Numerical and Experimental Studies of Labyrinth Seal Aeroelastic Instability

2019 ◽  
Vol 141 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Toshimasa Miura ◽  
Naoto Sakai

Abstract A labyrinth seal is commonly used to decrease the flow leakage loss between rotating and static components in aero engines. It is susceptible to aeroelastic instability because of its low stiffness. The aim of this study was to establish methods to predict and suppress it effectively. To achieve this, both numerical and experimental investigations are conducted using ansyscfx and ansys mechanical. These solvers are coupled to simulate the flutter precisely. Also, to assess the accuracy of the simulation qualitatively and quantitatively, a test rig is built. In the first part of this study, the accuracy of the numerical method is confirmed for several test cases with different seal clearance variations. Flutter inception is evaluated in detail for various pressure ratios and rotation speeds. The numerical results show good agreement with the experimental results. It is also confirmed that the aeroelastic instability is very sensitive to the seal clearance variations. These results show the same tendency as those in previous works. In the second part of this study, this paper tries to develop a flutter suppression method with higher leakage performance. This is achieved by changing the seal geometry. To detect the important geometric parameters, the contribution of each geometric component to aeroelastic instability is carefully analyzed. On the basis of this, the seal geometry is modified and its performance is evaluated. The optimized labyrinth seal shows good performance in terms of flow leakage and aeroelastic stability. Through this study, a new flutter suppression method is established.

Author(s):  
Toshimasa Miura ◽  
Naoto Sakai

Abstract A labyrinth seal is commonly used to decrease the flow leakage loss between rotating and static components in aero engines. It is susceptible to aeroelastic instability because of its low stiffness. The aim of this study is to clarify the physical mechanism of labyrinth seal flutter and to establish a method to predict and suppress it effectively. To achieve this, both numerical and experimental investigations are conducted using ANSYS CFX and ANSYS Mechanical. These solvers are coupled to simulate the flutter precisely. Also, to assess the accuracy of the simulation qualitatively and quantitatively, a test rig is built. In the first part of this study, the accuracy of the numerical method is confirmed for several test cases with different seal clearance variations. Both one-way and two-way fluid structure interaction (FSI) analyses are performed. Flutter inception is evaluated in detail for various pressure ratios and rotation speeds. The numerical results show reasonably good agreement with the experimental results. It is also confirmed that the aeroelastic instability is very sensitive to the seal clearance variations. These results show the same tendency as those in previous works [1–5]. In the second part of this study, this paper tries to develop a flutter suppression method without deteriorating the flow leakage performance. This is achieved by changing the seal geometry without changing the seal clearance variation. To detect the important geometric parameters, the contribution of each geometric component to aeroelastic instability is carefully analyzed. On the basis of this, the seal geometry is modified and its performance is also evaluated. The optimized labyrinth seal shows good performance in terms of flow leakage and aeroelastic stability. Through this study, a new method to suppress the flutter with low flow leakage is established.


2000 ◽  
Vol 124 (1) ◽  
pp. 140-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. Schramm ◽  
K. Willenborg ◽  
S. Kim ◽  
S. Wittig

This paper reports numerical predictions and measurements of the flow field in a stepped labyrinth seal. The theoretical work and the experimental investigations were successfully combined to gain a comprehensive understanding of the flow patterns existing in such elements. In order to identify the influence of the honeycomb structure, a smooth stator as well as a seal configuration with a honeycomb facing mounted on the stator wall were investigated. The seal geometry is representative of typical three-step labyrinth seals of modern aero engines. The flow field was predicted using a commercial finite volume code with the standard k-ε turbulence model. The computational grid includes the basic seal geometry as well as the three-dimensional honeycomb structures.


Author(s):  
V. Schramm ◽  
K. Willenborg ◽  
S. Kim ◽  
S. Wittig

This paper reports numerical predictions and measurements of the flow field in a stepped labyrinth seal. The theoretical work and the experimental investigations were successfully combined to gain a comprehensive understanding of the flow patterns existing in such elements. In order to identify the influence of the honeycomb structure, a smooth stator as well as a seal configuration with a honeycomb facing mounted on the stator wall were investigated. The seal geometry is representative of typical three-step labyrinth seals of modern aero engines. The flow field was predicted using a commercial finite-volume code with the standard-k-ε-turbulence model. The computational grid includes the basic seal geometry as well as the three-dimensional honeycomb structures.


1997 ◽  
Vol 24 ◽  
pp. 181-185 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katsuhisa Kawashima ◽  
Tomomi Yamada

The densification of water-saturated firn, which had formed just above the firn-ice transition in the wet-snow zone of temperate glaciers, was investigated by compression tests under pressures ranging from 0.036 to 0.173 MPa, with special reference to the relationship between densification rate, time and pressure. At each test, the logarithm of the densification rate was proportional to the logarithm of the time, and its proportionality constant increased exponentially with increasing pressure. The time necessary for ice formation in the firn aquifer was calculated using the empirical formula obtained from the tests. Consequently, the necessary time decreased exponentially as the pressure increased, which shows that the transformation from firn in ice can be completed within the period when the firn aquifer exists, if the overburden pressure acting on the water-saturated firn is above 0.12–0.14 MPa. This critical value of pressure was in good agreement with the overburden pressure obtained from depth–density curves of temperate glaciers. It was concluded that the depth of firn–ice transition was self-balanced by the overburden pressure to result in the concentration between 20 and 30 m.


