No description available.

As a contribution to advancing turbofan engine ground test technology in support of propulsion system integration in modern conceptual aircraft, a novel inlet distortion generator (ScreenVaneTM) was invented. The device simultaneously reproduces combined inlet total pressure and swirl distortion elements in a tailored profile intended to match a defined turbofan engine inlet distortion profile. The device design methodology was intended to be sufficiently generic to be utilized in support of any arbitrary inlet distortion profile yet adequately specific to generate high-fidelity inlet distortion profile simulation. For the current investigation, a specific inlet distortion profile was defined using computational analysis of a conceptual boundary layer ingesting S-duct turbofan engine inlet. The resulting inlet distortion profile, consisting of both total pressure and swirl distortion elements, was used as the objective profile to be matched by the ScreenVane in a turbofan engine ground test facility. A ScreenVane combined inlet total pressure and swirl distortion generator was designed, computationally analyzed, and experimentally validated. The design process involved specifying a total pressure loss screen pattern and organizing a unique arrangement of swirl inducing turning vanes. Computational results indicated that the ScreenVane manufactured distortion profile matched the predicted S-duct turbofan engine inlet manufactured distortion profile with excellent agreement in pattern shape, extent, and intensity. Computational full-field total pressure recovery and swirl angle profiles matched within approximately 1% and 2.5° (RMSD), respectively. Experimental turbofan engine ground test results indicated that the ScreenVane manufactured distortion profile matched the predicted S-duct turbofan engine inlet manufactured distortion profile with excellent agreement in pattern shape, extent, and intensity. Experimental full-field total pressure recovery and swirl angle profiles matched within approximately 1.25% and 3.0° (RMSD), respectively. Following the successful reproduction of the S-duct turbofan engine inlet manufactured distortion profile, a turbofan engine response evaluation was conducted using the validated ScreenVane inlet distortion generator. Flow measurements collected at discrete planes immediately upstream and downstream of the fan rotor isolated the component for performance analysis. Based on the results of this particular engine and distortion investigation, the adiabatic fan efficiency was negligibly altered while operating with distorted inflow conditions when compared to nominal inflow conditions. Fuel flow measurements indicated that turbofan engine inlet air mass flow specific fuel consumption increased by approximately 5% in the presence of distortion. While a single, specific turbofan engine inlet distortion profile was studied in this investigation, the ScreenVane methodology, design practices, analysis approaches, manufacturing techniques, and experimental procedures are applicable to any arbitrary, realistic combined inlet total pressure and swirl distortion. / Doctor of Philosophy / As a contribution to advancing turbofan engine ground test technology in support of propulsion system integration in modern conceptual aircraft, a novel inlet distortion generator (ScreenVaneTM) was invented. The device simultaneously reproduces combined inlet total pressure and swirl distortion elements in a tailored profile intended to match a defined turbofan engine inlet distortion profile. The device design methodology was intended to be sufficiently generic to be utilized in support of any arbitrary inlet distortion profile yet adequately specific to generate high-fidelity inlet distortion profile simulation. For the current investigation, a specific inlet distortion profile was defined using computational analysis of a conceptual boundary layer ingesting S-duct turbofan engine inlet. The resulting inlet distortion profile, consisting of both total pressure and swirl distortion elements, was used as the objective profile to be matched by the ScreenVane in a turbofan engine ground test facility. A ScreenVane combined inlet total pressure and swirl distortion generator was designed, computationally analyzed, and experimentally validated. The design process involved specifying a total pressure loss screen pattern and organizing a unique arrangement of swirl inducing turning vanes. Computational and experimental results indicated that the ScreenVane manufactured distortion profile matched the predicted S-duct turbofan engine inlet manufactured distortion profile with excellent agreement in pattern shape, extent, and intensity. Following the successful reproduction of the S-duct turbofan engine inlet manufactured distortion profile, a turbofan engine response evaluation was conducted using the validated ScreenVane inlet distortion generator. Flow measurements collected at discrete planes immediately upstream and downstream of the fan rotor isolated the component for performance analysis. Based on the results of this particular engine and distortion investigation, the adiabatic fan efficiency was negligibly altered while operating with distorted inflow conditions when compared to nominal inflow conditions. Fuel flow measurements indicated that turbofan engine inlet air mass flow specific fuel consumption increased in the presence of distortion. While a single, specific turbofan engine inlet distortion profile was studied in this investigation, the ScreenVane methodology, design practices, analysis approaches, manufacturing techniques, and experimental procedures are applicable to any arbitrary, realistic combined inlet total pressure and swirl distortion.

