Jet engines operate by ingesting incoming air, adding momentum to it, and exhausting it through a nozzle to produce thrust. Because of their reliance on an inlet stream, jet engines are very sensitive to inlet flow nonuniformities. This makes the study of the effects of inlet nonuniformities essential to improving jet engine performance. Swirl distortion is the presence of flow angle nonuniformity in the inlet stream of a jet engine. Although several attempts have been made to accurately reproduce swirl distortion profiles in a testing environment, there has yet to be a proven method to do so. A new method capable of recreating any arbitrary swirl distortion profile is needed in order to expand the capabilities of inlet distortion testing. This will allow designers to explore how an engine would react to a particular engine airframe combination as well as methods for creating swirl distortion tolerant engines. The following material will present such a method as well as experimental validation of its effectiveness. / Master of Science

Abstract The combustion characteristics and the pollution of the exhausting products under various designing and operating conditions are studied in this research. In our experiments, the furnace fuel is diesel oil. By adjusting the flow rate of both axial air and tangential air the different equivalence ratios and swirl numbers can be obtained. The controlling ranges of the various experimental parameters include equivalence ratio from 0.8 to 1.1, swirl number from 0 to 1.0, recirculated flue gas from 0% to 12%, and jet spray angle 45?and 80? The effect of the controlling variables on the combustion characteristics and pollutant formations within combustion chamber are studied in this reseacher. A photographic technology is used to study the flame structures to help us understanding the behaviors of the flame under various operating condition. Form the experimental results, we find that the recirculation generated by swirl influence the produce temperature and its distribution with combustion chamber. The swirl is useful for flame expanding, and increases the mixing of fuel and air, so that the complete reaction can achieve near the burner. When the jet spray angle is 80? and swirl number is 0.6, the exhaust rate of NOx in the exhaust duct is the lowest, and the combustion in combustion chamber is the best. At equivalence ratio 0.9, the effects of the flow rate of the recirculating flue gason the flame structure and the exhaust emission is not too much. Our experiments display that the optimized operating condition is jet spray angle 80? swirl number 0.6 and flue gas recirculation 8%. NO can be reduced about 15~20% in this condition. When no swirl occurs, the color of flame displays white-yellow due to the burning of soot in this region. For the condition with swirl, the color of the outside flame displays orange-yellow. In primary combustion zone, the flame exhibits the red color which is due to the radiation of CO2 and water vapor.

In many applications, non-uniform flows are undesirable and have a negative system impact. Non-uniform flows can arise in many ways such as in geometry changes and turns in piping/ducting, as well as with lip separation in certain aircraft engine inlets at high angle of attack. These non-uniformities can come with a variety of secondary flow patterns and thus highly three-dimensional flow. In a cylindrical coordinate system, these secondary (or in-plane) velocities have tangential and radial components. The tangential velocity is typically referred to as swirl and is the component of secondary flow that has the most system impact. These systems include industrial compressors, aircraft engines, and flow metering devices. In industrial compressors and aircraft engines, swirl translates into off-design incidence angles on the blades. The off-design incidence can lead to blade stall, losses in performance, and loss in system operability. In flow metering, swirl can significantly reduce measurement accuracy, and is regulated in industries such as the oil and gas industry. In the straightening of low-speed flows with approximately constant density and axial velocity, the velocity magnitude decreases and pressure increases along streamlines. This creates an unfavorable streamwise pressure gradient that inhibits the fluids ability to remain attached to the convex suction surface of the turning vane. This suction side separation causes the flow to under turn and exit at an angle not equal to the vane's trailing edge angle. The angle measured between the vane's trailing edge and the actual exiting flow angle is referred to as the deviation. Research on specific airfoil shaped turning vanes set up in linear cascade arrangements provides experimental data detailing the deviation measured at ranges of inlet flow conditions and vane spacing. These experimental data sets indicate that deviation angles were measured to be 10 degrees or higher in large vane spacing, high design flow turning arrangements. It is evident that in order to effectively straighten flow with turning vanes, the deviation must be predicted and accounted for in the design stage. In this work, the design system of a new method of swirl mitigation is detailed and experimentally validated in a low-speed wind tunnel. The design system builds upon the fundamentals of the swirl-producing StreamVane design methods and is thus designated as the Inverse StreamVane. The complex arrangement of turning vanes in the StreamVane and Inverse StreamVane alike creates a spanwise variation of vane spacing. Calculated by a proximity approximation method, this local vane spacing, along with the local inlet flow conditions, become inputs to a derived function that predicts the local flow deviation. A root-finding method is utilized at each incremental vane section of each turning vane to converge on the design cambers that set the predicted local deviation angles equal to the local trailing edge angles. Experimental and computational results validate the design method employed with the reduction of an experimentally measured 30 degree peak paired swirl profile to a 3 degree peak, 1.01 degree rms, swirl profile. Flow angularity and loss measurements detailed at 1/2 duct diameter downstream of the 1/6 duct diameter axial length of the device introduce the Inverse StreamVane as a very effective and efficient method of swirl mitigation. / MS / Fluid flows with components in directions other than just the dominant axial direction can create complexities and undesirable effects on a variety of systems. In applications such as aircraft engines and HVAC compression systems, these secondary velocity components can lead to lower efficiencies and loss in operable range. In applications such as flow rate measurement, these secondary velocity components can lead to losses in accuracy and increased measurement uncertainty. The underline effect of such losses in these systems is undesirable increase in system costs. For these reasons, a variety of devices and efforts have been made in attempts to reduce secondary velocity components. Many methods of reducing secondary velocity components, or straightening the flow, involve the introduction of obstructions in the fluid’s path. These obstructions can create energy losses, thus reducing the amount of energy the fluid can impart, or increasing the amount of energy input required to the fluid in order to achieve the same system performance. In the presented work, the design and wind tunnel validation of a flow straightening device is detailed. The design method utilizes curved airfoil shaped turning vanes strategically placed to reduce obstruction and increase straightening effectiveness. The device is referred to as the Inverse StreamVane, as it stems from the design principles of the secondary velocity producing StreamVane TM device introduced in 2013. With the design method presented, flow straightening devices tailored to specified flow profiles can be rapidly generated. As is shown by experimental measurements in a wind tunnel, large secondary velocity components are removed by 90% or greater in very short axial distances downstream of the Inverse StreamVane. Losses at the flow regime tested are also shown to be very small downstream of the Inverse StreamVane. The work presented suggests that the design system and device has the potential to benefit a variety of industries and applications.

