3D Numerical Investigation of Tandem Airfoils for a Core Compressor Rotor

2010 ◽  
Vol 132 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan McGlumphy ◽  
Wing-Fai Ng ◽  
Steven R. Wellborn ◽  
Severin Kempf
Keyword(s):  
Turbulent Flow ◽  
Fluid Mechanics ◽  
Numerical Investigation ◽  
Boundary Layers ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Compressor Blade ◽  
Stall Margin ◽  
Compressor Rotor ◽  
Blade Geometry

The tandem airfoil has potential to do more work as a compressor blade than a single airfoil without incurring higher losses. The goal of this work is to evaluate the fluid mechanics of a tandem rotor in the rear stages of a core compressor. As such, the results are constrained to shock-free fully turbulent flow with thick endwall boundary layers at the inlet. A high hub-to-tip ratio 3D blade geometry was developed based on the best-case tandem airfoil configuration from a previous 2D study. The 3D tandem rotor was simulated in isolation, in order to scrutinize the fluid mechanisms of the rotor, which had not been previously well documented. A geometrically similar single blade rotor was also simulated under the same conditions for a baseline comparison. The tandem rotor was found to outperform its single blade counterpart by attaining a higher work coefficient, polytropic efficiency, and numerical stall margin. An examination of the tandem rotor fluid mechanics revealed that the forward blade acts in a similar manner to a conventional rotor. The aft blade is strongly dependent on the flow it receives from the forward blade, and tends to be more three-dimensional and nonuniform than the forward blade.

3D Numerical Investigation of Tandem Airfoils for a Core Compressor Rotor

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan McGlumphy ◽  
Wing-Fai Ng ◽  
Steven R. Wellborn ◽  
Severin Kempf
Keyword(s):  
Turbulent Flow ◽  
Fluid Mechanics ◽  
Numerical Investigation ◽  
Boundary Layers ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Compressor Blade ◽  
Stall Margin ◽  
Compressor Rotor ◽  
Blade Geometry

The tandem airfoil has potential to do more work as a compressor blade than a single airfoil without incurring higher losses. The goal of this work is to evaluate the fluid mechanics of a tandem rotor in the rear stages of a core compressor. As such, the results are constrained to shock-free, fully turbulent flow with thick endwall boundary layers at the inlet. A high hub-to-tip ratio 3D blade geometry was developed based upon the best-case tandem airfoil configuration from a previous 2D study. The 3D tandem rotor was simulated in isolation in order to scrutinize the fluid mechanisms of the rotor, which had not previously been well documented. A geometrically similar single blade rotor was also simulated under the same conditions for a baseline comparison. The tandem rotor was found to outperform its single blade counterpart by attaining a higher work coefficient, polytropic efficiency and numerical stall margin. An examination of the tandem rotor fluid mechanics revealed that the forward blade acts in a similar manner to a conventional rotor. The aft blade is strongly dependent upon the flow it receives from the forward blade, and tends to be more three-dimensional and non-uniform than the forward blade.

Effect of tip clearance size on the performance of a low-reaction transonic axial compressor rotor

2019 ◽  
Vol 234 (2) ◽  
pp. 127-142
Author(s):  
Wei Zhu ◽  
Songtao Wang ◽  
Longxin Zhang ◽  
Jun Ding ◽  
Zhongqi Wang
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Simulations ◽  
Dynamic Balance ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Axial Compressor ◽  
Tip Clearance ◽  
Stall Margin ◽  
Tip Clearance Flow ◽  
Compressor Rotor ◽  
Clearance Flow ◽  
Flow Phenomena

This study aimed to enhance the understanding of flow phenomena in low-reaction aspirated compressors. Three-dimensional, multi-passage steady and unsteady numerical simulations are performed to investigate the performance sensitivity to tip clearance variation on the first-stage rotor of a multistage low-reaction aspirated compressor. Three kinds of tip clearance sizes including 1.0τ, 2.0τ and 3.0τ are modeled, in which 1.0τ corresponds to the designed tip clearance size of 0.2 mm. The steady numerical simulations show that the overall performance of the rotor moves toward lower mass flow rate when the tip clearance size is increased. Moreover, energy losses, efficiency reduction and stall margin decrease are also observed with increasing tip clearance size. This can be mostly attributed to the damaging impact of intense tip clearance flow. For unsteady simulation, the result shows periodical oscillation of the tip leakage vortex and a “two-passage periodic structure” in the tip region at the near-stall point. The occurrence of the periodical oscillation is due to the severe interaction between the tip clearance flow and the shock wave. However, the rotor operating state is still stable at this working point because a dynamic balance is established between the tip clearance flow and incoming flow.

