Loss Reduction in a 1.5 Stage Axial Turbine by Computer-Driven Stator Hub Contouring

2019 ◽  
Vol 141 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hayder M. B. Obaida ◽  
Aldo Rona ◽  
J. Paul Gostelow

Improvements in stage isentropic efficiency and reductions in total pressure loss are sought in a 1.5 stage axial turbine. This is representative of power generation equipment used in thermal power cycles, which delivers about 80% of the 20 × 1012 kWh world-wide electricity. Component-level improvements are therefore timely and important toward achieving carbon dioxide global emission targets. Secondary flow loss reduction is sought by applying a nonaxisymmetric endwall design to the turbine stator hub. A guide groove directs the pressure side branch of the horseshoe vortex away from the airfoil suction side, using a parametric endwall hub surface, which is defined as to obtain first-order smooth boundary connections to the remainder of the passage geometry. This delays the onset of the passage vortex and reduces its associated loss. The Automatic Process and Optimization Workbench (apow) generates a Kriging surrogate model from a set of Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes simulations, which is used to optimize the hub surface. The three-dimensional steady Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes model with an axisymmetric hub is validated against reference experimental measurements from the Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule (RWTH) Aachen. Comparative computational fluid dynamics (CFD) predictions with an optimized nonaxisymmetric hub show a decrease in the total pressure loss coefficient and an increase in the isentropic stage efficiency at and off design conditions.

Author(s):  
Tom Verstraete ◽  
Filippo Coletti ◽  
Je´re´my Bulle ◽  
Timothe´e Vanderwielen ◽  
Tony Arts

This two-parts paper addresses the design of a U-bend for serpentine internal cooling channels optimized for minimal pressure loss. The total pressure loss for the flow in a U-bend is a critical design parameter as it augments the pressure required at the inlet of the cooling system, resulting in a lower global efficiency. In this first part of the paper the design methodology of the cooling channel is presented. The minimization of the total pressure loss is achieved by means of a numerical optimization method that uses a metamodel assisted differential evolution algorithm in combination with an incompressible Navier-Stokes solver. The profiles of the internal and external side of the bend are parameterized using piece-wise Bezier curves. This allows for a wide variety of shapes, respecting the manufacturability constraints of the design. The pressure loss is computed by the Navier-Stokes solver, which is based on a two-equation turbulence model and is available from the open source software OpenFOAM. The numerical method predicts an improvement of 36% in total pressure drop with respect to a circular U-bend, mainly due to the reduction of the separated flow region along the internal side of the bend. The resulting design is subjected to experimental validation, presented in Part II of the paper.


Author(s):  
Brian H. Dennis ◽  
George S. Dulikravich ◽  
Zhen-Xue Han

The objective in this aerodynamic shape design effort is to minimize total pressure loss across the two-dimensional linear airfoil cascade row while satisfying a number of constraints. They included fixed axial chord, total torque, inlet and exit flow angles, and blade cross-section area, while maintaining thickness distribution greater than a minimum specified value. The aerodynamic shape optimization can be performed by using any available flow-field analysis code. For the analysis of the performance of intermediate cascade shapes we used an unstructured grid based compressible Navier-Stokes flow-field analysis code with k-e turbulence model. A robust genetic optimization algorithm was used for optimization and a constrained sequential quadratic programming was used enforcement of certain constraints. The airfoil geometry was parameterized using conic section parameters and B-splines thus keeping the number of geometric design variables to a minimum while achieving a high degree of geometric flexibility and robustness. Significant reductions of the total pressure loss were achieved using this constrained method for a supersonic exit flow axial turbine cascade.