Coriolis meter, despite being very accurate in single phase conditions, fails to accurately measure two-phase flows. It poses a complex fluid-structure interaction problem in case of two-phase operation; there is a scarcity of theoretical models available to predict the errors reported by Coriolis meter in aforementioned conditions, hence the need for experimental research. Experiments are conducted in both single and two-phase flow conditions. Meter accuracy is excellent in single phase conditions and no significant effect is observed on use of flow conditioners, namely inlet swirl and inline mixer. Operational two-phase envelope is determined through experiments at different flowrates. Flow conditioners are used to study the effect of phase segregation and homogenization on accuracy of the meter. Testing is done to cover two-phase flows from both extreme ends, namely aerated liquids and wet gas. Use of flow conditioners show slight improvement in meter accuracy on use of inline mixer, and reduction in accuracy in case of inlet swirl, when both former and latter are compared to results obtained from experiments with no flow conditioners. The difference in accuracies between results with flow conditioner and without flow conditioners is attributed to relative motion between the phases, which is more in case of inlet swirl, due to larger bubble sizes. Flow conditioners show an insignificant effect on meter accuracy during wet gas tests. The reason proposed is annular flow regime, which is not highly affected by flow conditioners. Single phase tests demonstrate that Coriolis meter gives accurate measurement even in presence of severe flow disturbances. There is no need for flow conditioning before the meter to obtain accurate readings from it, which would be the case in other metering technologies like orifice and turbine. In two phase flows, the meter reports negative errors, which is consistent with previous experimental works available in literature. Use of flow conditioners clearly affects the reading of the meter in aerated liquids. This phenomenon can be used to get fairly accurate estimate of flow rate in low gas volume fraction liquid flows.

