Three-step approach for prediction of limit cycle pressure oscillations in combustion chambers of gas turbines

Currently, gas turbine manufacturers frequently face the problem of strong acoustic combustion driven oscillations inside combustion chambers. These combustion instabilities can cause extensive wear and sometimes even catastrophic damages to combustion hardware. This requires prevention of combustion instabilities, which, in turn, requires reliable and fast predictive tools. This work presents a three-step method to find stability margins within which gas turbines can be operated without going into self-excited pressure oscillations. As a first step, a set of unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes simulations with the Flame Speed Closure (FSC) model implemented in the OpenFOAM® environment are performed to obtain the flame describing function of the combustor set-up. The standard FSC model is extended in this work to take into account the combined effect of strain and heat losses on the flame. As a second step, a linear three-time-lag-distributed model for a perfectly premixed swirl-stabilized flame is extended to the nonlinear regime. The factors causing changes in the model parameters when applying high-amplitude velocity perturbations are analysed. As a third step, time-domain simulations employing a low-order network model implemented in Simulink® are performed. In this work, the proposed method is applied to a laboratory test rig. The proposed method permits not only the unsteady frequencies of acoustic oscillations to be computed, but the amplitudes of such oscillations as well. Knowing the amplitudes of unstable pressure oscillations, it is possible to determine how these oscillations are harmful to the combustor equipment. The proposed method has a low cost because it does not require any license for computational fluid dynamics software.     

Numerical and Experimental Investigation of the Conjugate Heat Transfer for a High-Pressure Pneumatic Control Valve Assembly

This paper uses heat transfer experiments and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations to investigate the conjugate heat transfer (CHT) in a high-pressure pneumatic control valve assembly. A heat transfer test rig was constructed, and time–temperature histories of five test points placed on the valve assembly’s outer surface were recorded for study validation. The Unsteady Reynolds-Averaged Navier–Stokes (URANS) CFD methods with the standard k-ε turbulence closure equations were adopted in the numerical computations. Polyhedral grids were used; time step and mesh convergence studies were conducted. Simulated and measured temperatures profile comparisons revealed a good agreement. The CHT results obtained from CFD showed huge velocity fields downstream of the valve throat and the vent hole. The airflow through the valve was icy, mainly in the supersonic flow areas. Low temperatures below 273.15 K were recorded on the internal and external walls of the valve assembly. The consistency of the measured data with the numerical results demonstrates the effectiveness of polyhedral grids in exploring the CHT using CFD methods. The local entropy production rate analysis revealed that irreversibility is mainly due to viscous dissipation. The current CHT investigation provides a potential basis for thermostress analysis and optimization.     

Turbulence modelling of problem aerospace flows

Unsteady Reynolds averaged Navier–Stokes (URANS) and detached eddy simulation (DES) related approaches are considered for high angle of attack NACA0012 airfoil, wing–flap, generic tilt‐rotor airfoil and double‐delta geometry flows. These are all found to be problem flows for URANS models. For DES fifth‐order upwinding is found too dissipative and the use of, for high speed flows, instability prone centred differencing essential. An existing hybrid ILES–RANS modelling approach, intended for flexible geometry, relatively high numerical dissipation codes is tested along with differential wall distance algorithms. The former gives promising results. The standard turbulence modelling approaches are found to give perhaps a surprising results variation. Results suggest that for the problem flows, the explicit algebraic stress and Menter shear stress transport (SST) URANS models are more accurate than the economical Spalart–Allmaras (SA). However, the explicit algebraic stress model (EASM) in its k–ε form is impractically expensive to converge. Here, SA predictions lack a rotation correction term and this is likely to improve these results. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Numerical study on wake characteristics of high-speed trains

Intensive turbulence exists in the wakes of high speed trains, and the aerodynamic performance of the trailing car could deteriorate rapidly due to complicated features of the vortices in the wake zone. As a result, the safety and amenity of high speed trains would face a great challenge. This paper considers mainly the mechanism of vortex formation and evolution in the train flow field. A real CRH2 model is studied, with a leading car, a middle car and a trailing car included. Different running speeds and cross wind conditions are considered, and the approaches of un- steady Reynold-averaged Navier-Stokes （URANS） and de- tached eddy simulation （DES） are utilized, respectively. Re- suits reveal that DES has better capability of capturing small eddies compared to URANS. However, for large eddies, the effects of two approaches are almost the same. In conditions without cross winds, two large vortex streets stretch from the train nose and interact strongly with each other in the wake zone. With the reinforcement of the ground, a complicated wake vortex system generates and becomes strengthened as the running speed increases. However, the locations of flow separations on the train surface and the separation mechanism keep unchanged. In conditions with cross winds, three large vortices develop along the leeward side of the train, among which the weakest one has no obvious influence on the wake flow while the other two stretch to the tail of the train and combine with the helical vortices in the train wake. Thus, optimization of the aerodynamic performance of the trailing car should be aiming at reducing the intensity of the wake vortex system.     

