Unstable Head-Flow Characteristic Generation Mechanism of a Low Specific Speed Mixed Flow Pump

This paper treats the flow instabilities in a mixed flow pump with a vaned diffuser. Test pump has a positive slope of a head-flow performance curve at 65% flow rate of BEP (Best Efficiency Point) because of a rotating stall. Dynamic Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) and pressure fluctuation measurements are used for investigating the propagation mechanism of a rotating stall. It was found that unstable performance was caused by periodical large scale abrupt backflow generated from the vaned diffuser to the outlet of impeller. Further, the relation between the static pressure at the inlet of diffuser vane and the internal flow condition was clarified. From these experimental results, in order to improve the positive slope of a head-flow performance curve, to suppress the growth of strong vortex toward the inlet of diffuser vane was proved to be a key point.     

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 unshrouded 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 first scenario of the surge inception is given.The compressor first experiences a steady alternate stall in the diffuser.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 pressure gradient becomes too strong,the alternate stall blows away and the compressor enters into deep surge.     

Unsteady behavior of leading-edge vortex and diffuser stall in a centrifugal compressor with vaned diffuser

The characteristics of a rotating stall of an impeller and diffuser and the evolution of a vortex generated at the diffuser leading-edge (i.e., the leading-edge vortex (LEV)) in a centrifugal compressor were investigated by experiments and numerical analysis. The results of the experiments revealed that both the impeller and diffuser rotating stalls occurred at 55 and 25 Hz during off-design flow operation. For both, stall cells existed only on the shroud side of the flow passages, which is very close to the source location of the LEV. According to the CFD results, the LEV is made up of multiple vortices. The LEV is a combination of a separated vortex near the leading- edge and a longitudinal vortex generated by the extended tip-leakage flow from the impeller. Therefore, the LEV is generated by the accumulation of vorticity caused by the velocity gradient of the impeller discharge flow. In partial-flow operation, the spanwise extent and the position of the LEV origin are temporarily transmuted. The LEV develops with a drop in the velocity in the diffuser passage and forms a significant blockage within the diffuser passage. Therefore, the LEV may be regarded as being one of the causes of a diffuser stall in a centrifugal compressor.     

叶片安装角对离心压气机扩压器气动性能及失速机理影响研究

为了研究离心压气机扩压器异常叶片对于失速现象的诱发效果,以带有叶扩压器的高速离心压气机为研究对象,通过整体或局部改变扩压器叶片安装角,开展非定常数值模拟研究并与实验结果对比验证,研究叶片安装角改变对离心压气机性能、动态特性以及失速机理的影响规律。研究表明：整体负方向旋转叶片安装角会促使扩压器更加不稳定,旋转角度从-5°到5°,最高效率点对应的质量流量逐渐增大。其中安装角偏转+5°扩压器叶片前缘靠近轮缘壁面发生流动分离,诱使无叶区间产生回流;而偏转-5°扩压器轮毂附近的流动分离主要发生在尾缘,造成扩压器叶片吸力面附近产生大范围回流。单个叶片安装角发生较大偏转(大于10°)时,扩压器比叶轮更早进入失速状态,且失速的机制可能会随着安装角偏移的增大发生改变。     

Behavior of Vaneless Diffuser Stall in a Centrifugal Compressor

The rotating stall in a centrifugal compressor with a vaneless diffuser was investigated both experimentally and numerically with focus on the effect of the internal flow field within the impeller on the diffuser stall.Through numerical analysis,the boundary layer separation at the impeller outlet was found to play an important role in the expansion and rotation processes of the diffuser stall.In particular,the expanded boundary layer separation near the hub side at the outlet of the main blade(M.B.)suction surface passage was considered to be the main cause of the expansion and rotation processes.A longitudinal vortex existed at the throat of the M.B.passage,and the mass flow rate in the M.B.passage was significantly reduced by the blockage effect.In addition,the longitudinal vortex induced the rolling up flow near the hub side at the impeller exit.Thus,the boundary layer separation expanded.     

