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At least 415 records · Page 23
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Stall Margin Improvement in a Transonic Compressor with a Casing Treatment: Flow Mechanism

Effects of casing treatments for improved stall margin in transonic compressors are investigated. Two types of compressor casing treatments, circumferential grooves and axial slots casing treatments, are studied in detail. The primary objective of the current paper is to identify the underlying fluid mechanics that change the stall margin of transonic compressors with these two casing treatments. Large eddy simulation (LES) is applied to calculate the compressor flow fields with these two types of casing treatments. Calculated flow fields are first compared with measured experimental data to validate the LES simulation. Details of the calculated unsteady flow structures are examined to unearth the underlying flow mechanism for the improved stall margin. Further possible design optimization of the casing treatment for the stall margin extension without any performance penalty near the design condition is also explored.

compressor↗
NASA NTRS1977

Flow in a transonic compressor rotor

Some results of a comprehensive study of the flow through a transonic compressor rotor are presented. The rotor produces a pressure ratio of 1.6 at a tip Mach number of 1.2, has a cylindrical casing, sloped hub, and MCA blade sections. The gas density has been measured in the rotor by gas fluorescence, which reveals details of the shock and boundary layer structure as well as density in the passages. Time resolved measurements of the flow just downstream of the rotor give the blade wake structure, which is related to the features shown by the fluorescence. Of particular interest is a complex three-dimensional separation near the sonic radius. The flow through the rotor has also been computed in three dimensions by a time-marching technique, and the results of this computation are compared to those found by flow visualization.

Kerrebrock, J. L.↗
DOE OSTI2023

Large Eddy Simulation of Rotationally Induced Ingress and Egress around an Axial Seal between Rotor and Stator Disks

In gas turbines, the hot gas exiting the combustor can have temperatures as high as 2000 °C, and some of this hot gas enter into the space between the stator and rotor disks (wheelspace). Since the entering hot gas could damage the disks, its ingestion must be minimized. This is carried out by rim seals and by introducing a cooler flow from the compressor (sealing flow) into the wheelspace. Ingress and egress into rim seals are driven by the stator vanes, the rotor and its rotation, and the rotor blades. This study focuses on the ingress and egress driven by the rotor and its rotation. This is carried out by performing wall-resolved large eddy simulation (LES) around an axial seal in a rotor–stator configuration without vanes and blades. Results obtained show the mechanisms by which the rotor and its rotation induce ingress, egress, and flow trajectories. Kelvin–Helmholtz instability was found to create a wavy shear layer and displacement thickness that produces alternating regions of high and low pressures around the rotor side of the seal. Vortex shedding on the backward-facing side of the seal and its impingement on the rotor side of the seal also produces alternating regions of high and low pressures. The locations of the alternating regions of high and low pressures were found to be statistically stationary and to cause ingress to start on the rotor side of the seal. Vortex shedding and recirculating flow in the seal clearance also cause ingress by entrainment. With the effects of the rotor and its rotation on ingress and egress isolated, this study enables the effects of stator vanes and rotor blades to be assessed.

42 ENGINEERING↗
NASA NTRS1978

Experimental studies on the influence of the degree of turbulence and of a turbulence thread on the compressible subsonic flow through flat compressor cascades

The measurements revealed that at low Reynolds numbers the profile loss is considerably reduced both by the increased degree of turbulence and by a turbulence thread, while it is somewhat increased at high Reynolds numbers, and that a profile loss reduction is connected with an increase in deflection and in pressure shift. The turbulence generator is most effective on the one hand in the middle of the operating range of the cascades, and on the other at very high Mach numbers together with a large angle of incidence.

Barsun, K.↗
NASA NTRS1974

Application of holography to flow visualization within rotating compressor blade row

Two holographic interblade row flow visualization systems were designed to determine the three-dimensional shock patterns and velocity distributions within the rotating blade row of a transonic fan rotor, utilizing the techniques of pulsed laser transmission holography. Both single- and double-exposure bright field holograms and dark field scattered-light holograms were successfully recorded. Two plastic windows were installed in the rotor tip casing and outer casing forward of the rotor to view the rotor blade passage. The viewing angle allowed detailed investigation of the leading edge shocks and shocks in the midspan damper area; limited details of the trailing edge shocks also were visible. A technique was devised for interpreting the reconstructed holograms by constructing three dimensional models that allowed identification of the major shock systems. The models compared favorably with theoretical predictions and results of the overall and blade element data. Most of the holograms were made using the rapid double-pulse technique.

