Relationship between the Flow Blockage of Tip Leakage Vortex and its Evolutionary Procedures inside the Rotor Passage of a Subsonic Axial Compressor

The near casing flow fields inside the rotor passage of a 1.5 stage axial compressor with different blade-loading levels and tip gap sizes were measured by using stereoscopic particle image velocimetry(SPIV). Based on a carefully defined blockage extracting method, the variations of blockage parameter inside the blade passage were analyzed. It was found that the variation of blockage parameter appeared as a non-monotonic behavior inside the blade passage in most cases. This non-monotonic behavior became much more remarkable as the blade loading increases or mass flow rate decreases.The variations of the blockage parameter inside the blade passage had close relation to the evolutionary procedures of the tip leakage vortex(TLV). The destabilization of the TLV caused a rapid increasing of the blockage parameter. After the TLV lost the features of a concentrated streamwise vortex,the blockage parameter usually got a peak value. And then, because of the intense turbulent mixing between the TLV low momentum flow and its surrounding flows, the flow deficit inside the TLV recovered.

Performance Improvement of a Centrifugal Compressor for the Fuel Cell Vehicle by Tip Leakage Vortex Control

Heightened interests have been laid at the preliminary design and optimization of the centrifugal compressor for the fuel cell vehicle.The centrifugal compressor for fuel cell vehicle is driven by a high-speed motor;however,the limit of the motor speed makes the flow passage of the impeller long and narrow,which leads to a serious tip leakage loss.Serious tip leakage loss deteriorates the compressor performance.In this paper,3-D numerical simulations were carried out with the aim of investigating the tip leakage loss in a prototype centrifugal compressor for a 100 kW fuel cell stack.The results revealed that the mixing loss caused by the interaction between the tip leakage vortex and the downstream tip leakage flow contributed to the major part of the tip leakage loss.The path of the tip leakage vortex almost followed the streamwise direction,while the downstream tip leakage flow exhibited strong circumferential momentum,which referred to the fact that they were nearly orthogonal.Therefore,a flow control approach,which was realized by enhancing the blade loading around the leading edge of blade tips in this paper,was proposed to decrease the interaction angle between the tip leakage vortex and the downstream tip leakage flow and then mitigate mixing loss by changing the flow direction of the tip leakage vortex.The results showed a smaller interaction angle was achieved in the optimized impeller compared with the baseline one.Meanwhile,the efficiency was also improved by 1.30%at design condition and the maximum efficiency improvement could be up to 10%at large mass flow condition of 92000 r/min.Being manufactured and tested,the optimized compressor was proved to achieve an isentropic efficiency of 75.84%at design condition.

Identification of vortices in a transonic compressor flow and the stall process

A novel vortex identification method for the visualization of the flow field is used for the study of the stall process of a transonic compressor.The parameter η4,which is one of the five invariants formed by the stain rate and vorticity tensors from the theory of modern rational mechanics,is found to have good ability to identify vortex stretching and vortex relaxation/breakdown processes,is introduced here to identify the tip leakage vortices.Compare with former generally used DPH(dynamic pressure head) contour,the new method reveals much more flow details which may advance our understanding of the compressor behaviors.The Vortices details are revealed in both peak efficiency and near stall condition.A possible stall process is also suggested based on the vortices analysis.The tip leakage flow from mid-chord,besides leading edge leakage flow,is also considered to play an important role in the stall process.

Numerical Analysis of the Tip Leakage Flow Field in a Transonic Axial Compressor with Circumferential Casing Treatment

This paper reports on numerical investigations aimed at understanding the influence of circumferential casing grooves on the tip leakage flow and its resulting vortical structures.The results and conclusions are based on steady state 3D numerical simulations of the well-known transonic axial compressor NASA Rotor 37 near stall operating conditions.The calculations carried out on the casing treatment configuration reveal an important modification of the vortex topology at the rotor tip clearance.Circumferential grooves limit the expansion of the tip leakage vortex in the direction perpendicular to the blade chord,but generate a set of secondary tip leakage vortices due to the interaction with the leakage mass flow.Finally,a deeper investigation of the tip leakage flow is proposed.

