Accurate Radial Vaneless Diffuser 1D Model

Author(s):  
Fabio De Bellis ◽  
Angelo Grimaldi ◽  
Dante Tommaso Rubino ◽  
Riccardo Amirante ◽  
Elia Distaso

A simplified one dimensional model for the performance estimation of vaneless radial diffusers is presented. The starting point of such a model is that angular momentum losses occurring in vaneless diffusers are usually neglected in the most common turbomachinery textbooks: it is assumed that the angular momentum is conserved inside a vaneless diffuser, although a non-isentropic pressure transformation is considered at the same time. This means that fluid-dynamic losses are taken into account only for what concerns pressure recovery, whereas the evaluation of the outlet tangential velocity incoherently follows an ideal behavior. Several attempts were presented in the past in order to consider the loss of angular momentum, mainly solving a full set of differential equations based on the various developments of the initial work by Stanitz. However, such formulations are significantly more complex and are based on two empirical or calibration coefficients (skin friction coefficient and dissipation or turbulent mixing loss coefficient) which need to be properly assessed. In the present paper, a 1D model for diffuser losses computation is derived considering a single loss coefficient and without the need of solving a set of differential equations. The model has been validated against massive industrial experimental campaigns, in which several diffuser geometries and operating conditions have been considered. The obtained results confirm the reliability of the proposed approach, able to predict the diffuser performance with negligible drop of accuracy in comparison with more sophisticated techniques. Both preliminary industrial designs and experimental evaluations of the diffusers may benefit from the proposed model.

2015 ◽  
Vol 137 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabio De Bellis ◽  
Angelo Grimaldi ◽  
Dante Tommaso Rubino ◽  
Riccardo Amirante ◽  
Elia Distaso

A simplified one-dimensional model for the performance estimation of vaneless radial diffusers is presented. The starting point of such a model is that angular momentum losses occurring in vaneless diffusers are usually neglected in the most common turbomachinery textbooks: It is assumed that the angular momentum is conserved inside a vaneless diffuser, although a nonisentropic pressure transformation is considered at the same time. This means that fluid-dynamic losses are taken into account only for what concerns pressure recovery, whereas the evaluation of the outlet tangential velocity incoherently follows an ideal behavior. Several attempts were presented in the past in order to consider the loss of angular momentum, mainly solving a full set of differential equations based on the various developments of the initial work by Stanitz (1952, “One-Dimensional Compressible Flow in Vaneless Diffusers of Radial or Mixed-Flow Centrifugal Compressors, Including Effects of Friction, Heat Transfer and Area Change,” Report No. NACA TN 2610). However, such formulations are significantly more complex and are based on two empirical or calibration coefficients (skin friction coefficient and dissipation or turbulent mixing loss coefficient) which need to be properly assessed. In the present paper, a 1D model for diffuser losses computation is derived considering a single loss coefficient, and without the need of solving a set of differential equations. The model has been validated against massive industrial experimental campaigns, in which several diffuser geometries and operating conditions have been considered. The obtained results confirm the reliability of the proposed approach, able to predict the diffuser performance with negligible drop of accuracy in comparison with more sophisticated techniques. Both preliminary industrial designs and experimental evaluations of the diffusers may benefit from the proposed model.


Author(s):  
Adam Joseph Head ◽  
Carlo De Servi ◽  
Emiliano Casati ◽  
Matteo Pini ◽  
Piero Colonna

Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) power systems are receiving increased recognition for the conversion of thermal energy when the source potential and/or its temperature are comparatively low. Mini-ORC units in the power output range of 3–50 kWe are actively studied for applications involving heat recovery from automotive engines and the exploitation of solar energy. Efficient expanders are the enabling components of such systems, and all the related developments are at the early research stage. Notably, no experimental gasdynamic data are available in the open literature concerning the fluids and flow conditions of interest for mini-ORC expanders. Therefore, all the performance estimation and the fluid dynamic design methodologies adopted in the field rely on non-validated tools. In order to bridge this gap, a new experimental facility capable of continuous operation is being designed and built at Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands. The Organic Rankine Cycle Hybrid Integrated Device (ORCHID) is a research facility resembling a state-of-the-art high-temperature ORC system. It is flexible enough to treat different working fluids and operating conditions with the added benefit of two interchangeable Test Sections (TS’s). The first TS is a supersonic nozzle with optical access whose purpose is to perform gas dynamic experiments on dense organic flows in order to validate numerical codes. The second TS is a test-bench for mini-ORC expanders of any configuration up to a power output of 100 kWe. This paper presents the preliminary design of the ORCHID setup, discussing how the required operational flexibility was attained. The envisaged experiments of the two TS’s are also described.