The low NOx burner (LNB) is the most cost effective technology used in coal-fired power plants to reduce NOx. Conventional (unstaged) burners use primary air for transporting particles and swirling secondary air to create recirculation of hot gases. LNB uses staged air (dividing total air into primary, secondary and tertiary air) to control fuel bound nitrogen from mixing early and oxidizing to NOx; it can also limit thermal NOx by reducing peak flame temperatures. Previous research at Texas A&M University (TAMU) demonstrated that cofiring coal with feedlot biomass (FB) in conventional burners produced lower or similar levels of NOx but increased CO. The present research deals with i) construction of a small scale 29.31 kW (100,000 BTU/hr) LNB facility, ii) evaluation of firing Wyoming (WYO) coal as the base case coal and cofiring WYO and dairy biomass (DB) blends, and iii) evaluating the effects of staging on NOx and CO. Ultimate and Proximate analysis revealed that WYO and low ash, partially composted, dairy biomass (LA-PC-DB-SepS) had the following heat values and empirical formulas: CH0.6992N0.0122O0.1822S0.00217 and CH_1.2554N_0.0470O_0.3965S_0.00457. The WYO contained 3.10 kg of Ash/GJ, 15.66 kg of VM/GJ, 0.36 kg of N/GJ, and 6.21 kg of O/GJ while LA-PC-DB-SepS contained 11.57 kg of Ash/GJ, 36.50 kg of VM/GJ, 1.50 kg of N/GJ, and 14.48 kg of O/GJ. The construction of a LNB nozzle capable of providing primary, swirled secondary and swirled tertiary air for staging was completed. The reactor provides a maximum residence time of 1.8 seconds under hot flow conditions. WYO and DB were blended on a mass basis for the following blends: 95:5, 90:10, 85:15, and 80:20. Results from firing pure WYO showed that air staging caused a slight decrease of NOx in lean regions (equivalence ratio, greater than or equal to 1.0) but an increase of CO in rich regions (=1.2). For unstaged combustion, cofiring resulted in most fuel blends showing similar NOx emissions to WYO. Staged cofiring resulted in a 12% NOx increase in rich regions while producing similar to slightly lower amounts of NOx in lean regions. One conclusion is that there exists a strong inverse relationship between NOx and CO emissions.

Coriolis meter, despite being very accurate in single phase conditions, fails to accurately measure two-phase flows. It poses a complex fluid-structure interaction problem in case of two-phase operation; there is a scarcity of theoretical models available to predict the errors reported by Coriolis meter in aforementioned conditions, hence the need for experimental research. Experiments are conducted in both single and two-phase flow conditions. Meter accuracy is excellent in single phase conditions and no significant effect is observed on use of flow conditioners, namely inlet swirl and inline mixer. Operational two-phase envelope is determined through experiments at different flowrates. Flow conditioners are used to study the effect of phase segregation and homogenization on accuracy of the meter. Testing is done to cover two-phase flows from both extreme ends, namely aerated liquids and wet gas. Use of flow conditioners show slight improvement in meter accuracy on use of inline mixer, and reduction in accuracy in case of inlet swirl, when both former and latter are compared to results obtained from experiments with no flow conditioners. The difference in accuracies between results with flow conditioner and without flow conditioners is attributed to relative motion between the phases, which is more in case of inlet swirl, due to larger bubble sizes. Flow conditioners show an insignificant effect on meter accuracy during wet gas tests. The reason proposed is annular flow regime, which is not highly affected by flow conditioners. Single phase tests demonstrate that Coriolis meter gives accurate measurement even in presence of severe flow disturbances. There is no need for flow conditioning before the meter to obtain accurate readings from it, which would be the case in other metering technologies like orifice and turbine. In two phase flows, the meter reports negative errors, which is consistent with previous experimental works available in literature. Use of flow conditioners clearly affects the reading of the meter in aerated liquids. This phenomenon can be used to get fairly accurate estimate of flow rate in low gas volume fraction liquid flows.