Understanding of tip clearance flow structure in high speed mixed flow compressor

This paper addresses the necessity to make a physical interpretation of a highly complex three-dimensional tip clearance flow field study for high-speed mixed-flow compressor having stage exit static pressure to inlet total pressure ratio of 3.8 with 39,836 rpm rotor speed.The four different tip configurations namely the constant(l Z 0.016 and 0.019)and variable(l Z 0.011(inlet)-0.019(exit)and 0.019(inlet)-0.022(exit))tip clearances were numerically analysed using available experimental data-set.The numerical investigation reveals that in contrast to the classic jet-wake pattern,two anomalous velocity profiles formed at the impeller exit which results in pressure losses in the vaneless diffuser.Near the impeller inlet,the tip leakage flow rolls up to discrete tip leakage vortex structure for each tip clearance configuration.This results in the formation of a region of momentum deficit,recirculation zone,which gets weakened as it moves downstream.The tip clearance configuration is observed to profoundly influence the extent and vorticity of the tip leakage vortex.In the splitter blade passage,the tip leakage flow and Coriolis flow interact with passage flow,resulting in the formation of two secondary passage vortices that move downstream along the pressure and suction surface of the splitter blade.The tip clearance configuration directly influences the impeller exit jetwake pattern by modulating the secondary passage vortices trajectory and vorticity.Moreover,off-design analysis for tip clearances l Z 0.016 and l Z 0.019,depict distinctive tip leakage vortex characteristics.When operating near the stall conditions(80%of design mass flow rate),l Z 0.019 exhibits bubble shape tip leakage vortex breakdown occurring near the impeller inlet.This result in a substantial change in the tip leakage vortex nature;expansion of the recirculation zone and early weakening of the vorticity in the tip leakage vortex.It is observed that vortex breakdown plays a vital role in characteristics of the passage flow field structure and compressor performance near the stall conditions.

Aerodynamics of a Tandem-Bladed Axial Compressor Rotor under Circumferential Distortion at Different Rotational Speeds

For most aircraft engines,inflow distortion is inevitable.Inflow distortion is known to degrade the aerodynamic performance and stable operating limits of a compressor.Tandem rotor configuration is an arrangement that effectively controls the growth of the boundary layer over the suction surface of the blade.Therefore,a higher total pressure rise can be achieved through this unconventional design approach involving the splitting of the blade into forward and aft sections.It is expected that the effect of inlet flow distortion would be more severe for a tandem-rotor design due to the greater flow turning inherent in such designs.However,this aspect needs to be thoroughly examined.The present study discusses the effect of circumferential distortion on the tandem-rotor at different rotational speeds.Full-annulus RANS simulations using ANSYS CFX are used in the present study.The performance of the rotor at a particular flow coefficient and different rotational speeds is compared.The total pressure and efficiency are observed to drop at lower mass flow rates under the influence of circumferential distortion.The loss region in each blade passage is mainly associated with the blade wake,tip leakage vortex,secondary flow,and boundary layer.However,their contribution varies from passage to passage,particularly in the distorted sector.At the lower span,the wake width is found to be higher than that at a higher span.Due to the redistribution of the mass flow,the circumferential extent reduces at a higher span.In the undistorted sector,the strength of the tip leakage vortex is significantly higher at the design rotational speed than at lower speeds.The distortion near the tip region promotes an early vortex breakdown even at the design operating condition.This adversely affects the total pressure,efficiency,and stall margin.Under clean flow conditions,this phenomenon is only observed near the stall point.At the design operating condition,the breakdown of the forward rotor tip leakage vortex is detected in four blade passages.The axial velocity deficit and adverse pressure gradient play a significant role in the behaviour of tip leakage vortex at lower rotational speeds in the distorted sector.A twin vortex breakdown is also observed at lower speeds.

Experimental and numerical study of tip injection in a subsonic axial flow compressor

Parametric study of tip injection was implemented experimentally on a subsonic axial flow compressor to understand the underlying flow mechanisms of stability improvement of the compressor with discrete tip injection.Injector throat height varied from 2 to 6 times the height of rotor tip clearance,and circumferential coverage percentage ranged from 8.3% to 25% of the annulus.Static pressure fluctuations over the rotor tip were measured with fast-response pressure transducers.Whole-passage time-accurate simulations were also carried out to help us understand the flow details.The combinations of tip injection with traditional casing treatments were experimentally studied to generate an engineering-acceptable method of compressor stall control.The results indicate that the maximum stability improvement is achieved when injectors are choked despite their different sizes.The effect of circumferential coverage percentage on compressor stability depends on the value of injector throat height for un-choked injectors,and vice versa.Tip blockage in the blade passage is greatly reduced by the choked injectors,which is the primary reason for stability enhancement.The accomplishment of blockage diminishment is maintained in the circumferential direction with the unsteady effect of tip injection,which manifests as a hysteresis between the recovery of tip blockage and the recovery of tip leakage vortex.The unsteady effect is primarily responsible for the effectiveness of tip injection with a partial circumferential coverage.Tip injection cannot enhance the stability of the rotor with axial slots significantly,but it can improve the stability of the rotor with circumferential grooves further.The combined structure of tip injection with circumferential grooves is an alternative for engineering application.

