Experimental Analysis of Angled Injection Aerostatic Hybrid Bearings

Author(s):  
Julian Le Rouzic ◽  
Mihai Arghir

Counter-rotation angled injection employed for aerostatic hybrid bearings reduces the cross coupling stiffness that may lead to whirl–whip instabilities at high rotation speeds. The benefits of counter-rotation injection have been known for years. Theoretical investigations were performed for water or air fed hybrid bearings but experiments were conducted only for water fed bearings. The present work is the first effort dedicated to angled injection in air fed hybrid bearings. The tests were performed for a simple rotor supported by two identical hybrid bearings. The hybrid bearings are provided with small size, shallow pockets and are fed with air via counter-rotation-oriented orifice type restrictors. An impulse turbine fed with air entrains the rotor. An impact gun applies dynamic excitations and the rotordynamic coefficients are identified from the equations of motion of the rotor. Different air feeding pressures are tested as well as high rotational speeds. Compared to the dynamic characteristics of radial injection hybrid bearings, the direct stiffness of counter-rotation injection bearings has slightly lower values and the direct damping is higher but the main impact is the drastic reduction of the cross-coupling stiffness that may have even negative values.

Author(s):  
Julian Le Rouzic ◽  
Mihai Arghir

Counter-rotation angled injection employed for aerostatic hybrid bearings reduces the cross coupling stiffness that may lead to whirl-whip instabilities at high rotation speeds. The benefits of counter-rotation injection have been known for years. Theoretical investigations were performed for water or air fed hybrid bearings but experiments were conducted only for water fed bearings. The present work is the first effort dedicated to angled injection in air fed hybrid bearings. The tests were performed for a simple rotor supported by two identical hybrid bearings. The hybrid bearings are provided with small size, shallow pockets and are fed with air via counter-rotation oriented orifice type restrictors. An impulse turbine fed with air entrains the rotor. An impact gun applies dynamic excitations and the rotordynamic coefficients are identified from the equations of motion of the rotor. Different air feeding pressures are tested as well as high rotational speeds. Compared to the dynamic characteristics of radial injection hybrid bearings, the direct stiffness of counter-rotation injection bearings has slightly lower values and the direct damping is higher but the main impact is the drastic reduction of the cross-coupling stiffness that may have even negative values.


Author(s):  
Zhigang Li ◽  
Jun Li ◽  
Zhenping Feng

Effects of pressure ratio, rotational speed and inlet preswirl on the leakage and rotordynamic characteristics of a eight-bladed fully partitioned pocket damper seal (FPDS) were numerically investigated using proposed three-dimensional (3D) transient computational fluid dynamics (CFD) methods based on the multifrequency elliptical whirling orbit model. The accuracy and availability of the multifrequency elliptical whirling orbit model and the transient CFD numerical methods were demonstrated with the experimental data of frequency-dependent rotordynamic coefficients of the FPDS at two rotational speeds with high preswirl conditions. The frequency-dependent rotordynamic coefficients of the FPDS at three pressure ratios (three inlet pressures and three outlet pressures), three rotational speeds, three inlet preswirls were computed. The numerical results show that changes in outlet pressure have only weak effects on most rotordynamic coefficients. The direct damping and effective damping slightly increase in magnitude with decreasing outlet pressure at the frequency range of 20–200 Hz. The effect of inlet pressure is most prominent, and increasing inlet pressure for the FPDS results in a significant increase in the magnitudes of all rotordynamic coefficients. The magnitudes of the seal response force and effective damping are proportional to pressure drop through the seal. Increasing rotational speed and increasing inlet preswirl velocity both result in a significant decrease in the effective damping term due to the obvious increase in the magnitude of the destabilizing cross-coupling stiffness with increasing rotational speed or increasing preswirl velocity. The crossover frequency of effective damping significantly increases and the peak magnitude of effective damping decreases with increasing rotational speed or increasing preswirl velocity. The destabilizing cross-coupling stiffness is mainly caused by the circumferential swirl velocity generating from high rotational speed and inlet preswirl. Reducing swirl velocity (such as swirl brake) can greatly enhance the stabilizing capacity of the FPDS.


