in two distinct ways. First, increasing seal-tooth leakage directly spoiled the near hub performance of the stator row in which leakage occurred. Second, the altered stator exit flow conditions, caused by increased leakage, impaired the performance of the next downstream stage by decreasing the work input of the rotor and increasing total pressure loss of the stator. These trends caused the performance of downstream stages to progressively deteriorate. Numerical simulations of the test rig stator flow field were also conducted to help resolve important fluid mechanic details associated with the interaction between the primary and cavity flows. Simulation results show that fluid originating in the upstream cavity collected on the stator suction surface when the cavity tangential momentum was low and on the pressure side when it was high. The convection of cavity fluid to the suction surface was a mechanism which reduced stator performance when leakage increased.

Endwall Effects at Two Tip Clearances in a Multistage Axial Flow Compressor With Controlled Diffusion Blading

1994 ◽  
Vol 116 (4) ◽  
pp. 635-645 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. A. Howard ◽  
P. C. Ivey ◽  
J. P. Barton ◽  
K. F. Young
Keyword(s):  
Unsteady Flow ◽  
Axial Flow ◽  
Tip Clearance ◽  
Exit Angle ◽  
Controlled Diffusion ◽  
The Third ◽  
Flow Phenomena ◽  
Multistage Compressor ◽  
Flow Compressor ◽  
Stage Efficiency

Effects of tip clearance, secondary flow, skew, and corner stall on the performance of a multistage compressor with controlled diffusion blading have been studied experimentally. Measurements between 1 and 99 percent annulus height were carried out in both the first and the third stages of a four-stage low-speed compressor with repeating-stage blading. Measurements were obtained at a datum rotor tip clearance and at a more aerodynamically desirable lower clearance. The consequences of the modified rotor tip clearance on both rotor and stator performance are examined in terms of loss coefficient and gas exit angle. Stator losses close to the casing are found to increase significantly when the clearance of an upstream rotor is increased. These increased stator losses cause 30 percent of the stage efficiency reduction that arises with increased rotor tip clearance. The deviation angles due to tip clearance from the multistage measurements are found to be similar to data from single-stage machines with conventional blading, which suggests that the unsteady flow phenomena associated with the multistage environment do not dominate the physics of the flow.

Effect of Rotor Tip Gap Variation at the Rear Stages of an Axial Flow Compressor

2012 ◽  
Vol 225 ◽  
pp. 233-238
Author(s):  
A.M. Pradeep ◽  
R.N. Chiranthan ◽  
Debarshi Dutta ◽  
Bhaskar Roy
Keyword(s):  
Rotor Blade ◽  
Cross Flow ◽  
Axial Compressor ◽  
Axial Flow ◽  
Pressure Rise ◽  
Tip Clearance ◽  
Suction Surface ◽  
Design Point ◽  
Compressor Rotor ◽  
Multi Stage

In this paper, detailed analysis of the tip flow of an axial compressor rotor blade has been carried out using the commercial CFD package ANSYS CFX. The rotor blade was designed such that it is reminiscent of the rear stages of a multi-stage axial compressor. The effects of varying tip gaps are studied using CFD simulations for overall pressure rise and flow physics of the tip flow at the design point and near the peak pressure point. Rig tests of a low speed research compressor rotor with 3% tip clearance provided characteristics plots for validation of the CFD results. With increase in clearance from 1% to 4%, the rotor pressure rise at the design point was observed to decrease linearly. Increase in the clearance increases the cross flow across the tip; however, the magnitude of the average jet velocity crossing the tip decreases. The tip leakage vortex was observed to stay close to the suction surface with increase in clearance.

Effect of Axially Non-Uniform Rotor Tip Clearance on the Performance of a High Speed Axial Flow Compressor Stage

1994 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Mohan ◽  
S. A. Guruprasad
Keyword(s):  
High Speed ◽  
Axial Flow ◽  
Separated Flow ◽  
Tip Clearance ◽  
Compressor Stage ◽  
Tip Leakage Flow ◽  
Suction Surface ◽  
Wall Boundary Layer ◽  
Improved Performance ◽  
Flow Compressor

An axially non-uniform type of rotor tip clearance was conceived and tried on a single stage compressor. This concept is based on the advantages of a smaller tip clearance in the front portion of the blade and a larger clearance in the rear portion which allows a higher tip leakage flow to interact with the passage secondary flow, casing wall boundary layer, separated flow on the blade suction surface and the scraping vortex, which are more prominent at the rear portion of the blade. Experimental results indicated that an axially non-uniform clearance can provide improved performance of a compressor stage. Providing the tip clearance in the compressor casing instead of at the blade tip indicated certain advantages. An ‘optimum’ value of rotor tip clearance was noticed for this compressor stage, both for axially uniform and axially non-uniform clearance.

