Historically inducer pumps have been designed with low inlet diffusion that allows for a gradual pressure rise through the machine that has the ability to slowly collapse any cavitation bubbles that may be present. A novel cavitation control device has been developed by researchers at ConceptsNREC that has been shown in previous experimental work to greatly improve the suction performance of a traditionally designed machine. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) has been employed to understand the effectiveness of the cavitation control device (CCD) at controlling the conditions that lead to cavitation inception and to determine the impact that the CCD has on the flow. Also the upper limit of design incidence ratio where the CCD is no longer able to control the factors that lead to cavitation inception was to be determined through the CFD approach. All machine geometries and test data were provided by researchers at ConceptsNREC. Two cases were selected for validation work and 32 additional designs were employed in a parametric study where the flow coefficient and design incidence ratio were varied over a typical range of interest for a turbopump application. The results of this computational work show that the CCD is able to control the factors that lead to early cavitation inception. The research shows that the addition of the CCD has an overall stabilizing affect on the flow by significantly decreasing the incidence at the leading edge of the blade. It has been determined that the maximum design incidence ratio where the CCD is able to effectively control the factors that lead to cavitation inception is dependent on the flow coefficient and in general the maximum design incidence ratio decreases as the flow coefficient is increased.

The performance of an inducer with the integration of an inlet cover bleed system known as a stability control device (SCD) is investigated using computational fluid dynamics. Inducers are the first stage of high suction performance pumps and are designed to operate under cavitating conditions. Improvements in design have allowed inducers to operate stably with low inlet head conditions, however, cavitation instabilities ultimately lead to pump failure. It has been shown that inducers that employ an SCD fully suppress cavitation instabilities.The performance of an inducer is explored at both on- and off-design flow coefficients, where the flow coefficient is a normalized flow rate through the inducer. Both the cavitating and non-cavitating performance of the inducer are analyzed. Improved stability is observed when the SCD is implemented, particularly at flow coefficients below the design value. The stabilizing effect of the SCD allows the inducer to operate stably at much lower flow coefficients, which allows for significant improvements in the pumps ability to operate with minimal inlet head. Cavitation instabilities, such as rotating cavitation, are also suppressed when the SCD is implemented.As part of this work, the design space created by the SCD is explored. Variations in the SCD geometry as well as the inlet blade angle of the inducer are explored. High suction performance pumps are required to operate at very low flow coefficients in order to have the best suction performance. Traditionally, only inducers with small inlet blade angles can maintain stable operation at very low flow coefficient. Because of the stabilizing effect of an SCD, inducers with larger inlet blade angles can now operate stably at the low flow rates require for high suction performance pumps. The influence of varying the inlet blade angle is explored in inducers that employ an SCD. This provides a better understanding of the flow physics in inducers that employ an SCD and help to define their design criteria. Stable operation at low flow coefficients is achieved with the larger inlet blade angles, confirming that inducers with larger inlet blade angles that employ an SCD can be used in high suction performance pumps. Modifications to the SCD geometry are considered to better optimize the design. Variations in the SCD geometry have almost no effect on the cavitation breakdown curve for each inducer, however, the stability of the pumps is greatly influenced by the SCD geometry. Some cavitation instabilities are observed in inducers that operate with an SCD. The physics that leads to the generation of these instabilities is unique to an inducer with an SCD. Modifications to the SCD geometry can allow inducers that employ an SCD to suppress traditional cavitation instabilities that occur without an SCD as well as the new instabilities that are observed when an SCD is implemented.

Three flexure pivot pad bearings (FPBs) with different preloads are evaluated for use in high performance applications by comparing them to a hybrid hydrostatic bearing (HHB). One application of these bearings is in turbopumps for liquid rocket engines. To evaluate bearing performance, the lift-off speed of the shaft from the bearing surface is experimentally determined. Experimental data of lift-off are collected using a circuit running through the shaft and the designed bearing. Other methods for measuring liftoff speeds were attempted but did not yield consistent results. Water is used as a lubricant to simulate a low viscosity medium. In comparison to load-capacity-based predictions for FPBs, the experimental results showed lower lift-off speeds, higher load capacities, higher eccentricity ratios, and lower attitude angles. The bearings’ predicted load capacity determined lift-off speed predictions, but the experimental results show no clear trend relating lift-off speed to load capacity. This was for a range of running speeds, with the design speed defined as the final speed in a particular test case. At 0.689 bar supply pressure and for a design speed of 3000 rpm, the HHB showed greater load capacities and lower eccentricities than the FPBs, but the FPBs had lower lift-off speeds and attitude angles. In fact, the FPBs in the load-between-pad orientation outperformed the HHB in the load-on-pocket orientation with lower lift-off speeds for the shaft weight-only case. An increased supply pressure lowered the lift-off speeds in the HHB tests. If the load in the bearing application remains relatively small, a FPB could be substituted for an HHB.

No description available.