Effect of tip geometry and tip clearance on aerodynamic performance of a linear compressor cascade

The tip leakage flow between a blade and a casing wall has a strong impact on compressor pressure rise capability, efficiency, and stability. Consequently, there is a strong motivation to look for means to minimize its impact on performance. This paper presents the potential of passive tip leakage flow control to increase the aerodynamic performance of highly loaded compressor blades. Experimental investigations on a linear compressor cascade equipped with blade winglets mounted to the blade tips have been carried out. Results for a variation of the tip clearance and the winglet geometry are presented. Current results indicate that the use of proper tip winglets in a compressor cascade can positively affect the local aerodynamic field by weakening the tip leakage vortex. Results also show that the suction-side winglets are aerodynamically superior to the pressure-side or combined winglets. The suction-side winglets are capable of reducing the exit total pressure loss associated with the tip leakage flow and the passage secondary flow to a significant degree.

Research Progress of Tip Winglet Technology in Compressor

In the present study,the research progress of tip winglets that control tip clearance leakage flow in compressors is reviewed.Firstly,the effects of tip leakage flow on the aerodynamic performance of the compressor are presented.Subsequently,the development of tip winglet technology is reviewed.Next,a series of studies on compressor tip winglet technology are conducted.Besides,the effects of tip winglets on the aerodynamic performance of rectangular cascades of low-speed and high-subsonic compressors,subsonic compressor rotor and transonic compressor rotor are discussed,respectively,and the control effect of tip winglet technology combined with tip groove design on tip leakage is investigated.Lastly,the subsequent development direction and research prospect of compressor tip winglet technology are presented.

Experimental Investigation of Effects of Suction-Side Squealer Tip Geometry on the Flow Field in a Large-scale Axial Compressor using SPIV

It is well known that the non-uniform tip geometry is a promising passive flow control technique in turbomachinery.However,detailed investigation of its effects on the unsteady flow field of turbomachinery is rare in the existiug hteratures.This paper presents an experimental investigation of effects of suction side squealer tip configuration on both the steady and unsteady flow field of an isolated compressor rotor.The flow field at 10%chord downstream from the trailing edge was measured using a mini five-hole probe.Meanwhile,the unsteady flow field inside the passage was investigated using stereo particle image velocimetry(SPIV).The steady results show that the SSQ tip configuration exerts positive effect on the static pressure rise performance of this compressor,and the radial equilibrium at the rotor outlet is obviously rearranged.The SSQ tip configuration would create a stronger tip leakage vortex at the formation phase,and it experiences a faster dissipation process around the rear chord.Also,the splitting process of the tip leakage vortex is severer,which is the main cause of the relatively higher probability of the presence of the streamwise reverse flow.The quantitatively analysis of the tip leakage vortex indicates that the velocity loss inside the blockage region is direct response of the evolutionary procedure of the tip leakage vortex.It keeps increasing until the end of the splitting process.Although the blockage coefficient grows sustainably,the velocity loss will reduce once the turbulent mixing procedure is dominant.

Modeling of the Double Leakage and Leakage Spillage Flows in Axial Flow Compressors

A model to predict the double leakage and tip leakage leading edge spillage flows was developed. This model was combined by a TLV trajectory model and a TLV diameter model and formed as a function of compressor one-dimensional design parameters, i.e. the compressor massflow coefficient, Ф and compressor loading coeffi- cient, ψ, and some critical blade geometrical parameters, i.e. blade solidity, a, stagger angle, βs, blade chord length, C, and blade pitch length, S. By using this model, the double leakage and tip leakage leading edge spillage flow could be predicted even at the compressor preliminary design process. Considering the leading edge spillage flow usually indicates the inception of spike-type stall, i.e. the compressor is a tip critical design, this model could also be used as a tool to choose the critical design parameters for designers. At last, some experimental data from literature was used to validate the model and the results proved that the model was reliable.