2011 ◽  
Vol 64 (12) ◽  
pp. 1587 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmad Irfan ◽  
Abdullah G. Al-Sehemi ◽  
Shabbir Muhammad ◽  
Jingping Zhang

Theoretically calculated mobility has revealed that BDT is a hole transfer material, which is in good agreement with experimental investigations. The BDT, NHBDT, and OBDT are predicted to be hole transfer materials in the C2/c space group. Comparatively, hole mobility of BHBDT is 7 times while electron mobility is 20 times higher than the BDT. The packing effect for BDT and designed crystals was investigated by various space groups. Generally, mobility increases in BDT and its analogues by changing the packing from space group C2/c to space groups P1 or . In the designed ambipolar material, BHBDT hole mobility has been predicted 0.774 and 3.460 cm2 Vs–1 in space groups P1 and , which is 10 times and 48 times higher than BDT (0.075 and 0.072 cm2 Vs–1 in space groups P1 and ), respectively. Moreover, the BDT behaves as an electron transfer material by changing the packing from the C2/c space group to P1 and .


Author(s):  
Christoph Brandstetter ◽  
Sina Stapelfeldt

Non-synchronous vibrations arising near the stall boundary of compressors are a recurring and potentially safety-critical problem in modern aero-engines. Recent numerical and experimental investigations have shown that these vibrations are caused by the lock-in of circumferentially convected aerodynamic disturbances and structural vibration modes, and that it is possible to predict unstable vibration modes using coupled linear models. This paper aims to further investigate non-synchronous vibrations by casting a reduced model for NSV in the frequency domain and analysing stability for a range of parameters. It is shown how, and why, under certain conditions linear models are able to capture a phenomenon, which has traditionally been associated with aerodynamic non-linearities. The formulation clearly highlights the differences between convective non-synchronous vibrations and flutter and identifies the modifications necessary to make quantitative predictions.


2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ibiba Taiwo Horsfall ◽  
Macmanus Chinenye Ndukwu ◽  
Fidelis Ibiang Abam ◽  
Ololade Moses Olatunji ◽  
Ojong Elias Ojong ◽  
...  

AbstractNumerical modeling of biomass pyrolysis is becoming a cost and time-saving alternative for experimental investigations, also to predict the yield of the by-products of the entire process. In the present study, a two-step parallel kinetic model was used to predict char yield under isothermal condition. MATLAB ODE45 function codes were employed to solve a set of differential equations that predicts the %char at varying residence times and temperatures. The code shows how the various kinetic parameters and mass of pyrolysis products were determined. Nevertheless, the algorithm used for the prediction was validated with experimental data and results from past works. At 673.15 K, the numerical simulation using ODE45 function gives a char yield of 27.84%. From 573.15 K to 673.15 K, char yield ranges from 31.7 to 33.72% to 27.84% while experimental yield decreases from 44 to 22%. Hence, the error between algorithm prediction and experimental data from literature is − 0.26 and 0.22. Again, comparing the result of the present work with the analytical method from the literature showed a good agreement.


Author(s):  
Parviz Enany ◽  
Oleksandr Shevchenko ◽  
Carsten Drebenstedt

AbstractThis paper presents experimental studies on the optimization of air–water flow in an airlift pump. Airlift pumps use compressed gas to verticall transport liquids and slurries. Due to the lack of theoretical equations for designing and predicting flow regimes, experimental investigations must be carried out to find the best condition to operate an airlift pump at high efficiency. We used a new air injection system and different submergence ratios to evaluate the output of a simple pump for vertical displacement of water in an underground mine. The tests were carried out in a new device with 5.64 m height and 10.2 cm circular riser pipe. Three air-jacket pipes, at different gas flows in the range of 0.002–0.09 m3/s were investigated with eight submergence ratios. It was found that with the same air flow rate, the most efficient flow of water was achieved when an air jacket with 3 mm diameter holes was used with a submergence ratio between 0.6 and 0.75. In addition, a comparison of practical results with two theoretical models proposed by other investigators showed that neither was able to accurately predict airlift performance in air–water flow mode.


Author(s):  
Longxin Zhang ◽  
Shaowen Chen ◽  
Hao Xu ◽  
Jun Ding ◽  
Songtao Wang

Compared with suction slots, suction holes are (1) flexible in distribution; (2) alterable in size; (3) easy to fabricate and (4) high in strength. In this paper, the numerical and experimental studies for a high turning compressor cascade with suction air removed by using suction holes in the end-wall at a low Mach numbers are carried out. The main objective of the investigation is to study the influence of different suction distributions on the aerodynamic performance of the compressor cascade and to find a better compound suction scheme. A numerical model was first made and validated by comparing with the experimental results. The computed flow visualization and exit parameter distribution showed a good agreement with experimental data. Second, the model was then used to simulate the influence of different suction distributions on the aerodynamic performance of the compressor cascade. A better compound suction scheme was obtained by summarizing numerical results and tested in a low speed wind tunnel. As a result, the compound suction scheme can be used to significantly improve the performance of the compressor cascade because the corner separation gets further suppressed.


Author(s):  
Pavel Goldman ◽  
Agnes Muszynska

Abstract This report presents experimental, analytical, and numerical results describing vibrational phenomena in a rotating machine with one loose pedestal. The loose-pedestal machine rotor vibrations represent unbalance-related excited vibrations of synchronous and fractional subsynchronous regimes. In this study the loose-pedestal machine is first simulated by a simple vibrating beam excited by a shaker mounted on it. The shaker simulates an unbalanced machine rotor. The beam occasionally enters in contact with the foundation. The excited vibrations are modified by impacting occurrences, and by periodic changes in system stiffness. A new model of the impact has been developed. The results of analytical and experimental studies stand in a good agreement. They illustrate the existence of the synchronous regime and several subsynchronous fractional regimes in various excitation frequency ranges. The analysis adequately predicts the occurrence of these regimes and determines the physical parameters affecting them. The analytical and experimental results are then compared with the responses of experimental rotor rig with one bearing pedestal looseness. They show the same qualitative pattern.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document