Unsteady Steam turbine optimization using high fidelity CFD

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-56
Author(s):  
Vahid Iranidokht ◽  
Ilias Papagiannis ◽  
Anestis I. Kalfas ◽  
Reza S. Abhari ◽  
Shigeki Senoo ◽  
...  

Abstract This paper presents the computational methodology, and experimental investigations accomplished to enhance the efficiency of a turbine stage by applying non-axisymmetric profiling on the rotor hub wall. The experimental setup was a two-stage axial turbine, which was tested at “LISA” test facility at ETH Zurich. The goal was to optimize the interaction of the cavity leakage flow with the rotor passage flow to increase efficiency. The computational optimization was completed using a Genetic Algorithm coupled with an Artificial Neural Network. Unsteady time-accurate simulations were performed, using in-house developed “MULTI3” solver. Besides implementing all geometrical details from the experimental setup into the computational model, it was learned that the unsteady upstream effect could not be neglected. A novel approach was introduced by using unsteady inlet boundary conditions to consider the multistage effect while reducing the computational cost to half. Comprehensive steady and unsteady measurements were performed utilizing pneumatic, Fast Response Aerodynamic (FRAP), and Fast Response Entropy (FENT) probes, on the baseline and profiled test cases. The end-wall profiling was found to be successful in weakening the strength of the hub passage vortex by a 19% reduction in the under-over turning. As a result, the blockage was reduced near the hub region leading to more uniform mass flow distribution along the span. Furthermore, the improvements were confirmed by reductions in entropy, Secondary Kinetic Energy, and pressure unsteadiness. The accurate computational implementations led to an excellent agreement between the predicted and measured efficiency gain.

Author(s):  
Vahid Iranidokht ◽  
Ilias Papagiannis ◽  
Anestis Kalfas ◽  
Reza Abhari ◽  
Shigeki Senoo ◽  
...  

Abstract This paper presents the computational methodology, and experimental investigations accomplished to enhance the efficiency of a turbine stage by applying non-axisymmetric profiling on the rotor hub wall. The experimental setup was a two-stage axial turbine, which was tested at “LISA” test facility at ETH Zurich. The 1st stage was considered to create the flow history for the 2nd stage, which was the target of the optimization. The hub cavity of the 2nd stage was designed with large dimensions as a requirement of a steam turbine. The goal was to optimize the interaction of the cavity leakage flow with the rotor passage flow to reduce the losses and increase efficiency. The computational optimization was completed using a Genetic Algorithm coupled with an Artificial Neural Network on the 2nd stage of the test turbine. Unsteady time-accurate simulations were performed, using in-house developed “MULTI3” solver. Besides implementing all geometrical details (such as hub and tip cavities and fully 3D blade geometries) from the experimental setup into the computational model, it was learned that the unsteady upstream effect could not be neglected. A novel approach was introduced by using unsteady inlet boundary conditions to consider the multistage effect while reducing the computational cost to half. The importance of this implementation was tested by performing a steady simulation on the optimized geometry. The predicted efficiency gain from steady simulations was 4.5 times smaller (and negligible) compared to the unsteady approach. Excluding the cavity geometry was also assessed in a different simulation setup showing 3.9% over-prediction in the absolute efficiency value. Comprehensive steady and unsteady measurements were performed utilizing pneumatic, Fast Response Aerodynamic (FRAP), and Fast Response Entropy (FENT) probes, on the baseline and profiled test cases. The end-wall profiling was found to be successful in weakening the strength of the hub passage vortex by a 19% reduction in the under-over turning. As a result, the blockage was reduced near the hub region leading to more uniform mass flow distribution along the span. The flow angle deviations at the higher span position were also corrected due to better control of the flow angles. Furthermore, the improvements were confirmed by reductions in entropy, Secondary Kinetic Energy, and pressure unsteadiness. The accurate computational implementations led to an excellent agreement between the predicted and measured efficiency gain.