2014 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 113-122
Author(s):  
R. Amirante ◽  
F. De Bellis ◽  
E. Distaso ◽  
P. Tamburrano

AbstractThe present paper proposes a very simple one dimensional (1-D) model that accounts for the energy loss caused by the fluid dynamic losses occurring in the vaneless diffusers of centrifugal compressors and pumps. Usually, the present techniques to design turbomachines (pumps, compressors and turbines) emphasize numerical methods and their use is relatively complex because several parameters need to be chosen and a lot of time is required to perform the calculation. For this reason, it is relevant to perform an accurate preliminary design to simplify the numerical computation phase and to choose a very good initial geometry to be used for accelerating and improving the search for the definitive geometry. However, today 1-D modeling is based on the classical theory that assumes that the angular momentum is conserved inside a vaneless diffuser, although the flow evolution is considered as non-isentropic. This means that fluid-dynamic losses are taken into account only for what concerns pressure recovery, whereas the evaluation of the outlet tangential velocity incoherently follows an ideal behavior. Starting from such considerations, a new conservation law for the angular momentum is analytically derived, which incorporates the same fluid-dynamic losses modeled by the thermodynamic transformation law that is employed for correlating pressure recovery with enthalpy increase. Similar arguments hold for incompressible flows. Detailed and very accurate three-dimensional flow simulations are employed to analyze if the new model is capable of predicting the outlet tangential velocity more accurately than the classical theory. Results provided for both compressible (centrifugal compressors) and incompressible (centrifugal pumps) flows and for different inlet velocity profiles show a significant accuracy improvement of the new conservation law in the prediction of the outlet flow conditions when compared with the classical theory, thus demonstrating that the proposed model can be employed in the preliminary design of vaneless diffusers (i.e., in the estimation of the outlet diameter) more effectively than the classical ideal theory. Furthermore, the model is validated against industrial experimental campaigns. Even further experimental data, reported in a previous paper by the same authors, confirm the reliability of the employed approach.


Author(s):  
Giuseppe Starace ◽  
Lorenzo Falcicchia ◽  
Pierpaolo Panico ◽  
Maria Fiorentino ◽  
Gianpiero Colangelo

AbstractIn refrigeration systems, evaporative condensers have two main advantages compared to other condensation heat exchangers: They operate at lower condensation temperature than traditional air-cooled condensers and require a lower quantity of water and pumping power compared to evaporative towers. The heat and mass transfer that occur on tube batteries are difficult to study. The aim of this work is to apply an experimental approach to investigate the performance of an evaporative condenser on a reduced scale by means of a test bench, consisting of a transparent duct with a rectangular test section in which electric heaters, inside elliptical pipes (major axis 32 mm, minor axis 23 mm), simulate the presence of the refrigerant during condensation. By keeping the water conditions fixed and constant, the operating conditions of the air and the inclination of the heat transfer geometry were varied, and this allowed to carry out a sensitivity analysis, depending on some of the main parameters that influence the thermo-fluid dynamic phenomena, as well as a performance comparison. The results showed that the heat transfer increases with the tube surface exposed directly to the air as a result of the increase in their inclination, that has been varied in the range 0–20°. For the investigated conditions, the average increase, resulting by the inclination, is 28%.


Author(s):  
Donald L. Simon ◽  
Sanjay Garg

A linear point design methodology for minimizing the error in on-line Kalman filter-based aircraft engine performance estimation applications is presented. This technique specifically addresses the underdetermined estimation problem, where there are more unknown parameters than available sensor measurements. A systematic approach is applied to produce a model tuning parameter vector of appropriate dimension to enable estimation by a Kalman filter, while minimizing the estimation error in the parameters of interest. Tuning parameter selection is performed using a multivariable iterative search routine that seeks to minimize the theoretical mean-squared estimation error. This paper derives theoretical Kalman filter estimation error bias and variance values at steady-state operating conditions, and presents the tuner selection routine applied to minimize these values. Results from the application of the technique to an aircraft engine simulation are presented and compared with the conventional approach of tuner selection. Experimental simulation results are found to be in agreement with theoretical predictions. The new methodology is shown to yield a significant improvement in on-line engine performance estimation accuracy.


