Study on a High Precision Inter-stage Flow Field Test System for Axial Compressors

The accurate parameters measurement of the flow field between the stages for axial compressors is a significant demand.This paper proposes an axial compressor inter-stage flow field high-precision test system,which mainly consists of a probe motion scanning mechanism,fully automated test control software,and data processing methods.Iterative correction is applied to the original readings obtained from the scanning tests to enhance testing accuracy.Using this test system,detailed tests are conducted on a 1.5-stage subsonic axial compressor under different operating conditions.The test results effectively captured the impact of surface roughness and tip clearance variations on compressor performance.The distribution characteristics of parameters measured in inter-stage sections can characterize the effects of blade wake area and changes in aerodynamic performance at different blade heights.The developed test system can be extended to multi-stage compressors.

Laves phase hydrogen storage alloys for super-high-pressure metal hydride hydrogen compressors

Ti-Cr- and Ti-Mn-based alloys were prepared to be low- and high-pressure stage metals for a double-stage super-high-pressure metal hydride hydrogen compressor. Their crystallographic characteristics and hydrogen storage properties were investigated. The alloy pair Ti0.9Zr0.1Mn1.4- Cr0.35V0.2Fe0.05/TiCr1.55Mn0.2Fe0.2 was optimized based on the comprehensive performance of the studied alloys. The product hydrogen with a pressure of 100 MPa could be produced from 4 MPa feed gas when hot oil was used as a heat reservoir.

Computer-Aided Solution to the Vibrational Effect of Instabilities in Gas Turbine Compressors

Surge and stall are the two main types of instabilities that often occur on the compressor system of gas turbines. The effect of this instability often leads to excessive vibration due to the back pressure imposed to the system by this phenomenon. In this work, fouling was observed as the major cause of the compressor instability. A step to analyze how this phenomenon can be controlled with the continuous examination of the vibration amplitude using a computer approach led to the execution of this work. The forces resulting to vibration in the system is usually external to it. This external force is aerodynamic and the effect was modeled using force damped vibration analysis. A gas turbine plant on industrial duty for electricity generation was used to actualize this research. The data for amplitude of vibration varied between -15 and 15 mm/s while the given mass flow rate and pressure ratio were determined as falling between 6.1 to 6.8 kg/s and 9.3 to 9.6 respectively. A computer program named VICOMS written in C++ programming language was developed. The results show that the machine should not be run beyond 14.0 mm vibration amplitude in order to avoid surge, stall and other flow-induced catastrophic breakdown.

Avelair Compressors采用新型驱动器降低压缩空气成本

近期，Avelair Compressors采用了最新型的Unidrive SP驱动器，对其原有产品进行了可调速改造，改造后的方案与以往的定速方案相比，大约可节省30％以上的能源。常务董事Brian Wood表示：“选用Unidrive SP及板载的PLC，使我们的产品结构更紧凑、效率更高、价格更具竞争力。由于压缩机可随时根据要求调节输出，用户在任何时候都能获得最高效率。”

Experimental Analysis of the Performances of Unit Refrigeration Systems Based on Parallel Compressors with Consideration of the Volumetric and Isentropic Efficiency

The performances of a refrigeration unit relying on compressors working in parallel have been investigated considering the influence of the compressor volumetric efficiency and isentropic efficiency on the compression ratio.Moreover,the following influential factors have been taken into account:evaporation temperature,condensation temperature and compressor suction-exhaust pressure ratio for different opening conditions of the compressor.The following quantities have been selected as the unit performance measurement indicators:refrigeration capacity,energy efficiency ratio(COP),compressor power consumption,and refrigerant flow rate.The experimental results indicate that the system refrigeration capacity and COP decrease with a decrease in evaporation temperature,increase of condensation temperature,and increase in pressure ratio.The refrigerant flow rate increases with the increase in evaporation temperature,decrease in condensing temperature and increase in pressure ratio.The compressor power consumption increases with the increase in condensing temperature and increase in pressure ratio,but is not significantly affected by the evaporation temperature.