Research on blade tip clearance cavitation and turbulent kinetic energy characteristics of axial flow pump based on the partially-averaged Navier-Stokes model

To reveal the cavitation forms of tip leakage vortex(TLV)of the axial flow pump and the flow mechanism of the flow field,this research adopts the partially-averaged Navier-Stokes(PANS)model to simulate the cavitation values of an axial flow pump,followed by experimental validation.The experimental result shows that compared with the shear stress transport(SST)k-ωmodel,the PANS model significantly reduces the eddy viscosity of the flow field to make the vortex structure clearer and allow the turbulence scale to be more robustly analyzed.The cavitation area within the axial flow pump mainly comprises of TLV cavitation,clearance cavitation and tip leakage flows combined effect of triangular cloud cavitation formed.The formation and development of cavitation are accompanied by the formation and evolution of vortex,and variations in vortex structure also generate and promote the development of cavitation.In addition,an in-depth analysis of the relationship between the turbulent kinetic energy(TKE)transport equation and cavitation patterns was also conducted,finding that the regions with relatively high TKE are mainly distributed around gas/liquid boundaries with serious cavitation and evident gas-liquid change.This phenomenon is mainly attributed to the combined effect of the pressure action term,stress diffusion term and TKE production term.

叶顶间隙对离心压气机性能的影响机理研究

为明确叶顶间隙对离心压气机性能影响的机理,采用数值模拟方法对不同叶顶间隙尺寸下的离心压气机叶顶泄漏涡和流动损失进行了研究。首先,对实验结果与数值计算结果进行了对比,验证了数值模拟的可靠性;然后,分析了不同叶顶间隙下压气机等熵效率及压比的变化趋势;最后,对内部流动特性进行了分析,阐述了不同间隙下叶轮内部涡结构变化形态、泄漏流流线分布及沿流动方向的熵变化规律,揭示了不同叶顶间隙对压气机性能的影响机理。研究结果表明:叶顶间隙比从0.018增加到0.054时,全工况范围内效率下降最大变化量分别为0.7%、0.6%、0.4%及0.2%,压比整体下降幅度保持在0.3%左右。叶顶泄漏流与主流掺混形成叶顶泄漏涡和叶顶分离涡,其中叶顶泄漏涡是主要损失来源。随着叶顶间隙比增大,靠近叶片前缘20%流向范围内的流动损失变化较小,靠近叶片尾缘40%范围内的损失增大。叶顶间隙比增加导致泄漏涡尺寸增大从而降低有效过流面积,是造成压气机性能下降的主要原因。

叶顶喷气对跨音速轴流压气机稳定裕度影响的数值研究

为了研究叶顶喷气机匣处理方式对轴流压气机稳定裕度的影响,针对Rotor37开展了叶顶喷气的定常数值研究。相关文献指出,喷嘴出口气流角、喷嘴轴向位置、喷嘴覆盖比率及喷嘴进口总压4个参数对稳定裕度的影响最为显著。因此,本文着重对这四个参数构建响应面,同时结合主流的单通道计算模型,详细分析了它们之间的交互关系及相应的参数变化对压气机稳定性的影响,并拟合出回归方程。结果显示,在最佳参数设置下,单通道计算模型中压气机的稳定裕度最大可以增加8%左右。在此基础上,又对四通道压气机计算模型进行了气动计算与分析,发现叶顶喷气射流会按照与压气机旋转相反的方向作用于相邻的叶片流道,抑制该流道泄漏涡的产生,进而改善该流道内的流动。研究表明,采用叶顶喷气方法可以降低叶片前缘载荷,改变压气机的失速类型,从而增加压气机的稳定裕度。

不同湍流模型在轴流泵叶顶泄漏涡模拟中的应用与验证

为寻求一种经济、适合的湍流模型模拟轴流泵叶顶泄漏涡的结构和运动特性,该文基于ANSYS CFX软件平台,优化了六面体网格拓扑结构,比较了标准k-ε湍流模型(standard k-ε)、重正化群k-ε湍流模型(renormalization group k-ε,RNG),标准k-ω湍流模型(standard k-ω)和SST k-ω湍流模型(shear stress transport)等4种湍流模型在轴流泵叶顶泄漏涡模拟中的计算精度和叶顶泄漏涡流场特征。数值模拟和试验结果表明,在最优工况下,SST k-ω湍流模型预测外特性曲线与试验曲线吻合较好,扬程误差为4.688%,较其他3种湍流模型准确;4种湍流模型计算的叶顶泄漏涡流线、叶顶区压力场和轴面速度场分布规律相似,但RNG k-ε和SST k-ω湍流模型计算的涡卷吸较强,涡带的旋涡强度相对较大。基于旋涡强度提出了一种对叶顶泄漏涡的涡心进行识别的方法,并与高速摄影拍摄的涡带结果进行了对比,在设计流量工况和大流量工况下,发现SST k-ω湍流模型计算的叶顶泄漏涡运动轨迹与试验结果吻合度较好,验证了SST k-ω湍流模型在轴流泵叶顶泄漏涡模拟具有较好的适用性。