Design and optimization of a single stage centrifugal compressor for a solar dish-Brayton system

According to the requirements of a solar dish-Brayton system,a centrifugal compressor stage with a minimum total pressure ratio of 5,an adiabatic efficiency above 75% and a surge margin more than 12% needs to be designed.A single stage,which consists of impeller,radial vaned diffuser,90° crossover and two rows of axial stators,was chosen to satisfy this system.To achieve the stage performance,an impeller with a 6:1 total pressure ratio and an adiabatic efficiency of 90% was designed and its preliminary geometry came from an in-house one-dimensional program.Radial vaned diffuser was applied downstream of the impeller.Two rows of axial stators after 90° crossover were added to guide the flow into axial direction.Since jet-wake flow,shockwave and boundary layer separation coexisted in the impeller-diffuser region,optimization on the radius ratio of radial diffuser vane inlet to impeller exit,diffuser vane inlet blade angle and number of diffuser vanes was carried out at design point.Finally,an optimized centrifugal compressor stage fulfilled the high expectations and presented proper performance.Numerical simulation showed that at design point the stage adiabatic efficiency was 79.93% and the total pressure ratio was 5.6.The surge margin was 15%.The performance map including 80%,90% and 100% design speed was also presented.     

离心压气机宽无叶扩压器旋转失速的数值研究

无叶扩压器作为离心压气机的重要部件,研究其内部旋转失速的诱发过程及机理对离心压气机无叶扩压器旋转失速的主动控制具有重要意义.利用ANSYS平台对离心压气机建模并对其旋转失速过程进行非稳态数值模拟.结果表明:离心压气机无叶扩压器旋转失速是随着流量的逐渐减小建立起来的,失速工况点位于性能曲线的负斜率区;无叶扩压器内部,低速...     

叶轮斜切对导叶式离心泵特性的影响

为改善试验离心泵扬程曲线驼峰,斜切叶轮16.4°,通过试验探索泵扬程、效率、轴功率的变化,同时利.用标准SST湍流模型对主要工况Q(Q为额定流量)、0.7Q进行非定常数值模拟,研究叶轮斜切对泵压力脉动和叶轮径向力的影响。试验结果表明,叶轮斜切后各工况扬程均有下降,驼峰区减小;效率有所提高,在0.6Q附近效率增大最多(约2.1%);轴功率曲线整体下移,其中大流量区间轴功率减小更多。数值模拟结果表明,叶轮斜切前后的压力脉动主频均为叶片通过频率,斜切叶轮降低了各工况主频和高频的幅值;1个叶轮.旋转周期内的径向力变化轨迹与导叶叶片数有关,且不论叶轮斜切与否,Q工况径向力大于0.7Q,叶轮斜切使两工况的叶轮径向力下降约41%。     

Effect of high negative incidence on the performance of a centrifugal compressor stage with conventional vaned diffusers

Three vaned diffusers, designed to have high negative incidence (-8°) at the design operating point, are studied experimentally. The overall performance (efficiency and pressure ratio) are measured at three rotational speeds, and flow angles before and after the diffuser are measured at the design rotational speed and with three mass flow rates. The results are compared to corresponding results of the original vaneless diffuser design. Attention is paid to the performance at lower mass flows than the design mass flow. The results show that it is possible to improve the performance at mass flows lower than the design mass flow with a vaned diffuser designed with high negative incidence. However, with the vaned diffusers, the compressor still stalls at higher mass flow rates than with the vaneless one. The flow angle distributions after the diffuser are more uniform with the vaned diffusers.     

Experimental Investigations of Micro Air Injection to Control Rotating Stall

Steady discrete micro air injection at the tip region in front of the first compressor rotor has been proved to be aneffective method to delay the inception of rotating stall in a low speed axial compressor.Considering the practicalapplication a new type of micro injector was designed and described in this paper,which was imbedded in thecasing and could be moved along the chord.In order to verify its feasibility to other cases,such as high subsonicaxial compressor or centrifugal compressor,some other cases have been studied.Experimental results of the samelow speed axial compressor showed that the new injector could possess many other advantages besides success-fully stabilizing the compressor.Experiments performed on a high subsonic axial compressor confirmed the ef-fectiveness of micro air injection when the relative velocity at the blade tip is high subsonic.Meanwhile in orderto explore its feasibility in centrifugal compressor,a similar micro injector was designed and tested on a lowspeed centrifugal compressor with vaned diffuser.The injected mass flow was a bit larger than that used in axialcompressors and the results showed micro injection could also delay the onset of rotating stall in the centrifugalcompressor.     

