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At least 109 records · Page 6
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NASA NTRS1974

Summary of recent investigations of inlet flow distortion effect on engine stability

A review is presented of recent experimental results, analytical procedures and test techniques employed to evaluate the effects of inlet flow distortion on the stability characteristics of representative afterburning turbofan and turbojet compression systems. Circumferential distortions of pressure and temperature, separately and in combination are considered. Resulting engine sensitivity measurements are compared with predictions based on simplified parallel compressor models and with several distortion descriptor parameters.

Graber, E. J., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1974

Summary of recent investigations of inlet flow distortion effects on engine stability

A review is presented of recent experimental results, analytical procedures and test techniques employed to evaluate the effects of inlet flow distortion on the stability characteristics of representative afterburning turbofan and turbojet compression systems. Circumferential distortions of pressure and temperature, separately and in combination, are considered. Resulting engine sensitivity measurements are compared with predictions based on simplified parallel compressor models and with several distortion descriptor parameters.

Graber, E. J., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Review and evaluation of recent developments in melic inlet dynamic flow distortion prediction and computer program documentation and user's manual estimating maximum instantaneous inlet flow distortion from steady-state total pressure measurements with full, limited, or no dynamic data

A review of the Melick method of inlet flow dynamic distortion prediction by statistical means is provided. These developments include the general Melick approach with full dynamic measurements, a limited dynamic measurement approach, and a turbulence modelling approach which requires no dynamic rms pressure fluctuation measurements. These modifications are evaluated by comparing predicted and measured peak instantaneous distortion levels from provisional inlet data sets. A nonlinear mean-line following vortex model is proposed and evaluated as a potential criterion for improving the peak instantaneous distortion map generated from the conventional linear vortex of the Melick method. The model is simplified to a series of linear vortex segments which lay along the mean line. Maps generated with this new approach are compared with conventionally generated maps, as well as measured peak instantaneous maps. Inlet data sets include subsonic, transonic, and supersonic inlets under various flight conditions.

Schweikhard, W. G.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Performance with and without inlet radial distortion of a transonic fan stage designed for reduced loading in the tip region

A transonic compressor stage designed for a reduced loading in the tip region of the rotor blades was tested with and without inlet radial distortion. The rotor was 50 cm in diameter and designed for an operating tip speed of 420 m/sec. Although the rotor blade loading in the tip region was reduced to provide additional operating range, analysis of the data indicates that the flow around the damper appears to be critical and limited the stable operating range of this stage. For all levels of tip and hub radial distortion, there was a large reduction in the rotor stall margin.

Schmidt, J. F.↗
NASA NTRS1954

Preliminary Data on the Effects of Inlet Pressure Distortions on the J57-P-1 Turbojet Engine

An investigation to determine the steady-state and surge characteristics of the J57-P-1 two-spool turbojet engine with various inlet air-flow distortions was conducted in the altitude wind tunnel at the NACA Lewis laboratory. Along with a uniform inlet total-pressure distribution, one circumferential and three radial pressure distortions were investigated. Data were obtained over a complete range of compressor speeds both with and without intercompressor air bleed at a flight Mach number of 0.8 and at altitudes of 35,000 and 50,000 feet. Total-pressure distortions of the magnitudes investigated had very little effect on the steady-state operating line for either the outer or inner compressor. The small radial distortions investigated also had engine over that obtained with the uniform inlet pressure distribution. The circumferential distortion, however, raised the minimum speed at which the engine could operate without encountering surge when the intercompressor bleeds were closed. This increase in minimum speed resulted in a substantial reduction in the operable speed range accompanied by a reduction in the altitude operating limit.

Wallner, Lewis E.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Prediction of compressor stall for distorted and undistorted flow by use of a multistage compressor simulation on the digital computer

A simulation technique is presented for the prediction of compressor stall for axial-flow compressors for clean and distorted inlet flow. The simulation is implemented on the digital computer and uses stage stacking and lumped-volume gas dynamics. The resulting nonlinear differential equations are linearized about a steady-state operating point, and a Routh-Hurwitz stability test is performed on the linear system matrix. Parallel compressor theory is utilized to extend the technique to the distorted inlet flow problem. The method is applied to the eight-stage J85-13 compressor. Analytical stall prediction for the undistorted stall line shows good agreement with experimental results. The predicted stall line for distorted inlet flow is in agreement with experimental results only for large distortion extents and/or low distortion levels. Results for low distortion extents and high distortion level do not agree with experimental results.