Three-Dimensional Turbulent Flow in the Tip Region of an Axial Compressor Rotor Passage at a Near Stall Condition

2001 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hongwei Ma ◽  
Haokang Jiang
Keyword(s):  
Turbulent Flow ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Axial Flow ◽  
Leading Edge ◽  
Rotating Stall ◽  
Suction Surface ◽  
Tip Leakage Vortex ◽  
Tip Leakage ◽  
Compressor Rotor

This paper presents an experimental study of the three-dimensional turbulent flow field in the tip region of an axial flow compressor rotor passage at a near stall condition. The investigation was conducted in a low-speed large-scale compressor using a 3-component Laser Doppler Velocimetry and a high frequency pressure transducer. The measurement results indicate that a tip leakage vortex is produced very close to the leading edge, and becomes the strongest at about 10% axial chord from the leading edge. Breakdown of the vortex periodically occurs at about 1/3 chord, causing very strong turbulence in the radial direction. Flow separation happens on the tip suction surface at about half chord, prompting the corner vortex migrating toward the pressure side. Tangential migration of the low-energy fluids results in substantial flow blockage and turbulence in the rear of a rotor passage. Unsteady interactions among the tip leakage vortex, the separated vortex and the corner flow should contribute to the inception of the rotating stall in a compressor.

Impact of Sweep on Part Speed Performance of an Axial Compressor Rotor With Circumferential Casing Grooves

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shraman Goswami ◽  
M. Govardhan
Keyword(s):  
Flow Field ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Axial Compressor ◽  
Field Investigation ◽  
Performance Comparison ◽  
Rotor Blades ◽  
Stall Margin ◽  
Compressor Rotor ◽  
Design Speed

Abstract High performance and increased operating range of an axial compressor is obtained by employing three-dimensional design features, such as sweep, as well as shroud casing treatments, such as circumferential casing grooves. A number of different rotor blades with different amounts of sweeps and different sweep starting spans are studied at design speed. Different swept rotors, including zero sweep, are derived from Rotor37 rotor geometry. In the current study the best performing rotor with sweep is analyzed at part speed. The analyses were done for baseline rotor, devoid of any sweep, and with and without circumferential casing grooves. A detailed flow field investigation and performance comparison is presented to understand the changes in flow field at part speed. It is found that that at 100% design speed, stall margin improvement is achived by both sweep and casing grooves, but at 90% speed improvement in stall margin due to sacing groove is very minimal over and above the gain due to sweep. It is also noticed that due to reduced shock loss efficiency is higher at 90% speed than at 100% speed.

Computation of Three-Dimensional Turbulent Turbomachinery Flows Using a Coupled Parabolic-Marching Method

1988 ◽  
Vol 110 (4) ◽  
pp. 549-556 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. R. Kirtley ◽  
B. Lakshminarayana
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layers ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Axial Flow ◽  
Suction Side ◽  
Navier Stokes ◽  
Compressor Cascade ◽  
Navier Stokes Equation ◽  
Pressure Losses ◽  
Compressor Rotor ◽  
Marching Method

A new coupled parabolic-marching method was developed to compute the three-dimensional turbulent flow in a turbine endwall cascade, a compressor cascade wake, and an axial flow compressor rotor passage. The method solves the partially parabolized incompressible Navier–Stokes equation and continuity in a coupled fashion. The continuity equation was manipulated using pseudocompressibility theory to give a convergent algorithm for complex geometries. The computed end-wall boundary layers and secondary flow compared well with the experimental data for the turbine cascade as did the wake profiles for the compressor cascade using a k–ε turbulence model. Suction side boundary layers, pressure distributions, and exit stagnation pressure losses compared reasonably well with the data for the compressor rotor.

Structural Evaluation and Testing of Swept Compressor Rotor

1994 ◽  
Vol 116 (1) ◽  
pp. 217-222 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Aksoy ◽  
B. Mitlin ◽  
H. Borowy
Keyword(s):  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Compressor Blade ◽  
Dimensional Structure ◽  
Element Analysis ◽  
Turbine Engine ◽  
Compressor Rotor ◽  
Structural Evaluation ◽  
Critical Issues ◽  
Stress Prediction ◽  
Design Speed

This paper summarizes specific critical issues encountered in the structural analysis of a swept first-stage compressor blade of a gas turbine engine and the results of the test to evaluate the accuracy of the modeling and surface stress prediction procedure. The surface stresses of a three-dimensional structure were obtained using membrane elements attached to the surface of solid elements. Steady stress measurements were then made during accelerations and decelerations to and from design speed. The test was conducted in an evacuated spin rig. The measurements were used to evaluate the validity of the stress prediction from finite element analysis.

