On the Failure of a Gas Foil Bearing: High Temperature Operation Without Cooling Flow

2013 ◽  
Vol 135 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Keun Ryu ◽  
Luis San Andrés
Keyword(s):  
High Temperature ◽  
Gas Turbine ◽  
Mechanical Energy ◽  
Test System ◽  
System Component ◽  
Outer Diameter ◽  
Foil Bearings ◽  
Cooling Flow ◽  
Thermal Growth ◽  
Reliability Issue

Implementing gas foil bearings (GFBs) in micro gas turbine engines is a proven approach to improve system efficiency and reliability. Adequate thermal management for operation at high temperatures, such as in a gas turbine or a turbocharger, is important to control thermal growth of components and to remove efficiently mechanical energy from the rotor mainly. The paper presents a test rotor supported on GFBs operating with a heated shaft and reports components temperatures and shaft motions at an operating speed of 37 krpm. An electric cartridge heater loosely inserted in the hollow rotor warms the test system. Thermocouples and noncontact infrared thermometers record temperatures on the bearing sleeve and rotor outer diameter (OD), respectively. No forced cooling air flow streams were supplied to the bearings and rotor, in spite of the high temperature induced by the heater on the shaft outer surface. With the rotor spinning, the tests consisted of heating the rotor to a set temperature, recording the system component temperatures until reaching thermal equilibrium in  ∼ 60 min, and stepping the heater set temperature by 200 °C. The experiments proceeded without incident until the heater set temperature equaled 600 °C. Ten minutes into the test, noise became apparent and the rotor stopped abruptly. The unusual operating condition, without cooling flow and a too large increment in rotor temperature, reaching 250 °C, led to the incident which destroyed one of the foil bearings. Post-test inspection evidenced seizure of the hottest bearing (closest to the heater) with melting of the top foil at the locations where it rests on the underspring crests (bumps). Analysis reveals a notable reduction in bearing clearance as the rotor temperature increases until seizure occurs. Upon contact between the rotor and top foil, dry-friction quickly generated vast amounts of energy that melted the protective coating and metal top foil. Rather than a reliability issue with the foil bearings, the experimental results show poor operating procedure and ignorance on the system behavior (predictions). A cautionary tale and a lesson in humility follow.

On the Failure of a Gas Foil Bearing: High Temperature Operation Without Cooling Flow

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keun Ryu ◽  
Luis San Andrés
Keyword(s):  
High Temperature ◽  
Gas Turbine ◽  
Mechanical Energy ◽  
Test System ◽  
System Component ◽  
Foil Bearings ◽  
Cooling Flow ◽  
Thermal Growth ◽  
Reliability Issue ◽  
Cooling Air Flow

Implementing gas foil bearings (GFBs) in micro gas turbine engines is a proven approach to improve system efficiency and reliability. Adequate thermal management for operation at high temperatures, such as in a gas turbine or a turbocharger, is important to control thermal growth of components and to remove efficiently mechanical energy from the rotor mainly. The paper presents a test rotor supported on GFBs operating with a heated shaft and reports components temperatures and shaft motions at an operating speed of 37 krpm. An electric cartridge heater loosely inserted in the hollow rotor warms the test system. Thermocouples and non-contact infrared thermometers record temperatures on the bearing sleeve and rotor OD, respectively. No forced cooling air flow streams were supplied to the bearings and rotor, in spite of the high temperature induced by the heater on the shaft outer surface. With the rotor spinning, the tests consisted in heating the rotor to a set temperature, recording the system component temperatures until reaching thermal equilibrium in ∼60 minutes, and stepping the heater set temperature by 200 °C. The experiments proceeded without incident, the heater set temperature equaled 600 °C and 10 minutes into the test, noise became apparent and the rotor stopped abruptly. The unusual operating condition, without cooling flow and a too large increment in rotor temperature, reaching 250 °C, led to the incident which destroyed one of the foil bearings. Post-test inspection evidenced seizure of the hottest bearing (closest to the heater) with melting of the top foil at the locations where it rests on the underspring crests (bumps). Analysis reveals a notable reduction in bearing clearance as the rotor temperature increases until seizure occurs. Upon contact between the rotor and top foil, dry-friction quickly generated vast amounts of energy that melted the protective coating and metal top foil. Rather than a reliability issue with the foil bearings the experimental results show poor operating procedure and ignorance on the system behavior (predictions). A cautionary tale and a lesson in humility follow.