Daniele, C. J.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Estimating maximum instantaneous distortion from inlet total pressure rms measurements

In the present paper, a new mathematical model of inlet turbulence is developed by application of basic fluid dynamics and statistical concepts. The model provides an understanding of the turbulent inlet flow as well as a means of describing the flow in quantitative terms. Specifically, the maximum instantaneous distortion produced by inlet unsteady flow can be estimated by the simple measurement of rms data. Practical application of these techniques leads to a data/acquisition/reduction system that is at least one, and maybe two, orders of magnitude less expensive than conventional methods. Each data point can be reduced in terms of the mean strength of the turbulent vortices. By storing these two parameters (that are representative of the unsteady flow with the steady state information), the maximal instantaneous distortion can be reconstructed for other distortion factors at any time subsequent to the test.

Melick, H. C., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1972

High-loading low-speed fan study. 4: Data and performance with redesign stator and including a rotor tip casing treatment

A single stage fan with a rotor tip speed of 1000 ft/sec(304.8 m/sec) and a hub-to-tip ratio of 0.392 was retested with a redesigned stator. Tests were conducted with uniform inlet, tip-radial, hub-radial, and circumferential inlet distortions. With uniform inlet flow, stall margin was improved 12 percentage points above that with the original stator. The fan demonstrated an efficiency of 0.883 and a stall margin of 15 percent at a pressure ratio of 1.488 and a specific flow of 41.17 lb/sec/sq ft. Tests were also made with a redesigned casing treatment consisting of skewed slots over the rotor blade tips. This casing treatment gave a 7 percentage point improvement in stall margin when tested with tip radial distortion (when the rotor tip initiated stall). Noise measurements at the fan inlet and exit indicate no effect from closing the stator 10 degrees, nor were there measurable effects from adding skewed slots over the blade tips.

Harley, K. G.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Low speed test of the aft inlet designed for a tandem fan V/STOL nacelle

An approximately .25 scale model of a Tandem Fan nacelle designed for a Type A V/STOL aircraft configuration was tested in a 10-by-10 foot wind tunnel. A 12 inch, tip driven, turbofan simulator was used to provide the suction source for the aft fan inlet. The front fan inlet was faired over for this test entry. Model variables consisted of a long aft inlet cowl, a short aft inlet cowl, a shaft simulator, blow-in door passages and diffuser vortex generators. Inlet pressure recovery, distortion, inlet angle of attack separation limits were evaluated at tunnel velocities from 0 to 240 knots, angles of attack from -10 to 40 degrees and inlet flow rates representative of throat Mach numbers of 0.1 to 0.6. High inlet performance and stable operation was verified at all design forward speed and angle of attack conditions. The short aft inlet configuration provided exceptionally high pressure recovery except at the highest combination of angle of attack and forward speed. The flow quality at the fan face was somewhat degraded by the addition of blow-in door passages to the long aft inlet configuration due to the pressure disturbances generated by the flow entering the diffuser through the auxiliary air passages.

Rhoades, W. W.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Effect of Blowing on Boundary Layer of Scarf Inlet

When aircraft operate in stationary or low speed conditions, airflow into the engine accelerates around the inlet lip and pockets of turbulence that cause noise and vibration can be ingested. This problem has been encountered with engines equipped with the scarf inlet, both in full scale and in model tests, where the noise produced during the static test makes it difficult to assess the noise reduction performance of the scarf inlet. NASA Langley researchers have implemented boundary layer control in an attempt to reduce the influence of the flow nonuniformity in a 12-in. diameter model of a high bypass fan engine mounted in an anechoic chamber. Static pressures and boundary layer profiles were measured in the inlet and far field acoustic measurements were made to assess the effectiveness of the blowing treatment. The blowing system was found to lack the authority to overcome the inlet distortions. Methods to improve the implementation of boundary layer control to reduce inlet distortion are discussed.

