Fluid-structure Interaction Analysis and Lifetime Estimation of a Natural Gas Pipeline Centrifugal Compressor under Near-choke and Near-surge Conditions

Up to present, there have been no studies concerning the application of fluid-structure interaction（FSI） analysis to the lifetime estimation of multi-stage centrifugal compressors under dangerous unsteady aerodynamic excitations. In this paper, computational fluid dynamics（CFD） simulations of a three-stage natural gas pipeline centrifugal compressor are performed under near-choke and near-surge conditions, and the unsteady aerodynamic pressure acting on impeller blades are obtained. Then computational structural dynamics（CSD） analysis is conducted through a one-way coupling FSI model to predict alternating stresses in impeller blades. Finally, the compressor lifetime is estimated using the nominal stress approach. The FSI results show that the impellers of latter stages suffer larger fluctuation stresses but smaller mean stresses than those at preceding stages under near-choke and near-surge conditions. The most dangerous position in the compressor is found to be located near the leading edge of the last-stage impeller blade. Compressor lifetime estimation shows that the investigated compressor can run up to 102.7 h under the near-choke condition and 200.2 h under the near-surge condition. This study is expected to provide a scientific guidance for the operation safety of natural gas pipeline centrifugal compressors.

Numerical forecasting surge in a piping of compressor shops of gas pipeline network

This paper presents a method of forecasting stable operation of gas compressor unit (GCU) centrifugal supercharger (CFS) installed on a piping of compressor shops servicing gas pipelines. The stability of superchargers operation is assessed in relation to the phenomenon of surge. Solution of this problem amounts to the development and numerical analysis of a set of ordinary differential equations. The set describes transmission of gas through a compressor shop as a fluid dynamics model with lumped parameters. The proposed method is oriented to wide application by specialists working in the gas industry. The practical application of this method can use all-purpose programming and mathematical software available to specialists of gas companies.

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.

EFFECT OF AXIAL SPACING ON COMPRESSOR STABILITY

Experimental studies are carried out at a low speed axial compressor with five different rotor/stator gaps. Analysis of the effect of axial spacing of two successive blade rows on the measured mean flow coefficient at stall inception and on the flow range of compressor under multi-cell rotating stall operating conditions proves that the stator can suppress the flow disturbance in the compressor and strengthen the stability of the compressor. Experimental data show that the stall flow coefficient decreases by reducing the axial spacing of successive blade rows. Moreover, by reducing the axial spacing, the stall pattern transition pace from multi-cell stall to single-cell stall can be shifted. And the compressor directly slips into single-cell stall at 21.0% CR axial spacing. By analyzing the pressure fluctuation closed to the surge line, it can be known that there exists an eigenfrequency where the amplitude of the oscillating pressure suddenly and dramatically increases as the compressor runs close to the surge line and this pressure disturbance is relevant to the compressor instability.

Prediction of Cracking Gas Compressor Performance and Its Application in Process Optimization

Cracking gas compressor is usually a centrifugal compressor. The information on the performance of a centrifugal compressor under all conditions is not available, which restricts the operation optimization for compressor. To solve this problem, two back propagation (BP) neural networks were introduced to model the performance of a compressor by using the data provided by manufacturer. The input data of the model under other conditions should be corrected according to the similarity theory. The method was used to optimize the system of a cracking gas compressor by embedding the compressor performance model into the ASPEN PLUS model of compressor. The result shows that it is an effective method to optimize the compressor system.

NEW SCALING METHOD FOR COMPRESSOR MAPS USING AVERAGE INFINITESIMAL STAGE

The estimation of the precise performance of existing multistage axial-flow compressors of gas turbine engines is fast becoming a great concern, as the use of gas turbine engines in the power generation and in the military industry increases, in order to reduce the analysis performance error of the traditional scaling method, a new scaling method for estimating the characteristics of multistage axial flow compressors is proposed. This novel method is based on experimental and partial data provided by engine manufacturers. Taking the effect of density-change into account, we introduce the average infinitesimal stage concept, and thereby divide the compression process into an infinite number of infinitesimal processes corresponding to infinitesimal stages. Subsequently, we adopt the corrected Reynolds analogy method for compressible flow calculation in order to ensure much better compliance with the similarity criterion, Validation checks show that the proposed method has enough precision to predict the off-design performance characteristics of multistage axial flow compressors.

