Effect of inlet box on performance of axial flow fans

Numerical investigations on 3D flow fields in an axial flow fan with and without an inlet box have been extensively conducted, focusing on the variation of fan performance caused by the internal flow fields and the velocity evenness at the exit of the inlet box. It is interesting to find that although the inlet box is well designed in accordance with basic design principles, there is a flow separation region in it. Furthermore, this flow separation and the resulting uneven velocity distribution at the exit lead to some decrease in the efficiency and an increase in the total pressure rise of the fan. This research shows that the inlet box needs further improvement and such a check on the flow fields is of value for the design of inlet boxes. __________ Translated from Journal of Engineering Thermophysics, 2007, 28 (Suppl.1): 161–164 [译自: 工程热物理学报]     

Study on Aerodynamic Design Optimization of Turbomachinery Blades

This paper describes the study on aerodynamics design optimization of turbomachinery blading developed by the authors at the Institute of Engineering Thermophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, during the recent few years. The present paper describes the aspects mainly on how to use a rapid approach of profiling a 3D blading and of grid generation for computation, a fast and accurate viscous computation method and an appropriate optimization methodology including a blade parameterization algorithm to optimize turbomachinery blading aerodynamically. Any blade configuration can be expressed by three curves, they are the camber lines, the thickness distributions and the radial stacking line, and then the blade geometry can be easily parameterized by a number of parameters with three polynomials. A gradient-based parameterization analytical method and a response surface method were applied herein for blade optimization. It was found that the optimization process provides reliable design for turbomachinery with reasonable computing time.     

Geometry Effects on Aerodynamics Performance of a Low Aspect Ratio Turbine Nozzle

This paper describes the influence of some geometric parameters on aerodynamics performance of a low-aspect-ratio turbine blading designed by a novel method developed at the Institute of Engineering Thermophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. This is a part of the study on aerodynamics optimization of turbomachinery. It follows the development of the basic ideas in the turbomachinery aerodynamics research project at the institute. The present paper concentrates mainly on the effects of geometry, such as stagger angle, leading and trailing edge thickness, maximum thickness and its location on adiabatic efficiency, total pressure ratio and mass flow rate. The study was performed and assessed for a low-aspect ratio turbine nozzle using 3D steady Reynolds-averaged N.S. solver. Using the knowledge of the flow physics analysis an optimized turbine nozzle was obtained.     

Effects of rotor structure on performance of small size axial flow fans

Small size axial flow fans are used as a cooling component for computers,electronic equipment and other electronic components.With the increasing power of electrical equipment,the demand for lower noise and higher ventilation of cooling fan is also increasing.Traditional methods of improving ventilation by raising the fan’s rotation speed causes a decrease in efficiency and an increase in noise.In this paper,different structures of fans were simulated,and as a result,the counter-rotating fan can achieve higher pressure,efficiency and facilitate ventilation in a smaller space.Furthermore,some other conclusions are as follows:(1) Higher pressure rise can be obtained by a counter-rotating fan than by the two-stage rotor fan in the same axial length.Meanwhile,the counter-rotating fan has a broader work scope.(2) The main noise type of the counter-rotating fan is rotating noise;the small peak pulse caused by vortex noise mainly due to the eddy current produced by small eddies.(3) When the distance of counter-rotating fans is smaller than 2 times the chord,the greater distance the greater total pressure of the circum-averages and along the axial direction,the total pressure begin to decline until the distance is three times the chord,so there is an optimal distance between rotors.The simulation results are of important significance to the quantitative analysis and optimization design of the counter-rotating fan.     

Application and comparison of SST model in numerical simulation of the axial compressors

<正>The shear-stress transport(SST)turbulence model is incorporated into Navier-Stokes equations to simulate a turbomachinery flowfield.A staggered finite volume method is used to make the mean flow equations and turbulence model equations strongly coupled and enhance the stability of the numerical computation.The implicit treatment of the source terms is applied to the SST model.A steady state solution is obtained using five-stage Runge-Kutta time-stepping scheme with local time stepping and residual smoothing to accelerate convergence. The wall distance d,a key parameter in the SST model,is solved by a partial differential equation.The validations of the code are conducted on rotor 37,wp11 at design and off-design conditions by comparison with measurements and the Spalart-Allmaras(SA)turbulence model.The flow within the tip is calculated with a multi-block grid.     