Author(s):  
Toyotaka Sonoda ◽  
Toshiyuki Arima ◽  
Mineyasu Oana

Experimental and numerical investigations were carried out to gain a better understanding or the flow characteristics within an annular S-shaped duct, including the influence of the shape of the downstream passage located at the exit of the duct on the flow. A duct with six struts and the same geometry as that used to connect the compressor spools on our new experimental small two-spool turbofan engine was investigated. Two types of downstream passage were used. One type had a straight annular passage and the other a curved annular passage with a similar meridional flow path geometry to that of the centrifugal compressor. Results showed that the total pressure loss near the hub is large due to instability of the flow, as compared with that near the casing. Also, a vortex related to the horseshoe vortex was observed near the casing, in the case of the curved annular passage, the total pressure loss near the hub was greatly increased compared with the case of the straight annular passage, and the spatial position of the above vortex depends on the passage core pressure gradient. Furthermore, results of calculation using an in-house-developed three-dimensional Navier-Stokes code with a low Reynolds number k-ε turbulence model were in good qualitative agreement with experimental results. According to the simulation results, a region of very high pressure loss is observed near the hub at the duct exit with the increase of inlet boundary layer thickness. Such regions of high pressure loss may act on the downstream compressor as a large inlet distortion, and strongly affect downstream compressor performance.


1998 ◽  
Vol 120 (4) ◽  
pp. 714-722 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Sonoda ◽  
T. Arima ◽  
M. Oana

Experimental and numerical investigations were carried out to gain a better understanding of the flow characteristics within an annular S-shaped duct, including the influence of the shape of the downstream passage located at the exit of the duct on the flow. A duct with six struts and the same geometry as that used to connect the compressor spools on our new experimental small two-spool turbofan engine was investigated. Two types of downstream passage were used. One type had a straight annular passage and the other a curved annular passage with a meridional flow path geometry similar to that of the centrifugal compressor. Results showed that the total pressure loss near the hub is large due to instability of the flow, as compared with that near the casing. Also, a vortex related to the horseshoe vortex was observed near the casing. In the case of the curved annular passage, the total pressure loss near the hub was greatly increased compared with the case of the straight annular passage, and the spatial position of this vortex depends on the passage core pressure gradient. Furthermore, results of calculation using an in-house-developed three-dimensional Navier–Stokes code with a low-Reynolds-number k–ε turbulence model were in good qualitative agreement with experimental results. According to the simulation results, a region of very high pressure loss is observed near the hub at the duct exit with the increase of inlet boundary layer thickness. Such regions of high pressure loss may act on the downstream compressor as a large inlet distortion, and strongly affect downstream compressor performance.


Author(s):  
Sandor Becz ◽  
Mark S. Majewski ◽  
Lee S. Langston

Experimental results are presented which provide mass averaged total pressure loss coefficient measurements for three different turbine airfoil leading edge configurations. A baseline (Langston) configuration, a leading edge bulb, and a leading edge fillet were tested in a large-scale, low aspect ratio, high turning linear cascade. Results show that while the fillet geometry reduced overall loss by approximately 7%, the bulb did not exhibit a loss reduction. For the fillet, overall turning was slightly reduced, while for the bulb turning increased slightly. Thus, the bulb shows potential for increasing airfoil loading without an associated loss penalty. Contour plots of total pressure loss coefficient and vorticity are presented for all geometries and the major differences between each are discussed. Through investigation of pitch averaged loss profiles it is found that the area of greatest reduction differs between the bulb and fillet, leading to the possibility that the mechanisms through which each is affecting the flow may be different. This provides hope that the best features of each may potentially be combined to determine an optimum shape for secondary flow loss reduction.


2020 ◽  
pp. 1-25
Author(s):  
Jianyang Yu ◽  
Yabo Wang ◽  
YanPing Song ◽  
Fu Chen

Abstract Three kinds of rotor tip configurations have been investigated numerically in the LISA 1.5-stage turbine, including the flat tip, the honeycomb tip and the honeycomb tip with injection. The effect of the cavity depth and the injection mass flow rate on the turbine performance is studied in detail, evaluated by the isentropic total-to-total efficiency and the tip leakage mass flow rate. The Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) method and the k-ω turbulence model are adopted in all the present computations. The numerical results show that the first stage efficiency is increased by up to 0.66% and the tip leakage mass flow rate is reduced by about 1.87% of the main flow. The pressure field and the flow feature inside the gap are explored. The flow structures and the total pressure loss contours in the rotor passage are presented. Finally, the total pressure loss is newly defined by considering the injection effect. It is indicated that the injection mass flow rate should be carefully determined for excellent overall performance.


