Aspi R. Wadia

The Effect of Tip Clearance on a Swept Transonic Compressor Rotor

An experimental and numerical investigation of detailed tip clearance flow structures and their effects on the aerodynamic performance of a modern low-aspect-ratio, high-throughflow, axial transonic fan is presented. Rotor flow fields were investigated at two clearance levels experimentally, at tip clearance to tip blade chord ratios of 0.27 and 1.87 percent, and at four clearance levels numerically, at ratios of zero, 0.27, 1.0, and 1.87 percent. The numerical method seems to calculate the rotor aerodynamics well, with some disagreement in loss calculation, which might be improved with improved turbulence modeling and a further refined grid. Both the experimental and the numerical results indicate that the performance of this class of rotors is dominated by the tip clearance flows. Rotor efficiency drops six points when the tip clearance is increased from 0.27 to 1.87 percent, and flow range decreases about 30 percent. No optimum clearance size for the present rotor was indicated. Most of the efficiency change occurs near the tip section, with the interaction between the tip clearance flow and the passage shock becoming much stronger when the tip clearance is increased. In all cases, the shock structure was three dimensional and swept, with the shock becoming normal to themorexa0» endwall near the shroud.«xa0less

Role of Tip-Leakage Vortices and Passage Shock in Stall Inception in a Swept Transonic Compressor Rotor

The current paper reports on investigations aimed at advancing the understanding of the flow field near the casing of a forward-swept transonic compressor rotor. The role of tip clearance flow and its interaction with the passage shock on stall inception are analyzed in detail. Steady and unsteady three-dimensional viscous flow calculations are applied to obtain flow fields at various operating conditions. The numerical results are first compared with available measured data. Then, the numerically obtained flow fields are interrogated to identify the roles of flow interactions between the tip clearance flow, the passage shock, and the blade/endwall boundary layers. In addition to the flow field with nominal tip clearance, two more flow fields are analyzed in order to identify the mechanisms of blockage generation: one with zero tip clearance, and one with nominal tip clearance on the forward portion of the blade and zero clearance on the aft portion. The current study shows that the tip clearance vortex does not break down, even when the rotor operates in a stalled condition. Interaction between the shock and the suction surface boundary layer causes the shock, and therefore the tip clearance vortex, to oscillate. However, for the currently investigated transonic compressor rotor, so-called breakdown of the tip clearance vortex does not occur during stall inception. The tip clearance vortex originates near the leading edge tip, but moves downward in the spanwise direction inside the blade passage. A low momentum region develops above the tip clearance vortex from flow originating from the casing boundary layer. The low momentum area builds up immediately downstream of the passage shock and above the core vortex. This area migrates toward the pressure side of the blade passage as the flow rate is decreased. The low momentum area prevents incoming flow from passing through the pressure side of the passage and initiates stall inception. It is well known that inviscid effects dominate tip clearance flow. However, complex viscous flow structures develop inside the casing boundary layer at operating conditions near stall.Copyright

Analysis of Some Improved Blade Tip Concepts

Over tip leakage in high-pressure turbines contributes to aerodynamic losses and migration of hot gasses towards the tip resulting in increased thermal distress. Consequently, turbine designers continue to search for improved blade tip concepts that offer the promise of reducing tip leakage. The present paper deals with the computational fluid dynamics analyses of some such tip configurations. The geometries, patented by GE, are variants of a conventional squealer tip and include (i) a pressure side tip shelf with vertical squealer tip wall and (ii) a pressure side tip shelf with an inclined squealer tip wall. It is found that the inclined shelf results in separation of flow leaking over the tip, resulting in reduced leakage and improved efficiency. The inclined shelf also shows a reduced efficiency derivative with clearance.