Three-Dimensional Turbulent Flow Field Downstream of a Single-Stage Axial Compressor Rotor

2000 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hongwei Ma ◽  
Haokang Jiang
Keyword(s):  
Flow Field ◽  
Turbulent Flow ◽  
Mass Flow ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Axial Compressor ◽  
Single Stage ◽  
Suction Surface ◽  
Trailing Edge ◽  
Rotor Wake ◽  
Compressor Rotor

This paper reports an experimental investigation of the three-dimensional turbulent flow downstream of a single-stage axial compressor rotor. The flow fields were measured at two axial locations in the rotor-stator gap at different mass-flow conditions. Both hot-wire probe and fast-response pressure probe were employed to survey the flow structure. At the design condition, substantial flow blockage, turbulence, loss and aerodynamic noise mainly occur in the tip mid-passage, the rotor wake and at the hub corner of the suction surface. The radial component is the highest of the three turbulence intensities at 15% axial chord downstream of the trailing edge. With the flow downstream, the radial turbulence components decay fast. Interactions of the tip leakage vorticities and the rotor wake are found at 30% axial chord downstream of the trailing edge. With the mass-flow decrease, the turbulence intensities and shear stresses become stronger, while the radial components increase fast. The flow separation and tangential migration of the low-energy fluids at the tip corner of the suction surface play an important role in the tip flow field at a low mass-flow condition.

Three-Dimensional Turbulent Flow of the Tip Leakage Vortex in an Axial Compressor Rotor Passage

2000 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hongwei Ma ◽  
Haokang Jiang
Keyword(s):  
Turbulent Flow ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Axial Compressor ◽  
Radial Component ◽  
Reynolds Stresses ◽  
Compressor Cascade ◽  
Suction Surface ◽  
Tip Leakage Vortex ◽  
Tip Leakage ◽  
Compressor Rotor

Three-dimensional turbulent flow of the tip leakage vortex in a single-stage axial compressor rotor passage is studied using a 3-Component Laser Doppler Velocimetry. The measurement results indicate that the tip leakage vortex originates at about 10% axial chord, 8% pitch away from the suction surface, and becomes strongest at about 30% chord. With the flow downstream, the vortex core moves toward the pressure surface and to a lower radial location, leading to substantial flow mixing, blockage and turbulence in the tip region. The radial component of turbulence intensities is found to be the highest while the axial-radial component of Reynolds stresses is the largest. Breakdown of the leakage vortex occurs inside the rear rotor passage, which makes the flow more turbulent in a wider region downstream. This viewpoint is confirmed by the measurements of unsteady static pressure on the casing wall. Breakdown of a leakage vortex is observed clearly in a compressor cascade with a small clearance. Unsteady interactions of the broken vorticities and the suction surface’s boundary layer are shown obviously inside the downstream passage.

Development of Hub Corner Stall and Its Influence on the Performance of Axial Compressor Blade Rows

1999 ◽  
Vol 121 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Hah ◽  
J. Loellbach
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Solutions ◽  
Stokes Equations ◽  
Flow Direction ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Suction Side ◽  
Compressor Blade ◽  
Suction Surface ◽  
Simple Diffusion ◽  
Transonic Compressor ◽  
Compressor Rotor

A detailed investigation has been performed to study hub corner stall phenomena in compressor blade rows. Three-dimensional flows in a subsonic annular compressor stator and in a transonic compressor rotor have been analyzed numerically by solving the Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations. The numerical results and the existing experimental data are interrogated to understand the mechanism of compressor hub corner stall. Both the measurements and the numerical solutions for the stator indicate that a strong twisterlike vortex is formed near the rear part of the blade suction surface. Low-momentum fluid inside the hub boundary layer is transported toward the suction side of the blade by this vortex. On the blade suction surface near the hub, this vortex forces fluid to move against the main flow direction and a limiting stream surface is formed near the hub. The formation of this vortex is the main mechanism of hub corner stall. When the aerodynamic loading is increased, the vortex initiates further upstream, which results in a larger corner stall region. For the transonic compressor rotor studied in this paper, the numerical solution indicates that a mild hub corner stall exists at 100 percent rotor speed. The hub corner stall, however, disappears at the reduced blade loading, which occurs at 60 percent rotor design speed. The present study demonstrates that hub corner stall is caused by a three-dimensional vortex system and that it does not seem to be correlated with a simple diffusion factor for the blade row.

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