Effects of process parameters on semi-solid squeeze casting performance of aluminum alloy scrolls for scroll compressors

The aluminum alloy scroll is one of the key parts of the scroll compressors widely used in the air-conditioning,refrigeration,and heat pump systems.In this work,the semi-solid squeeze casting(SSSC)process was used to fabricate the aluminum alloy scroll.The effects of process parameters including the pouring temperature,mold temperature,and squeezing velocity on the filling and solidification behaviors of the alloys were investigated through simulations based on the power law cut-off(PLCO)material model.Results show that there is a significant increase in the flow velocity of the slurry,and the area of the high-speed region enlarges with the increase of the pouring temperature.The homogeneity of the temperature and velocity fields in the slurry is improved with an increase in mold temperature.Both the filling time and its variation rate decrease with an increase in squeezing velocity.The maximum solidification time exhibits a linear variation with the increase in pouring temperature.The shrinkage area is decreased by increasing the mold temperature.The optimal process parameters of the SSSC process were obtained from simulation analysis,which are the pouring temperature of 595°C,mold temperature of 350°C,and squeezing velocity of 0.3 m·s-1.Moreover,the qualified scroll casting was fabricated using the SSSC process under the optimal process parameters.

Study on effect analysis and parameter optimizing of stepless capacity control system on reciprocating compressors

An improved model of reciprocating compressor operation cycle with a stepless capacity control system is presented and influence of the key parameters of the system is evaluated. In the stepless capacity control system of a reciprocating compressor,mechanical unloaders are used to partially hold suction valves open for a certain time during the compression stroke. The typical working process of the reciprocating compressor is changed by capacity regulation apparatus. However,some critical parameters like the hydraulic force acting at the unloader have not been rigorously studied in previous researches. Here an improved numerical model of a double acting reciprocating compressor under the control stepless capacity is proposed and verified by experimental trials. Numerical simulations are carried out to select and evaluate the acting force which definitely has an influence on indicator diagrams of compressors. It is observed that the optimized range of 350 N to 380 N is preferable for the unloader force such that the intensity of opening and closing impacts are minimized.

Fault Diagnosis of Reciprocating Compressors Valve Based on Cyclostationary Method

The relationship between second-order cyclostationary method and time-frequency distribution is studied, and cyclic autocorrelation（CA） function is indicated to be one sort of special time-frequency distribution method. Furthermore, a fault diagnosis method for reciprocating compressors based on empirical mode decomposition （EMD） and CA function is proposed, and then it is applied to the fault diagnosis of reciprocating compressor valve. Firstly, the vibration signal of reciprocating compressor valve is decomposed by using ENID method, and several intrinsic mode functions （IMFs） are obtained. Secondly, the IMFs are evaluated by some denoising criterions to remove the noise and interfering ones. Finally, the CA functions of the remained IMFs are calculated, which will be used to reconstruct the CA function of the original vibration signal. Engineering application indicates that this method can sufficiently inhibit the cross-interference items of CA function. Therefore, more explicit working conditions of reciprocating compressor components can be achieved.

Study of Failure Diagnostic Methods and Intelligent Diagnostic System for Reciprocating Compressors

Three categories of failure diagnostic methods for reciprocating compressors are classified according to the signals adopted by the diagnosis. They are parameter method, vibration method, and oil analysis method. In this paper, the applicable range and operational difficulties of these methods are discussed on the basis of analysis and induction upon normal failure. It is proposed that a compressor's normal failure can be divided into thermodynamical property failure and mechanical function failure. As to the former, the parameter method that takes a cylinder pressure signal as the main diagnostic signal may be applied; and as to the latter, the vibration signal frequency spectrum can be used to diagnose. At the same time, the structure of an intelligent diagnostic system based on neural networks is introduced, and its schematic is given.