Inlet distortion research has become increasingly important over the past several years as demands for aircraft flight efficiency and performance has increased. To accommodate these demands, research progression has shifted the emphasis onto airframe-engine integration and improved understanding of engine operability in less than ideal conditions. Swirl distortion, which is considered a type of non-uniform inflow inlet distortion, is characterized by the presence of swirling flow in an inlet. The presence of swirling flow entering an engine can affect the compression systems performance and operability, therefore it is an area of current research. A swirl distortion generation device created by Virginia Tech, identified as the StreamVane, has the ability to produce various swirl distortion flow profiles. In its current state, the StreamVane methodology generates a design swirl distortion at the trailing edge of the device. However, in many applications the plane at which the researcher wants a desired distortion is downstream of the StreamVane trailing edge. After the distortion is discharged from the StreamVane it develops as it moves downstream. Therefore, to more accurately replicate a desired swirl distortion at a given downstream plane, distortion development downstream of the StreamVane must be considered. Currently Virginia Tech utilizes a numerical modeling design tool, designated StreamFlow, that generates predictions of how a StreamVane-generated distortion propagates downstream. However, due to the non-linear physics of the flow problem, StreamFlow cannot directly calculate an accurate inverse solution that can predict upstream conditions from a downstream boundary, as needed to design a StreamVane. To solve this problem, in this research, an efficient estimation process has been created, combining the use of the StreamFlow model with a Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) parameter estimation tool to estimate upstream flow profiles that will produce the desired downstream profiles. The process is designated the StreamFlow-MC2 Estimation Process. The process was tested on four fundamental types of swirl distortions. The desired downstream distortion was input into the estimation process to predict an upstream profile that would create the desired downstream distortion. Using the estimated design profiles, 6-inch diameter StreamVanes were designed then wind tunnel tested to verify the distortion downstream. Analysis and experimental results show that using this method, the upstream distortion needed to create the desired distortion was estimated with excellent accuracy. Based on those results, the StreamFlow-MC2 Estimation Process was validated. / Master of Science / Inlet distortion research has become increasingly important over the past several years as demands for aircraft flight efficiency and performance has increased. To accommodate these demands, research progression has shifted the emphasis onto airframe-engine integration and improved understanding of engine operability in less than ideal conditions. Swirl distortion, which is considered a type of non-uniform inflow inlet distortion, is characterized by the presence of swirling flow in an inlet. The presence of swirling flow entering an engine can affect the compression system’s performance and operability, therefore it is an area of current research. A swirl distortion generation device created by Virginia Tech, identified as the StreamVane™, has the ability to produce various swirl distortion flow profiles. In its current state, the StreamVane methodology generates a design swirl distortion at the trailing edge of the device. However, in many applications the plane at which the researcher wants a desired distortion is downstream of the StreamVane trailing edge. After the distortion is discharged from the StreamVane it develops as it moves downstream. Therefore, to more accurately replicate a desired swirl distortion at a given downstream plane, distortion development downstream of the StreamVane must be considered. Currently Virginia Tech utilizes a numerical modeling design tool, designated StreamFlow, that generates predictions of how a StreamVane-generated distortion propagates downstream. However, due to the non-linear physics of the flow problem, StreamFlow cannot directly calculate an accurate inverse solution that can predict upstream conditions from a downstream boundary, as needed to design a StreamVane. To solve this problem, in this research, an efficient estimation process has been created, combining the use of the StreamFlow model with a Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) parameter estimation tool to estimate upstream flow profiles that will produce the desired downstream profiles. The process is designated the StreamFlow-MC2 Estimation Process. The process was tested on four fundamental types of swirl distortions. The desired downstream distortion was input into the estimation process to predict an upstream profile that would create the desired downstream distortion. Using the estimated design profiles, 6-inch diameter StreamVanes were designed then wind tunnel tested to verify the distortion downstream. Analysis and experimental results show that using this method, the upstream distortion needed to create the desired distortion was estimated with excellent accuracy. Based on those results, the StreamFlow-MC2 Estimation Process was validated.

There has been lots of interest in designing more fuel efficient aircraft using concepts such as boundary layer ingestion (BLI) that cause large amounts of pressure and swirl distortion that enter the jet engines. To enable ground testing the performance of these engines in different distortion patterns, the StreamVane and ScreenVane systems have been developed. A StreamVane consists of a complex vane pack that is custom designed for each distortion profile and the ScreenVane combines the StreamVane with a pressure distortion screen for testing engines under both pressure and swirl distortions. The complexity and uniqueness of these devices make predicting their structural integrity and propensity to flutter a challenge, necessitating the need for studying flutter in these complex vane packs. In order to study flutter of these complex vane packs, a methodology was created to obtain trailing edge displacements and frequencies from high speed video of a StreamVane and was used on a quad swirl StreamVane and a Simplified model. Unsteady CFD with periodic mesh deformation based off of its modal analysis was used to validate if it can predict the flutter velocity as well as understanding what the unsteady aerodynamic response to flutter is. A parameter study was then conducted along with oilflow visualization to better understand the potential causes of flutter and the impact of different design parameters. A harmonic response analysis was conducted on each of these designs and a correlation between the amplitude from the harmonic response and the flutter Mach number was obtained that can be used to predict when a StreamVane will flutter. A new series of StreamVanes were designed and based off of computational analysis, two were selected for manufacture. They both successfully avoided fluttering in flutter tests and were found to accurately replicate the goal swirl profile when measured with a 5 hole probe. These results provide a basis for understanding and predicting flutter in StreamVanes. / Master of Science / There has been lots of interest in designing more fuel efficient aircraft using concepts such as boundary layer ingestion (BLI) that cause large amounts of pressure and swirl distortion that enter the jet engines. To enable ground testing the performance of these engines in different distortion patterns, the StreamVane and ScreenVane systems have been developed. A StreamVane consists of a complex vane pack that is custom designed for each distortion profile and the ScreenVane combines the StreamVane with a pressure distortion screen for testing engines under both pressure and swirl distortions. The complexity and uniqueness of these devices make predicting their structural integrity and propensity to flutter a challenge, necessitating the need for studying flutter in these complex vane packs. Flutter is when a structure experiences excess vibration when exposed to unsteady aerodynamic loads. In order to study flutter of these complex vane packs, a methodology was created to obtain trailing edge displacements and frequencies from high speed video of a StreamVane and was used on a quad swirl StreamVane and a Simplified model. Unsteady computation fluid dynamics (CFD) with periodic mesh deformation was used to validate if it can predict the flutter velocity as well as understanding what the unsteady aerodynamic response to flutter is. A parameter study was then conducted along with oilflow visualization to better understand the potential causes of flutter and the impact of different design parameters. A harmonic response analysis, which consists of a dynamic structural analysis with sinusoidal loading applied, was conducted on each of these designs. A correlation between the amplitude from the harmonic response and the flutter Mach number was obtained that can be used to predict when a StreamVane will flutter. A new series of StreamVanes were then designed and based off of computational analyses, two were selected for manufacture. They both successfully avoided fluttering in flutter tests and were found to accurately replicate the goal swirl profile when measured with a 5 hole probe downstream of the StreamVane. These results provide a basis for understanding and predicting flutter in StreamVanes and other complex vane packs.

