Experimental and Numerical Investigation of a Centrifugal Compressor

Author(s):  
Hadi Karrabi ◽  
Ali Hajilouy-Benisi ◽  
Mahdi Nili-Ahmadabadi

In this research, centrifugal compressor of a gas turbine is investigated experimentally and numerically. Operation line of the compressor as a component of the gas turbine is obtained experimentally by measurements of impeller rotational speed, and flow parameters at the compressor inlet and outlet during the gas turbine operation. The flow field inside the impeller and diffusers are analyzed numerically using a full 3D Navier-Stokes program with SST turbulence model. Boundary conditions for the numerical simulation are specified from the experimental measurements. The operation line of the compressor is obtained numerically, which is compared with that of the experimental results, and shows good agreement. Having validated the numerical results, the performance characteristic curves of the compressor are obtained numerically in a wide range.

Author(s):  
Hadi Karrabi ◽  
H. Pourfarzaneh ◽  
Ali Hajilouy-Benisi

In compressor design, it is necessary to simulate the compressor before manufacturing and performing experimental studies. One of the most efficient and common modeling methods is zero D analysis using scaling method with constant coefficients. Although it is efficient in the vicinity of the design point, its results are not acceptable in the off design points due to the growing error by getting away from design points. In this research, a novel zero D analysis method is developed predict accurately the compressor performance not only in the design point but also in the off design pint. In this method, variable coefficients are used instead of constant coefficients, which are obtained based on the test results of several compressors. In this paper, the performance characteristics of a gas turbine centrifugal compressor including a radial impeller, a radial diffuser and deswirl vanes are predicted using the zero D approach. Moreover, the 3-D flow field inside the compressor is analyzed using a full 3-D Navier-Stokes code with SST turbulent model. In order to validate the zero D and 3-D analysis results, the existing compressor is investigated experimentally on the operation line of the gas turbine by some experiments in which the flow parameters at the compressor inlet and outlet are measured. Finally, the performance results obtained from 3-D and zero D analysis are compared with the experimental results which show good agreement.


Author(s):  
Sidharath Sharma ◽  
Martyn L. Jupp ◽  
Ambrose K. Nickson ◽  
John M. Allport

The ported shroud (PS) self-recirculating casing treatment is widely used to delay the onset of the surge by enhancing the aerodynamic stability of the turbocharger compressor. The increase in the stable operation region of the turbocharger compressor is achieved by recirculating the low momentum fluid that blocks the blade passage to the compressor inlet through a ported shroud cavity. While the ported shroud design delays surge, it comes with a small penalty in efficiency. This work presents an investigation of the flow processes associated with a ported shroud compressor and quantifies the effect of these flow mechanisms on the compressor operation. The full compressor stage is numerically modelled using a Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) approach employing the shear stress transport (SST) turbulence model for steady state simulations at the design and near surge conditions. The wheel rotation is modelled using a multiple reference frame (MRF) approach. The results show that the flow exits the PS cavity at the near surge condition in the form of three jet-like structures of varying velocity amplitudes. Net entropy generation in the compressor model is used to assess the influence of the ported shroud design on the compressor losses, and the results indicate a small Inlet-PS mixing region is the primary source of entropy generation in the near surge conditions. The analysis also explores the trends of entropy generation at the design and the near surge condition across the different speed lines. The results show that the primary source of entropy generation is the impeller region for the design condition and the inlet-PS cavity region for the near surge condition.


Author(s):  
Yoichiro Ohkubo ◽  
Osamu Azegami ◽  
Hiroshi Sato ◽  
Yoshinori Idota ◽  
Shinichiro Higuchi

A 300 kWe class gas turbine which has a two-shaft and simple-cycle has been developed to apply to co-generation systems. The gas turbine engine is operated in the range of about 30% partial load to 100% load. The gas turbine combustor requires a wide range of stable operations and low NOx characteristics. A double staged lean premixed combustor, which has a primary combustion duct made of Si3N4 ceramics, was developed to meet NOx regulations of less than 80 ppm (corrected at 0% oxygen). The gas turbine with the combustor has demonstrated superior low-emission performance of around 40 ppm (corrected at 0% oxygen) of NOx, and more than 99.5% of combustion efficiency between 30% and 100% of engine load. Endurance testing has demonstrated stable high combustion performance over 3,000 hours in spite of a wide compressor inlet air temperature (CIT) range of 5 to 35 degree C.. While increasing the gas generator turbine speed, the flow rate of primary fuel was controlled to hold a constant equivalence ratio of around 0.5 in the CIT range of more than 15 C. The output power was also decreased while increasing the CIT, in order to keep a constant temperature at the turbine inlet. The NOx decreases in the CIT range of more than 15 C. On the other hand, the NOx increases in the CIT range of less than 15 C when the output power was kept a constant maximum power. As a result, NOx emission has a peak value of about 40 ppm at 15 C.


Author(s):  
П.А. Поливанов

In this paper a numerical and experimental study of the effect of blowing/suction through a perforated surface on a turbulent boundary layer at a Mach number M = 1.4 is carried out. Most of the calculations were performed by Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations with the k-w SST turbulence model. The calculated geometry completely repeated the experimental one including the perforated surface. The numerical data were compared with experimental measurements obtained by the PIV method. Analysis of the data made it possible to find the limits of applicability of the numerical method for this flow.