Comparison of 3D Unsteady Transient Conjugate Heat Transfer Analysis on a High Pressure Cooled Turbine Stage With Experimental Data

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jong-Shang Liu ◽  
Mark C. Morris ◽  
Malak F. Malak ◽  
Randall M. Mathison ◽  
Michael G. Dunn
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Experimental Data ◽  
Heat Flux ◽  
High Pressure ◽  
High Temperature ◽  
Gas Turbine ◽  
Conjugate Heat Transfer ◽  
Turbine Rotor ◽  
Turbine Stage ◽  
Cooling Flow

In order to have higher power to weight ratio and higher efficiency gas turbine engines, turbine inlet temperatures continue to rise. State-of-the-art turbine inlet temperatures now exceed the turbine rotor material capability. Accordingly, one of the best methods to protect turbine airfoil surfaces is to use film cooling on the airfoil external surfaces. In general, sizable amounts of expensive cooling flow delivered from the core compressor are used to cool the high temperature surfaces. That sizable cooling flow, on the order of 20% of the compressor core flow, adversely impacts the overall engine performance and hence the engine power density. With better understanding of the cooling flow and accurate prediction of the heat transfer distribution on airfoil surfaces, heat transfer designers can have a more efficient design to reduce the cooling flow needed for high temperature components and improve turbine efficiency. This in turn lowers the overall specific fuel consumption (SFC) for the engine. Accurate prediction of rotor metal temperature is also critical for calculations of cyclic thermal stress, oxidation, and component life. The utilization of three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (3D CFD) codes for turbomachinery aerodynamic design and analysis is now a routine practice in the gas turbine industry. The accurate heat-transfer and metal-temperature prediction capability of any CFD code, however, remains challenging. This difficulty is primarily due to the complex flow environment of the high-pressure turbine, which features high speed rotating flow, coupling of internal and external unsteady flows, and film-cooled, heat transfer enhancement schemes. In this study, conjugate heat transfer (CHT) simulations are performed on a high-pressure cooled turbine stage, and the heat flux results at mid span are compared to experimental data obtained at The Ohio State University Gas Turbine Laboratory (OSUGTL). Due to the large difference in time scales between fluid and solid, the fluid domain is simulated as steady state while the solid domain is simulated as transient in CHT simulation. This paper compares the unsteady and transient results of the heat flux on a high-pressure cooled turbine rotor with measurements obtained at OSUGTL.

Supporting Structure Performances Analysis of Heavy-Duty Gas Turbine Based on Fluid-Solid Coupling Method

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guohui Xu ◽  
Jian Zhou ◽  
Mingjian Lu ◽  
Haipeng Geng ◽  
Yanhua Sun ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Stress ◽  
High Temperature ◽  
Gas Turbine ◽  
Gas Turbines ◽  
Thermal Deformation ◽  
Coupled Model ◽  
Strength Analysis ◽  
Cooling Flow ◽  
Heavy Duty Gas Turbine ◽  
Steady State Heat Transfer

In order to achieve high working efficiency, modern gas turbines operate at high temperature which is close to the melting points of metal alloys. However, the support of turbine end suffers the thermal deformation. And the journal center position is also changed due to the effects of high temperature and shaft gravity. Tangential or radial supporting structures, which are composed of supporting struts, diffuser cones, hot and cooling fluid channel, are widely used in gas turbine hot end. Cooling technology is usually used to keep the bearing temperature in a reasonable range to meet requirements of strength and deformation of the supporting struts. In this paper, three major assumptions are proposed: (a) radiation is not considered, (b) cooling flow system is only partially modeled and analysis assumes significantly higher cooling flow that is not typical for current engines, and (c) only steady state heat transfer is considered. And a 3D fluid-solid coupled model based on finite-element method (FEM) is built to analyze the performances of both the tangential and the radial support. The temperature distribution, thermal deformation and stress of supports are obtained from CFD and strength analysis. The results show that either the tangential or radial support is used in a 270MW gas turbine; the thermal stress is about 90.3% of total stress which is produced by both thermal effects and shaft gravity. Comparing to the results from radial supports, it can be seen that the struts stress and position variation of journal center of tangential support are smaller. Due to a rotational effect of the bearing housing caused by the deformation of the tangential struts, the thermal stress in these tangential struts can be relieved to some extent. When both thermal effect and shaft gravity are considered, the stress of each tangential supporting strut is almost uniformly distributed, which is beneficial to the stability of rotor system in the gas turbine.

