Application of high-turning bowed compressor stator to redesign of highly loaded fan stage

A redesign of a highly loaded fan stage by using high-turning bowed compressor stator was conducted. The original tandem stator was replaced by the highly loaded bowed stator which was applicable to highly subsonic flow conditions. 3D contouring technique and local modification of blade were applied to the design of the bowed blade in order to improve the aerodynamic performance and the matching of the rotor and stator blade rows. Performance curves at different rotating speeds and performances at different operating points for both the original fan stage and redesigned fan stage were obtained by numerical simulations. The results show that the highly loaded bowed stator can be used not only to improve the structure and the aerodynamic performances at various operating points of the compressor stage but also to provide high performances at off-design conditions. It is believed that the highly loaded bowed stator can advance the design of high-performance compressor.     

多级涡轮三维黏性流场的数值模拟

采用多叶片排网格生成技术，利用实质为标准κ-ω模型的改进型BSL双方程湍流模型对一个四级低压动力涡轮进行了数值模拟，其中多叶片排间参数传递采用“混合平面”方法。通过设计工况下计算结果和设计参数的对比，分析了此型多级涡轮的气动特点。末级导叶正弯优化设计显示弯叶片提高了此型多级涡轮的通流性能，同时也表明了弯叶片优化设计时进行多级黏性流匹配计算的必要性。     

Aerodynamic performance of bowed compressor cascades with different camber angles

The effects of a positively bowed blade on the aerodynamic performance of annular compressor cascades with different camber angles were experimentally investigated. The distributions of the exit total pressure loss and secondary flow vectors of the compressor cascades were analyzed. The static pressure was measured by tapping on the cascade surfaces, and the ink-trace flow visualizations were conducted. The results show that the value of the optimum bowed angle and optimum bowed height decrease because of the increased losses at the midspan with the increase of the camber angle. The C-shape static pressure distribution along the radial direction exists on the suction surface of the straight cascade with larger camber angles. When bowed blade is applied, the larger bowed angle and larger bowed height will further enhance the accumulation of the low-energy fluid at the mid-span, thus causing the flow behavior to deteriorate. Under 60° camber angle, flow behavior near the end-wall region of some bowed cascades even deteriorates instead of improving because the blockage of the separated flow near the mid-span keeps the low-energy fluid near the endwalls from moving towards the mid-span region. As a result, a rapid augmentation of the total loss can easily take place under a large bowed angle. __________ Translated from Journal of Propulsion Technology, 2007, 28(2): 170–175 [译自: 推进技术]     

多级高负荷轴流压气机出口总温分布特征研究

采用数值模拟和试验相结合的方法对某十级高负荷高压压气机末级总温分布规律及产生机理进行了详细的分析和阐述。结果表明：压气机末级静叶出口总温在径向和周向的分布均呈现出较明显的非均匀分布,在径向上表现为叶根和叶尖区域总温高而叶中区域总温低的分布特征,在周向上表现为主流区总温低而尾迹区总温高的分布特征;径向总温分散度沿压气机末级静叶往下游发展过程中呈现逐渐降低的变化趋势,而周向总温分散度则呈现先增加后减小的变化趋势;压气机末级静叶入口总温径向不均匀分布及大弓形静叶设计产生的“C”型径向压力分布特征是导致压气机出口总温周向不均匀分布的根本原因。     

Development of an axial-type fan with an optimization method

An axial-type fan that operates at a relative total pressure of 671Pa and a static pressure of 560Pa with a flowrate of 416.6m³/min is developed using an optimization technique based on the gradient method. Prior to the optimization of the fan blade, a three-dimensional axial-type fan blade is designed based on the free-vortex method along the radial direction. Twelve design variables are applied to the optimization of the rotor blade, and one design variable is selected for optimizing a stator which is located behind the rotor to support a fan-driving motor. The total and static pressure are applied to the restriction condition with the operating flowrate on the design point, and the efficiency is chosen as the response variable to be maximized. Through these procedures, an initial axial-fan blade designed by the free vortex method is modified to increase the efficiency with a satisfactory operating condition. The optimized fan is tested and compared with the performance obtained with the same class fan to figure out the optimization effect. The test results show that the optimized fan not only satisfies the restriction conditions but also operates at the same efficiency even though the tip clearance of the optimized fan is greater than 30%. The experimental and numerical tests show that this optimization method can improve the efficiency and operating pressures on axial-type fans.     

