Numerical Analysis of Nozzle Clearance's Effect on Turbine Performance

Variable nozzle turbine （VNT） has become a popular variable geometry turbine （VGT） technology for the diesel engine application. Nozzle clearance, which can＇t be avoided on the hub and shroud side of the VNT turbine due to the pivoting stators, can lead to turbine performance deterioration. However, its mechanism is still not clear. In this paper, numerical investigation, which is validated by experiment, is carried out to study the mechanism of the nozzle clearance＇s effect on the turbine performance. Firstly, performance of the mixed flow turbine with fixed nozzle clearances tested on flow bench. Performance of the tested turbine with the same nozzle clearance is numerically simulated. The numerical result agrees well with the test data, which proves correct of the numerical method. Then the turbine performance with different nozzle clearances is numerically analyzed. The research showed that with nozzle clearance, flow loss in the nozzle increases at first and it reaches the maximum value when the clearance ratio is 5%. Flow at the exit of the nozzle becomes less uniform with nozzle clearance. The negative incidence angle of the rotor also increases with nozzle clearance and leads to more incidence angle loss in the rotor. The low energy fluid formed in the nozzle due to the nozzle clearance migrates from hub to shroud side in the rotor, which is another main reason for the rotor＇s performance degradation. The present research exposed the mechanism of the dramatically decrease of the turbine performance with nozzle clearance： （a） The loss associated with the nozzle leakage increases with the nozzle clearance; （b） The flow loss grows up quickly in the rotor due to the incidence angle loss and migration of the low energy fluid from hub to shroud side.

Investigation on Mechanical Characteristics of Air Jet Acting on Nozzle Vanes of VNT

Extensive experimental studies are performed using force sensors to measure actuating forces of nozzle ring devices of variable nozzle turbines. Torques from pneumatic action applied onto axles of nozzle vanes have been calculated. Test results obtained through repeated experiments are quite congruent, confirming the effectiveness of this simple method. Results have indicated that, with a fixed opening angle of guide vane, pneumatic torque increases with mass flow of air jet in the turbine; moreover, under the same mass flow rate, torque decreases with reducing opening angle, even possibly change direction down to negative. The results have also provided a modus operandi for designing nozzle-adjusting devices as well as validation data for numerical study on changes of pneumatic torque onto guide vanes under full engine operating conditions.

Numerical analysis for impacts of nozzle end-clearances on aerodynamic performance and forced response in a VNT turbine

It has been well known that nozzle end-clearances in a Variable Nozzle Turbine（VNT）are unfavorable for aerodynamic performance, especially at small openings, and efforts to further decrease size of the clearances are very hard due to thermal expansion. In this paper, both the different sizes of nozzle end-clearances and the various ratios of their distribution at the hub and shroud sides were modelled and investigated by performing 3D Computational Fluid Dynamics（CFD） and Finite Element Analysis（FEA） simulations with a code of transferring the aerodynamic pressure from the CFD results to the FEA calculations. It was found that increasing the size of the nozzle end-clearances divided equally at the hub and shroud sides deteriorates turbine efficiency and turbine wheel reliability, yet increases turbine flow capacity. And, when the total nozzle endclearances remain the same, varying nozzle end-clearances＇ distribution at the hub and shroud sides not only shifts operation point of a VNT turbine, but also affects the turbine wheel vibration stress.Compared with nozzle hub clearance, the shroud clearance is more sensitive to both aerodynamic performance and reliability of a VNT turbine. Consequently, a possibility is put forward to improve VNT turbine efficiency meanwhile decrease vibration stress by optimizing nozzle end-clearances＇ distribution.

Effect of Nozzle Vane and Rotor Clearance on Performance of Variable Nozzle Turbine

In a variable nozzle turbine(VNT),the nozzle vane and rotor clearance can generate complicated tip leakage flow,which produces a large flow loss and results in a noticeable reduction in the VNT performance.Therefore,it is necessary to study the influence of the nozzle vane and rotor clearance on the VNT performance to reveal the underlying mechanisms.In this study,the variation of VNT performance resulting from the nozzle vane and rotor clearance was studied numerically using the commercial CFD code.The numerical results were in good agreement with the experimental data.VNT performance under three varied clearance conditions under different clearance sizes,rotating speeds,and expansion ratios was analyzed.Clearance conditions included the individual effect of nozzle vane clearance,the individual effect of rotor clearance,and the combined effect of nozzle vane and rotor clearance.The results showed that the rotor clearance(clearance size equal to 0.4 mm)resulted in a certain reduction in thermal efficiency(–3.98%)and torque(–4.48%).Meanwhile,the nozzle vane hub and shroud clearance also affected the thermal efficiency(–3.66%and–13.37%,respectively)and torque(12.54%and–0.05%,respectively).Compared with the rotor clearance,the nozzle vane clearance dominated the variation in the VNT performance,and the values of the mass flow ratio,thermal efficiency,and torque increased by 12.15%,5.43%,and 8.01%,respectively(The clearance on both sides of the vane was equal to 0.2 mm.).Under the combined effect of the nozzle vane and rotor clearance,the deviation of the thermal efficiency and mass flow ratio was smaller than the sum of the values of their individual effects;when the clearance on both sides of the vane was equal to 0.2 mm and the rotor clearance was equal to 0.6 mm,the value was reduced by 2.77%and 1.71%,respectively.This study also explains the influence mechanisms of clearance at both ends of the nozzle vane and the vane/rotor clearance interaction on the VNT performance in detail.