Structures and Dynamics Committee Best Paper of 1996 Award: Inlet Distortion Generated Forced Response of a Low-Aspect-Ratio Transonic Fan

This paper describes a portion of an experimental and computational program (ADLARF), which incorporates, for the first time, measurements of all aspects of the forced response of an airfoil row, i.e., the flow defect, the unsteady pressure loadings, and the vibratory response. The purpose of this portion was to extend the knowledge of the unsteady aerodynamics associated with a low-aspect-ratio transonic fan where the flow defects were generated by inlet distortions. Measurements of screen distortion patterns were obtained with total pressure rakes and casing static pressures. The unsteady pressure loadings on the blade were determined from high response pressure transducers. The resulting blade vibrations were measured with strain gages. The steady flow was analyzed using a three-dimensional Navier-Stokes solver while the unsteady flow was determined with a quasi-three-dimensional linearized Euler solver. Experimental results showed that the distortions had strong vortical, moderate entropic, and weak acoustic parts. The three-dimensional Navier-Stokes analyses showed that the steady flow is predominantly two-dimensional, with radially outward flow existing only in the blade surface boundary layers downstream of shocks and in the aft part of the suction surface. At near resonance conditions, the strain gage data showed blade-to-blade motion variations and thus, linearized unsteady Euler solutionsmorexa0» showed poorer agreement with the unsteady loading data than comparisons at off-resonance speeds. Data analysis showed that entropic waves generated unsteady loadings comparable to vortical waves in the blade regions where shocks existed.«xa0less

High-Fidelity Numerical Analysis of Per-Rev-Type Inlet Distortion Transfer in Multistage Fans—Part I: Simulations With Selected Blade Rows

Demands for improved performance and operability of advanced propulsion systems require an understanding of the physics of inlet flow distortion transfer and generation and the subsequent engine response. This also includes developing a high-fidelity characterization capability and suitable tools/rules for the design of distortion tolerant engines. This paper describes efforts to establish a high-fidelity prediction capability of distortion transfer and fan response via high-performance computing. The current CFD capability was evaluated with a focus of predicting the transfer of prescribed inlet flow distortions. Numerical simulations, comparison to experimental data, and analysis of two selected three-stage fans are presented. The unsteady Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) code PTURBO demonstrated remarkable agreement with data, accurately capturing both the magnitude and profile of total pressure and total temperature measurements. Part I of this paper describes the establishment of the required numerical simulation procedures. The computational domains are limited to the first three blade rows for the first multistage fan and the last three blade rows for the second fan. This paper presents initial validation and analysis of the total pressure distortion transfer and the total temperature distortion generation. Based on the established ground work of Part I, the entire two multistage fans were simulated with inlet distortion at normal operating condition and near stall condition, which is Part II of this paper. Part II presents the full range validation against engine test data and in-depth analysis of distortion transfer and generation mechanisms throughout the two fans.

High-Fidelity Numerical Analysis of Per-Rev-Type Inlet Distortion Transfer in Multistage Fans—Part II: Entire Component Simulation and Investigation

Part I of this paper validated the ability of the unsteady Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) solver PTURBO to accurately simulate distortion transfer and generation through selected blade rows of two multistage fans. In this part, unsteady RANS calculations were successfully applied to predict the 1/rev inlet total pressure distortion transfer in the entirety of two differently designed multistage fans. This paper demonstrates that high-fidelity computational fluid dynamics (CFD) can be used early in the design process for verification purposes before hardware is built and can be used to reduce the number of distortion tests, hence reducing engine development cost. The unsteady RANS code PTURBO demonstrated remarkable agreement with the data, accurately capturing both the magnitude and the profile of total pressure and total temperature measurements. Detailed analysis of the flow physics identified from the CFD results has led to a thorough understanding of the total temperature distortion generation and transfer mechanism, especially for the spatial phase difference of total pressure and total temperature profiles. The analysis illustrates that the static parameters are more revealing than their stagnation counterpart and that pressure and temperature rise are more revealing while the pressure and temperature ratio could be misleading. The last stage is effectively throttled by the inlet distortion even though the overall engine throttle remains unchanged. The total temperature distortion generally grows as flow passes through the fan stages.

