Plasma-Based Flow-Control Strategies for Transitional Highly Loaded Low-Pressure Turbines

2008 ◽  
Vol 130 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald P. Rizzetta ◽  
Miguel R. Visbal
Keyword(s):  
Flow Control ◽  
Stokes Equations ◽  
Control Strategies ◽  
Active Flow Control ◽  
Low Pressure ◽  
Base Line ◽  
Suction Surface ◽  
Periodic Arrays ◽  
Inlet Conditions ◽  
Highly Loaded

Recent numerical simulations have indicated the potential of plasma-based active flow control for improving the efficiency of highly loaded low-pressure turbines. The configuration considered in the current and earlier simulations correspond to previous experiments and computations for the flow at a Reynolds number of 25,000 based on axial chord and inlet conditions. In this situation, massive separation occurs on the suction surface of each blade due to uncovered turning, causing blockage in the flow passage. It was numerically demonstrated that asymmetric dielectric-barrier-discharge actuators were able to mitigate separation, thereby decreasing turbine wake losses. The present investigation extends this work by investigating a number of plasma-based flow control strategies. These include the chordwise location of actuation, spanwise periodic arrays of actuators, multiple actuation in the streamwise direction, and spanwise-direct actuation. The effect of alternate plasma-force models is also considered. Solutions were obtained to the Navier–Stokes equations, which were augmented by source terms used to represent plasma-induced body forces imparted by an actuator on the fluid. The numerical method utilized a high-fidelity time-implicit scheme, employing domain decomposition to carry out calculations on a parallel computing platform. A high-order overset grid approach preserved spatial accuracy in locally refined embedded regions. Features of the flowfields are described, and resultant solutions are compared to each other, with a previously obtained control case, and with the base line situation where no control was enforced.

Numerical Study of Active Flow Control for a Transitional Highly Loaded Low-Pressure Turbine

2006 ◽  
Vol 128 (5) ◽  
pp. 956-967 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald P. Rizzetta ◽  
Miguel R. Visbal
Keyword(s):  
Flow Control ◽  
Numerical Study ◽  
Active Flow Control ◽  
Low Pressure ◽  
Transitional Flow ◽  
Suction Surface ◽  
Low Pressure Turbine ◽  
Baseline Case ◽  
Active Flow ◽  
Highly Loaded

Active control was simulated numerically for the subsonic flow through a highly loaded low-pressure turbine. The configuration approximated cascade experiments that were conducted to investigate a reduction in turbine stage blade count, which can decrease both weight and mechanical complexity. At a nominal Reynolds number of 25,000 based upon axial chord and inlet conditions, massive separation occurred on the suction surface of each blade due to uncovered turning. Vortex generating jets were then used to help mitigate separation, thereby reducing wake losses. Computations were performed using both steady blowing and pulsed mass injection to study the effects of active flow control on the transitional flow occurring in the aft-blade and near-wake regions. The numerical method utilized a centered compact finite-difference scheme to represent spatial derivatives, that was used in conjunction with a low-pass Pade-type nondispersive filter operator to maintain stability. An implicit approximately factored time-marching algorithm was employed, and Newton-like subiterations were applied to achieve second-order temporal accuracy. Calculations were carried out on a massively parallel computing platform, using domain decomposition to distribute subzones on individual processors. A high-order overset grid approach preserved spatial accuracy in locally refined embedded regions. Features of the flowfields are described, and simulations are compared with each other, with available experimental data, and with a previously obtained baseline case for the noncontrolled flow. It was found that active flow control was able to maintain attached flow over an additional distance of 19–21% of the blade chord, relative to the baseline case, which resulted in a reduction of the wake total pressure loss coefficient of 53–56%.