2013 ◽  
Vol 135 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tom Verstraete ◽  
Filippo Coletti ◽  
Jérémy Bulle ◽  
Timothée Vanderwielen ◽  
Tony Arts

This two-part paper addresses the design of a U-bend for serpentine internal cooling channels optimized for minimal pressure loss. The total pressure loss for the flow in a U-bend is a critical design parameter, as it augments the pressure required at the inlet of the cooling system, resulting in a lower global efficiency. In this first part of the paper, the design methodology of the cooling channel is presented. The minimization of the total pressure loss is achieved by means of a numerical optimization method that uses a metamodel-assisted differential evolution algorithm in combination with an incompressible Navier–Stokes solver. The profiles of the internal and external side of the bend are parameterized using piece-wise Bezier curves. This allows for a wide variety of shapes, respecting the manufacturability constraints of the design. The pressure loss is computed by the Navier–Stokes solver, which is based on a two-equation turbulence model and is available from the open source software OpenFOAM. The numerical method predicts an improvement of 36% in total pressure drop with respect to a circular U-bend, mainly due to the reduction of the separated flow region along the internal side of the bend. The resulting design is subjected to experimental validation, presented in Part II of the paper.


Author(s):  
Z. Liu ◽  
J. Braun ◽  
G. Paniagua

Rotating detonation combustors (RDCs) offer theoretically a significant total pressure increase, which may result in enhanced cycle efficiency. The fluctuating exhaust of RDC, however, induces low supersonic flow and large flow angle fluctuations at several kHz, which affects the performance of the downstream turbine. In this paper, a numerical methodology is proposed to characterize a supersonic turbine exposed to fluctuations from RDC without any dilution. The inlet conditions of the turbine were extracted from a three-dimensional (3D) unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes simulation of a nozzle attached to a rotating detonation combustor, optimized for minimum flow fluctuations and a mass-flow averaged Mach number of 2 at the nozzle outlet. In a first step, a supersonic turbine able to handle steady Mach 2 inflow was designed based on a method of characteristics solver and total pressure loss was assessed. Afterward, unsteady simulations of eight stator passages exposed to periodic oblique shocks were performed. Total pressure loss was evaluated for several oblique shock frequencies and amplitudes. The unsteady stator outlet profile was extracted and used as inlet condition for the unsteady rotor simulations. Finally, a full stage unsteady simulation was performed to characterize the flow field across the entire turbine stage. Power extraction, airfoil base pressure, and total pressure losses were assessed, which enabled the estimation of the loss mechanisms in supersonic turbine exposed to large unsteady inlet conditions.


1995 ◽  
Vol 117 (1) ◽  
pp. 116-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. R. By ◽  
R. Kunz ◽  
B. Lakshminarayana

A three-dimensional, incompressible, viscous flow code, developed by NASA AMES (INS3D) using the pseudo-compressibility method, is modified for torque converter flow field computations. The code is used to predict the velocity and pressure fields in the pump of an automotive torque converter. Numerical results are compared to measured static pressure and velocity distributions. Results show that: 1) the code can fairly well predict the Cp distribution, the distribution of the through-flow velocity, and the secondary flow field, 2) pump rotation has a major effect on the secondary flow field and on the mass-averaged total pressure loss, and 3) inlet velocity profiles have a profound effect on the mass-averaged total pressure loss.


Author(s):  
Yoshitaka Fukuyama ◽  
Fumio Otomo ◽  
Minoru Sato ◽  
Yuichi Kobayashi ◽  
Hiroyuki Matsuzaki

A numerical prediction has been performed on the film cooling effectiveness and the total pressure loss of the actual turbine vane geometry. The Navier-Stokes code used in this study is an implicit, cell-centered, finite volume code with k-ε turbulence models. The convection term was stabilized by the variable order up-winding scheme. The film cooling injection has been simulated by adding the prescribed flux terms at the vane surface. The k and ε near wall distribution functions were developed based on the experimental and the DNS results in the literature. The wall functions for k and ε can be used with the selected low Reynolds number version of k-ε turbulence model irrespective of the distance between the wall and the first grid point. This combination would result in lower computational costs, since, near wall grid number can be reduced significantly. Based on the study, the Navier-Stokes predictions were performed on the actual turbine vane geometry. Also, the comparisons were made with the experimental total pressure loss distribution behind the vane row and the mid-span film-cooling effectiveness distribution for single and double row injection cases.


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