一维多级轴流压气机性能的解析优化

用一维理论对轴流压气机的初步设计作进一步的研究，导出了多级轴流压气机特性关系，建立了在给定轴向分速时最优化设计的数学模型，得到了解析关系，所得结论具有一定的普适性，对多级轴流压气机的初步设计有一定的指导作用。     

Effect of inlet guide vanes on the performance of small axial flow fan

Effects of the inlet guide vanes on the static characteristics, aerodynamic noise and internal flow characteristics of a small axial flow fan are studied in this work. The inlet guide vanes with different outlet angle are designed,which are mounted on the casing and located at the upstream of the impeller of the prototype fan. Both steady and unsteady flow simulations are performed. The steady flow is simulated by the calculations of Navier-Stokes equations coupled with RNG k-epsilon turbulence model, while the unsteady flow is computed with large eddy simulation. According to the theoretical analysis, the inlet guide vanes with outlet angle of 60° are regarded as the optimal inlet guide vanes. The static characteristic experiment is carried out in a standard test rig and the aerodynamic noise is tested in a semi-anechoic room. Then, performances of the fan with optimal inlet guide vanes are compared with those of the prototype fan. The results show that there is reasonable agreement between the simulation results and the experimental data. It is found that the static characteristics of small axial flow fan is improved obviously after installing the optimal inlet guide vanes. Meanwhile, the optimal inlet guide vanes have effect on reducing noise at the near field, but have little effect on the noise at the far field.     

Effects of measuring positions on the measured aerodynamic performance of a centrifugal compressor

This paper performs a numerical simulation of three-dimensional flow field in a centrifugal compressor with long inlet and outlet pipes using CFX software. By arranging virtual probes at different positions in both inlet and outlet planes, the aerodynamic performance of the centrifugal compressor is measured and compared with each other. Then effects of measuring positions on measurement results are discussed. The results show that it will generate notable measuring errors of the pressure ratio and efficiency if the inlet total pressure is measured using a single-point probe. The inlet total pressure data can be accurate when they are measured using a 3-point rake. The outlet total pressure and total temperature data can not be accurate if they are respectively measured at one circumferential position even using a multi-point rake. Increasing tangential measuring positions at the outlet is effective to improve the test accuracy. When the outlet total pressure and total temperature are respectively measured at 3 tangential positions, the data can be almost accurate.     

Effects of axial non-uniform tip clearances on aerodynamic performance of a transonic axial compressor

This paper presents a numerical investigation of effects of axial non-uniform tip clearances on the aerodynamic performance of a transonic axial compressor rotor （NASA Rotor 37）. The three-dimensional steady flow field within the rotor passage was simulated with the datum tip clearance of 0.356 mm at the design wheel speed of 17188.7 rpm. The simulation results are well consistent with the measurement results, which verified the numeri- cal method. Then the three-dimensional steady flow field within the rotor passage was simulated respectively with different axial non-uniform tip clearances. The calculation results showed that optimal axial non-uniform tip clearances could improve the compressor performance, while the efficiency and the pressure ratio of the com- pressor were increased. The flow mechanism is that the axial non-uniform tip clearance can weaken the tip leak- age vortex, blow down low-energy fluids in boundary layers and reduce both flow blockage and tip loss.     

Effect of the uneven circumferential blade space on the performance of small axial flow fan

Effects of the uneven circumferential blade space on static characteristics and aerodynamic noise of a small axial flow fan are studied in this work.The blade angle modulation is adopted to design a series of unequally spaced fans,which have different maximum of modulation angular displacement.The steady flow is simulated by the calculations of Navier-Stokes equations coupled with RNG k-epsilon turbulence model,while the unsteady flow is computed with large eddy simulation.According to theoretical analysis,a fan with a maximum of modulation angular displacement of 6° is regarded as the optimal unequally spaced fan.The experiment of static characteristic is carried out in a standard wind tunnel and the aerodynamic noise of both fans is tested in a semi-anechoic room.Then,performances of the optimal unequally spaced fan are compared with those of the prototype fan.The results show that there is reasonable agreement between the simulation results and the experimental data.It is found that the discrete noise of the optimal unequally spaced fan is lower than that of the prototype fan at the near field monitoring point.This can be explained that the total pressure fluctuation of the optimal unequally spaced fan is much more regular than that of the prototype fan.     

Numerical and experimental study on aerodynamic performance of small axial flow fan with splitter blades

To improve the aerodynamic performance of small axial flow fan, in this paper the design of a small axial flow fan with splitter blades is studied. The RNG k-ε turbulence model and SIMPLE algorithm were applied to the steady simulation calculation of the flow field, and its result was used as the initial field of the large eddy simulation to calculate the unsteady pressure field. The FW-H noise model was adopted to predict aerodynamic noise in the six monitoring points. Fast Fourier transform algorithm was applied to process the pressure signal. Experiment of noise testing was done to further investigate the aerodynamic noise of fans. And then the results obtained from the numerical simulation and experiment were described and analyzed. The results show that the static characteristics of small axial fan with splitter blades are similar with the prototype fan, and the static characteristics are improved within a certain range of flux. The power spectral density at the six monitoring points of small axial flow fan with splitter blades have decreased to some extent. The experimental results show sound pressure level of new fan has reduced in most frequency bands by comparing with prototype fan. The research results will provide a proof for parameter optimization and noise prediction of small axial flow fans with high performance.     