Kinetic characteristic for a synchronal rotary compressor

An angular speed,acceleration and tangential leakage of a synchronal rotary compressor in which both bladed rotor and a cylinder are discussed.The calculation formulae of revolving speed of cylinder and relative speed between the cylinder and bladed rotor are deduced detailedly in this paper.The variation of tangential speed and cylinder acceleration with angular position is investigated for a complete cycle.And some key parameters affected the relative speed are found out,viz,the relative speed depends on the radius of the cylinder and rotary speed of the axis,and the ratio of the cylinder to bladed rotor has not too much influence.It is the theoretic basis of designing and optimizing of structure characteristic of a synchronal rotary compressor.Also a computing formula of leakage related with rotary speed is deduced.It could supply references to thermodynamic calculating.

Effect of Double Air Injection on Instability Phenomena in Centrifugal Compressor

In the operation of a centrifugal compressor of turbocharger, instability phenomena such as rotating stall and surge are induced at a lower flow rate close to the maximum pressure ratio. In this study, the compressed air at the exit of centrifugal compressor was re-circulated and injected to the impeller inlet by using two injection nozzles in order to suppress the surge phenomenon. The most effective circumferential position was examined to reduce the flow rate at the surge inception. Moreover, the influences of the injection on the fluctuating property of the flow field before and after the surge inception were investigated by examining the frequency of static pressure fluctuation on the wall surface and visualizing the compressor wall surface by oil-film visualization technique.

INVESTIGATING MULTISTAGE AXIAL FLOW COMPRESSOR INSTABILITIES

A numerical methodology for investigating compressor instabilities in a multistage environment is presented. The method is based on a stage-by-stage dynamic compression model and considers air compressibility explicitly throughout the compressor. It involves discretizing the compression system into distinct elements and a use of the local elemental characteristic of mean performance. The models are presented in both nonlinear and linearized forms. The linearised form permits well surge condition prediction for multistage axial compressors, while the non-linear form is able to investigate the growth of local flow disturbances, and helps to develop practical control strategy. Validations were carried out using the data from several aircraft engine compressors. A good experiment-model consistency is achieved.

An axisymmetric characteristic model for enhancing prediction of centrifugal compressor characteristics

Rapid and accurate determination of compressor characteristic maps is essential for the initial design of centrifugal compressors in aircraft power systems. The accuracy of existing methodologies, which rely on combinations of loss models, varies significantly depending on the compressor's geometry and operational range. This variance necessitates substantial experimental or Computational Fluid Dynamics(CFD) data for coefficient calibration. To address this challenge, this study presents an axisymmetric characteristic model for compressor performance assessment. This model incorporates the factors of blade angle, meridional passage area, and the radial deflection angle of meridional streamlines of the compressor. These factors are derived from fundamental aerodynamic equations encompassing mass, momentum, and energy conservation of the compressor. In contrast to conventional one-dimensional approaches, the proposed method reduces the number of loss coefficients and more effectively accounts for the impact of geometric alterations on centrifugal compressor properties. Furthermore, the model reduces dependence on experimental and CFD data. Efficacy of the model is validated using experimental data from four distinct types of centrifugal compressors. Correlation analysis reveals that the model's coefficients can be expressed as functions of the ratio of the Reynolds number to the impeller tip speed. This ratio serves as a characteristic parameter for the design and optimization of centrifugal compressors. Consequently, the proposed method offers an efficient and accurate means for the quick computation of centrifugal compressor characteristics. This is of great significance for improving the efficiency of centrifugal compressors and reducing energy consumption.

Experimental investigation of transient characteristics of mild surge and diffuser rotating stall in a centrifugal compressor with vaned diffuser

The centrifugal compressor is widely used for gas compression in various industrial fields such as aero-engine, gas turbine and turbocharger. However, the stable operating range is usually restricted by the occurrence of flow instability such as stall and surge. The paper experimentally examines the developing process of surge and stall occurring in a centrifugal compressor to advance the understanding on flow mechanism of flow instability. It is found that three types of pressure fluctuation can be observed at low flowrate region. At the critical point, the local stall firstly occurs in some specific diffuser passages and the enlarged local diffuser stall eventually induces the mild surge of compression system indicated by the sinusoidal pressure fluctuation. At lower mass flow rate, the diffuser stall cell begins to circumferentially propagate along the impeller rotating direction at 11% of rotor speed with the existence of mild surge. In comparative analysis of IGV pre-swirl angle on the occurrence of mild surge, the mild surge still occurs at the operating condition when the slope of the characteristic map of test stage is still obviously negative, in which the compression system is supposed to be stable in previous study. And a new suggested criterion for the prediction of mild surge is demonstrated that the occurrence of mild surge depends on the destabilization effect of downstream components about diffuser and volute. Combined with the experimental data, the streamwise distribution characteristic of diffuser stall can be used to develop the simplified model of lumped parameters for the analysis on the generation mechanism of the diffuser rotating stall. The quantitative investigation on the relation between the pressure-rise characteristic of subcomponents and the occurrence of mild surge and diffuser rotating stall not only advances the prediction of stability limit but also lays the theoretic foundation for controlling these unsteady behaviors to improve the operating range.

