scholarly journals Origins and Structure of Spike-Type Rotating Stall

Author(s):  
G. Pullan ◽  
A. M. Young ◽  
I. J. Day ◽  
E. M. Greitzer ◽  
Z. S. Spakovszky

In this paper we describe the structures that produce a spike-type route to rotating stall and explain the physical mechanism for their formation. The descriptions and explanations are based on numerical simulations, complemented and corroborated by experiments. It is found that spikes are caused by a loss of pressure rise capability in the rotor tip region, due to flow separation resulting from high incidence. The separation gives rise to shedding of vorticity from the leading edge and the consequent formation of vortices that span between the suction surface and the casing. As seen in the rotor frame of reference, near the casing the vortex convects toward the pressure surface of the adjacent blade. The approach of the vortex to the adjacent blade triggers a separation on that blade so the structure propagates. The above sequence of events constitutes a spike. The simulations show shed vortices over a range of tip clearances including zero. The implication is that they are not part of the tip clearance vortex, in accord with recent experimental findings. Evidence is presented for the existence of these vortex structures immediately prior to spike-type stall and, more strongly, for their causal connection with spike-type stall inception. Data from several compressors are shown to reproduce the pressure and velocity signature of the spike-type stall inception seen in the simulations.

2015 ◽  
Vol 137 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Pullan ◽  
A. M. Young ◽  
I. J. Day ◽  
E. M. Greitzer ◽  
Z. S. Spakovszky

In this paper, we describe the structures that produce a spike-type route to rotating stall and explain the physical mechanism for their formation. The descriptions and explanations are based on numerical simulations, complemented and corroborated by experiments. It is found that spikes are caused by a separation at the leading edge due to high incidence. The separation gives rise to shedding of vorticity from the leading edge and the consequent formation of vortices that span between the suction surface and the casing. As seen in the rotor frame of reference, near the casing the vortex convects toward the pressure surface of the adjacent blade. The approach of the vortex to the adjacent blade triggers a separation on that blade so the structure propagates. The above sequence of events constitutes a spike. The computed structure of the spike is shown to be consistent with rotor leading edge pressure measurements from the casing of several compressors: the centre of the vortex is responsible for a pressure drop and the partially blocked passages associated with leading edge separations produce a pressure rise. The simulations show leading edge separation and shed vortices over a range of tip clearances including zero. The implication, in accord with recent experimental findings, is that they are not part of the tip clearance vortex. Although the computations always show high incidence to be the cause of the spike, the conditions that give rise to this incidence (e.g., blockage from a corner separation or the tip leakage jet from the adjacent blade) do depend on the details of the compressor.


Author(s):  
Patrick H. Wagner ◽  
Jan Van herle ◽  
Lili Gu ◽  
Jürg Schiffmann

Abstract The blade tip clearance loss was studied experimentally and numerically for a micro radial fan with a tip diameter of 19.2mm. Its relative blade tip clearance, i.e., the clearance divided by the blade height of 1.82 mm, was adjusted with different shims. The fan characteristics were experimentally determined for an operation at the nominal rotational speed of 168 krpm with hot air (200 °C). The total-to-total pressure rise and efficiency increased from 49 mbar to 68 mbar and from 53% to 64%, respectively, by reducing the relative tip clearance from 7.7% to the design value of 2.2%. Single and full passage computational fluid dynamics simulations correlate well with these experimental findings. The widely-used Pfleiderer loss correlation with an empirical coefficient of 2.8 fits the numerical simulation and the experiments within +2 efficiency points. The high sensitivity to the tip clearance loss is a result of the design specific speed of 0.80, the highly-backward curved blades (17°), and possibly the low Reynolds number (1 × 105). The authors suggest three main measures to mitigate the blade tip clearance losses for small-scale fans: (1) utilization of high-precision surfaced-grooved gas-bearings to lower the blade tip clearance, (2) a mid-loaded blade design, and (3) an unloaded fan leading edge to reduce the blade tip clearance vortex in the fan passage.


2016 ◽  
Vol 138 (9) ◽  
Author(s):  
Farzad Ashrafi ◽  
Mathias Michaud ◽  
Huu Duc Vo