Low Aspect Ratio Transonic Rotors: Part 1—Baseline Design and Performance

The analytical design and experimental test of a single-stage transonic axial-flow compressor are described. This design is the baseline of a compressor design study in which several blade design parameters have been systematically varied to determine their independent effects on compressor performance. The baseline design consisted of ruggedizing an existing compressor design that demonstrated outstanding aerodynamic performance, to correct some undesirable aeromechanical characteristics. The design study was performed by varying only one design parameter at a time, keeping the other design variables as close as possible to the baseline design. Specific design parameters of interest were those for which very few data were available to determine their sensitivity on compressor performance. This paper describes the baseline compressor design and its experimental performance. A detailed definition and flow analysis of the baseline design test point (used as the basis for all subsequent design variations) are provided.

A Computational Fluid Dynamics Study of Circumferential Groove Casing Treatment in a Transonic Axial Compressor

Numerical investigations were conducted to predict the performance of a transonic axial compressor rotor with circumferential groove casing treatment. The Notre Dame Transonic Axial Compressor (ND-TAC) was simulated at Tsinghua University with an in-house computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code (NSAWET) for this work. Experimental data from the ND-TAC were used to define the geometry, boundary conditions, and data sampling method for the numerical simulation. These efforts, combined with several unique simulation approaches, such as nonmatched grid boundary technology to treat the periodic boundaries and interfaces between groove grids and the passage grid, resulted in good agreement between the numerical and experimental results for overall compressor performance and radial profiles of exit total pressure. Efforts were made to study blade level flow mechanisms to determine how the casing treatment impacts the compressors stall margin and performance. The flow structures in the passage, the tip gap, and the grooves as well as their mutual interactions were plotted and analyzed. The flow and momentum transport across the tip gap in the smooth wall and the casing treatment configurations were quantitatively compared.

AN INVESTIGATION OF THE EFFECT OF CASCADE AREA RATIOS ON TRANSONIC COMPRESSOR PERFORMANCE

Transonic compressor rotor performance is highly sensitive to variations in cascade area ratios. This paper reports on the design, experimental evaluation, and three-dimensional viscous analysis of four low-aspect-ratio transonic rotors that demonstrate the effects of cascade throat area, internal contraction, and trailing edge effective camber on compressor performance. The cascade throat area study revealed that tight throat margins result in increased high-speed efficiency with lower part-speed performance. Stall line was also improved slightly over a wide range of speeds with a lower throat-to-upstream capture area ratio. Higher internal contraction, expressed as throat-to-mouth area ratio, also results in increased design point peak efficiency, but again costs performance at the lower speeds. Reducing the trailing edge effective camber, expressed as throat-to-exit area ratio, results in an improvement in peak efficiency level without significantly lowering the stall line. Among all four rotors, the best high-speed efficiency was obtained by the rotor with a tight throat margin and highest internal contraction, but its efficiency was the lowest at part speed. The best compromise between high-speed and part-speed efficiency was achieved by the rotor with a large throat and a lower trailing edge effective camber. The difference in the shock structure and the shock boundarymorexa0» layer interaction of the four blades was analyzed using a three-dimensional viscous code. The analytical results are used to supplement the data and provide further insight into the detailed physics of the flow field.«xa0less

Low aspect ratio transonic rotors: Part 2. Influence of location of maximum thickness on transonic compressor performance

Transonic compressor rotor performance is sensitive to variations in several known design parameters. One such parameter is the chordwise location of maximum thickness. This article reports on the design and experimental evaluation of two versions of a low aspect ratio transonic rotor taRt had the location of the tip blade section maximum thickness moved forward in two increments from the nominal 70 percent to 55 and 40 percent chord length, respectiuely. The original hub characteristics were preserved and the maximum thickness location was adjusted proportionately along the span. Although designed to satisfy identical design speed requirements, the experimental results reveal significant variation in the performance of the rotors