Ultra-High Temperature Compliant Foil Bearings: The Journey to 870°C and Application in Gas Turbine Engines — Experiment

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hooshang Heshmat ◽  
James F. Walton ◽  
Brian D. Nicholson
Keyword(s):  
High Temperature ◽  
Gas Turbine ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Turbine Engines ◽  
Gas Turbine Engines ◽  
Turbine Engine ◽  
Foil Bearings ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The U.S ◽  
Ultra High Temperature

In this paper, the authors present the results of recent developments demonstrating that ultra-high temperature compliant foil bearings are suitable for application in a wide range of high temperature turbomachinery including gas turbine engines, supercritical CO2 power turbines and automotive turbochargers as supported by test data showing operation of foil bearings at temperatures to 870°C (1600°F). This work represents the culmination of efforts begun in 1987, when the U.S. Air Force established and led the government and industry collaborative Integrated High Performance Turbine Engine Technology (IHPTET) program. The stated goal of IHPTET was to deliver twice the propulsion capability of turbine engines in existence at that time. Following IHPTET, the Versatile Affordable Advanced Turbine Engines (VAATE) program further expanded on the original goals by including both versatility and affordability as key elements in advancing turbine engine technology. Achieving the stated performance goals would require significantly more extreme operating conditions including higher temperatures, pressures and speeds, which in turn would require bearings capable of sustaining temperatures in excess of 815°C (1500°F). Similarly, demands for more efficient automotive engines and power plants are subjecting the bearings in turbochargers and turbogenerators to more severe environments. Through the IHPTET and VAATE programs, the U.S. has made considerable research investments to advancing bearing technology, including active magnetic bearings, solid and vapor phase lubricated rolling element bearings, ceramic/hybrid ceramic bearings, powder lubricated bearings and compliant foil gas bearings. Thirty years after the IHPTET component goal of developing a bearing capable of sustained operation at temperatures above 540°C and potentially as high as 815°C (1500°F) recent testing has demonstrated achievement of this goal with an advanced, ultra-high temperature compliant foilgas bearing. Achieving this goal required a combination of high temperature foil material, a unique elastic-tribo-thermal barrier coating (KOROLON 2250) and a self-adapting compliant configuration. The authors describe the experimental hardware designs and design considerations of the two differently sized test rigs used to demonstrate foil bearings operating above 815°C (1500°F). Finally, the authors present and discuss the results of testing at temperatures to 870°C (1600°F).

Foil Air Bearings Cleared to Land

1998 ◽  
Vol 120 (07) ◽  
pp. 78-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giri L. Agrawal
Keyword(s):  
Gas Turbine ◽  
General Aviation ◽  
Turbine Engines ◽  
Gas Turbine Engines ◽  
Air Bearings ◽  
Ground Vehicles ◽  
Foil Bearings ◽  
Cooling Flow ◽  
Auxiliary Power ◽  
Auxiliary Power Units

This article explores use of foil air bearings in land-based turbomachinery. A machine with foil air bearings is more reliable than one with rolling element bearings because it requires fewer parts to support the rotative assembly and needs no lubrication. Foil air bearings can handle severe environmental conditions such as the ingestion of sand and dust. A reversed pilot design at the cooling flow inlet prevents large particles from entering the bearing's flow path, and smaller particles are continually flushed out of the bearing by the cooling flow. Many applications of foil air/gas bearings other than air cycle machines have been built and successfully tested, but nothing appears to be currently in production. Foil bearings have strong potential in several applications. Among these are small general aviation gas turbine engines; oil-free cryogenic turboexpanders for gas separation plants; auxiliary power units for various aerospace and ground vehicles; and, taking advantage of automated manufacturing methods, automotive gas turbine engines, vapor-cycle centrifugal compressors, and commercial air/gas compressors.

A New Method to Calculate the Coolant Requirements of a High-Temperature Gas Turbine Blade

2005 ◽  
Vol 127 (1) ◽  
pp. 191-199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leonardo Torbidoni ◽  
J. H. Horlock
Keyword(s):  
High Temperature ◽  
Gas Turbine ◽  
Film Cooling ◽  
Guide Vane ◽  
Coolant Flow ◽  
Computational Method ◽  
Inlet Temperature ◽  
Film Cooling Effectiveness ◽  
Cooling Flow ◽  
High Temperature Gas

Earlier papers by the first author have described a computational method of estimating the cooling flow requirements of blade rows in a high-temperature gas turbine, for convective cooling alone and for convective plus film cooling. This method of analysis and computation, when applied to the whole blade chord was compared to a well-known semi-empirical method. In the current paper, a more sophisticated method is developed from the earlier work and is used to calculate the cooling flow required for a nozzle guide vane (the first blade row) of a high-temperature gas turbine, with given inlet gas temperature and coolant inlet temperature. Now the heat flux through an elementary cross-sectional area of the blade, at given spanwise (y) and chordwise (s) locations, is considered, with a guessed value of the elementary coolant flow [as a fraction dΨs of the external gas flow]. At the given s, integration along the blade length gives the blade metal temperatures at the outer and inner walls, Tbgy and Tbcly. If the value of Tbg at the blade tip y=H is assumed to be limited by material considerations to Tbg,max then the elementary coolant flow rate may be obtained by iteration. Summation along the chord then gives the total coolant flow, for the whole blade. Results using the method are then compared to a simpler calculation applied to the whole blade, which assumes chordwise constant temperatures and constant selected values of cooling efficiency and film-cooling effectiveness.