Gerhold, Carl H.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Active Flow Control on a Boundary-Layer-Ingesting Inlet

Boundary layer ingestion (BLI) is explored as means to improve overall system performance for Blended Wing Body configuration. The benefits of BLI for vehicle system performance benefit are assessed with a process derived from first principles suitable for highly-integrated propulsion systems. This performance evaluation process provides framework within which to assess the benefits of an integrated BLI inlet and lays the groundwork for higher-fidelity systems studies. The results of the system study show that BLI provides a significant improvement in vehicle performance if the inlet distortion can be controlled, thus encouraging the pursuit of active flow control (AFC) as a BLI enabling technology. The effectiveness of active flow control in reducing engine inlet distortion was assessed using a 6% scale model of a 30% BLI offset, diffusing inlet. The experiment was conducted in the NASA Langley Basic Aerodynamics Research Tunnel with a model inlet designed specifically for this type of testing. High mass flow pulsing actuators provided the active flow control. Measurements were made of the onset boundary layer, the duct surface static pressures, and the mass flow through the duct and the actuators. The distortion was determined by 120 total pressure measurements located at the aerodynamic interface plane. The test matrix was limited to a maximum freestream Mach number of 0.15 with scaled mass flows through the inlet for that condition. The data show that the pulsed actuation can reduce distortion from 29% to 4.6% as measured by the circumferential distortion descriptor DC60 using less than 1% of inlet mass flow. Closed loop control of the actuation was also demonstrated using a sidewall surface static pressure as the response sensor.

Gorton, Susan Althoff↗
NASA NTRS2003

Three-dimensional Aerodynamic Instability in Multi-stage Axial Compressors

Four separate tasks are reported. The first task: A Computational Model for Short Wavelength Stall Inception and Development In Multi-Stage Compressors; the second task: Three-dimensional Rotating Stall Inception and Effects of Rotating Tip Clearance Asymmetry in Axial Compressors; the third task:Development of an Effective Computational Methodology for Body Force Representation of High-speed Rotor 37; and the fourth task:Development of Circumferential Inlet Distortion through a Representative Eleven Stage High-speed axial compressor. The common theme that threaded throughout these four tasks is the conceptual framework that consists of quantifying flow processes at the fadcompressor blade passage level to define the compressor performance characteristics needed for addressing physical phenomena such compressor aerodynamic instability and compressor response to flow distoriton with length scales larger than compressor blade-to-blade spacing at the system level. The results from these two levels can be synthesized to: (1) simulate compressor aerodynamic instability inception local to a blade rotor tip and its development from a local flow event into the nonlinear limit cycle instability that involves the entire compressor as was demonstrated in the first task; (2) determine the conditions under which compressor stability assessment based on two-dimensional model may not be adequate and the effects of self-induced flow distortion on compressor stability limit as in the second task; (3) quantify multistage compressor response to inlet distortion in stagnation pressure as illustrated in the fourth task; and (4) elucidate its potential applicability for compressor map generation under uniform as well as non-uniform inlet flow given three-dimensional Navier-Stokes solution for each individual blade row as was demonstrated in the third task.

Suder, Kenneth↗
NASA NTRS1991

A design strategy for the use of vortex generators to manage inlet-engine distortion using computational fluid dynamics

A reduced Navier-Stokes solution technique was successfully used to design vortex generator installations for the purpose of minimizing engine face distortion by restructuring the development of secondary flow that is induced in typical 3-D curved inlet ducts. The results indicate that there exists an optimum axial location for this installation of corotating vortex generators, and within this configuration, there exists a maximum spacing between generator blades above which the engine face distortion increases rapidly. Installed vortex generator performance, as measured by engine face circumferential distortion descriptors, is sensitive to Reynolds number and thereby the generator scale, i.e., the ratio of generator blade height to local boundary layer thickness. Installations of corotating vortex generators work well in terms of minimizing engine face distortion within a limited range of generator scales. Hence, the design of vortex generator installations is a point design, and all other conditions are off design. In general, the loss levels associated with a properly designed vortex generator installation are very small; thus, they represent a very good method to manage engine face distortion. This study also showed that the vortex strength, generator scale, and secondary flow field structure have a complicated and interrelated influence over engine face distortion, over and above the influence of the initial arrangement of generators.