Author(s):  
Daniel E. van der Velde ◽  
Dara W. Childs

Measured results are presented for rotordynamic coefficients and leakage rates for two honeycomb-stator seal geometries, a convergent-tapered honeycomb seals (CTHC) and a constant-clearance honeycomb seals (CCHC) tested by Sprowl and Childs in 2007. The rotor diameter was 114.3 mm (4.500 in). The CTHC seals had inlet and exit clearances of 0.334 and 0.204 mm, respectively. The CCHC seal had a constant clearance of 0.204 mm. Honeycomb cells had depths of 3.175 mm (0.125 in) and widths of 0.79 mm (0.031 in). Measurements are reported with air as the test fluid, zero preswirl, ω = 20,200 rpm, a supply pressure of 69 bar (1,000 psi) and supply temperature of 18°C (64.4°F) for both seal geometries. The test pressure ratios are 0.5 for the CCHC seal, and 0.46 for the CTHC seal. The tapered seal leaks about 20% more than the constant-clearance seal. Measured and predicted dynamic coefficients are strong functions of excitation frequency. The measured direct stiffness coefficient was higher for the tapered seal at all excitation frequencies, including a projection to zero frequency, where the CCHC seal was on the order of −2MN/m versus roughly +13MN/m for the tapered seal. The CTHC seal had higher cross-coupled stiffness coefficients than the CCHC seal at all excitation frequencies. The CCHC and CTHC seals had comparable direct damping out to ∼80 Hz. For higher excitation frequencies, the CTHC seal had larger direct damping values. The effective damping Ceff combines the positive effect of direct damping and the destabilizing effect of cross-coupled-stiffness coefficients. It is negative at low frequencies and becomes positive for higher frequencies. The frequency at which it changes sign is called the cross-over frequency. The CCHC had a lower cross-over frequency (better from a stability viewpoint) and higher Ceff values out to ∼80 Hz. At higher excitation frequencies from ∼120Hz onward, the tapered seal has higher effective damping values. Kleynhans and Childs’ 1997 two-control-volume model did a generally good job of predicting the direct stiffness coefficients of both seals. It closely predicted the cross-coupled stiffness coefficients for the CCHC seal but substantially under predicted the values for the CTHC seal. It under predicted the direct damping for the CCHC seal at frequencies below ∼120Hz, but did a good job for higher frequencies. It under predicted direct damping for the CTHC seal at all frequencies. For the CCHC seal, the model did a good job of predicting Ceff at all frequencies and also accurately predicted the cross-over frequency. For the CTHC seal, the model accurately predicted the cross-over frequency but over predicted Ceff below the cross-over frequency (the seal was more destabilizing than predicted) and under predicted Ceff at higher frequencies.


Author(s):  
Zhigang Li ◽  
Jun Li ◽  
Zhenping Feng

Effects of pressure ratio, rotational speed and inlet preswirl on the leakage and rotordynamic characteristics of a eight-bladed fully-partitioned pocket damper seal (FPDS) were numerically investigated using proposed 3D transient CFD methods based on the multi-frequency elliptical whirling orbit model. The accuracy and availability of the multi-frequency elliptical whirling orbit model and the transient CFD numerical methods were demonstrated with the experimental data of frequency-dependent rotordynamic coefficients of the FPDS at two rotational speeds with high preswirl conditions. The frequency-dependent rotordynamic coefficients of the FPDS at three pressure ratios (three inlet pressures and three outlet pressures), three rotational speeds, three inlet preswirls were computed. The numerical results show that changes in outlet pressure have only weak effects on most rotordynamic coefficients. The direct damping and effective damping slightly increase in magnitude with decreasing outlet pressure at the frequency range of 20–200Hz. The effect of inlet pressure is most prominent, and increasing inlet pressure for the FPDS results in a significant increase in the magnitudes of all rotordynamic coefficients. The magnitudes of the seal response force and effective damping are proportional to pressure drop through the seal. Increasing rotational speed and increasing inlet preswirl velocity both result in a significant decrease in the effective damping term due to the obvious increase in the magnitude of the destabilizing cross-coupling stiffness with increasing rotational speed or increasing preswirl velocity. The crossover frequency of effective damping significantly increases and the peak magnitude of effective damping decreases with increasing rotational speed or increasing preswirl velocity. The destabilizing cross-coupling stiffness is mainly caused by the circumferential swirl velocity generating from high rotational speed and inlet preswirl. Reducing swirl velocity (such as swirl brake) can greatly enhance the stabilizing capacity of the FPDS.


Author(s):  
Andrew H. Lerche ◽  
Grant O. Musgrove ◽  
J. Jeffrey Moore ◽  
Chris D. Kulhanek ◽  
Grant Nordwall

Cross-coupled forces due to bladed components, bearings and seals can contribute to destabilizing a rotor system and are an important input to the rotordynamic design of turbomachinery. Alford (1965) developed a simple formula for describing the cross-coupled mechanism of an unshrouded axial turbine stage. The high flow radial inflow turbine studied here can exhibit similar characteristics due to its long stage length. In this work, a transient computational solution is developed to predict cross-coupling stiffness of an unshrouded turbo-expander. The three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model includes the flow path from the inlet guide vanes (IGV’s) to the exit of the radial inflow turbine. A 360 degree model of the flow path is used to simulate the turbine centered at its axis of rotation while the shroud is displaced a small distance from the axis of rotation. This offset simulates the uneven blade tip clearance that is present in a whirling rotor. Unsteady effects are included using a time-transient simulation while time-averaged forces acting on the turbine are used to calculate the cross-coupling aerodynamic coefficients. The rotordynamic coefficients calculated using this method are compared to both the Alford equation and formulations used for shrouded centrifugal compressor impellers.