轴流压气机转子尖区三维紊流特性

用三维激光多普勒测速系统测量研究了低速大尺寸单级压气机设计状态转子内尖区三维紊流流场．结果表明，设计状态下叶尖泄漏涡是造成压气机转子尖部素流脉动的主要因素，其造成的高素流区沿流向逐渐扩大，并缓慢向通道中部和低叶高方向移动，紊流强度值随旋涡的增强而增大．在泄漏涡影响区域中，径向脉动水平最高，轴向和切向脉动水平相近，三个剪切应力中，轴向一径向最大，切向一径向次之，轴向一切向最小．在叶片通道后段，泄漏涡发生破裂，导致更强、更大范围的紊流脉动，剪切应力中切向-径向应力较高．在叶尖吸力面角区后半部的角涡，紊流强度大，剪切应力也大，尤其是切向-径向剪切应力．

基于大涡模拟的轴流泵叶顶泄漏涡瞬态特性分析

为了深入掌握轴流泵叶顶区湍流特性,采用大涡模拟方法对某一模型轴流泵内部非定常流动进行了数值模拟。根据时域和频域特性图,分析间隙内压差和泄漏速度之间的关联现象,讨论了叶顶间隙内泄漏流的瞬态特性。根据三维泄漏涡结构,揭示了轴流泵叶顶区不同类型的涡系,叶顶泄漏涡带在剪切层内涡丝动力的驱动下逐渐变长,然后与射流剪切层分离;叶顶间隙内涡团的瞬态变化大于叶顶泄漏涡的周期性变化,导致剪切层内的小尺度涡的生成周期时间较短,其在主泄漏涡带上方形成了小尺度泄漏流涡带。从叶顶轴平面的涡结构可发现,随着弦长系数的增大,剪切层内的分离涡不断被分离并且被叶顶泄漏涡卷吸,在主泄漏涡向相邻叶片压力面的运动过程中,其涡量不断减小,并且在转轮室端壁面附近不断诱导各种尺度的涡产生。

轴流压气机转子近失速工况点叶尖区流动非定常性分析

为了揭示某轴流压气机转子近失速工况点叶尖区域流场的非定常变化及其形成机理,采用定常和非定常数值模拟方法对其内部流场进行了全三维的数值模拟。通过和已有的试验测量结果进行对比分析表明,预测的总性能及基元性能与试验结果取得了很好的一致性。近失速工况点的非定常模拟结果表明,压气机的总性能及叶片承受的扭矩出现了周期性的波动,其波动周期约为转子通过频率的2.5倍。进一步详细分析叶尖区流场的瞬态流动结构发现,间隙泄漏涡在近失速工况下出现了泡式破碎,破碎的泄漏涡、主流以及来自相邻叶片的间隙泄漏流相互作用形成了另外一个特征明显的旋涡(命名为叶尖二次涡)。该旋涡的形成、发展和运动是压气机的总性能出现周期性波动的主要原因。

带周向槽机匣处理的离心压气机扩稳机理分析

机匣处理能够改善压气机稳定裕度,扩大其稳定工作范围。通过对带周向槽机匣处理的NASA低速离心叶轮(LSCC)进行了时间精确的全三维数值模拟,并对周向槽机匣结构和实壁机匣结构在近失速流量点工况下的计算结果进行了比较分析。分析结果表明,周向槽处理机匣对叶顶间隙泄漏涡的抑制是周向槽机匣处理扩稳的主要原因。

雷诺数对涡轮叶尖流场影响的数值研究

采用基于压力修正的三维计算流体力学程序,结合雷诺应力湍流模型和剪切应力传输湍流模型加壁面函数的方法,对某一轴流涡轮转子叶尖间隙流场进行了数值计算研究,详细计算了不同涡轮叶尖间隙高度和来流湍流度条件下雷诺数对涡轮转子间隙流场的影响,最后计算了转子效率。结果表明:当泄漏流流经叶尖时因为叶尖剪切力做功有块总压增大区;雷诺数带来的影响比湍流度和叶尖间隙高度带来的影响要大,湍流度的变化对流场影响不大;雷诺数对泄漏涡尺寸的影响不大,但低雷诺数会引起流动分离,带来损失,当雷诺数在文中的范围内变化时,效率下降近八个百分点。