Water quality in river systems is an important issue, and relies on various factors including our ability to predict how effluents from outfalls mix with river water. However, predicting mixing in rivers, and especially in river bends, remains a difficult problem to solve. The goal of this project is to develop a comprehensive picture of the mixing mechanisms of an effluent jet in a river bend. This is done with experiments in both bend flumes in the University of Ottawa Water Resources Engineering Laboratory. The large bend flume is 1 m in width, and contains a single 135° bend of radius 1.5 m, and the small flume has a channel width of 0.2 m with a 135° bend of radius 0.3 m. The experiments in the large flume used acoustic Doppler velocimeters to measure velocity, and the experiments in the small flume used particle image velocimetry to track flow fields. Large eddy simulation (LES) were also completed using the same channel geometry as the small flume. To complete the parametric analysis on mixing of a neutrally buoyant effluent jet in a channel bend, 35 flow conditions, from seven channel aspect ratios and five momentum ratios, are modelled using LES. Each flow condition is also modelled without the jet present. Particle image velocimetry data from the small bend flume validates the LES models. Additionally, acoustic Doppler velocimeter tests were completed in the large bend flume under two different flume flow rates, two jet flow rates, and two aspect ratios. These models and measurements provide a broad range of the parameters under investigation. The experiments in the large bend flume establish the shape of the jet's trajectory within the channel bend, and how it differs from a trajectory in a straight crossflow. From these experiments, it is established that the centre position of the secondary circulation cell is an important parameter for determining the position of the jet. Through the LES models, more details of the 3D velocity and effluent distributions are available, allowing for a detailed analysis of how the secondary circulation develops and how the jet vortices change the development patterns. A method for clustering instantaneous vortices to separate sub-cells of secondary circulation is established, and is used to set a baseline for the development of secondary flow in a channel bend without a jet. The effect of an added jet was investigated in detail for a single flow condition, and then with machine learning techniques to develop a parametrical model incorporating both channel and jet flow conditions. The best performing machine learning model for the parametrisation of secondary flow cells with the jet is the ANFIS model coupled with a decision tree classifying the presence of each sub-cell; without the jet, the best-performing model is the ANFIS model without any additional classification. The effluent distribution is well-characterised using multiple linear regression. The addition of a jet changes the relative strengths of secondary circulation sub-cells and their circulation development and retention characteristics, though the total circulation in the bend is not strongly affected by the jet.

No description available.

Yes / In this paper, an improved Shiono-Knight model (SKM) has been proposed to calculate the rectangular compound open channel flows by considering a Multi-Zonal (MZ) approach in modelling turbulence and secondary flows across lateral flow direction. This is an effort to represent natural flows with compound shape more closely. The proposed model improves the estimation of secondary flow by original SKM model to increase the accuracy of depthaveraged velocity profile solution formed within the transitional region between different sections (i.e. between main-channel and floodplain) of compound channel. This proposed MZ model works by sectioning intermediate zones between floodplain and main-channel for running computation in order to improve the modelling accuracy. The modelling results have been validated using the experimental data by national UK Flood Channel Facility (FCF). It has been proven to work reasonably well to model secondary flows within the investigated compound channel flow cases and hence produce better representation to their flow lateral velocity profile.