The effect of variable stator on performance of a highly loaded tandem axial flow compressor stage

Increasing the aerodynamic load on compressor blades helps to obtain a higher pressure ratio in lower rotational speeds.Considering the high aerodynamic load effects and structural concerns in the design process,it is possible to obtain higher pressure ratios compared to conventional compressors.However,it must be noted that imposing higher aerodynamic loads results in higher loss coefficients and deteriorates the overall performance.To avoid the loss increase,the boundary layer quality must be studied carefully over the blade suction surface.Employment of advanced shaped airfoils (like CDAs),slotted blades or other boundary layer control methods has helped the designers to use higher aerodynamic loads on compressor blades.Tandem cascade is a passive boundary layer control method,which is based on using the flow momentum to control the boundary layer on the suction surface and also to avoid the probable separation caused by higher aerodynamic loads.In fact,the front pressure side flow momentum helps to compensate the positive pressure gradient over the aft blade's suction side.Also,in comparison to the single blade stators,tandem variable stators have more degrees of freedom,and this issue increases the possibility of finding enhanced conditions in the compressor off-design performance.In the current study,a 3D design procedure for an axial flow tandem compressor stage has been applied to design a highly loaded stage.Following,this design is numerically investigated using a CFD code and the stage characteristic map is reported.Also,the effect of various stator stagger angles on the compressor performance and especially on the compressor surge margin has been discussed.To validate the CFD method,another known compressor stage is presented and its performance is numerically investigated and the results are compared with available experimental results.     

某轴流式压气机气动不稳定的相关积分分析

研究了某轴流式压气机节流试验中的气动不稳定问题。运用非线性的相关积分方法对压气机机匣壁面沿程静压信号进行了分析。结果表明,压气机静叶通道机匣壁面给定点静压信号的相关积分值随着发动机工作状态的不同有规律的发生变化,反映了对应位置的流动分离状况;压气机沿程各级静叶通道机匣壁面静压的相关积分值可以反映不同工况时压气机各级叶尖的流动匹配情况;压气机第一级静子机匣壁面静压信号的相关积分值可以反映中低转速工况下放气带开关状态对转子端壁流态的影响。研究还表明,压气机静子机匣壁面沿程静压信号的相关积分分析是进行压气机气动稳定性监控诊断的一种有效手段。     

New response surface model and its applications in aerodynamic optimization of axial compressor blade profile

A parametric method for the axial compressor 2D blade profiles is proposed in which the blade geometries are defined with the parameters commonly used for blade definition, which ensures that the geometric significance is clear and an unreasonable blade profile is not generated. Several illustrations are presented to show the fitting precision of the method. A novel response surface model is proposed which regards the objective distribution function in the vicinity of a sample as normal school, and then generates the response surface function in the whole design space by a linear combination of distribution functions of all the samples. Based on this model, a numerical aerodynamic optimization platform for the axial compressor 2D blade profiles is developed, by which aerodynamic optimization of two compressor blade profiles are presented. __________ Translated from Acta Aeronautica et Astronautica Sinica, 2007, 28(4): 813–820 [译自: 航空学报]     

前加载和后加载叶片气动性能的数值研究

采用数值计算的方法对后加载和前加载叶片的气动性能进行了详细的分析,研究了无扭曲的叶片与弯曲叶片的压力系数分布以及负荷分布特性,分析了后加载和前加载叶栅内总压分布规律和总压损失沿叶高的变化情况.数值计算得到的后加载和前加载无扭曲的叶片中部压力系数分布与平面叶栅试验数据吻合良好,后加载弯曲叶片和前加载弯曲叶片的近叶顶、中部和近叶根处的压力系数分布与试验数据基本吻合.     