Wuerker, R. F.↗
NASA NTRS2009

Investigation of Unsteady Flow Behavior in Transonic Compressor Rotors with LES and PIV Measurements

In the present study, unsteady flow behavior in a modern transonic axial compressor rotor is studied in detail with large eddy simulation (LES) and particle image velocimetry (PIV). The main purpose of the study is to advance the current understanding of the flow field near the blade tip in an axial transonic compressor rotor near the stall and peak-efficiency conditions. Flow interaction between the tip leakage vortex and the passage shock is inherently unsteady in a transonic compressor. Casing-mounted unsteady pressure transducers have been widely applied to investigate steady and unsteady flow behavior near the casing. Although many aspects of flow have been revealed, flow structures below the casing cannot be studied with casing-mounted pressure transducers. In the present study, unsteady velocity fields are measured with a PIV system and the measured unsteady flow fields are compared with LES simulations. The currently applied PIV measurements indicate that the flow near the tip region is not steady even at the design condition. This self-induced unsteadiness increases significantly as the compressor rotor operates near the stall condition. Measured data from PIV show that the tip clearance vortex oscillates substantially near stall. The calculated unsteady characteristics of the flow from LES agree well with the PIV measurements. Calculated unsteady flow fields show that the formation of the tip clearance vortex is intermittent and the concept of vortex breakdown from steady flow analysis does not seem to apply in the current flow field. Fluid with low momentum near the pressure side of the blade close to the leading edge periodically spills over into the adjacent blade passage. The present study indicates that stall inception is heavily dependent on unsteady behavior of the flow field near the leading edge of the blade tip section for the present transonic compressor rotor.

Hah, Chunill↗
NASA NTRS1951

Experimental Investigation of a 16-inch Impulse-type Supersonic-compressor Rotor

Performance data and characteristics of a 16-inch impulse-type supersonic-compressor rotor are presented. The experimental portion of this investigation was conducted in Freon-12. A peak pressure ratio of 3.6 was obtained with an adiabatic efficiency of 0.80 at design conditions. Performance was continuous from impulse operation, at open throttle, to shock-in-rotor operation at the stall condition.

COMPRESSOR FLOW THEORY AND EXPERIMENT↗
NASA NTRS1974

Three-dimensional flow in transonic axial compressor blade rows

Recent developments in the three-dimensional aerodynamic theory of inviscid flow in transonic axial compressors are reviewed. Emphasis is placed on the newly completed lifting surface theory of a transonic ducted rotor. The relationship between the lifting surface theory and axisymmetric through-theories of turbomachines is illustrated; a few examples of the additional information obtainable from the new theory are then given. Quasi-two-dimensional cascade theory can also be extracted from the present analysis and the relevance of cascade theory to the actual three-dimensional problem assessed. Details are reported elsewhere, but some of the qualitative conclusions are discussed here. Even moderate departure from uniform spanwise loading of the rotor blades, for example, leads to a rather profound influence of the downstream wakes, suggesting the need for considerable care in applying cascade data on a direct quasi-two-dimensional basis.

Mccune, J. E.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Study of Convective Flow Effects in Endwall Casing Treatments in Transonic Compressor Rotors

The unsteady convective flow effects in a transonic compressor rotor with a circumferential-groove casing treatment are investigated in this paper. Experimental results show that the circumferential-groove casing treatment increases the compressor stall margin by almost 50% for the current transonic compressor rotor. Steady flow simulation of the current casing treatment, however, yields only a 15% gain in stall margin. The flow field at near-stall operation is highly unsteady due to several self-induced flow phenomena. These include shock oscillation, vortex shedding at the trailing edge, and interaction between the passage shock and the tip clearance vortex. The primary focus of the current investigation is to assess the effects of flow unsteadiness and unsteady flow convection on the circumferential-groove casing treatment. Unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (URANS) and Large Eddy Simulation (LES) techniques were applied in addition to steady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) to simulate the flow field at near-stall operation and to determine changes in stall margin. The current investigation reveals that unsteady flow effects are as important as steady flow effects on the performance of the circumferential grooves casing treatment in extending the stall margin of the current transonic compressor rotor. The primary unsteady flow mechanism is unsteady flow injection from the grooves into the main flow near the casing. Flows moving into and out of the grooves are caused due to local pressure difference near the grooves. As the pressure field becomes transient due to self-induced flow oscillation, flow injection from the grooves also becomes unsteady. The unsteady flow simulation shows that this unsteady flow injection from the grooves is substantial and contributes significantly to extending the compressor stall margin. Unsteady flows into and out of the grooves have as large a role as steady flows in the circumferential grooves. While the circumferential-groove casing treatment seems to be a steady flow device, unsteady flow effects should be included to accurately assess its performance as the flow is transient at near-stall operation.

Hah, Chunill↗
NASA NTRS2008

Effects of a Rotating Aerodynamic Probe on the Flow Field of a Compressor Rotor

An investigation of distortions of the rotor exit flow field caused by an aerodynamic probe mounted in the rotor is described in this paper. A rotor total pressure Kiel probe, mounted on the rotor hub and extending up to the mid-span radius of a rotor blade channel, generates a wake that forms additional flow blockage. Three types of high-response aerodynamic probes were used to investigate the distorted flow field behind the rotor. These probes were: a split-fiber thermo-anemometric probe to measure velocity and flow direction, a total pressure probe, and a disk probe for in-flow static pressure measurement. The signals acquired from these high-response probes were reduced using an ensemble averaging method based on a once per rotor revolution signal. The rotor ensemble averages were combined to construct contour plots for each rotor channel of the rotor tested. In order to quantify the rotor probe effects, the contour plots for each individual rotor blade passage were averaged into a single value. The distribution of these average values along the rotor circumference is a measure of changes in the rotor exit flow field due to the presence of a probe in the rotor. These distributions were generated for axial flow velocity and for static pressure.

Lepicovsky, Jan↗