O número de swirl de um cabeçote de motor de combustão interna pode ser medido pelo método de vazão em regime permanente. Nesse método o ar é forçado através do cabeçote para diferentes aberturas de válvula. O sensor comumente utilizado nas plataformas para a medição do swirl é o do tipo ISM (impulse swirl meter) que utiliza um retificador de fluxo como o componente principal para capturar o momento angular de rotação do fluxo de ar. Esse trabalho visa encontrar as dimensões geométricas para o retificador de fluxo utilizado em sensor tipo ISM, de tal forma que esse retificador possibilite a realização das medições com a menor interferência possível no resultado final. Dezesseis retificadores de diferentes dimensões foram construídos a partir do processo conhecido como prototipagem rápida. Vários ensaios foram realizados em uma plataforma que utiliza o método de vazão em regime permanente para a medição de swirl em cabeçotes. Para todos os ensaios foi utilizando um mesmo cabeçote de motor diesel como gerador de swirl. No capítulo conclusões são apresentadas as dimensões geométricas que resultaram em menor interferência no fluxo e uma maior eficiência do sensor, bem como sugestões para trabalhos futuros. / The swirl number of a cylinder head can be measured by a steady state flow method in which air is forced through the cylinder head for different valve openings. The sensors commonly used on the swirl measurement platform are of the ISM type (impulse swirl meter) that use a flow straightener as the main component to capture the rotational angular momentum of the air flow. This study objective is to determine the geometric dimensions for the flow straightener used in the ISM sensor, which still allows the measurement but causes the least interference on the measurement result. Sixteen different flow straighteners were constructed by rapid prototyping process. Several tests were performed on a platform that uses the steady state flow method to measure the swirl number of cylinder heads. For all tests the same cylinder head was used as swirl generator. The conclusion chapter presents the geometric dimensions that caused the least interference in the flow and resulted in a greater sensor efficiency, as well as suggestions for future studies.

Este trabalho buscou estudar os efeitos do nível de Swirl e alteração da massa de combustível injetada nas emissões de poluentes de um motor Diesel. Foram selecionados 15 cabeçotes de uma população de 100 cabeçotes e agrupados pelo nível de Swirl. Como o motor testado utiliza 5 cabeçotes, 15 cabeçotes foram separados e classificados em 3 categorias pelo nível de Swirl. Em seguida, o motor foi montado com as 3 categorias de cabeçotes no dinamômetro com o objetivo de levantar os efeitos nas emissões de gases e parâmetros de desempenho do motor. Foram medidas as emissões de NOx, CO, THC, fuligem, fumaça e consumo de combustível nos 13 pontos do ciclo ESC, complementadas com medições de torque e potência à plena carga. Além disso, nas condições de plena carga foi explorado o efeito da alteração da massa de combustível injetado, pela mudança do ponto final de injeção, nos parâmetros de desempenho e emissões. / This work aimed at the investigation of the effects of the level of Swirl and the amount of fuel mass injected in the emissions of pollutants on a diesel engine. Cylinder heads were selected from a population of 100 cylinder heads and them grouped by Swirl level. As the engine used in the tests have 5 cylinder heads, 15 cylinder heads were separated into 3 categories by the Swirl level. The engine was mounted with the 3 Swirl level cylinder heads categories with the aim to investigate all effects on emissions and performance such as NOx, CO, THC, soot, smoke, fuel consumption, power and torque. The tests were performed following the ESC cycle and exploring the full load curve behavior with changes of the end of injection point, therefore altering the amount of fuel mass injected.