改善汽轮机通流部分性能的现代化技术

综述了改善汽轮机通流部分性能的现代化技术;平面叶栅的最优化、弯扭静叶和弯扭动叶、排汽缸的正交试验与计算流体力学的结合、收敛－扩张叶型、刷子汽封等。     

1米级弯扭叶片全三元N—S粘性流场的数值求解

目的是讨论弯扭叶片在大功率汽轮机低压缸末级的工程应用工程。弯扭叶片的通流设计采用全三元设计系统进行。通过对１ｍ级叶片的气动分析,表明弯扭成型可以有效地调整等压线的分布形状,同时也应注意不同弯曲度所带来的负面效应,在设计中优化选取适当的弯曲度。     

基于弯曲叶片的氦气轴流压气机优化设计

针对高负荷氦气压气机中角区分离、叶顶泄漏严重带来的效率损失问题,以单级氦气压缩机为研究对象,利用CFD方法,分析了不同弯曲角度下氦气压气机内部的角区损失和叶顶泄漏损失,并优化了现有五级轴流氦气压气机。结果表明：叶片正弯会增加端区处的静压,减少角区分离,进而降低角区损失;对动叶而言,在设计攻角下正弯也会增加前缘损失;动叶叶顶反弯使泄漏流远离下一个叶片的压力面,而合适的反弯角度可以降低叶顶泄漏量;选取合适的弯曲角度使五级轴流压气机设计点效率提高1.85%。     

Numerical simulation of three-dimensional turbulent flow in multistage axial compressor blade row

Numerical simulation of three-dimensional turbulent flow in a multistage axial compressor blade row is conducted. A high resolution, third-order ENN scheme is adopted to catch the shockwave and simulate the turbulent flow correctly, while an LU-SGS implicit method is chosen to improve computation rate. A detailed and highly efficient numerical simulation system is thus constructed. The investigation is focused on the grid connecting methods between the rotor and the stator and the corresponding treatment of rotor-stator interactional surface. The final results of a three-stage axial compressor with inlet guide vanes conform well to the experimental data. __________ Translated from Chinese Journal of Applied Mechanics, 2007, 24(1): 21–25 [译自: 应用力学学报]     

Investigation of modification design of the fan stage in axial compressor

The S2 flow path design method of the transonic compressor is used to design the one stage fan in order to replace the original designed blade cascade which has two-stage transonic fan rotors. In the modification design, the camber line is parameterized by a quartic polynomial curve and the thickness distribution of the blade profile is controlled by the double-thrice polynomial Therefore, the inlet flow has been pre-compressed and the location and intensity of the shock wave at supersonic area have been controlled in order to let the new blade profiles have better aerodynamic performance. The computational results show that the new single stage fan rotor increases the efficiency by two percent at the design condition and the total pressure ratio is slightly higher than that of the original design. At the same time, it also meets the mass flow rate and the geometrical size requirements for the modification design.     

Aerodynamic Characteristic Research on Final Stage Stator of a Highly Loaded Fan

Due to corner separation and other complex three-dimensional flows existing in the highly loaded stator, which influences the fan performance significantly, highly loaded stator blades of a transonic fan with a maximum camber angle of 57° were studied in this paper and sector cascade experiment was adopted. In order to get the stator aerodynamic parameters as realistic as possible and conduct the experiment without the existence of rotor, an adjustable guide vane was designed to simulate the velocity magnitude and direction of the stator inlet flow. Results show that the adjustable guide vane can simulate the rotor outlet velocity direction and magnitude in most span range. The deviation angle is positive and the maximum value is nearly 21° because the severe separation is at 27% span. Corner separation exists on both pressure side and suction side and the location of separation initiation is determined. Finally, the stator blades were redesigned with some suction slots on the suction side. Experiment results show that the suction slots change the flow field structure, increase the capability of flow turning, and decrease the flow loss.     

自然样条型弯叶片生成方法及其在冷却风扇中的应用

提出了一种基于自然样条思想的弯叶片生成方法,推导了其积迭线的解析表达式.通过控制"弯度"参数可获得不同角度的弯叶片.将该弯叶片生成方法运用于某型冷却风扇,通过数值模拟研究了叶片各种弯曲形式对风扇气动性能的影响.结果表明:叶片前弯能有效抑制叶顶旋涡,降低叶顶区域的能量损失,扩大叶轮稳定工况范围;圆弧型弯叶片的风压略大于自然样条型弯叶片,但后者对降低叶顶区域能量损失更具明显优势.     