Author(s):  
Marvin Hardt ◽  
Thomas Bergs

AbstractAnalyzing the chip formation process by means of the finite element method (FEM) is an established procedure to understand the cutting process. For a realistic simulation, different input models are required, among which the material model is crucial. To determine the underlying material model parameters, inverse methods have found an increasing acceptance within the last decade. The calculated model parameters exhibit good validity within the domain of investigation, but suffer from their non-uniqueness. To overcome the drawback of the non-uniqueness, the literature suggests either to enlarge the domain of experimental investigations or to use more process observables as validation parameters. This paper presents a novel approach merging both suggestions: a fully automatized procedure in conjunction with the use of multiple process observables is utilized to investigate the non-uniqueness of material model parameters for the domain of cutting simulations. The underlying approach is two-fold: Firstly, the accuracy of the evaluated process observables from FE simulations is enhanced by establishing an automatized routine. Secondly, the number of process observables that are considered in the inverse approach is increased. For this purpose, the cutting force, cutting normal force, chip temperature, chip thickness, and chip radius are taken into account. It was shown that multiple parameter sets of the material model can result in almost identical simulation results in terms of the simulated process observables and the local material loads.


2006 ◽  
Vol 04 (03) ◽  
pp. 639-647 ◽  
Author(s):  
ELEAZAR ESKIN ◽  
RODED SHARAN ◽  
ERAN HALPERIN

The common approaches for haplotype inference from genotype data are targeted toward phasing short genomic regions. Longer regions are often tackled in a heuristic manner, due to the high computational cost. Here, we describe a novel approach for phasing genotypes over long regions, which is based on combining information from local predictions on short, overlapping regions. The phasing is done in a way, which maximizes a natural maximum likelihood criterion. Among other things, this criterion takes into account the physical length between neighboring single nucleotide polymorphisms. The approach is very efficient and is applied to several large scale datasets and is shown to be successful in two recent benchmarking studies (Zaitlen et al., in press; Marchini et al., in preparation). Our method is publicly available via a webserver at .


Author(s):  
Jingjing Luo ◽  
Dieter Brillert

Abstract Dry gas lubricated non-contacting mechanical seals (DGS), most commonly found in centrifugal compressors, prevent the process gas flow into the atmosphere. Especially when high speed is combined with high pressure, DGS is the preferred choice over other sealing alternatives. In order to investigate the flow field in the sealing gap and to facilitate the numerical prediction of the seal performance, a dedicated test facility is developed to carry out the measurement of key parameters in the gas film. Gas in the sealing film varies according to the seal inlet pressure, and the thickness of gas film depends on this fluctuated pressure. In this paper, the test facility, measurement methods and the first results of static pressure measurements in the sealing gap of the DGS obtained in the described test facility are presented. An industry DGS with three-dimensional grooves on the surface of the rotating ring, where experimental investigations take place, is used. The static pressure in the gas film is measured, up to 20 bar and 8,100 rpm, by several high frequency ultraminiature pressure transducers embedded into the stationary ring. The experimental results are discussed and compared with the numerical model programmed in MATLAB, the characteristic and magnitude of which have a good agreement with the numerical simulations. It suggests the feasibility of measuring pressure profiles of the standard industry DGS under pressurized dynamic operating conditions without altering the key components of the seal and thereby affecting the seal performance.


Author(s):  
Srinivas Swaroop Kolla ◽  
Ram S. Mohan ◽  
Ovadia Shoham

Gas Carry-Under (GCU) is one of the undesirable phenomena that exists in the GLCC©1 even within the Operational Envelope (OPEN) for liquid carry-over. Few studies that are available on GLCC© GCU have been carried out when the GLCC© is operated in a metering loop configuration characterized by recombined outlets. In such configurations the gas and the liquid outlets of the GLCC are recombined downstream which acts as passive level control. However, studies have shown that the GLCC© OPEN increases significantly when active control strategies are employed. There has not been a systematic study aimed at analyzing the effect of control on the GCU in the GLCC. This study compares the previously published GLCC GCU swirling flow mechanism under recombination outlet configuration with data taken under the separated outlet configuration (control configuration). Experimental investigations for GCU are conducted in a state-of-the-art test facility for air-water and air-oil flow incorporating pressure and level control configurations. The experiments are carried out using a 3″ diameter GLCC© equipped with 3 sequential trap sections to measure simultaneously the Gas Volume Fraction (GVF) and gas evolution in the lower part of the GLCC. Also, gas trap sections are installed in the liquid leg of the GLCC© to measure simultaneously the overall GCU. The liquid level was controlled at 6″ below the GLCC© inlet for all experiments using various control strategies. Tangential wall jet impingement is the cause for entrainment of gas, thereby leading to GCU. 3 different flow mechanisms have been identified in the lower part of the GLCC and have significant effect on the GCU. Viscosity and surface tension are observed to affect the GCU. The extensive acquired data shed light on the complex flow behavior in the lower part of the GLCC© and its effect on the GCU of the GLCC©.