Experimental Investigation of Stepped Tip Gap Effects on the Performance of a Transonic Axial-Flow Compressor Rotor

1997 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald W. Thompson ◽  
Paul I. King ◽  
Douglas C. Rabe
Keyword(s):  
Mass Flow ◽  
Pressure Ratio ◽  
Axial Flow ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Tip Clearance ◽  
Axial Flow Compressor ◽  
Transonic Compressor ◽  
Compressor Rotor ◽  
Compressor Performance ◽  
Flow Compressor

The effects of stepped tip gaps and clearance levels on the performance of a transonic axial-flow compressor rotor were experimentally determined. A two-stage compressor with no inlet guide vanes was tested in a modern transonic compressor research facility. The first-stage rotor was unswept and was tested for an optimum tip clearance with variations in stepped gaps machined into the casing near the aft tip region of the rotor. Nine casing geometries were investigated consisting of three step profiles at each of three clearance levels. For small and intermediate clearances, stepped tip gaps were found to improve pressure ratio, efficiency, and flow range for most operating conditions. At 100% design rotor speed, stepped tip gaps produced a doubling of mass flow range with as much as a 2.0% increase in mass flow and a 1.5% improvement in efficiency. This study provides guidelines for engineers to improve compressor performance for an existing design by applying an optimum casing profile.

Combined Effects of Forward Sweep and Tip Clearance on the Performance of Axial Flow Compressor Stage

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. V. Ramakrishna ◽  
M. Govardhan
Keyword(s):  
Total Pressure ◽  
Axial Compressor ◽  
Axial Flow ◽  
Pressure Rise ◽  
Tip Clearance ◽  
Numerical Work ◽  
Low Speed ◽  
Operating Range ◽  
Axial Flow Compressor ◽  
Flow Compressor

There are a number of performance indices for a turbomachine on the basis of which its strength is evaluated. In the case of axial compressors, pressure ratio, efficiency and stall margin are few such indices which are of major concern in the design phase as well as in the evaluation of performance of the machine. In the process of improving the blade design, 3D blade stacking, where the aerofoil sections constituting the blade are moved in relation to the flow. Tilting the blade sections to the flow direction (blade sweep) would increase the operating range of an axial compressor due to modifications in the pressure and velocity fields on the suction surface. On the other hand, blade tip gap, though finite, has great influence on the performance of a turbomachine. The present work investigates the combined effect of these two factors on various flow characteristics in a low speed axial flow compressor. The objective of the present paper is thereby confined to study the collective effects of sweep and tip clearance without attempting to suggest an outright new design. In the present numerical work, the performance of Tip Chordline Sweeping (TCS) and Axial Sweeping (AXS) of low speed axial compressor rotor blades are studied. For this, 15 computational domains were modeled for five rotor sweep configurations and three different clearance levels for each rotor. Through the results, 20°AXS rotor is found to be distinctive among all the rotors with highest pressure rise, higher operating range and less tip clearance loss characteristics. TCS rotors produced improved total pressure rise at the low flow coefficients when the tip gap is increased. Hence there is a chance that an “optimum” tip gap exists for the TCS rotors in terms of total pressure coefficient and operating range, while AXS rotors are at their best with the minimum possible clearance.

End-Wall and Profile Losses in a Low-Speed Axial Flow Compressor Rotor

1986 ◽  
Vol 108 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Lakshminarayana ◽  
N. Sitaram ◽  
J. Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Axial Flow ◽  
Pressure Rise ◽  
Tip Clearance ◽  
Blade Loading ◽  
Pressure Losses ◽  
Axial Flow Compressor ◽  
Compressor Rotor ◽  
Profile Losses ◽  
Flow Compressor ◽  
End Wall

The blade-to-blade variation of relative stagnation pressure losses in the tip region inside the rotor of a single-stage, axial-flow compressor is presented and interpreted in this paper. The losses are measured at two flow coefficients (one at the design point and the other at the near peak pressure rise point) to discern the effect of blade loading on the end-wall losses. The tip clearance losses are found to increase with an increase in the pressure rise coefficient. The losses away from the tip region and near the hub regions are measured downstream. The losses are integrated and interpreted in this paper.

scholarly journals Effects of Upstream Wake Phasing on Transonic Axial Compressor Performance