Numerical and experimental investigation on aerodynamic performance of small axial flow fan with hollow blade root

To reduce the influence of adverse flow conditions at the fan hub and improve fan aerodynamic performance,a modification of conventional axial fan blades with numerical and experimental investigation is presented.Hollow blade root is manufactured near the hub.The numerical and experimental results show that hollow blade root has some effect on the static performance.Static pressure of the modified fan is generally the same with that of the datum fan,while,the efficiency curve of the modified fan has a different trend with that of the datum fan.The highest efficiency of the modified fan is 10% greater than that of the datum fan.The orthogonal experimental results of fan noise show that hollow blade root is a feasible method of reducing fan noise,and the maximum value of noise reduction is about 2 dB.The factors affecting the noise reduction of hollow blade root are in the order of importance as follows: hollow blade margin,hollow blade height and hollow blade width.The much smoother pressure distribution of the modified fan than that of the datum fan is the main mechanism of noise reduction of hollow blade root.The research results will provide the proof of the parameter optimization and the structure design for high performance and low noise small axial fans.     

进口温度不均匀对涡轮叶片热应力的影响

针对航空涡轮叶片的温度场预测问题,采用CFD(computational fluid dynamics)软件和有限元计算理论与方法,以对流冷却叶片的温度场与热应力求解为例,分别计算了涡轮进口温度均匀和不均匀时叶片的温度场和热应力,分析了涡轮进口温度不均匀对叶片热应力的影响,其中叶片温度场的求解采用气热耦合的方法即直接应用CFD软件计算叶片温度场,再依据温度场进行了有限元热应力分析.结果表明,进口温度不均匀时比进口温度均匀时叶片的热应力增大10%左右.     

Effects of bending-torsional duct-induced swirl distortion on aerodynamic performance of a centrifugal compressor

A turbocharger compressor working in commercial vehicles,especially in some passenger cars,often works together with some pipes with complicated geometry as an air intake system,due to limit of available space in internal combustion engine compartments.These pipes may generate various distortions of physical parameters of the air at the inlet of the compressor and therefore the compressor aerodynamic performance deteriorates.Sometimes,the turbocharging engine fails to work at some operation points.This paper investigates the effects of various swirl distortions induced by different bending-torsional intake ducts on the aerodynamic performance of a turbocharger compressor by both 3D numerical simulations and experimental measurements.It was found that at the outlet of the pipes the different inlet ducts can generate different swirl distortions,twin vortices and bulk-like vortices with different rotating directions.Among them,the bulk-like vortices not only affect seriously the pressure distribution in the impeller domain,but also significantly deteriorate the compressor performance,especially at high flow rate region.And the rotating direction of the bulk-like vortices is also closely associated with the efficiency penalty.Besides the efficiency,the transient flow rate through a single impeller channel,or the asymmetric mass flow crossing the whole impeller,can be influenced by two disturbances.One is from the upstream bending-torsional ducts;other one is from the downstream volute.     

The effect of a leading edge erosion shield on the aerodynamic performance of a wind turbine blade

Armour EDGE is a novel shield developed to protect the leading edge of wind turbine blades from erosion. The aerodynamic impact on aerofoils of National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 5MW wind turbine has been investigated using 2D fully turbulent computational fluid dynamics (CFD), with three profiles at critical locations along the blade simulated both with and without the shield to compare aerodynamic performance. Two wind speeds were investigated that reflect regular operating conditions: at rated speed of 11.4 m/s and a below rated speed of 7 m/s. The results showed that the presence of the shield during rated wind speed reduced the drag by as much as 4.5%, where the lift‐to‐drag ratio increased by a maximum of 4%. At the below rated wind speeds, the shield had negligible impact on the performance of all but one National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) 64‐618 profile, which resulted in an increase in the drag coefficient of 7%. It was also found that the suction side of the aerofoil is much more sensitive to leading edge protection placement than the pressure side. It was concluded that the erosion shield as a method of leading edge protection, with a gradual transition from shield to blade, will not have a major impact on the aerodynamic performance of a multi‐megawatt wind turbine blade and could slightly increase aerofoil efficiency at high wind speeds.     