Anderson, Bernhard H.↗
NASA NTRS1991

A design strategy for the use of vortex generators to manage inlet-engine distortion using computational fluid dynamics

A reduced Navier-Stokes solution technique was successfully used to design vortex generator installations for the purpose of minimizing engine face distortion by restructuring the development of secondary flow that is induced in typical 3-D curved inlet ducts. The results indicate that there exists an optimum axial location for this installation of corotating vortex generators, and within this configuration, there exists a maximum spacing between generator blades above which the engine face distortion increases rapidly. Installed vortex generator performance, as measured by engine face circumferential distortion descriptors, is sensitive to Reynolds number and thereby the generator scale, i.e., the ratio of generator blade height to local boundary layer thickness. Installations of corotating vortex generators work well in terms of minimizing engine face distortion within a limited range of generator scales. Hence, the design of vortex generator installations is a point design, and all other conditions are off design. In general, the loss levels associated with a properly designed vortex generator installation are very small; thus, they represent a very good method to manage engine face distortion. This study also showed that the vortex strength, generator scale, and secondary flow field structure have a complicated and interrelated influence over engine face distortion, over and above the influence of the initial arrangement of generators.

Anderson, Bernhard H.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Experimental and Computational Evaluation of Flush-Mounted, S-Duct Inlets

A new high Reynolds number test capability for boundary layer ingesting inlets has been developed for the NASA Langley Research Center 0.3-Meter Transonic Cryogenic Tunnel. Using this new capability. an experimental investigation of four S-duct inlet configurations was conducted. A computational study of one of the inlets was also conducted using a Navier-Stokes solver. The objectives of this investigation were to: 1) develop a new high Reynolds number inlet test capability for flush-mounted inlets; 2) provide a database for CFD tool validation; 3) evaluate the performance of S-duct inlets with large amounts of boundary layer ingestion; and 4) provide a baseline inlet for future inlet flow-control studies. Tests were conducted at Mach numbers from 0.25 to 0.83. Reynolds numbers (based on duct exit diameter) from 5.1 million to a full-scale value of 13.9 million, and inlet mass-flow ratios from 0.39 to 1.58 depending on Mach number. Results of the experimental study indicate that inlet pressure recovery generally decreased and inlet distortion generally increased with increasing Mach number. Except at low Mach numbers, increasing inlet mass-flow increased pressure recovery and increased distortion. Increasing the amount of boundary layer ingestion or ingesting a boundary layer with a distorted profile decreased pressure recovery and increased distortion. Finally, increasing Reynolds number had almost no effect on inlet distortion but increased inlet recovery by about one-half percent at a Mach number near cruise. The computational results captured the inlet pressure recovery and distortion trends with Mach number and inlet mass-flow well: the reversal of the pressure recovery trend with increasing inlet mass-flow at low and high Mach numbers was predicted by CFD. However, CFD results were generally more pessimistic (larger losses) than measured experimentally.

Berrier, Bobby L.↗
NASA NTRS1973

High loading, low speed fan study, 5

A low speed, low noise, single stage fan was designed and tested. Design pressure ratio was 1.5 at a rotor tip speed of 1000 ft/sec. No inlet guide vane was used, the rotor stator was spaced and the number of rotor and stator airfoils was selected for low noise. Tests were conducted with uniform and distorted inlet flows. Stall margin of the initial design was too low for practical application. Airfoil slots and boundary layer and endwall devices did not improve stall margin sufficiently. A redesigned stator with reduced loadings increased stall margin, giving a fan efficiency of 0.883, 15% stall margin, and a 1.474 pressure radio at a specific flow of 41.7 lb/sec sq ft. Casing treatment over rotor tips improved stall margin with distorted inlet flow; vortex generators did not. Blade passing frequency noise increased with rotor relative Mach number. No supersonic fan noise was measured below 105% of design speed. Slotting airfoils, casing treatments, and a reduction of the ratio (number-stators/number-rotors) from (2n + 16) to (2n + 2) had no significant effects on noise.

Keenan, M. J.↗