A subsonic wind tunnel facility was designed and built to test and optimize various diffuser-collector box geometries at the one-twelfth scale.  The facility was designed to run continuously at an inlet Mach number of 0.42 and an inlet hydraulic diameter Reynolds number of 340,000. Different combinations of diffusers, hubs, and exhaust collector boxes were designed and evaluated for overall optimum performance. Both 3-hole and 5-hole probes were traversed into the flow to generate multiple diffuser inlet and collector exit performance profile plots. Surface oil flow visualization was performed to gain an understanding of the complex 3D flow structures inside the diffuser-collector subsystem. The cutback radial hardware was found to increase the subsystem pressure recovery by over 10% from baseline resulting in an approximate 1% increase in gas turbine power output. / Master of Science

The present study investigates mixed out aerodynamic loss coefficient measurements for a high turning, contoured endwall passage under transonic operating conditions in presence of upstream purge slot and mateface gap. The upstream purge slot represents the gap between stator-rotor interface and the mateface gap simulates the assembly feature between adjacent airfoils in an actual high pressure turbine stage. While the performance of the mateface and upstream slot has been studied for lower Mach number, no studies exist in literature for transonic flow conditions. Experiments were performed at the Virginia Tech's linear, transonic blow down cascade facility. Measurements were carried out at design conditions (isentropic exit Mach number of 0.87, design incidence) without and with coolant blowing. Upstream leakage flow of 1.0% coolant to mainstream mass flow ratio (MFR) was considered with the presence of mateface gap. There was no coolant blowing through the mateface gap itself. Cascade exit pressure measurements were carried out using a 5-hole probe traverse at a plane 1.0Cax downstream of the trailing edge for a planar geometry and two contoured endwalls. Spanwise measurements were performed to complete the entire 2D loss plane from endwall to midspan, which were used to plot pitchwise averaged losses for different span locations and loss contours for the passage. Results reveal significant reduction in aerodynamic losses using the contoured endwalls due to the modification of flow physics compared to a non contoured planar endwall. / Master of Science

<p>In the development of turbo machinery components it's desirable to not spend more time than necessary when setting up aero-thermal calculations to investigate uncertainties in the design. This report aims to describe general thoughts used in the development of an ICEM-mesh script and the possible configurations in the script file which enables the user to build mesh-grids with/without clearance gap at the hub and/or shroud for different blade geometries. It also aims to illustrate the performance analysis made on the Vinci LH2 turbine, a next generation upper stage engine to the Ariane 5 rocket, in which the effect of the tip gap size on the efficiency has been studied.</p><p>The calculations made have shown good agreement with experimental data. The efficiency loss due to the mixing of fluid where leakage flow passes the tip gap, which results in growth of a strong vortex, and the fluid passing the blade tip, with almost no work extracted from it, has shown a quite linear efficiency dependence depending on the tip gap size.</p>

In the development of turbo machinery components it's desirable to not spend more time than necessary when setting up aero-thermal calculations to investigate uncertainties in the design. This report aims to describe general thoughts used in the development of an ICEM-mesh script and the possible configurations in the script file which enables the user to build mesh-grids with/without clearance gap at the hub and/or shroud for different blade geometries. It also aims to illustrate the performance analysis made on the Vinci LH2 turbine, a next generation upper stage engine to the Ariane 5 rocket, in which the effect of the tip gap size on the efficiency has been studied. The calculations made have shown good agreement with experimental data. The efficiency loss due to the mixing of fluid where leakage flow passes the tip gap, which results in growth of a strong vortex, and the fluid passing the blade tip, with almost no work extracted from it, has shown a quite linear efficiency dependence depending on the tip gap size.