固液两相流对离心泵压力脉动特性的影响

为了研究含沙水流下径向式导叶离心泵内的压力脉动变化规律,采用大涡模拟和Mixture多相流模型相结合的数值模拟方法,并结合SIMPLEC算法,对输送固液两相流介质的径向式导叶离心泵进行了全流道三维非定常数值计算,并在叶轮与导叶交接面及蜗壳出口段处,将固液两相介质与清水介质时的计算结果进行对比分析。数值计算结果表明,离旋转轴越远处压力脉动幅值越小;导叶与蜗壳内叶频是压力脉动主要频率,且在1倍叶频处最大;导叶内压力脉动幅值均大于蜗壳内,且随着颗粒粒径的增大,压力脉动幅值逐渐减小;蜗壳隔舌处的压力脉动幅值大于蜗壳其他部位;在叶轮与导叶交接面处,清水介质时压力脉动幅值大于固液两相介质时,固液两相介质时脉动波形滞后于清水介质时0.003 5 s;蜗壳出口段,固液两相时压力脉动幅值均大于清水时。     

Detailed analysis of the flow in the inducer of a transonic centrifugal compressor

Numerical and experimental investigations were conducted in a transonic centrifugal compressor stage composed of a backswept splittered unshrouded impeller and a vaned diffuser. A detailed analysis of the flow in the inducer (i.e. the entry zone of the impeller between the main blade leading edge and the splitter blade leading edge) is proposed from choke to surge. Steady and unsteady simulations were performed using the code elsA, which uses a multi-domain approach on structured meshes and solves the compressible RANS equations, associated with a two-equation turbulence model k-l in the rotating frame of reference. The 1MW LMFA-ECL test rig was used for carrying out the tests in the compressor stage. Unsteady pressure measurements up to 150 kHz and Laser Doppler Anemometry measurements were performed in the inducer. A good agreement is obtained between the experimental and numerical data even if an over dissipation is noticed in the numerical results. The change in flow pattern from choke to surge is mainly due to a change in the tip leakage flow trajectory which straightens, leading to a flow blockage of an individual passage near shroud. A spectral analysis shows that only the blade passing frequency and its harmonics compose the various spectra obtained from choke to surge.     

Influence of diffuser on aerodynamic noise of a forward curved fan

In order to clarify the influence of a diffuser on the characteristics of a forward curved fan,the influence of the bare ratio and the outlet angle on the characteristics of the fan were measured through an experiment performed with an actual fan as well as through a numerical simulation,respectively.The mechanism of the discrete frequency noise generated by the separated flow of the diffuser was analyzed.The optimized bare ratio was approximately 17%.The flow separated inside of the diffuser generated discrete frequency noise owing to the interaction between the reversed flow from the diffuser and the impeller rotating at the blade passing frequency.The diffuser outlet angle influenced the pressure ratio more than that by the bare ratio.Furthermore,it was confirmed that restraining the separation in the diffuser effectively decreases the fan noise.     

Numerical analysis of rotating stall characteristics in vaneless diffuser with large width-radius ratio

A two-dimensional model, where the influence of wall boundary layers is neglected and inlet jet-wake velocity patterns are prescribed, was applied to simulate one vaneless diffuser with a large width-radius ratio. The impact of diffuser length, impeller blade number, etc. on the rotating stall was analyzed. Computational results show that a different mechanism does exist for diffusers with large width-radius ratios. Comparison with related conclusions and references is supportive of the model.     

Unsteady behavior and control of vortices in centrifugal compressor

Two examples of the use of vortex control to reduce noise and enhance the stable operating range of a centrifugal compressor are presented in this paper.In the case of high-flow operation of a centrifugal compressor with a vaned diffuser,a discrete frequency noise induced by interaction between the impeller-discharge flow and the diffuser vane,which appears most notably in the power spectra of the radiated noise,can be reduced using a tapered diffuser vane（TDV） without affecting the performance of the compressor.Twin longitudinal vortices produced by leakage flow passing through the tapered portion of the diffuser vane induce secondary flow in the direction of the blade surface and prevent flow separation from the leading edge of the diffuser.The use of a TDV can effectively reduce both the discrete frequency noise generated by the interaction between the impeller-discharge flow and the diffuser surface and the broadband turbulent noise component.In the case of low-flow operation,a leading-edge vortex（LEV） that forms on the shroud side of the suction surface near the leading edge of the diffuser increases significantly in size and blocks flow in the diffuser passage.The formation of an LEV may adversely affect the performance of the compressor and may cause the diffuser to stall.Using a one-side tapered diffuser vane to suppress the evolution of an LEV,the stable operating range of the compressor can be increased by more than 12 percent,and the pressure-rise characteristics of the compressor can be improved.The results of a supplementary examination of the structure and unsteady behavior of LEVs,conducted by means of detailed numerical simulations,are also presented.     