Investigation on Surge in Centrifugal Compressors

A test bench for conducting compressor surge experiments is set up, and different system configurations formed by changing the length of compressor outlet pipeline are tested for surge. Dynamic pressure signals relating to surges are acquired at different locations of the configurations using unsteady measurement ＆ data acquisition system. The sliding window method is adopted to set up quantitative criterion on the surge. Parameters included in the criterion, such as location of data collection, size and step of sliding window, a mathematical quantity surge-judging and its threshold, etc., are given. Flow chart of surge evaluation is shown, and surge frequency was evaluated based on system configurations. With all these, the problem of judging the existence of surge by human experiences in compressor performance experiments can be solved. Hence this new approach may help to achieve intelligent operations on automatic compressor performance testrig.

Compressors for Hyper-Sonic Engines —A Theoretical Study of Future Compressors for Hyper Sonic Engines

This paper is an eye opening to the new horizon of the design of operational Compressors in our jet engines. That are compressors usually perform an operation called isentropic process and which levitate the pressure and temperature to the optimum level which require for effective ignition. Basically, our compressors have several sets of blades to perform this function, more precisely saying Rotor and stator blades. Where rotor blade provides air molecule to push at very high velocity to the Stationary blade and when the air Enders to the Stator, the stator races its pressure to move on to the next stage. And we call this set of Stator and rotor as a stage ref [1]. However, in this work, I consider the geometry of the incoming air molecule and how it transforms its physical quantities such as Pressure and temperature ref [2]. For that I tie the concept of Thermodynamic and mechanics on the platform of Tensor analysis ref [3]. That is, I consider the quantities like Pressure, Temperature and rate of flow are their corresponding vector spaces and energy related quintets like heat, work as the scaling elements on the above vector space. And quantities such as entropy enthalpy and specific heat capacity are corresponding physics of it. Considering the advantages, one of the important advantages of this approach is the applicability of results of this work to the formulation of blade less compression Example: Ram and Scram jet engine. Again, the relevant upgrading which is essential for future hypersonic air crafts can achieve from this study and this will be a mile stone for bright air and space travel. To conclude, this approach will be a great transformation on the conventional idea for realization of compression for operational Scram and Ram jet engines ref [4] [5].

Reducing the Gas Pressure Drop in Suction Mufflers of Hermetic Reciprocating Compressors

The suction muffler of hermetic reciprocating compressors is installed in order to attenuate the noise generated by the gas pulsation of the flow through the suction valve. However, the installation of the suction muffler affects the operation of the compressor owing to gas pressure drop, which causes volumetric and energetic efficiency loss due to the gas specific volume augmentation. Therefore, there is a compromise between sound attenuation and pressure drop increase, which has to be taken into account by compressor designers. In this work, it presents a numerical solution to the flow through a suction muffler in order to analyze the pressure field and point out the main contributions to the overall pressure drop of the flow. A commercial CFD （computational fluid dynamics） code was used to perform the numerical simulations and the results were validated by using experimental data. After analyzing the pressure field, the geometry of the muffler was modified intending to decrease the flow pressure drop. The geometric modification produced a 28% reduction on the overall pressure drop, without influencing the sound attenuation.

Comparative Analysis of Diagonal and Centrifugal Compressors with Synergy Theory in Compressed Air Energy Storage System