Transient Performance of Separated Flows: Characterization and Active Flow Control

2018 ◽  
Vol 141 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Saavedra ◽  
G. Paniagua
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Flow Control ◽  
Active Flow Control ◽  
Boundary Layer Separation ◽  
Low Pressure ◽  
Separated Flows ◽  
Mean Flow ◽  
Recirculation Bubble ◽  
Layer Separation ◽  
Inlet Conditions

The aerothermal performance of the low-pressure turbine in unmanned aerial vehicles is significantly abated at high altitude, due to boundary layer separation. Different flow control strategies have been proposed to prevent boundary layer separation, such as dielectric barrier discharges (DBD) and synthetic jets. However, the optimization of the control approach requires a better characterization of the separated regions at transient conditions. The present investigation analyzes the behavior of separated flows, reporting the inception and separation length, allowing the development of efficient flow control methods under nontemporally uniform inlet conditions. The development of separated flows was investigated with numerical simulations including Unsteady Reynolds average Navier–Stokes (URANS) and large Eddy simulations (LES). The present research was performed on a wall-mounted hump, which imposes a pressure gradient representative of the suction side of low pressure turbines. Through sudden flow accelerations, we looked into the dynamic response of the shear layer detachment as it is modulated by the mean flow evolution. Similarly, we studied the behavior of the recirculation bubble under periodic disturbances imposed at various frequencies ranging from 10 to 500 Hz, at which the Reynolds number oscillates between 40,000 and 180,000. As a first step into the flow control, we added a slot to allow flow injection and ingestion upstream of the separation inception. Exploring the behavior of the separated region at different conditions, we defined the envelope for its periodic actuation. We found that by matching the actuator frequency with the frequency response of the separated region, the performance of the actuation is boosted.

Effect of Blade Aspiration Slot Configuration on the Aerodynamic Performance of a Highly Loaded Aspirated Compressor Cascade

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Longxin Zhang ◽  
Le Cai ◽  
Bao Liu ◽  
Jun Ding ◽  
Songtao Wang
Keyword(s):  
Flow Control ◽  
Flow Rate ◽  
Control Method ◽  
Active Flow Control ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Aerodynamic Performance ◽  
Flow Path ◽  
Compressor Cascade ◽  
Flow Loss ◽  
Highly Loaded

As a promising active flow control method, boundary layer suction (BLS) can be used to enhance the aerodynamic performance of the highly-loaded compressor effectively, and due to this reason, extensive studies have been carried out on it. However, contrast to those abundant studies focusing on the flow control effects of BLS, little attention has been paid on the design method of the aspiration flow path. This work presents a 3-D steady numerical simulation on a highly-loaded aspirated compressor cascade. The aspiration slot is implemented at its best location based on the previous experimental studies and the aspiration flow rate is fix to 1.5% of the inlet massflow. The plenum configuration follows the blade shape and remains unchanged. One-side-aspiration manner is adopted to simplify the aspiration devices. Two critical geometry parameters, slot angle and slot width, are varied to study the effects of blade aspiration slot configuration on the cascade loss, radial distribution of the aspiration flow rate and inner flow structures within the aspiration flow path. Results show that the slot configuration does affect the cascade performance. In comparison with the throughflow performance, it is especially true once the flow loss caused by the aspiration flow path is also taken into account, and higher flow loss will be generated within the aspiration flow path if an inappropriate scheme is adopted. In the present investigation, apart from the cases with larger negative slot angle, a wider slot is more preferable to a narrower one, since it could enhance the aspiration capacity near the endwall regions and lower the dissipation loss within the aspiration flow path. In terms of the slot angle, a larger negative value, i.e., the slot direction more aligned with the incoming flow, is not beneficial to improve the throughflow performance, while concerning the flow loss yield by the aspiration flow path, a proper negative slot angle is always optimal.

scholarly journals Reinforcement learning for bluff body active flow control in experiments and simulations