Efficiency improvement in turbomachines is an important aspect in reducing the use of fossil-based fuel and thereby reducing carbon dioxide emissions in order to achieve a sustainable future. Gas turbines are mainly fossil-based turbomachines powering aviation and land-based power plants. In line with the present situation and the vision for the future, gas turbine engines will retain their central importance in coming decades. Though the world has made significant advancements in gas turbine technology development over past few decades, there are yet many design features remaining unexplored or worth further improvement. These features might have a great potential to increase efficiency. The high pressure turbine (HPT) stage is one of the most important elements of the engine where the increased efficiency has a significant influence on the overall efficiency as downstream losses are substantially affected by the prehistory. The overall objective of the thesis is to contribute to the development of gas turbine efficiency improvements in relation to the HPT stage.   Hence, this study has been incorporated into a research project that investigates leading edge contouring near endwall by fillet and external cooling on a nozzle guide vane with a common goal to contribute to the development of the HPT stage. In the search for HPT stage efficiency gains, leading edge contouring near the endwall is one of the methods found in the published literature that showed a potential to increase the efficiency by decreasing the amount of secondary losses. However, more attention is necessary regarding the realistic use of the leading edge fillet. On the other hand, external cooling has a significant influence on the HPT stage efficiency and more attention is needed regarding the aerodynamic implication of the external cooling. Therefore, the aerodynamic influence of a leading edge fillet and external cooling, here film cooling at profile and endwall as well as TE cooling, on losses and flow field have been investigated in the present work. The keystone of this research project has been an experimental investigation of a modern nozzle guide vane using a transonic annular sector cascade. Detailed investigations of the annular sector cascade have been presented using a geometric replica of a three dimensional gas turbine nozzle guide vane. Results from this investigation have led to a number of new important findings and also confirmed some conclusions established in previous investigations to enhance the understanding of complex turbine flows and associated losses.   The experimental investigations of the leading edge contouring by fillet indicate a unique outcome which is that the leading edge fillet has no significant effect on the flow and secondary losses of the investigated nozzle guide vane. The reason why the leading edge fillet does not affect the losses is due to the use of a three-dimensional vane with an existing typical fillet over the full hub and tip profile. Findings also reveal that the complex secondary flow depends heavily on the incoming boundary layer. The investigation of the external cooling indicates that a coolant discharge leads to an increase of profile losses compared to the uncooled case. Discharges on the profile suction side and through the trailing edge slot are most prone to the increase in profile losses. Results also reveal that individual film cooling rows have a weak mutual effect. A superposition principle of these influences is followed in the midspan region. An important finding is that the discharge through the trailing edge leads to an increase in the exit flow angle in line with an increase of losses and a mixture mass flow. Results also indicate that secondary losses can be reduced by the influence of the coolant discharge. In general, the exit flow angle increases considerably in the secondary flow zone compared to the midspan zone in all cases. Regarding the cooling influence, the distinct change in exit flow angle in the area of secondary flows is not noticeable at any cooling configuration compared to the uncooled case. This interesting zone requires an additional, accurate study. The investigation of a cooled vane, using a tracer gas carbon dioxide (CO2), reveals that the upstream platform film coolant is concentrated along the suction surfaces and does not reach the pressure side of the hub surface, leaving it less protected from the hot gas. This indicates a strong interaction of the secondary flow and cooling showing that the influence of the secondary flow cannot be easily influenced.   