Mechanism of stall and surge in a centrifugal compressor with a variable vaned diffuser

To expand the stable operating range of compressors, understanding the mechanism of flow instability at low flow rates is necessary. In this paper, the mechanism of stall and surge in a centrifugal compressor with a variable vaned diffuser is experimentally investigated, where the diffuser blade setting angle can be adjusted. Many dynamic pressure transducers are mounted on the casing surface of the compressor. From the design condition to surge, dynamic pressure data is recorded throughout the gradual process. According to the signal developing status, the typical modes of compressor instability are defined in detail, such as stall, mild surge, and deep surge. A relatively high-frequency stall wave originates in the impeller and propagates to the diffuser, and finally stimulates a deep surge in the compressor. The compressor behavior during surge differs at different diffuser vane angles. When the diffuser vane angle is adjusted, both the unstable form and the core factor affecting the overall machine stability change. A specific indicator is proposed to measure the instability of each component in a compressor, which can be used to determine the best region for stability extension technologies, such as a holed casing treatment, in different compressor applications.

Effect of Double Air Injection on Performance Characteristics of CentrifugalCompressor

In the operation of a centrifugal compressor of turbocharger, instability phenomena such as rotating stall and surge are induced at a lower flow rate close to the maximum pressure ratio. In this study, the compressed air at the exit of centrifugal compressor was re-circulated and injected to the impeller inlet by using two injection nozzles in order to suppress the surge phenomenon. The most effective circumferential position was examined to reduce the flow rate at the surge inception. Moreover, the influences of the injection on the fluctuating property of the flow field before and after the surge inception were investigated by examining the frequency of static pressure fluctuation on the wall surface and visualizing the compressor wall surface by oil-film visualization technique.

Temporal Behaviour of a Corner Separation in a Radial Vaned Diffuser of a Centrifugal Compressor Operating near Surge

The temporal behaviour of a flow separation in the hub-suction side comer of a transonic diffuser is studied thanks to unsteady numerical simulations based on the phase-lagged approach. The validity of the numerical re- sults is confn＇med by comparison with experimental unsteady pressure measurements. An analysis of the instan- taneous skin-friction pattern and particles trajectories is presented. It highlights the topology of the separation and its temporal behaviour. The major result is that, despite of a highly time-dependent core flow, the separation is found to be a ＂fixed unsteady separation＂ characterized by a fixed location of the main saddle of the separation but an extent of the stall region modulated by the pressure waves induced by the impeller-diffuser interaction.

Unsteady Flow Field under Surge and Rotating Stall in a Three-stage Axial Flow Compressor

The unsteady flow structure between rotor blade-to-blade passages in a three-stage axial flow compressor is experimentally investigated by detailed measurements of unsteady performance characteristics,casing wall pressure fluctuations and their wavelet analyses.The main feature of the test compressor is a capacity tank facility connected in series to the compressor outlet in order to supply compression and/or expansion waves from downstream of the compressor.Research attention is focused on the post-stall characteristics of the surge and rotating stall which occur simultaneously.The influence of the compressor operating point on the unsteady performance curve shows that the surge cycle changes irregularly depending on the steady-state resistance characteristics,and the results of the wavelet analyses of the wall pressure fluctuations suggest that the surge cycle may selectively be determined by the rotating stall cell structure within the rotor cascade.

A high-safety active/passive hybrid control approach for compressor surge based on nonlinear model predictive control

Surge active control can expand the stable operating range of the compressor.However,the difficulty of flow measurement,dynamic uncertainty disturbance,actuator delay characteristics,hard constraints of control variable,and system security measures have not been fully considered in the existing active control system,which significantly hinders its engineering application.Therefore,a nonlinear model predictive surge active control method is first presented based on flow estimator designed by using a continuous-time Kalman filter for dealing with the hard constraint of control variable and the impact of actuator delay of compression system with dynamic uncertainty.Then,a high-safety active/surge passive hybrid control strategy is designed,dominated by the surge active control and supplemented by the surge passive control,to ensure the compression system’s safe and stable operation.Lastly,the simulation results suggest that the flow estimator accurately estimates the compressor flow.When considering the delay impact of the actuators and sensors and measurement noise on the system,the proposed method exhibits stronger robustness than the existing meth-ods.The active/surge passive hybrid control strategy can successfully ensure the compression system’s safe and stable operation.This paper is of high practical significance for the engineering application of future compressor surge active control technologies.