2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (42) ◽  
pp. 26091-26098
Author(s):  
Dixia Fan ◽  
Liu Yang ◽  
Zhicheng Wang ◽  
Michael S. Triantafyllou ◽  
George Em Karniadakis
Keyword(s):  
Reinforcement Learning ◽  
Fluid Mechanics ◽  
Drag Reduction ◽  
Flow Control ◽  
Bluff Body ◽  
Control Strategies ◽  
Active Flow Control ◽  
Reduction Process ◽  
Automatic Sequence ◽  
Active Flow

We have demonstrated the effectiveness of reinforcement learning (RL) in bluff body flow control problems both in experiments and simulations by automatically discovering active control strategies for drag reduction in turbulent flow. Specifically, we aimed to maximize the power gain efficiency by properly selecting the rotational speed of two small cylinders, located parallel to and downstream of the main cylinder. By properly defining rewards and designing noise reduction techniques, and after an automatic sequence of tens of towing experiments, the RL agent was shown to discover a control strategy that is comparable to the optimal strategy found through lengthy systematically planned control experiments. Subsequently, these results were verified by simulations that enabled us to gain insight into the physical mechanisms of the drag reduction process. While RL has been used effectively previously in idealized computer flow simulation studies, this study demonstrates its effectiveness in experimental fluid mechanics and verifies it by simulations, potentially paving the way for efficient exploration of additional active flow control strategies in other complex fluid mechanics applications.

Numerical investigation of active flow control with co-flowing jet in a horizontal axis wind turbine

2020 ◽  
pp. 0309524X2096139
Author(s):  
Fangrui Shi ◽  
Yingqiao Xu ◽  
Xiaojing Sun
Keyword(s):  
Flow Control ◽  
Wind Turbine ◽  
Performance Enhancement ◽  
Active Flow Control ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Horizontal Axis ◽  
Suction Surface ◽  
Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine ◽  
Momentum Coefficient ◽  
Active Flow

In this paper, a three-dimensional numerical simulation of the aerodynamic performance of a horizontal axis wind turbine (HAWT) whose blades are equipped with a new active flow control concept called Co-Flowing Jet (CFJ) is carried out. Numerical results show that the use of CFJ over the blade suction surface can effectively delay flow separation, thus improving the net torque and power output of HAWT. Besides, this increment in the net power produced by the turbine is considerably higher than the power consumed by the CFJ. Thus, the overall efficiency of the HAWT can be greatly increased. Furthermore, influences of different CFJ operating parameters including location of injection port, jet momentum coefficient and slot length on the performance enhancement of a HAWT are also systematically studied and the optimal combination of these parameters to obtain the best possible turbine efficiency throughout a range of different wind speeds has been identified.

Iterative Learning Active Flow Control Applied to a Compressor Stator Cascade With Periodic Disturbances

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon J. Steinberg ◽  
Rudibert King ◽  
Marcel Staats ◽  
Wolfgang Nitsche
Keyword(s):  
Flow Control ◽  
Active Flow Control ◽  
Pressure Sensors ◽  
Iterative Learning ◽  
Suction Surface ◽  
Periodic Disturbances ◽  
Control Command ◽  
Detonation Engine ◽  
Active Flow ◽  
The Impact

This contribution presents the capability of iterative learning active flow control to decrease the impact of periodic disturbances in an experimental compressor stator cascade with sidewall actuation. The periodic disturbances of the individual passage flows are generated by a damper flap device that is located downstream of the trailing edges of the blades. These mimic the throttling effect of periodically closed combustion tubes in a pulsed detonation engine. For the purpose of rejecting this disturbance the passage flow is manipulated by fluidic actuators that introduce an adjustable amount of pressurized air through slots in the sidewalls of the cascade. Pressure sensors that are mounted flush to the suction surface of the middle blade provide information on the current flow situation. This data is fed back in real-time to an optimal iterative learning controller. By learning from period to period the controller modifies the actuation amplitude such that, eventually, a control command trajectory is calculated that reduces the impact of the periodic disturbance on the flow in an optimal manner.

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