Author(s):  
Peng Xia ◽  
Guanghui Zhang ◽  
Jingming Zhao ◽  
Zhansheng Liu

Under high pressure, the elastic deformation of floating ring seals has a significant influence on the seal leakage flowrate and rotordynamic coefficients. The present study establishes a coupled model of the clearance flow and elastic structure of floating rings with bulk flow model and finite element method. The results show that the structural deformation reduces the clearance thickness and decreases the leakage flowrate. On the other hand, the elastic deformation reduces the direct stiffness, and increases the cross-coupled damping and inertia coefficients. In addition, the deformation induces the cross-coupled stiffness and direct damping to increase rapidly with increasing eccentricity ratio. Generally, the structural deformation deteriorates the rotordynamic characteristics of floating ring seals. In order to alleviate the adverse influences, a deformation compensation method is presented and proved to be effective.


Author(s):  
Dara W. Childs ◽  
James E. Mclean ◽  
Min Zhang ◽  
Stephen P. Arthur

In the late 1970’s, Benckert and Wachter (Technical University Stuttgart) tested labyrinth seals using air as the test media and measured direct and cross-coupled stiffness coefficients. They reported the following results: (1) Fluid pre-swirl in the direction of shaft rotation creates destabilizing cross-coupled stiffness coefficients, and (2) Effective swirl brakes at the inlet to the seal can markedly reduce the cross-coupled stiffness coefficients, in many cases reducing them to zero. In recent years, “negative-swirl” swirl brakes have been employed that attempt to reverse the circumferential direction of inlet flow, changing the sign of the cross-coupled stiffness coefficients and creating stabilizing stiffness forces. This study presents test results for a 16-tooth labyrinth seal with positive inlet preswirl (in the direction of shaft rotation) for the following inlet conditions: (1) No swirl brakes, (2) Straight, conventional swirl brakes, and (3) Negative-swirl swirl brakes. The negative-swirl swirl-brake designs were developed based on CFD predictions. Tests were conducted at 10.2, 15.35, and 20.2 krpm with 70 bars of inlet pressure for pressure ratios of 0.3, 0.4, 0.5. Test results include leakage and rotordynamic coefficients. In terms of leakage, the negative-swirl brake configuration leaked the least, followed by the conventional brake, followed by the no-brake design. Normalized to the negative-swirl brake configuration, the conventional-brake and no-brake configurations mass flow rate were greater, respectively, by factors of 1.04 and 1.09. The direct stiffness coefficients are negative but small, consistent with past experience. The conventional swirl brake drops the destabilizing cross-coupled stiffness coefficients k by a factor of about 0.8 as compared to the no-brake results. The negative-swirl brake produces a change in sign of k with an appreciable magnitude; hence, the stability of forwardly-precessing modes would be enhanced. In descending order, the direct damping coefficients C are: no-swirl, negative-swirl, conventional-swirl. Normalized in terms of the no-swirl case, C for the negative and conventional brake designs are, respectively, 0.7 and 0.6 smaller. The effective damping Ceff combines the effect of k and C. Ceff is large and positive for the negative-swirl configuration and near zero for the no-brake and conventional-brake designs. The present results for a negative-brake design are very encouraging for both eye-packing seals (where conventional swirl brakes have been previously employed) and division-wall and balance-piston seals where negative shunt injection has been employed.


Measurement ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 174 ◽  
pp. 109083
Author(s):  
Lu Zhang ◽  
Yuntao Qiu ◽  
Xikai Liu ◽  
Liang Chen ◽  
Ning Zhang ◽  
...  

1998 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 835-841
Author(s):  
Cesare Patrone ◽  
Elisabetta Gianazza ◽  
Sabrina Santagati ◽  
Paola Agrati ◽  
Adriana Maggi

Abstract The α-estrogen receptor (ERα) transcriptional activity can be regulated either by binding to the cognate ligand or by intracellular signaling pathways responsive to a variety of factors acting through cell membrane receptors. Studies carried out in HeLa and COS-1 cells demonstrated that the cross-coupling between estrogen and growth factor receptors is mediated by p21ras and requires phosphorylation of a specific serine residue (Ser 118 in the human ERα and Ser 122 in mouse ERα) located in the ERα N-terminal activation function 1 (AF-1). Likewise, in the SK-N-BE neuroblastoma cell line p21ras is involved in the cross-coupling between insulin and ERα receptors. However, in this cell line Ser 122 is not necessary for insulin-dependent activation of unliganded ERα. In addition, after insulin activation, the electrophoretic mobility associated to serine hyperphosphorylation of ERα in SK-N-BE and in COS-1 cells is different. Our study rules out the possibility of tyrosine phosporylation in unliganded ERα activation by means of transactivation studies of ERα tyrosine mutants and analysis of Tyr phosphorylation immunoreactivity. The two cofactors for steroid receptors RIP 140 and SRC-1 do not seem to be specifically involved in the insulin-induced ERα transactivation. The present study demonstrates the possibility of an alternative, cell-specific pathway of cross-coupling between intracellular and membrane receptors, which might be of importance for the understanding of the physiological significance of this mode of activation in the nervous system.


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