Rotating stall is a well-known aerodynamic instability in compressors that limits the operating envelope of aircraft gas turbine engines. An innovative method for delaying the most common form of rotating stall inception using an annular dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma actuator had been proposed. A DBD plasma actuator is a simple solid-state device that converts electricity directly into flow acceleration through partial air ionization. However, the proposed concept had only been preliminarily evaluated with numerical simulations on an isolated axial rotor using a relatively basic CFD code. This paper provides both an experimental and a numerical assessment of this concept for an axial compressor stage as well as a centrifugal compressor stage, with both stages being part of a low-speed two-stage axial-centrifugal compressor test rig. The two configurations studied are the two-stage configuration with a 100 mN/m annular casing plasma actuator placed just upstream of the axial rotor leading edge (LE) and the single-stage centrifugal compressor with the same actuator placed upstream of the impeller LE. The tested configurations were simulated with a commercial RANS CFD code (ansys cfx) in which was implemented the latest engineering DBD plasma model and dynamic throttle boundary condition, using single-passage multiple blade row computational domains. The computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations indicate that in both types of compressors, the actuator delays the stall inception by pushing the incoming/tip clearance flow interface downstream into the blade passage. In each case, the predicted reduction in stalling mass flow matches the experimental value reasonably well.


Author(s):  
N. Gourdain ◽  
S. Burguburu ◽  
G. J. Michon ◽  
N. Ouayahya ◽  
F. Leboeuf ◽  
...  

This paper deals with the first instability which occurs in compressors, close to the maximum of pressure rise, called rotating stall. A numerical simulation of these flow phenomena is performed and a comparison with experimental data is made. The configuration used for the simulation is an axial single-stage and low speed compressor (compressor CME2, LEMFI). The whole stage is modeled with a full 3D approach and tip clearance is taken into account. The numerical simulation shows that at least two different mechanisms are involved in the stall inception. The first one leads to a rotating stall with 10 cells and the second one leads to a configuration with only 3 cells. Unsteady signals from the computation are analyzed thanks to a time-frequency spectral analysis. An original model is proposed, in order to predict the spatial and the temporal modes which are the results of the interaction between stall cells and the compressor stage. A comparison with measurements shows that the computed stall inception point corresponds to the experimental limit of stability. The performance of the compressor during rotating stall is also well predicted by the simulation.


2008 ◽  
Vol 130 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Huu Duc Vo ◽  
Choon S. Tan ◽  
Edward M. Greitzer

A computational study to define the phenomena that lead to the onset of short length-scale (spike) rotating stall disturbances has been carried out. Based on unsteady simulations, we hypothesize there are two conditions necessary for the formation of spike disturbances, both of which are linked to the tip clearance flow. One is that the interface between the tip clearance and oncoming flows becomes parallel to the leading-edge plane. The second is the initiation of backflow, stemming from the fluid in adjacent passages, at the trailing-edge plane. The two criteria also imply a circumferential length scale for spike disturbances. The hypothesis and scenario developed are consistent with numerical simulations and experimental observations of axial compressor stall inception. A comparison of calculations for multiple blades with those for single passages also allows statements to be made about the utility of single passage computations as a descriptor of compressor stall.


Author(s):  
Yong Sang Yoon ◽  
Shin Hyung Kang ◽  
Seung Jin Song

The effects of impeller inlet tip clearance and diffuser width on centrifugal compressor characteristic and stability have been experimentally investigated in a centrifugal compressor with a vaneless diffuser. An increase in the impeller inlet tip clearance decreases the overall pressure rise across the compressor, mainly due to the tip clearance loss in the impeller. However, the effect of inlet tip clearance on diffuser pressure rise or compressor stability is weak. A decrease in the diffuser width significantly lowers the compressor pressure rise, especially at hight flow rates. At the component level, the impeller is insensitive to the diffuser width variation, and the pressure rise across the diffuser actually increases as diffuser width is decreased. Upon further investigation, it has been found that the overall compressor characteristic is strongly influenced by the region between the impeller exit and the diffuser inlet. Also, a decrease in the diffuser width delays stall inception by increasing the radial velocity of the flow in the diffuser. Thus, the stalling flow coefficient is more sensitive to the variation in the diffuser than the inlet tip clearance. In all cases, rotating stall consists of two or three cells rotating at about approximately one tenth of the compressor rotational speed. When the number of cells changes from three to two, the rotational speed drops. However, when the number of cells remains constant, the cells’ rotational speed increases as flow coefficient is lowered. All of these trends agree well with predictions from a new stability model developed by the first author.


