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No description available.

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IMTS and WOT form a PC-based hardware and software system designed to continuously monitor large numbers of rotating machinery, evaluate each machine's condition through a series of user-definable standards, and alert operators to potential problems. This system requires a rack of data acquisition equipment located near the machines being monitored and a PC that can be located remotely. This system has been tested under actual plant conditions at the Virginia Tech Power Plant. The software operates under Windows 3.1, and allows data to be acquired and evaluated simultaneously. This thesis discusses the development of this system over earlier versions and the installation procedures and first runs at the Power Plant. It discusses in detail the operation of some of the main programs that comprise the Intelligent Trending and Expert System. / Master of Science

The performance of a vapor compression system is known to be affected by the ingestion of liquid droplets in the compressor. In these multiphase flows, the liquid and the vapor phase are tightly coupled. Therefore the interphase heat, mass and momentum transfer as well as droplet dynamics including droplet breakup and droplet-wall interactions play a vital role in governing these flows. Only thermodynamic analyses or two-dimensional mean-line calculations are not sufficient to gain an in-depth understanding of the complex multiphase flow field within the compressor. The objective of this research was to extend the current understanding of the operation of a multistage centrifugal compressor under two-phase flow conditions, by performing three-dimensional computational analysis. In this work, two-phase flow of a single constituent (refrigerant R134a) through a two-stage, in-line centrifugal compressor was analyzed using CFD. The CFD model accounted for real gas behavior of the vapor phase. Novel user defined routines were implemented to ensure accurate calculations of interphase heat, mass and momentum transfer terms and to model droplet impact on the compressor surfaces. An erosion model was developed and implemented to locate the erosion "hot spots" and to estimate the amount of material eroded. To understand the effects of increasing liquid carryover, the mass flow rate of the liquid phase was increased from 1% to 5% of the vapor mass flow rate. The influence of droplet size on the compressor performance was assessed by varying the droplet diameter at the inlet from 100 microns to 400 microns. The results of the two-phase flow simulations were compared with the simulation involving only the vapor phase. Liquid carryover altered the flow field within the compressor, and as a result, both impellers were observed to operate at off-design conditions. This effect was more pronounced for the second impeller. The overall effects of liquid carryover were detrimental to the compressor performance. The erosion calculations showed maximum erosion potential on the blade and shroud of the first impeller. The results from this investigation provided new and useful information that can be used to support improved design solutions. / Ph. D. / The performance of a compressor is known to be affected by the ingestion of liquid droplets, and thus, it is a research topic of interest for both academia as well as industry. This work extends the current understanding of the operation of a multistage centrifugal compressor under two-phase flow conditions, by employing high-fidelity computational fluid dynamics (CFD). In this research, the two-phase flow of refrigerant R134a through a two-stage, in-line centrifugal compressor was analyzed. The CFD model used in this research incorporated real gas behavior of the vapor phase, as well as the interphase heat, mass and momentum transfer processes. An erosion model was also developed and implemented to locate the erosion "hot spots" on the compressor surfaces, and to estimate the amount of material eroded. The effects of increasing the liquid carryover, as well as the influence of droplet size on the compressor performance were assessed. Liquid carryover altered the flow field within the compressor. As a result, the compressor operated at off-design conditions. The overall effects of liquid carryover were detrimental to the compressor performance. The erosion calculations showed maximum erosion potential on the blade and shroud of the first impeller. The results from this investigation provided new and useful information that can be used to support improved design solutions.

Unsteady three-dimensional flow phenomena have major effects on the aerodynamic performance of, and heat transfer to, gas-turbine blading. Investigation of the mechanisms associated with these phenomena requires an experimental facility that is capable of simulating a gas turbine, but at lower levels of temperature and pressure to allow conventional measurement techniques. This thesis reports on the design, development and commissioning of a new experimental facility that models these unsteady three-dimensional flow phenomena. The new facility, which consists of a 62%-size, high-pressure gas-turbine stage mounted in a transient wind tunnel, simulates the turbine design point of a full-stage turbine. The thesis describes the aerodynamic and mechanical design of the new facility, a rigorous stress analysis of the facility’s rotating system and the three-stage commissioning of the facility. The thesis concludes with an assessment of the turbine stage performance.

<p dir="ltr">This research presents a culmination of work into uncovering the underlying fluid dynamic behaviors of supercritical CO2 as it relates to high pressure turbine design using a combined fundamental and practical numerical and experimental analysis. The fundamental analysis of the thermo-fluid dynamic properties of supercritical CO2 boundary layers and separation is analyzed against the air counterparts for non-dimensional quantities of interest – pressure ratio, Mach number, Reynolds number – and combinations of these quantities. The coupling of density derivatives with pressure and temperature are investigated within the operating conditions of the first stage turbine of a supercritical CO2 oxyfuel power cycle. Armed with the information garnered from this analysis, a 3D optimization is run using computational fluid dynamics to investigated nearly 3000 unique blade shapes, focusing on increasing the isothermal corrected efficiency and decreasing the heat load to the blade. Three different families of blade shapes are identified from the analysis and their aerodynamic qualities discussed. A single advanced blade design is chosen for in depth analysis and experimental testing against the baseline blade from which the optimization was started. Mechanical design for the experimental campaign in the Big Rig for Aerothermal Stationary Turbine Analysis (BRASTA) is presented for a novel sector-based off-axis design and the results of the aerothermal measurements discussed. In tandem with blade design and analysis, the Tip Gap Experimental Research Article for Large Scale Injection Layouts (Tiger Lily), a canonical model for the large-scale investigation of tip flows in high Reynolds number flows, is developed and the mechanical and aerodynamic design discussed. Aerothermal analysis for different tip coolant injection configurations is performed using Improved Delayed Detached Eddy Simulation (IDDES) computational fluid dynamics analysis to resolve turbulent structures resulting from coolant injection and over tip flow interaction. Experimental investigation of Tiger Lily is presented, validating the structures and features seen in the numerical analysis. The conclusion of these investigations results in the increased understanding of the underlying fluid dynamic behaviors of supercritical CO2 in high pressure turbines.</p>