Numerical investigation of the bowed stator effects in a transonic fan at low Reynolds number

The performance of fan stage in a small turbofan engines is significantly affected at high-altitude low Reynolds number. In order to examine the effect of low Reynolds number on the fan stage, 3D numerical simulation method was employed to analyse the performance variations and the underlying flow structure in the fan stage. For the sake of decreasing the influence of low Reynolds number, the different bowed stator airfoils were redesigned and the effect of the modified design was evaluated.     

Aerodynamic performance of bowed compressor cascades with different camber angles

The effects of a positively bowed blade on the aerodynamic performance of annular compressor cascades with different camber angles were experimentally investigated. The distributions of the exit total pressure loss and secondary flow vectors of the compressor cascades were analyzed. The static pressure was measured by tapping on the cascade surfaces, and the ink-trace flow visualizations were conducted. The results show that the value of the optimum bowed angle and optimum bowed height decrease because of the increased losses at the mid-span with the increase of the camber angle. The C-shape static pressure distribution along the radial direction exists on the suction surface of the straight cascade with larger camber angles. When bowed blade is applied, the larger bowed angle and larger bowed height will further enhance the accumulation of the low-energy fluid at the mid-span, thus causing the flow behavior to deteriorate. Under 60° camber angle, flow behavior near the end-wall region of some bowed cascades even deteriorates instead of improving because the blockage of the separated flow near the mid-span keeps the low-energy fluid near the end-walls from moving towards the mid-span region. As a result, a rapid augmentation of the total loss can easily take place under a large bowed angle.     

Design of high-efficiency turbomachinery blades for energy conversion devices with the three-dimensional prescribed surface curvature distribution blade design (CIRCLE) method

The purpose of this paper is to present the advantages of the direct presCrIbed suRface Curvature distribution bLade dEsign (CIRCLE) method for the design of high-efficiency turbomachinery blades. These advantages are illustrated by redesigning several examples of axial turbomachinery blades of interest to energy conversion devices, and discussing in detail the aerodynamic performance and efficiency improvements of the redesigned blades over the original geometries. The two-dimensional (2D) method, originally proposed for turbine blades, has been extended for use with 2D and three-dimensional (3D) turbine, compressor and fan blades, and isolated airfoils. By specification, the method allows joining line segments between the leading edge (LE) and trailing edge (TE) circles or ellipses so that the streamwise distribution of surface curvature and slope of curvature are continuous everywhere from the LE stagnation point to the TE stagnation point. The form of the line segments to prevent the “wiggles” of higher order lines is presented. Also by specification, the CIRCLE method can be integrated with multi-objective heuristic or evolutionary-algorithm optimization methods. The efficacy of the method is examined by: redesigning two 2D turbine blades, one 2D compressor blade, and one 2D isolated airfoil; and by designing one 3D compressor blade row and one 3D turbine blade row. The aerodynamic performance improvements between the original and the sample redesigned blades are discussed in detail, resulting in higher-efficiency blades than the original geometries. Further extension of the method for centrifugal and mixed-flow impeller geometries is a coordinate transformation. It is concluded that the CIRCLE method is a new design environment enabling the original design (or redesign) of high-efficiency 2D and 3D turbomachine blades, with direct applications in a variety of energy conversion devices.     

Development of an axial-type fan with an optimization method

An axial-type fan that operates at a relative total pressure of 671 Pa and a static pressure of 560 Pa with a flowrate of 416.6 m³/min is developed using an optimization technique based on the gradient method. Prior to the optimization of the fan blade, a three-dimensional axial-type fan blade is designed based on the free-vortex method along the radial direction. Twelve design variables are applied to the optimization of the rotor blade, and one design variable is selected for optimizing a stator which is located behind the rotor to support a fandriving motor. The total and static pressure are applied to the restriction condition with the operating flowrate on the design point, and the efficiency is chosen as the response variable to be maximized. Through these procedures, an initial axial-fan blade designed by the free vortex method is modified to increase the efficiency with a satisfactory operating condition. The optimized fan is tested and compared with the performance obtained with the same class fan to figure out the optimization effect. The test results show that the optimized fan not only satisfies the restriction conditions but also operates at the same efficiency even though the tip clearance of the optimized fan is greater than 30%. The experimental and numerical tests show that this optimization method can improve the efficiency and operating pressures on axial-type fans.