Author(s):  
Farzad Ashrafi ◽  
Mathias Michaud ◽  
Huu Duc Vo

Rotating stall is a well-known aerodynamic instability in compressors that limits the operating envelope of aircraft gas turbine engines. An innovative method for delaying the most common form of rotating stall inception using an annular DBD (Dielectric Barrier Discharge) plasma actuator had been proposed. A DBD plasma actuator is a simple solid-state device that converts electricity directly into flow acceleration through partial air ionization. However, the proposed concept had only been preliminarily evaluated with numerical simulations on an isolated axial rotor using a relatively basic CFD code. This paper provides both an experimental and a numerical assessment of this concept for an axial compressor stage as well as a centrifugal compressor stage, with both stages being part of a low-speed two-stage axial-centrifugal compressor test rig. The two configurations studied are the two-stage configuration with a 100 mN/m annular casing plasma actuator placed just upstream of the axial rotor leading edge, and the single-stage centrifugal compressor with the same actuator placed upstream of the impeller leading edge. The tested configurations were simulated with a commercial RANS CFD code (ANSYS CFX) in which was implemented the latest engineering DBD plasma model and dynamic throttle boundary condition, using single-passage multiple blade row computational domains. The CFD simulations indicate that in both types of compressors the actuator delays the stall inception by pushing the incoming/tip clearance flow interface downstream into the blade passage. In each case, the predicted reduction in stalling mass flow matches the experimental value reasonably well.


Author(s):  
Takahiro Nishioka ◽  
Shuuji Kuroda ◽  
Tsukasa Nagano ◽  
Hiroshi Hayami

An experimental study was conducted to investigate the inception patterns of rotating stall at different rotor blade stagger-angle settings with the aim of extending the stable operating range for a variable-pitch axial-flow fan. Pressure and velocity fluctuations were measured for a low-speed axial-flow fan with a relatively large tip clearance. Two stagger-angle settings were tested, the design setting, and a high setting which was 10 degrees greater than the design setting. Rotating instability (RI) was first observed near the peak pressure-rise point at both settings. It propagated in the rotation direction at about 40 to 50% of the rotor rotation speed, and its wavelength was about one rotor-blade pitch. However, the stall-inception patterns differed between the two settings. At the design stagger-angle setting, leading edge separation occurred near the stall-inception point, and this separation induced a strong tip leakage vortex that moved upstream of the rotor. This leakage vortex simultaneously induced a spike and a RI. The conditions for stall inception were consistent with the simple model of the spike-type proposed by Camp and Day. At the high stagger-angle setting, leading edge separation did not occur, and the tip leakage vortex did not move upstream of the rotor. Therefore, a spike did not appear although RI developed at the maximum pressure-rise point. This RI induced a large end-wall blockage that extended into the entire blade passage downstream of the rotor. This large blockage rapidly increased the rotor blade loading and directly induced a long length-scale stall cell before a spike or modal disturbance appeared. The conditions for stall inception were not consistent with the simple models of the spike or modal-type. These findings indicate that the movement of the tip leakage vortex associated with the rotor blade loading affects the development of a spike and RI and that the inception pattern of a rotating stall depends on the stagger-angle setting of the rotor blades.


Author(s):  
Jiayi Zhao ◽  
Guang Xi ◽  
Zhiheng Wang ◽  
Yang Zhao

The spike-type rotating stall (RS) inception inside the vaned-diffuser, which seriously restricts the performance range and brings the problems of blade fatigue, still seems to be a ‘mystery’ since its randomness. The paper intends to explain the mechanisms of this stall inception. To quantitatively assess the critical unsteady behavior to the initiation of RS inception, the transient measurement characterizes the process falling into the RS through the parameter of ‘blade passing irregularity’. The underlying vortex disturbance, related to the growing of the flow complexity and the final spike-type precursor, is further revealed by the full-annulus simulation. The results show the propagation principle of the vortexes from the design to the stall inception point, reflected by the distribution of ‘blade passing irregularity’. The performance change of different sub-components due to the vortex behavior is presented. At the RS limit, the sudden ramp-up of the ‘blade passing irregularity’ near the leading edge (LE), accompanied with the drop of the static pressure rise in the sub-component between the semi-vaneless and throat, corresponds to the spike-type inception in the form of a clockwise vortex connecting the suction side of the diffuser vane and the pressure side of the adjacent vane. Besides, when approaching the spike-type inception point, the couple effect of the growing potential of the diffuser vane and the enhanced vortex disturbance at the impeller outlet degrades the diffuser inlet flow.


2013 ◽  
Vol 718-720 ◽  
pp. 1804-1810
Author(s):  
An Qing Lai ◽  
Jun Hu ◽  
Liang Li ◽  
Ju Luo

To execute stall active control technology effectively and make clear of stall inception induced by modal disturbance, this paper carries out the correlative research on modal disturbance and rotating stall on the two-stage low-speed axial compressor. The results indicate that the stall inception of the compressor is modal style and the modal oscillation propagates at 38% rotor speed while the stall cell propagation speed is 42% rotor speed. The phase angles of modal oscillation and rotating stall along the axial direction are different, but their trajectories are both similar to the blade passage shape. The stall mechanisms of modal-type and spike-type inceptions are different. It doesnt appear that leading-edge tip clearance flow spillage blow the blade tip while the modal-type stall formation.


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