Energy storage technology is an essential part of the efficient energy system.Compressed air energy storage(CAES)is considered to be one of the most promising large-scale physical energy storage technologies.It is favored because of its low-cost,long-life,environmentally friendly and low-carbon characteristics.The compressor is the core component of CAES,and the performance is critical to the overall system efficiency.That importance is not only reflected in the design point,but also in the continuous efficient operation under variable working conditions.The diagonal compressor is currently the focus of the developing large-scale CAES because of its stronger flow capacity compared with traditional centrifugal compressors.And the diagonal compressor has the higher single stage pressure ratio compared with axial compressors.In this paper,the full three dimensional numerical simulation technologies with synergy theory are used to compare and analyze the internal flow characteristics.The performance of the centrifugal and diagonal impellers that are optimized under the same requirements for large-scale CAES has been analyzed.The relationship between the internal flow characteristics and performance of the centrifugal and diagonal impellers with the change of mass flow rates and total inlet temperature is given qualitatively and quantitatively.Where the cosine value of the synergy angle is high,the local flow loss is large.The smaller proportion of the positive area is the pursuit of design.Through comparative analysis,it is concluded that the internal flow and performance changes of centrifugal and diagonal impellers are different.The results confirm the superiority and feasibility of the off-design performance of the diagonal compressor applied to the developing large-scale CAES.

An improved deviation model for transonic stages in axial compressors

Deviation model is an important model for through-flow analysis in axial compressors.Theoretical analysis in classical deviation models is developed under the assumption of onedimensional flow,which is controlled by the continuity equation.To consider three-dimensional characteristics in transonic flow,this study proposes an improved theoretical analysis method combining force analysis of the blade-to-blade flow with conventional analysis of the continuity equation.Influences of shock structures on transverse force,streamwise velocity and streamline curvature in the blade-to-blade flow are analyzed,and support the analytical modelling of density flow ratio between inlet and outlet conditions.Thus,a novel deviation model for transonic stages in axial compressors is proposed in this paper.The empirical coefficients are corrected based on the experimental data of a linear cascade,and the prediction accuracy is validated with the experimental data of a three-stage transonic compressor.The novel model provides accurate predictions for meridional flow fields at the design point and performance curves at design speed,and shows obvious improvements on classical models by Carter and C¸etin.

Design Strategy of Diagonal Compressors in Compressed Air Energy Storage System

As a kind of large-scale physical energy storage,compressed air energy storage(CAES)plays an important role in the construction of more efficient energy system based on renewable energy in the future.Compared with traditional industrial compressors,the compressor of CAES has higher off-design performance requirements.From the perspective of design,it needs to pay attention not only to the performance of the design point,but also to the performance of all the stable working range.However,from the previous literature,no diagonal compressor was used in CAES which can meet the requirements,which also reflects the design program can be further improved.Therefore,this paper studies the design strategy of high efficient diagonal compressor for large-scale CAES,and gives the complete strategy algorithms used for different program modules.The pressure ratio,isentropic efficiency and stable working range are comprehensively considered.In the design process,the criteria for the key parameters of the diagonal flow angle of the diagonal compressor are given for the first time.The results show that the isentropic efficiency at the design point is 92.7%,the total pressure ratio is1.97,and the stable working range exceeds 20%,which meets the design requirements of the compressor for CAES and exceeds the overall performance of the previous compressors in the entire working range.

Effects of Inlet Circumferential Fluctuation on the Sweep Aerodynamic Performance of Axial Fans/Compressors

Swept blades have been widely used in the transonic fan/compressor of aircraft engines with the aids of 3D CFD simulation since the design concept of controlling the shock structure was firstly proposed and successfully tested by Dr.Wennerstrom in the 1980s.However,some disadvantage phenomenon has also been induced by excessively 3D blade geometries on the structure stress insufficiency,vibration and reliability.Much confusion in the procedure of design practice leading us to recognize a new view on the flow mechanism of sweep aerodynamical induction: the new radial equilibrium established by the influence of inlet circumferential fluctuation(CF) changes the inlet flows of blading and induces the performance modification of axial fans/compressors blade.The view is verified by simplified models through numerical simulation and circumferentially averaged analysis in the present paper.The results show that the CF source items which originate from design parameters,such as the spanwise distributions of the loading and blading geometries,contribute to the changing of averaged incidence spanwise distribution,and further more affect the performance of axial fans/compressors with swept blades.