Bump-Type Foil Bearings and Flexure Pivot Tilting Pad Bearings for Oil-Free Automotive Turbochargers: Highlights in Rotordynamic Performance

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keun Ryu ◽  
Zachary Ashton
Keyword(s):  
High Performance ◽  
Load Capacity ◽  
Mechanical Efficiency ◽  
Outer Diameter ◽  
Gas Bearings ◽  
Thrust Bearings ◽  
Foil Bearings ◽  
Thermal Growth ◽  
Tilting Pad ◽  
Tilting Pad Bearings

Oil-free turbochargers require gas bearings in compact units of enhanced rotordynamic stability, mechanical efficiency, and improved reliability with reduced maintenance costs compared with oil-lubricated bearings. Implementation of gas bearings into automotive turbochargers requires careful thermal management with accurate measurements verifying model predictions. Foil bearings are customarily used in oil-free microturbomachinery because of their distinct advantages including tolerance to shaft misalignment and centrifugal/thermal growth, and large damping and load capacity compared with rigid surface gas bearings. Flexure pivot tilting pad bearings are widely used in high performance turbomachinery since they offer little or no cross-coupled stiffnesses with enhanced rotordynamic stability. The paper details the rotordynamic performance and temperature characteristics of two prototype oil-free turbochargers; one supported on foil journal and thrust bearings and the other one is supported on flexure pivot tilting pad journal bearings and foil thrust bearings of identical sizes (OD and ID) with the same aerodynamic components. The tests of the oil-free turbochargers, each consisting of a hollow rotor (∼0.4 kg and ∼23 mm in outer diameter at the bearing locations), are performed for various imbalances in NVH (i.e, cold air driven rotordynamics rig) and gas stand test facilities up to 130 krpm. No forced cooling air flow streams are supplied to the test bearings and rotor. The measurements demonstrate the stable performance of the rotor-gas bearing systems in an ambient NVH test cell with cold forced air into the turbine inlet. Posttest inspection of the test flexure pivot tilting pad bearings after the hot gas stand tests evidences seizure of the hottest bearing, thereby revealing a notable reduction in bearing clearance as the rotor temperature increases. The compliant flexure pivot tilting pad bearings offer a sound solution for stable rotor support only at an ambient temperature condition while demonstrating less tolerance for shaft growth, centrifugal and thermal, beyond its clearance. The current measurements give confidence in the present gas foil bearing technology for ready application into automotive turbochargers for passenger car and commercial vehicle applications with increased reliability.

Thermal Management and Rotordynamic Performance of a Hot Rotor-Gas Foil Bearings System—Part I: Measurements

2011 ◽  
Vol 133 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis San Andrés ◽  
Keun Ryu ◽  
Tae Ho Kim
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Management ◽  
Gas Turbines ◽  
Companion Paper ◽  
Outer Diameter ◽  
Predictive Tool ◽  
Heater Temperature ◽  
Foil Bearings ◽  
Cooling Flow ◽  
Limited Effectiveness ◽  
System Temperature

Implementation of gas foil bearings (GFBs) into micro gas turbines requires careful thermal management with accurate measurements verifying model predictions. This two-part paper presents test data and analytical results for a test rotor and GFB system operating hot (157°C maximum rotor outer diameter (OD) temperature). Part I details the test rig and measurements of bearing temperatures and rotor dynamic motions obtained in a hollow rotor supported on a pair of second generation GFBs, each consisting of a single top foil (38.14 mm inner diameter) uncoated for high temperature operation and five bump strip support layers. An electric cartridge (maximum of 360°C) loosely installed inside the rotor (1.065 kg, 38.07 mm OD, and 4.8 mm thick) is a heat source warming the rotor-bearing system. While coasting down from 30 krpm to rest, large elapsed times (50–70 s) demonstrate rotor airborne operation, near friction free, and while traversing the system critical speed at ∼13 krpm, the rotor peak motion amplitude decreases as the system temperature increases. In tests conducted at a fixed rotor speed of 30 krpm, while the shaft heats, a cooling gas stream of increasing strength is set to manage the temperatures in the bearings and rotor. The effect of the cooling flow, if turbulent in character, is most distinctive at the highest heater temperature. For operation at a lower heater temperature condition, however, the cooling flow stream demonstrates a very limited effectiveness. The measurements demonstrate the reliable performance of the rotor-GFB system when operating hot. The test results, along with full disclosure on the materials and geometry of the test bearings and rotor, serve to benchmark a predictive tool. A companion paper (Part II) compares the measured bearing temperatures and the rotor response amplitudes to predictions.