The design parameters axial gap and stator count of highpressure turbine stages are evaluated numerically towards theirinfluence on the unsteady aerodynamic excitation of rotorblades. Of particular interest is if and how unsteadyaerodynamic considerations in the design could reduce the riskofhigh cycle fatigue (HCF) failures of the turbine rotor. A well-documented 2D/Q3D non-linear unsteady code (UNSFLO)is chosen to perform the stage flow analyses. The evaluatedresults are interpreted as aerodynamic excitation mechanisms onstream sheets neglecting 3D effects. Mesh studies andvalidations against measurements and 3D computations provideconfidence in the unsteady results. Three test cases areanalysed. First, a typical aero-engine high pressure turbinestage is studied at subsonic and transonic flow conditions,with four axial gaps (37% - 52% of cax,rotor) and two statorconfigurations (43 and 70 NGV). Operating conditions areaccording to the resonant conditions of the blades used inaccompanied experiments. Second, a subsonic high pressureturbine intended to drive the turbopump of a rocket engine isinvestigated. Four axial gap variations (10% - 29% ofcax,rotor) and three stator geometry variations are analysed toextend and generalise the findings made on the first study.Third, a transonic low pressure turbine rotor, known as theInternational Standard Configuration 11, has been modelled tocompute the unsteady flow due to blade vibration and comparedto available experimental data. Excitation mechanisms due to shock, potential waves andwakes are described and related to the work found in the openliterature. The strength of shock excitation leads to increasedpressure excitation levels by a factor 2 to 3 compared tosubsonic cases. Potential excitations are of a typical wavetype in all cases, differences in the propagation direction ofthe waves and the wave reflection pattern in the rotor passagelead to modifications in the time and space resolved unsteadypressures on the blade surface. The significant influence ofoperating conditions, axial gap and stator size on the wavepropagation is discussed on chosen cases. The wake influence onthe rotorblade unsteady pressure is small in the presentevaluations, which is explicitly demonstrated on the turbopumpturbine by a parametric study of wake and potentialexcitations. A reduction in stator size (towards R≈1)reduces the potential excitation part so that wake andpotential excitation approach in their magnitude. Potentials to reduce the risk of HCF excitation in transonicflow are the decrease of stator exit Mach number and themodification of temporal relations between shock and potentialexcitation events. A similar temporal tuning of wake excitationto shock excitation appears not efficient because of the smallwake excitation contribution. The increase of axial gap doesnot necessarily decrease the shock excitation strength neitherdoes the decrease of vane size because the shock excitation mayremain strong even behind a smaller stator. The evaluation ofthe aerodynamic excitation towards a HCF risk reduction shouldonly be done with regard to the excited mode shape, asdemonstrated with parametric studies of the mode shapeinfluence on excitability. <b>Keywords:</b>Aeroelasticity, Aerodynamics, Stator-RotorInteraction, Excitation Mechanism, Unsteady Flow Computation,Forced Response, High Cycle Fatigue, Turbomachinery,Gas-Turbine, High-Pressure Turbine, Turbopump, CFD, Design

<p>The design parameters axial gap and stator count of highpressure turbine stages are evaluated numerically towards theirinfluence on the unsteady aerodynamic excitation of rotorblades. Of particular interest is if and how unsteadyaerodynamic considerations in the design could reduce the riskofhigh cycle fatigue (HCF) failures of the turbine rotor.</p><p>A well-documented 2D/Q3D non-linear unsteady code (UNSFLO)is chosen to perform the stage flow analyses. The evaluatedresults are interpreted as aerodynamic excitation mechanisms onstream sheets neglecting 3D effects. Mesh studies andvalidations against measurements and 3D computations provideconfidence in the unsteady results. Three test cases areanalysed. First, a typical aero-engine high pressure turbinestage is studied at subsonic and transonic flow conditions,with four axial gaps (37% - 52% of cax,rotor) and two statorconfigurations (43 and 70 NGV). Operating conditions areaccording to the resonant conditions of the blades used inaccompanied experiments. Second, a subsonic high pressureturbine intended to drive the turbopump of a rocket engine isinvestigated. Four axial gap variations (10% - 29% ofcax,rotor) and three stator geometry variations are analysed toextend and generalise the findings made on the first study.Third, a transonic low pressure turbine rotor, known as theInternational Standard Configuration 11, has been modelled tocompute the unsteady flow due to blade vibration and comparedto available experimental data.</p><p>Excitation mechanisms due to shock, potential waves andwakes are described and related to the work found in the openliterature. The strength of shock excitation leads to increasedpressure excitation levels by a factor 2 to 3 compared tosubsonic cases. Potential excitations are of a typical wavetype in all cases, differences in the propagation direction ofthe waves and the wave reflection pattern in the rotor passagelead to modifications in the time and space resolved unsteadypressures on the blade surface. The significant influence ofoperating conditions, axial gap and stator size on the wavepropagation is discussed on chosen cases. The wake influence onthe rotorblade unsteady pressure is small in the presentevaluations, which is explicitly demonstrated on the turbopumpturbine by a parametric study of wake and potentialexcitations. A reduction in stator size (towards R≈1)reduces the potential excitation part so that wake andpotential excitation approach in their magnitude.</p><p>Potentials to reduce the risk of HCF excitation in transonicflow are the decrease of stator exit Mach number and themodification of temporal relations between shock and potentialexcitation events. A similar temporal tuning of wake excitationto shock excitation appears not efficient because of the smallwake excitation contribution. The increase of axial gap doesnot necessarily decrease the shock excitation strength neitherdoes the decrease of vane size because the shock excitation mayremain strong even behind a smaller stator. The evaluation ofthe aerodynamic excitation towards a HCF risk reduction shouldonly be done with regard to the excited mode shape, asdemonstrated with parametric studies of the mode shapeinfluence on excitability.</p><p><b>Keywords:</b>Aeroelasticity, Aerodynamics, Stator-RotorInteraction, Excitation Mechanism, Unsteady Flow Computation,Forced Response, High Cycle Fatigue, Turbomachinery,Gas-Turbine, High-Pressure Turbine, Turbopump, CFD, Design</p>

京都大学 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(工学) / 甲第24845号 / 工博第5162号 / 新制||工||1986(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院工学研究科機械理工学専攻 / (主査)教授 平山, 朋子, 教授 松原, 厚, 教授 小森, 雅晴 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Philosophy (Engineering) / Kyoto University / DFAM