An Experimental Description of the Flow in a Centrifugal Compressor from Alternate Stall to Surge

The present paper gives the experimental results obtained in a centrifugal compressor stage designed and built by SAFRAN Helicopter Engines. The compressor is composed of inlet guide vanes, a backswept splittered un- shrouded impeller, a splittered vaned radial diffuser and axial outlet guide vanes. Previous numerical simulations revealed a particular S-shape pressure rise characteristic at partial rotation speed and predicted an alternate flow pattern in the vaned radial diffuser at low mass flow rate. This alternate flow pattern involves two adjacent vane passages. One passage exhibits very low momentum and a low pressure recovery, whereas the adjacent passage has very high momentum in the passage inlet and diffuses efficiently. Experimental measurements confirm the S-shape of the pressure rise characteristic even if the stability limit experimentally occurs at higher mass flow than numerically predicted. At low mass flow the alternate stall pattern is confirmed thanks to the data obtained by high-frequency pressure sensors. As the compressor is throttled the path to instability has been registered and a f＇wst scenario of the surge inception is given. The compressor first experiences a steady alternate stall in the dif- fuser. As the mass flow decreases, the alternate stall amplifies and triggers the mild surge in the vaned diffuser. An unsteady behavior results from the interaction of the alternate stall and the mild surge. Finally, when the pres- sure gradient becomes too strong, the alternate stall blows away and the compressor enters into deep surge.

Measurement and Numerical Simulation of a Small Centrifugal Compressor Characteristics at Small or Negative Flow Rate

For centrifugal compressors used in automotive turbochargers, the extension of the surge margin is demanded because of lower engine speed. In order to estimate the surge line exactly, it is required to acquire the compressor characteristics at small or negative flow rate. In this paper, measurement and numerical simulation of the characteristics at small or negative flow rate are carried out. In the measurement, an experimental facility with a valve immediately downstream of the compressor is used to suppress the surge. In the numerical work, a new boundary condition that specifies mass flow rate at the outlet boundary is used to simulate the characteristics around the zero flow rate region. Furthermore, flow field analyses at small or negative flow rate are performed with the numerical results. The separated and re-circulated flow fields are investigated by visualization to identify the origin of losses.

Effect of Double Air Injection on Performance Characteristics of Centrifugal Compressor

In the operation of a centrifugal compressor of turbocharger, instability phenomena such as rotating stall and surge are induced at a lower flow rate close to the maximum pressure ratio. In this study, for the suppression of surge phenomenon resulting in the extension of the stable operating range of centrifugal compressor to lower flow rate, the compressed air at the compressor exit was re-circulated and injected into the impeller inlet by using the double injection nozzle system. The experiments were performed to find out the optimum circumferential position of the second nozzle relative to the fixed first one and the optimum inner diameter of the injection nozzles, which are able to most effectively reduce the flow rate of surge inception. Moreover, in order to examine the universality of these optimum values, the experiments were carried out for two types of compressors.

Unsteady Behavior of Surge and Rotating Stall in an Axial Flow Compressor

Unsteady behaviors as well as unsteady cascade flow fields of a single-stage axial flow compressor were experi- mentally investigated by detail measurements of unsteady performance characteristics and casing wall pressure and internal flow velocity fluctuations. The main feature of the test compressor is a capacity tank connected di- rectly to the compressor outlet in series through slits and a concentric duplex pipe, and also jet nozzles in order to inject compressed air toward the rotor tip region. Research attention is focused on the post-stall characteristics of surge and rotating stall which occur simultaneously. When the compressor was connected to the capacity tank, surge was generated with rotating stall in accordance with the capacitance increment of whole compressor system The surge behavior changed irregularly with throttling valve installed behind the compressor, and several types of surge cycles were observed. In addition, the surge cycle changed by jet injection to the rotor tip region. The re- suits suggested that the blockages of the cascade flow which were generated by a stall cell play an important role in deciding the surge behaviors.