Bump-Type Foil Bearings and Flexure Pivot Tilting Pad Bearings for Oil-Free Automotive Turbochargers: Highlights in Rotordynamic Performance

2015 ◽  
Vol 138 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Keun Ryu ◽  
Zachary Ashton
Keyword(s):  
High Performance ◽  
Load Capacity ◽  
Mechanical Efficiency ◽  
Outer Diameter ◽  
Gas Bearings ◽  
Thrust Bearings ◽  
Foil Bearings ◽  
Thermal Growth ◽  
Tilting Pad ◽  
Tilting Pad Bearings

Oil-free turbochargers (TCs) require gas bearings in compact units of enhanced rotordynamic stability, mechanical efficiency, and improved reliability with reduced maintenance costs compared with oil-lubricated bearings. Implementation of gas bearings into automotive TCs requires careful thermal management with accurate measurements verifying model predictions. Gas foil bearings (GFBs) are customarily used in oil-free microturbomachinery because of their distinct advantages including tolerance to shaft misalignment and centrifugal/thermal growth, and large damping and load capacity compared with rigid surface gas bearings. Flexure pivot tilting pad bearings (FPTPBs) are widely used in high-performance turbomachinery since they offer little or no cross-coupled stiffnesses with enhanced rotordynamic stability. The paper details the rotordynamic performance and temperature characteristics of two prototype oil-free TCs; one supported on foil journal and thrust bearings and the other one is supported on FPTP journal bearings and foil thrust bearings of identical sizes (outer diameter (OD) and inner diameter (ID)) with the same aerodynamic components. The tests of the oil-free TCs, each consisting of a hollow rotor (∼0.4 kg and ∼23 mm in OD at the bearing locations), are performed for various imbalances in noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH; i.e., cold air driven rotordynamics rig) and gas stand test facilities up to 130 krpm. No forced cooling air flow streams are supplied to the test bearings and rotor. The measurements demonstrate the stable performance of the rotor–gas bearing systems in an ambient NVH test cell with cold forced air into the turbine inlet. Post-test inspection of the test FPTPGBs after the hot gas stand tests evidences seizure of the hottest bearing, thereby revealing a notable reduction in bearing clearance as the rotor temperature increases. The compliant FPTPGBs offer a sound solution for stable rotor support only at an ambient temperature condition while demonstrating less tolerance for shaft growth, centrifugal, and thermal, beyond its clearance. The current measurements give confidence in the present GFB technology for ready application into automotive TCs for passenger car and commercial vehicle applications with increased reliability.

A New Method to Calculate the Coolant Requirements of a High Temperature Gas Turbine Blade

2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leonardo Torbidoni ◽  
J. H. Horlock
Keyword(s):  
High Temperature ◽  
Gas Turbine ◽  
Film Cooling ◽  
Guide Vane ◽  
Coolant Flow ◽  
Computational Method ◽  
Inlet Temperature ◽  
Film Cooling Effectiveness ◽  
Cooling Flow ◽  
High Temperature Gas

Earlier papers by the first author have described a computational method of estimating the cooling flow requirements of blade rows in a high temperature gas turbine, for convective cooling alone and for convective plus film cooling; this method of analysis and computation, when applied to the whole blade chord was compared with a well known semi-empirical method. In the current paper, a more sophisticated method is developed from the earlier work and is used to calculate the cooling flow required for a nozzle guide vane [the first blade row] of a high temperature gas turbine, with given inlet gas temperature and coolant inlet temperature. Now the heat flux through an elementary cross-sectional area of the blade, at given spanwise [y] and chordwise [s] locations, is considered, with a guessed value of the elementary coolant flow [as a fraction dΨ(s) of the external gas flow]. At the given s, integration along the blade length gives the blade metal temperatures at the outer and inner walls, Tbg[y] and Tbcl[y]. If the value of Tbg at the blade tip [y = H] is assumed to be limited by material considerations to Tbg,max then the elementary coolant flow rate may be obtained by iteration. Summation along the chord then gives the total coolant flow, for the whole blade. Results using the method are then compared with a simpler calculation applied to the whole blade, which assumes chordwise constant temperatures and constant selected values of cooling efficiency and film cooling effectiveness.

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