2018 ◽  
Vol 140 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shanti Bhushan ◽  
D. Keith Walters ◽  
S. Muthu ◽  
Crystal L. Pasiliao

Efficacy of several large-scale flow parameters as transition onset markers are evaluated using direct numerical simulation (DNS) of boundary layer bypass transition. Preliminary results identify parameters (k2D/ν) and u′/U∞ to be a potentially reliable transition onset marker, and their critical values show less than 15% variation in the range of Re and turbulence intensity (TI). These parameters can be implemented into general-purpose physics-based Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) models for engineering applications.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 (3) ◽  
pp. 12-17
Author(s):  
Yu.A. Kvasha ◽  
◽  
N.A. Zinevych ◽  

This work is concerned with the development of approaches to the optimal aerodynamic design of centrifugal compressor wheels, which is due to the use of centrifugal stages in compressors of modern aircraft gas turbine engines and power plants. The aim of this work is a computational study of the effect of the meridional contour shape of a centrifugal compressor wheel on its power characteristics. The basic method is a numerical simulation of 3D turbulent gas flows in centrifugal wheels on the basis of the complete averaged Navier¬–Stokes equations and a two-parameter turbulence model. The computational study features: varying the shape of the hub and tip part of the meridional contour over a wide range, formulating quality criteria as the mean integral values of the wheel power characteristics over the operating range of the air flow rate through the wheel, and a systematic scan of the independent variable range at points that form a uniformly distributed sequence. As a result of multiparameter calculations, it was shown that in the case of a flow without separation in the blade channels of a wheel with a given starting shape of the meridional contour, varying that shape has an insignificant effect on the wheel power characteristics. It is pointed out that in similar cases it seems to be advisable to aerodynamically improve centrifugal wheels by varying the shape of their blades in the circumferential direction rather than in the meridional plane. This conclusion was made using rather a “coarse” computational grid, which, however, retains the sensitivity of the computed results to a variation in the centrifugal wheel geometry. On the whole, this work clarifies ways of further aerodynamic improvement of centrifugal compressor impellers in cases where the starting centrifugal wheel is a well-designed wheel with a flow without separation in the blade channels. The results obtained may be used in the aerodynamic optimization of centrifugal stages of aircraft gas turbine engines.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 (4) ◽  
pp. 65-71
Author(s):  
Yu.A. Kvasha ◽  

This work is devoted to the development of approaches to the numerical simulation of 3D turbulent gas flows in different ducts of aircraft gas turbine engines, in particular in inlet device ducts. Inlet devices must provide large values of the total pressure recovery factor and flow uniformity at the engine compressor inlet. The aim of this work is the verification of the operability of a technique developed earlier for the calculation of the parameters of a 3D turbulent flow in complex-shape ducts. The basic approach is a numerical simulation of 3D turbulent gas flows on the basis of the complete averaged Navier¬–Stokes equations and a two-parameter turbulence model. The proposed technique of numerical simulation of a 3D gas flow was tested by calculating a 3D laminar flow in a square pipe bent at a right angle. The calculated flow pattern is in satisfactory agreement with the experimental data on the flow structure in a pipe elbow reported in the literature. Based on a numerical simulation of a 3D turbulent flow in the air duct of one of the air intake configurations for an aircraft turboprop engine, the efficiency of that configuration is assessed. The calculated flow parameter nonuniformity at the air intake outlet, i. e., at the compressor inlet, is compared with that obtained earlier for another air intake configuration for the same engine. It is pointed out that the air intake configuration considered earlier provides a much more uniform flow parameter distribution at the engine compressor inlet. On the whole, this work shows that the quality of subsonic air intakes for aircraft gas turbine engines can be assessed using the proposed numerical technique of 3D gas flow simulation. The results obtained may be used in the aerodynamic improvement of inlet devices for aircraft engines of different types.


Author(s):  
Yu Nishio ◽  
Keiji Niwa ◽  
Takanobu Ogawa

Abstract Motion of liquid pouring from a beverage can is numerically studied. A liquid is poured from a can which is rotated at a prescribed angular speed. The flow is simulated by solving the unsteady three-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations. An experiment under the same condition is also carried out to validate the computational result. The result shows that, when the can is tipped, the liquid flows over the lid of the can and is once obstructed by the rim of the lid. The numerical result is in good agreement with the experimental result. The effect of condensation formed on a can surface is also considered. The effect of condensation is taken into account by adjusting a contact angle. The liquid pouring from a can trickles down along the can body. The computation reproduces these experimental observations.


Author(s):  
Erwin Loots ◽  
Wouter Pastoor ◽  
Bas Buchner ◽  
Trym Tveitnes

With the trend towards offshore LNG production and offloading, sloshing of LNG in partially filled tanks has become an important research subject for the offshore industry. LNG sloshing can induce impact pressures on the containment system and can affect the motions of the LNG carrier. So far, LNG sloshing was mainly studied using model tests with an oscillation tank. However, the development of Navier-Stokes solvers with a detailed handling of the free surface, nowadays allows the numerical simulation of sloshing. It should be investigated, however, how accurate the results of this type of simulations are for this complex flow problem. The present paper first presents the details of a numerical model, an improved Volume OF Fluid (iVOF) method. Comparisons are made with sloshing model test results. Based on the results, the following conclusions can be drawn: - The dynamics of sloshing in LNG tanks can be simulated numerically using an iVOF Navier-Stokes solver. - Several improvements have been made in the treatment of numerical spikes in the pressure signals, but still more improvements need to be made. - Qualitatively, the pressure pulses resulting from impacts against the LNG tank wall show a rather good agreement between experiment and numerical simulation. - Quantitatively, the differences with the experiment show that further detailed studies with respect to cell sizes and time steps are necessary.


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