Hybrid URANS/LES Turbulence Simulation of Vortex Shedding Behind a Triangular Flameholder

In this study a detached eddy simulation (DES) model, which belongs to the group of hybrid URANS/LES turbulence models, is used for the simulation of vortex shedding behind a triangular obstacle. In the near wall region or in regions where the grid resolution is not sufficiently fine to resolve smaller structures, the two-equation RANS shear-stress transport (SST) model is used. In the other regions with higher grid resolution a LES model, which uses a transport equation for the turbulent subgrid energy, is applied. The DES model is first investigated for two standard test cases, namely decaying homogeneous isotropic turbulence and the backward facing step, respectively. For the decaying homogeneous isotropic turbulence test case the evolution of the energy spectra in wavenumber space for different times are studied for both the DES and a Smagorinsky type LES model. Different grid resolutions are analyzed with a special emphasis on the modeling constant connecting the filter length scale to the grid size. The results are compared to experimental data. The backward facing step test case is used to study the model behavior for a case with a transition region between a RANS modeling approach close to the wall and LES based modeling in the intense shear flow region. The final application is the simulation of the vortex shedding behind a triangular obstacle. First, the influence of the inlet condition formulation is studied in detail as they can have a significant influence especially for LES based models. Detailed comparisons between simulation and experiment for the flow structure past the obstacle and statistical quantities such as the shedding frequency are shown. Finally the additional temporal and spatial information provided by the DES model is used to show the predicted anisotropy of turbulence.     

翼型绕流干涉噪声的实验与数值研究

来流湍流干扰噪声在风力机叶片气动总噪声级中占有重要地位．选取圆柱/翼型干涉模型从实验和数值两方面研究此类干涉发声现象．实验中通过对翼型表面非定常载荷的测量,重点研究了圆柱位置和翼型攻角的影响,选取的翼型包括两个NACA系列翼型（NACA0012和NACA0018）和两个风力机翼型（s809和s825）,同时利用PIV（particle image velocimetry）技术对低攻角状态下翼型的前缘流场进行了研究．实验结果表明翼型表面非定常压力与圆柱涡脱落存在一定相关性．与此同时采用非定常Reynolds平均(URANS)方法对圆柱/NACA0012翼型的干涉流场进行了非定常数值模拟,并将得到的翼型表面压力频谱与实验结果进行了对比．     

Numerical prediction of turbulent flow structure generated by a synthetic cross‐jet into a turbulent boundary layer

A detailed numerical study using large‐eddy simulation (LES) and unsteady Reynolds‐averaged Navier–Stokes (URANS) was undertaken to investigate physical processes that are engendered in the injection of a circular synthetic (zero‐net mass flux) jet in a zero pressure gradient turbulent boundary layer. A complementary study was carried out and was verified by comparisons with the available experimental data that were obtained at corresponding conditions with the aim of achieving an improved understanding of fluid dynamics of the studied processes. The computations were conducted by OpenFOAM C++, and the physical realism of the incoming turbulent boundary layer was secured by employing random field generation algorithm. The cavity was computed with a sinusoidal transpiration boundary condition on its floor. The results from URANS computation and LES were compared and described qualitatively and quantitatively. There is a particular interest for acquiring the turbulent structures from the present numerical data. The numerical methods can capture vortical structures including a hairpin (primary) vortex and secondary structures. However, the present computations confirmed that URANS and LES are capable of predicting current flow field with a more detailed structure presented by LES data as expected. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Validating the URANS shear stress transport γ −Reθ model for low‐Reynolds‐number external aerodynamics

A numerical investigation on low‐Reynolds‐number external aerodynamics was conducted using the transitional unsteady Reynolds‐averaged Navier–Stokes shear stress transport γ ?Re_θ model and the ANSYS‐CFX computational fluid dynamics suite. The NACA 0012 airfoil was exposed to chord‐based Reynolds numbers of 5.0 ×10⁴, 1.0 ×10⁵ and 2.5 ×10⁵ at 0°, 4°and 8°angles of attack. Time‐averaged and instantaneous flow features were extracted and compared with fully turbulent shear stress transport results, XFLR5 panel e ^N method results, and published higher order numerical and experimental studies. The current model was shown to reproduce the complex flow phenomena, including the laminar separation bubble dynamics and aerodynamic performance, with a very good degree of accuracy. The sensitivity of the model to domain size, grid resolution and quality, timestepping scheme, and free‐stream turbulence intensity was also presented. In view of the results obtained, the proposed model is deemed appropriate for modelling low‐Reynolds‐number external aerodynamics and provides a framework for future studies for the better understanding of this complex flow regime. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Experimental benchmark of a free plunging wing with imposed flap oscillations

The validation of fluid–structure interaction solvers is difficult since there is a lack of experimental data. Therefore, in this work an aeroelastic experiment is presented. The focus is on the temporal coupling between fluid and structure dynamics. Issues in the spatial coupling are eliminated by using a rigid wing. The wing, with a harmonically actuated 0.2c trailing edge flap, has a degree of freedom in the plunge (vertical) direction. The wing has a chord of 0.5 m and is suspended with springs. The wing motion is constrained by a vertical rail system.For simplicity attached flow is desired and therefore the set angle of attack is α=0°. The Reynolds number is approximately Re=700 000 and the flap deflects over a range of about ±2°. The damped natural frequency of the structure expressed as a reduced frequency is about k=0.194 and measurements are performed for reduced flap frequencies ranging from k=0.1 to k=0.3. Displacements and time dependent aerodynamic forces are measured and for k=0.198 2-D PIV measurements are performed. The planar PIV measurements are used to intrinsically determine the unsteady loads using Noca׳s method.As expected the aeroelastic problem shows similarities with a viscously damped mass–damper–spring, meaning the maximum excursion of the wing is found near the system eigenfrequency. The lift is dominated by the flap motion and the effective angle of attack due to the motion introduces phase shifts of the lift signal with respect to the flap phase angle.The experiment has been set up and executed with the necessary precision, but small ambiguities are found in the lift and drag disqualifying the data for validation. Nevertheless the data set provides a clear insight into typical loads and motions and can be used for comparative studies. It can also be used to (re)design future experiments to improve the quality of the data to the desired level of accuracy for validation.