Effects of suction side squealer tip on the performance of a low-speed axial compressor

This paper presents the investigation of the effects of suction side squealer tip on the performance of an axial compressor.The experiment is carried out in a single-stage large-scale low-speed compressor.The investigated tip geometries include flat tip as the baseline and suction side squealer tip.The tip clearance of the baseline is 0.5% of the blade span.The static pressure rise characteristic curves of both the rotor and the stage are measured.The flow field at the exit of the rotor is measured by a 5-hole probe under design and off-design conditions.The static pressure on the endwall of the rotor passage is also obtained.The results show that the pressure rise characteristic curves obtained by measuring the pressure on the end wall are almost unchanged by using the suction side squealer tip.The measuring results of the 5-hole probe show the static pressure and the total pressure in tip region is slightly greater than that of the flat tip at the design condition at the exit of the rotor.It also leads to greater av-eraged static pressure rise and total pressure.At the near stall condition,the averaged static pressure and total pressure is lower than the baseline which is related to the redistribution of the blade load caused by the suction side squealer tip.     

Numerical study on the influence mechanism of inlet distortion on the stall margin in a transonic axial rotor

A numerical study is conducted to investigate the influence of inlet flow condition on tip leakage flow (TLF) and stall margin in a transonic axial rotor.A commercial software package FLUENT,is used in the simulation.The rotor investigated in this paper is ND_TAC rotor,which is the rotor of one-stage transonic compressor in the University of Notre Dame.Three varied inlet flow conditions are simulated.The inlet boundary condition with hub distortion provides higher axial velocity for the incoming flow near tip region than that for the clean inflow,while the incoming main flow possesses lower axial velocity near the tip region at tip distortion inlet boundary condition.Among the total pressure ratio curves for the three inlet flow conditions,it is found that the hub dis-torted inlet boundary condition improves the stall margin,while the tip distorted inlet boundary condition dete-riorates compressor stability.The axial location of interface between tip leakage flow (TLF) and incoming main flow (MF) in the tip gap and the axial momentum ratio of TLF to MF are further examined.It is demonstrated that the axial momentum balance is the mechanism for interface movement.The hub distorted inflow could de-crease the axial momentum ratio,suppress the movement of the interface between TLF and MF towards blade leading edge plane and thus enhance compressor stability.     

不同相对厚度前缘缝翼对S809翼型气动性能的影响

文章通过数值模拟方法研究了不同相对厚度的前缘缝翼对S809翼型气动性能的影响,并揭示了前缘缝翼相对厚度对流动控制产生影响的机理。研究结果表明:在大攻角下,空气流经过前缘缝翼会在其尾部产生涡旋,尾缘涡旋的形成有助于抑制S809翼型流动分离,进而改善翼型绕流场;不同相对厚度的前缘缝翼产生尾缘涡旋不同的流动轨迹,对翼型的流动控制作用效果不同;相同条件下,前缘安装最大相对厚度为35%的前缘缝翼能够将S809翼型最大升力系数提升至1.25,失速攻角推迟至17.21°;安装最大相对厚度为14%的前缘缝翼,能够使S809翼型最大升力系数提升至1.53,并使翼型在攻角为20.16°时仍未发生失速。     

基于1D/3D协同仿真流量与温差调控模式影响分析

针对地下水源能量利用系统建筑负荷的动态变化,基于1D/3D集成分析数值方法的基础上,分析了定流量变温差及定温差变流量两时变模式系统性能参数的变化。结果表明:定温差变流量调控模式由于抽水量小于定流量变温差模式,含水层发生热贯通时间较晚;发生热贯通后,由于抽水温差大于定流量变温差模式,冷水封面向抽水井移动速度较快,抽水温度下降幅度较大,热贯通程度显著。抽灌水流量对热贯通起主导作用,热贯通发生后抽灌水温差对地下水温度影响较大;定温差变流量模式机组的COP值迅速下降,运行过程中耗功较少,系统能效比较大。     

三元混合物正己烷/正庚烷/正辛烷的临界性质测量

应用流动法临界性质实验系统测量了正己烷、正庚烷、正辛烷不同质量配比（配比梯度：0．1）下三元混合物的临界温度和临界压力。实验结果表明,该混合物的临界温度和压力总体过渡平滑,临界温度随正辛烷的增加而升高,随正己烷的增加而降低;临界压力随正辛烷的增加而降低,随正己烷的增加而升高。固定一种物质质量分数时,临界性质随另外两种组分的变化基本呈线性关系。依据实验数据,给出了正己烷、正庚烷、正辛烷三元混合物的临界性质经验公式。