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. P. R. Nolan ◽  
B. B. Botros ◽  
C. S. Tan ◽  
J. J. Adamczyk ◽  
E. M. Greitzer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Axial Compressor ◽  
Pressure Rise ◽  
Stagnation Pressure ◽  
Tip Clearance ◽  
Model Calculations ◽  
Tip Clearance Flow ◽  
Clearance Flow ◽  
Work Input ◽  
Compressor Performance ◽  
Stability Limits

The effect on rotor work, of the phase of an upstream wake relative to the rotor, is examined computationally and analytically for a transonic blade row. There can be an important impact on time-mean performance when the time-dependent circulation of the shed vortices in the wake is phase-locked to the rotor position, as occurs when there is strong interaction between rotor static pressure field and upstream vanes. The rotor work is found to depend on the path of the wake vortices as they travel through the blade passage; for configurations examined, the calculated change in time-mean rotor work was approximately three percent. It is shown that the effect on work input can be analyzed in terms of the influence of the time-mean relative stagnation pressure nonuniformity associated with the unsteady (but phase-locked) wake vortex flow field, in that changes in vortex path alter the location of the nonuniformity relative to the rotor. Lower pressure rise and work input occurs when the rotor blade is embedded in a region of low time-mean relative stagnation pressure than when immersed in a region of high relative stagnation pressure. In addition to the work changes, which are an essentially two-dimensional effect, it is demonstrated that the location of the wake may affect the tip clearance flow, implying a potential impact on pressure rise capability and rotor stability limits. Model calculations are presented to give estimates of the magnitude and nature of this phenomenon.

scholarly journals Effects of Upstream Wake Phasing on Transonic Axial Compressor Performance

2010 ◽  
Vol 133 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
S. P. R. Nolan ◽  
B. B. Botros ◽  
C. S. Tan ◽  
J. J. Adamczyk ◽  
E. M. Greitzer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Axial Compressor ◽  
Pressure Rise ◽  
Stagnation Pressure ◽  
Tip Clearance ◽  
Model Calculations ◽  
Tip Clearance Flow ◽  
Clearance Flow ◽  
Work Input ◽  
Compressor Performance ◽  
Stability Limits

The effect on rotor work of the phase of an upstream wake relative to the rotor is examined computationally and analytically for a transonic blade row. There can be an important impact on the time-mean performance when the time-dependent circulation of the shed vortices in the wake is phase-locked to the rotor position, as it occurs when there is strong interaction between the rotor static pressure field and the upstream vanes. The rotor work is found to depend on the path of the wake vortices as they travel through the blade passage; for the configurations examined, the calculated change in time-mean rotor work was approximately 3%. It is shown that the effect on work input can be analyzed in terms of the influence of the time-mean relative stagnation pressure nonuniformity associated with the unsteady (but phase-locked) wake vortex flow field, in that the changes in vortex path alter the location of the nonuniformity relative to the rotor. Lower pressure rise and work input occurs when the rotor blade is embedded in a region of low time-mean relative stagnation pressure than when immersed in a region of high relative stagnation pressure. In addition to the work changes, which are essentially two-dimensional effects, it is demonstrated that the location of the wake may affect the tip clearance flow, implying a potential impact on the pressure rise capability and rotor stability limits. Model calculations are presented to give estimates of the magnitude and nature of this phenomenon.

Stalling Pressure Rise Capability of Axial Flow Compressor Stages

1981 ◽  
Vol 103 (4) ◽  
pp. 645-656 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. C. Koch
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Data ◽  
Reynolds Number ◽  
Axial Flow ◽  
Pressure Rise ◽  
Tip Clearance ◽  
Flow Coefficient ◽  
Low Speed ◽  
Axial Flow Compressor ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Flow Compressor

A procedure for estimating the maximum pressure rise potential of axial flow compressor stages is presented. A simplified stage average pitchline approach is employed so that the procedure can be used during a preliminary design effort before detailed radial distributions of blading geometry and fluid parameters are established. Semi-empirical correlations of low speed experimental data are presented that relate the stalling static-pressure-rise coefficient of a compressor stage to cascade passage geometry, tip clearance, bladerow axial spacing and Reynolds number. Blading aspect ratio is accounted for through its effect on normalized clearances, Reynolds number and wall boundary layer blockage. An unexpectedly strong effect of airfoil stagger and of the resulting flow coefficient of the stage’s vector triangle is observed in the experimental data. This is shown to be caused by the differing ability of different types of stage vector triangles to re-energize incoming low-momentum fluid. Use of a suitable “effective” dynamic head in the pressure rise coefficient gives a good correlation of this effect. Stalling pressure rise data from a wide range of both low speed and high speed compressor stages are shown to be in good agreement with these correlations.

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