The overall outcome enhances the understanding of complex turbine flows, loss behaviour of cooled blade, secondary flow and interaction of cooling and secondary flow and provides recommendations to the turbine designers regarding the leading edge contouring and external cooling. Additionally, this study has provided to a number of new significant results and a vast amount of data, especially on profile and secondary losses and exit flow angles, which are believed to be helpful for the gas turbine community and for the validation of analytical and numerical calculations. / Ökad verkningsgrad i turbomaskiner är en viktig del i strävan att minska användningen av fossila bränslen och därmed minska växthuseffekten för att uppnå en hållbar framtid. Gasturbinen är huvudsakligen fossilbränslebaserad, och driver luftfart samt landbaserad kraftproduktion. Enligt rådande läge och framtidsutsikter bibehåller gasturbinen denna centrala roll under kommande decennier. Trots betydande framsteg inom gasturbinteknik under de senaste årtionden finns fortfarande många designaspekter kvar att utforska och vidareutveckla. Dessa designaspekter kan ha stor potential till ökad verkningsgrad. Högtrycksturbinsteget är en av de viktigaste delarna av gasturbinen, där verkningsgraden har betydande inverkan på den totala verkningsgraden eftersom förluster kraftigt påverkas av tidigare förlopp. Huvudsyftet med denna studie är att bidra till verkningsgradsförbättringar i högtrycksturbinsteget.   Studien är del i ett forskningsprojekt som undersöker ledskenans framkantskontur vid ändväggarna samt extern kylning, i jakten på dessa förbättringar. Den aerodynamiska inverkan av en förändrad geometri vid ledskenans ändväggar har i tidigare studier visat potential för ökad verkningsgrad genom minskade sekundärförluster. Ytterligare fokus krävs dock, med användning av en rimlig hålkälsradie. Samtidigt har extern kylning i form av filmkylning stor inverkan på verkningsgraden hos högtrycksturbinsteget och forskning behövs med fokus på den aerodynamiska inverkan. Av denna anledning studeras här inverkan både av ändrad hålkälsradie vid ledskenans framkant samt extern kylning i form av filmkylning av skovel, ändvägg och bakkant på aerodynamiska förluster och strömningsfält. Huvudpelaren i detta forskningsprojekt har varit en experimentell undersökning av en geometrisk replika av en modern tredimensionell gasturbinstator i en transonisk annulärkaskad. Detaljerade undersökningar i annulärkaskaden har gett betydande resultat, och bekräftat vissa tidigare studier. Detta har lett till ökad förståelsen för de komplexa flöden och förluster som karakteriserar gasturbiner.   De experimentella undersökningarna av förändrad framkantsgeometri leder till den unika slutsatsen att den modifierade hålkälsradien inte har någon betydande inverkan på strömningsfältet eller sekundärförluster av den undersökta ledskenan. Anledningen till att förändringen inte påverkar förlusterna är i detta fall den tredimensionella karaktären hos ledskenan med en redan existerande typisk framkantsgeometri. Undersökningarna visar också att de komplexa sekundärströmningarna är kraftigt beroende av det inkommande gränsskiktet. Undersökning av extern kylning visar att kylflödet leder till en ökad profilförlust. Kylflöde på sugsidan samt bakkanten har störst inverkan på profilförlusten. Resultaten visar också att individuella filmkylningsrader har liten påverkan sinsemellan och kan behandlas genom en superpositionsprincip längs mittsnittet. En viktig slutsats är att kylflöde vid bakkanten leder till ökad utloppsvinkel tillsammans med ökade förluster och massflöde. Resultat tuder på att sekundärströmning kan minskas genom ökad kylning. Generellt ökar utloppsvinkeln markant i den sekundära flödeszonen jämfört med mittsnittet för alla undersökta fall. Den kraftiga förändringen i utloppsvinkel är dock inte märkbar i den sekundära flödeszonen i något av kylfallen jämfört med de okylda referensfallet. Denna zon fordrar ytterligare studier. Spårgasundersökning av ledskenan med koldioxid (CO2) visar att plattformskylning uppströms ledskenan koncentreras till skovelns sugsida, och når inte trycksidan som därmed lämnas mer utsatt för het gas. Detta påvisar den kraftiga interaktionen mellan sekundärströmning och kylflöden, och att inverkan från sekundärströmningen ej enkelt kan påverkas. De generella resultaten från undersökningen ökar förståelsen av komplexa turbinflöden, förlustbeteenden för kylda ledskenor, interaktionen mellan sekundärströmning och kylflöden, och ger rekommendationer för turbinkonstruktörer kring förändrad framkantsgeometri i kombination med extern kylning. Dessutom har studien gett betydande resultat och en stor mängd data, särskilt rörande profil- och sekundärförluster och utloppsvinkel, vilket tros kunna vara till stor hjälp för gasturbinssamfundet vid validering av analytiska och numeriska beräkningar. / <p>QC 20140909</p> / Turbopower, Sector rig