Coexisting phenomena of surge and rotating stall in an axial flow compressor

The unsteady inner flow structure of a single-stage axial flow compressor under the coexisting conditions of surge and rotating stall was experimentally investigated via detailed measurements of the unsteady characteristics and the internal flow velocity fluctuations. The main relevant feature of the tested compressor is a shock tube with a capacity tank connected in series to the compressor outlet through slits and a concentric duplex pipe： surge and rotating stall can both be generated by connecting the shock tube. Research attention is focused on the unsteady behavior of a rotating stall during the surge cycle. The size of the rotating stall cell during the recovery process of an irregular surge cycle was experimentally determined by the circumferential flow velocity fluctuations ahead of the rotor blade. The results suggested that the size of the rotating stall cell at the switching point of the performance curve between large and small cycles is considered to be the key parameter in determining the following surge cycle. In addition, the surge cycle is largely influenced by the unsteady behavior of the rotating stall cell.     

带无叶扩压器离心压气机的稳定性分析

结合实验数据,采用数值模拟方法对某带无叶扩压器离心压气机的性能与稳定性进行了详细分析,比较了设计点与近失速点下无叶扩压器内部的流动特征．结果表明：在发生喘振瞬间,扩压器进口最先出现了压力崩溃;扩压器进口流动特别是轮盖侧流动是导致压气机失稳的重要因素,对扩压器进口逆叶轮旋转方向的轮盖侧啧蒸汽能够提高扩压器的稳定性．     

离心压气机错排叶栅扩压器性能研究

依据叶片设计的基本理论,在原设计单列圆弧叶栅扩压器的基础上,根据相似准则设计了一种新型的双列错排叶栅扩压器;同时利用NACA叶型又设计了另一种双列错排叶栅扩压器。随后重点对三种扩压器与离心叶轮相连后的结构性能进行了详细的三维粘性数值模拟研究,并对流场中的压力、速度、极限流线和熵分布情况进行了全面的分析。研究结果表明：基于NACA叶型的双列错排叶栅扩压器可以更好地利用叶轮出口的动能,从而提高叶轮-扩压器结构的效率;但若叶栅的叶型设计不合理,则会使总压比降低,效率反而降低,即叶型对错排叶栅扩压器的性能影响较大。     

Experimental and numerical investigation on application of half vane diffusers for centrifugal pump

Vaned diffusers are widely used in centrifugal pumps, but little research has been published regarding action mechanism and the influence of diffuser vane height on dynamics performance of centrifugal pumps. Experimentally and numerically, the present investigation was focused on the dynamics performances of a low specific speed centrifugal pump equipped with vane diffusers with different vane heights. The pump performance was appraised when the diffuser vane height (h/b) was 0 (vaneless), 0.5, 0.6, 0.8 and 1 (vaned) times the diffuser width respectively. The pressure fields were numerically simulated in order to study the influence of half vane diffusers on inner flow field. The experimental results of operating performance showed that the efficiency was significantly improved for 2.5% at design flow point and the head was significantly improved for nearly 3 m at over flow point. The best efficiency point shifted towards higher flow rate with h/b reducing, and the high efficiency area was broadened by using half vane diffusers. Besides, half vane diffusers could reduce the intensity of pressure fluctuations at the leading edge of the stator vanes, and reduce the influence of rotor-stator interaction in tongue region. The numerical results showed that half vane diffusers could enhance flow uniformity in pumps, symmetry of pressure distributions on the impeller outlet and preferable regularity of radial force distributions. Therefore, it is very useful and feasible to apply half vane diffusers in centrifugal pumps.