Using tandem blades to break loading limit of highly loaded axial compressors

It is confirmed that tandem-blade configurations have potential to enlarge the flow turning in two-dimension(2D) studies. However, the potential of tandem blades to enlarge the design space for highly loaded axial compressors was rarely investigated in open literatures. The present work aims to show the capability of tandem blades to break the loading limit of conventional blades for highly loaded compressors. The 2D models of the maximum static pressure rise derived in previous work were validated by a large amount experimental data, which showed a good agreement. An E parameter was defined to evaluate the stall margin of compressor based on the theoretical models, which indicated that the tandem blade was able to increase the loading limit of axial compressors. A single-blade stage with a loading coefficient of 0.46(based on the blade tip rotating speed) was designed as the baseline case under the guidance of the E parameter. A tandem-blade stage was then designed by ensuring that the velocity triangles were similar to the single-blade stage. The performances of both stages were investigated experimentally. The results showed that the maximum efficiency of the tandem-blade stage was 92.8%, 1% higher than the single;the stall margin increased from 16.9% to 22.3%. Besides, the maximum pressure rise of tandem rotors was beyond the loading limit of 2D single-blade cascades, which confirmed the potential of tandem blades to break the loading limit of axial compressors.

Investigation of model development for deterministic correlations associated with impeller-diffuser interactions in centrifugal compressors

The average-passage equation system(APES)provides a rigorous framework to account for the deterministic unsteady effects by the so-called deterministic correlations(DC),which include both deterministic stress correlations(DCS)and deterministic total enthalpy correlations(DCH).These correlations should be modeled to close the system of equations.In this paper,the distribution of DC in a transonic centrifugal compressor is presented,and its relative importance is revealed.The assumption made by Adamczyk that the pure unsteady fluctuation is significantly smaller than the spatial fluctuation is verified at the impeller-diffuser interface.The decomposition of DCH is also discussed to determine its two different physical mechanisms.Finally,the transport equations in terms of DCS in cylindrical coordinates are derived,and the terms are evaluated to determine the ones that are necessary to model.All these analyses significantly contribute to our model development for DC in centrifugal compressors.

Influence of sub boundary layer vortex generator height and attack angle on cross-flows in the hub region of compressors

It has been recently shown that Sub Boundary layer Vortex Generator(SBVG,abbreviated as VG hereafter)can suppress the Cross-Flow(CF),and therefore,can eliminate corner separation and increase aerodynamic loading when installed on the end wall inside middle-load compressor passages.However,when VGs are applied in high-load compressors,it is difficult to achieve ideal results.This is because the definition of the VG attack angle in the presence of CF in existing research is confusing,and the stronger CF in high-load compressors worsens the problem and results in an improper design and optimization range of VG attack angle.Therefore,this paper clarifies the definition of the VG attack angle in the presence of CF and reveals the CF controlling mechanism of VG on a flat plate.The differences in the flow phenomena around a VG both with and without CF are also studied.The numerical results show that a larger height or attack angle of the VG generates a greater CF suppression effect.However,the cross velocity increases when surmounting the primary vortex induced by the VG,except that this enhanced CF is less conspicuous for larger VG heights.Compared to the cases without CF,the VG suffers an additional loss because of the stronger separation and primary vortex loss caused by the CF.

Modal Decomposition for the Analysis of the Rotor-stator Interactions in Multi-stage Compressors

A modal analysis method of the rotor-stator interactions in multistage compressors has been developed by LMFA. This method, based on a double modal decomposition of the flow over space and time, has been applied to nu- merical and experimental results of the high-speed 3Y2-stage compressor CREATE based at LMFA, Lyon-France. It reveals the presence of a very strong rotor-stator interaction which completely drives the flow at casing behind all the rotors. This modal analysis method applied to an unsteady RANS simulation permits to calculate the en- ergy of the rotor-stator interactions and to plot energetic meridian maps to explain experimental results and to analyze the interaction in the whole machine.