2015 ◽  
Vol 787 ◽  
pp. 732-735
Author(s):  
A. Alaguraja ◽  
S. Balaji ◽  
Inti Sandeep ◽  
M. Karthikeyan ◽  
S. Soma Sundaram

Diffusion flame burners are mainly used in industries over premixed flame burners for safety considerations. But the combustion process in a diffusion flame is not complete and the flame is usually in bright yellow in colour in contrast to the premixed flame which gives a bluish flame. To improve the combustion process in a diffusion flame burner a novel approach, using chevrons has been carried out. The chevrons are found to reduce the aero-acoustic noise in the exhaust jets of aircraft engines by allowing better mixing of the exhaust gas with the ambient air. The similar concept is used here where the tips of the burners are cut in the form of chevrons. Experimental investigations are carried out on burners with three and four chevrons in addition to a standard burner using LPG as the fuel. The results indicate that with the introduction of chevrons the diffusion flame becomes more compact. The premixed region, in the diffusion flame, where the air and fuel is mixed well is found to increase by nearly 100 % with the usage of chevrons, indicating better mixing of fuel and air. The results also indicate that increasing the number of chevrons from three to four does not show much variation. Further experiments are to be carried out to determine the improved fuel consumption with the usage of chevrons.


Author(s):  
Taher Schobeiri ◽  
Eric McFarland ◽  
Frederick Yeh

In this report the results of aerodynamic and heat transfer experimental investigations performed in a high Reynolds number turbine cascade test facility are analyzed. The experimental facility simulates the high Reynolds number flow conditions similar to those encountered in the space shuttle main engine. In order to determine the influence of Reynolds number on aerodynamic and thermal behavior of the blades, heat transfer coefficients were measured at various Reynolds numbers using liquid crystal temperature measurement technique. Potential flow calculation methods were used to predict the cascade pressure distributions. Boundary layer and heat transfer calculation methods were used with these pressure distributions to verify the experimental results.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (18) ◽  
pp. 6004
Author(s):  
Gianpiero Colangelo ◽  
Noemi Francesca Diamante ◽  
Marco Milanese ◽  
Giuseppe Starace ◽  
Arturo de Risi

In this study, several experimental investigations on the effects of nanofluids on the convective heat transfer coefficient in laminar and turbulent conditions were analyzed. The aim of this work is to provide an overview of the thermal performance achieved with the use of nanofluids in various experimental systems. This review covers both forced and natural convection phenomena, with a focus on the different experimental setups used to carry out the experimental campaigns. When possible, a comparison was performed between different experimental campaigns to provide an analysis of the possible common points and differences. A significant increase in the convective heat transfer coefficient was found by using nanofluids instead of traditional heat transfer fluids, in general, even with big data dispersion from one case to another that depended on boundary conditions and the particular experimental setup. In particular, a general trend shows that once a critic value of the Reynolds number or nanoparticle concentrations is reached, the heat transfer performance of the nanofluid decreases or has no appreciable improvement. As a research field still under development, nanofluids are expected to achieve even higher performance and their use will be crucial in many industrial and civil sectors to increase energy efficiency and, thus, mitigate the environmental impact.


1997 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 145-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
E.N. Avrorin ◽  
V.A. Lykov ◽  
V.E. Chernyakov ◽  
A.N. Shushlebin ◽  
K.A. Mustafin ◽  
...  

The results of ID-ERA and 2D-TIGR, OMEGA codes calculations of compression and burn of indirect-driven targets for the thermonuclear ignition and Engineering Test Facility are presented. The possibility to obtain high-energy yield of G > 100 with driver energy of Ed = 5−10 MJ by using the heavy-ion one-beam accelerator as the main driver and powerful laser for fast ignition of thermonuclear detonation of cylindrical targets is pointed out.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document