2017 ◽  
Vol 65 (4) ◽  
pp. 479-488 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Boboń ◽  
A. Nocoń ◽  
S. Paszek ◽  
P. Pruski

AbstractThe paper presents a method for determining electromagnetic parameters of different synchronous generator models based on dynamic waveforms measured at power rejection. Such a test can be performed safely under normal operating conditions of a generator working in a power plant. A generator model was investigated, expressed by reactances and time constants of steady, transient, and subtransient state in the d and q axes, as well as the circuit models (type (3,3) and (2,2)) expressed by resistances and inductances of stator, excitation, and equivalent rotor damping circuits windings. All these models approximately take into account the influence of magnetic core saturation. The least squares method was used for parameter estimation. There was minimized the objective function defined as the mean square error between the measured waveforms and the waveforms calculated based on the mathematical models. A method of determining the initial values of those state variables which also depend on the searched parameters is presented. To minimize the objective function, a gradient optimization algorithm finding local minima for a selected starting point was used. To get closer to the global minimum, calculations were repeated many times, taking into account the inequality constraints for the searched parameters. The paper presents the parameter estimation results and a comparison of the waveforms measured and calculated based on the final parameters for 200 MW and 50 MW turbogenerators.


Author(s):  
Giorgia Tagliavini ◽  
Federico Solari ◽  
Roberto Montanari

AbstractThe extrusion of starch-based products has been a matter of interest, especially for the pasta and the snack food production. In recent years, twin-screw extruders for snack food have been studied from both structural and fluid dynamics viewpoints. This project started from the rheological characterization of a starch-based dough (corn 34 wt%, tapioca 32 wt%), comparing viscosity values acquired in laboratory with different theoretical models found in literature. A computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulation recreating the simple case of a fluid flow between two parallel plates was carried out to validate the former comparison. After the rheological validation was completed, the second phase of this work covered a 3D CFD simulation of the first part of the twin-screw extruder (feeding zone). The objective was to find a suitable model for describing the dough rheological behavior and the operating conditions of a co-rotating intermeshing twin-screw extruder. Once the model would be defined, it would allow to investigate several working conditions and different screws geometries of the machine, predicting the evolution of the product rheological properties.


Author(s):  
Youming Yuan ◽  
David Hunt

FloMASTER is a 1-D thermo-fluids system simulation tool and its component models depend on the characterisation data of the component performance. Such performance data is mainly based on data banks established from extensive tests exemplified by the books like “Internal Flow” by Miller [1] and “Handbook of Hydraulic Resistance” by Idelchik [2]. One of the key components of the gas turbine secondary air system is the rotating annulus. However, reliable data and correlations for performance characteristics like pressure loss coefficient, torque coefficient, windage and heat transfer for this component are rare and non-existent in the open literature for the case of both walls rotating simultaneously, which is becoming more common in today’s multi-spool military aero engines. To overcome this challenge of lack of reliable performance data and correlations, in this paper the Mentor Graphics 3D CFD tool “FloEFD” is used to model both inner wall rotating and outer wall rotating annulus flow, and to verify the 3D CFD results of performance data in terms of pressure loss coefficient and torque coefficient versus some published test data in the open literature. It is shown that the CFD gives results on pressure loss and torque coefficients that are in good agreement with test data based correlations used in FloMASTER. This demonstrates that 3D CFD can be used as a powerful tool for verifying the existing 1D model, extending the 1D model performance data range and generating new performance data for developing new components where such data is not available from open literature. A future project is to extend this approach to provide performance data for rotating annuli with both walls rotating. Such data will form the basis for developing a new component model for a rotating annulus with both walls rotating.


2013 ◽  
Vol 135 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
David May ◽  
John W. Chew ◽  
Timothy J. Scanlon

Deswirl nozzles are sometimes used in turbomachinery to reduce the pressure drop when air is drawn radially inwards through a rotating cavity. However, this can lead to nonunique steady state solutions with operating conditions achieved depending on how the steady point is approached. In the present study, a novel transient, 1D model of flow in a rotating cavity has been created. The model was validated for two distinct cases: a smooth rectangular cavity and an engine-representative case. The transient model reproduced experimentally observed hysteresis, discontinuity in operating characteristics, and regions where no steady-state solution could be found. In the case of the engine-representative rig, part of the flow characteristic could not be obtained in testing. This was determined to be due to the interaction of the negative resistance region of the vortex and the flow-modulating valve characteristic. Measures that allow the full capture of the flow characteristic in rig testing are identified. These results show that inclusion of transient rotating flow effects can be important in turbomachinery air systems modeling. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first model to capture these effects.


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