METHOD FOR ASSESSING EFFECTS OF CIRCUMFERENTIAL FLOW DISTORTION ON COMPRESSOR STABILITY.

This paper describes the development of a new analysis to predict the onset of flow instability for an axial compressor operating in a circumferentially distorted inlet flow. A relatively simple model is used to examine the influence of various distortions in setting this instability point. It is found that the model reproduces known experimental trends for the loss of stability margin with increasing distortion amplitude and with changes in reduced frequency.

Effects of rotating inlet distortion on multistage compressor stability

In multi-spool engines, rotating stall in an upstream compressor will impose a rotating distortion on the downstream compressor, thereby affecting its stability margin. In this paper experiments are described in which this effect was simulated by a rotating screen upstream of several multistage low-speed compressors. The measurements are complemented by, and compared with, a theoretical model of multistage compressor response to speed and direction of rotation of an inlet distortion. For co-rotating distortions (i.e., distortions rotating in the same direction as rotor rotation), experiments show that the compressors exhibited significant loss in stability margin and that they could be divided into two groups according to their response. The first group exhibited a single peak in stall margin degradation when the distortion speed corresponded to roughly 50% of rotor speed. The second group showed two peaks in stall margin degradation corresponding to distortion speeds of approximately 25-35% and 70-75% of rotor speed. These new results demonstrate that multistage compressors can have more than a single resonant response. Detailed measurements suggest that the two types of behavior are linked to differences between the stall inception processes observed for the two groups of compressors and that a direct connection thus exists between the observed forced response and the unsteady flow phenomena at stall onset. For counter-rotational distortions, all the compressors tested showed minimal loss of stability margin. The results imply that counter-rotation of the fan and core compressor, or LP and HP compressors, could be a worthwhile design choice. Calculations based on the two-dimensional theoretical model show excellent agreement for the compressors which had a single peak for stall margin degradation. We take this first-of-a-kind comparison as showing that the model, though simplified, captures the essential fluid dynamic features of the phenomena. Agreement is not good for compressors which had two peaks in the curve of stall margin shift versus distortion rotation speed. The discrepancy is attributed to the three-dimensional and short length scale nature of the stall inception process in these machines; this includes phenomena that have not yet been addressed in any model.

CALCULATIONS OF INLET DISTORTION INDUCED COMPRESSOR FLOWFIELD INSTABILITY.

Calculations are presented predicting the onset of flow instability for a multistage low speed axial compressor operating in circumferentially distorted inlet flow. The most important feature of the model used is that it attempts to properly account for the fluid dynamic interaction between the spoiled and unspoiled sectors of the compressor. The calculations show that there is an approximate stability criterion, the annulus averaged slope of the compressor pressure rise characteristic equal to zero, that is valid whenever the dynamics of the compressor distorted flowfield can be considered independent of the compressor environment. This approximate criterion is used to investigate the relationship between the present model and the 'parallel compressor' model. Further calculations are performed to investigate cases of interest when the dynamics of the compressor flowfield are coupled to the environment. Resonant cases and cases when the distortion is unsteady are studied.

A Study of Fan-Distortion Interaction Within the NASA Rotor 67 Transonic Stage

The performance of a transonic fan operating within nonuniform inlet flow remains a key concern for the design and operability of a turbofan engine. This paper applies computational methods to improve the understanding of the interaction between a transonic fan and an inlet total pressure distortion. The test case studied is the NASA rotor 67 stage operating with a total pressure distortion covering a 120-deg sector of the inlet flow field. Full-annulus, unsteady, three-dimensional CFD has been used to simulate the test rig installation and the full fan assembly operating with inlet distortion. Novel post-processing methods have been applied to extract the fan performance and features of the interaction between the fan and the nonuniform inflow. The results of the unsteady computations agree well with the measurement data. The local operating condition of the fan at different positions around the annulus has been tracked and analyzed, and this is shown to be highly dependent on the swirl and mass flow redistribution that the rotor induces ahead of it due to the incoming distortion. The upstream flow effects lead to a variation in work input that determines the distortion pattern seen downstream of the fan stage. In addition, the unsteady computations also reveal more complex flow features downstream of the fan stage, which arise due to the three dimensionality of the flow and unsteadiness. © 2012 American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

Experimental investigation of quench phenomena in YBCO thin films for SFCL applications

Superconducting Fault Current Limiters (SFCLs) are regarded as key components for modern power systems. The progress in the development of YBCO thin films opens new perspectives in the design of these devices. In this paper, the quenching phenomenon in YBCO thin films is investigated experimentally, in order to gain the proper technical know-how suitable for the design of resistive type SFCLs. In particular, the origin of the quenching, as well as the propagation dynamics within a YBCO tape, is investigated for different input current waveforms. The role of a parallel-connected protective resistance on the quench dynamic is also studied. © 2009 IEEE.

New application of temperature-dependent modelling of high temperature superconductors: Quench propagation and pulse magnetization

We present temperature-dependent modeling of high-temperature superconductors (HTS) to understand HTS electromagnetic phenomena where temperature fluctuation plays a nontrivial role. Thermal physics is introduced into the well-developed H-formulation model, and the effect of temperature-dependent parameters is considered. Based on the model, we perform extensive studies on two important HTS applications: quench propagation and pulse magnetization. A micrometer-scale quench model of HTS coil is developed, which can be used to estimate minimum quench energy and normal zone propagation velocity inside the coil. In addition, we study the influence of inhomogeneity of HTS bulk during pulse magnetization. We demonstrate how the inhomogeneous distribution of critical current inside the bulk results in varying degrees of heat dissipation and uniformity of final trapped field. The temperature- dependent model is proven to be a powerful tool to study the thermally coupled electromagnetic phenomena of HTS. © 2012 American Institute of Physics.

Experimental studies of the quench behaviour of MgB2 superconducting wires for fault current limiter applications

Various MgB2 wires with different sheath materials provided by Hyper Tech Research Inc., have been tested in the superconducting fault current limiter (SFCL) desktop tester at 24-26K in a self-field. Samples 1 and 2 are similarly fabricated monofilamentary MgB2 wires with a sheath of CuNi, except that sample 2 is doped with SiC and Mg addition. Sample 3 is a CuNi sheathed multifilamentary wire with Cu stabilization and Mg addition. All the samples with Nb barriers have the same diameter of 0.83mm and superconducting fractions ranging from 15% to 27% of the total cross section. They were heat-treated at temperatures of 700 °C for a hold time of 20-40min. Current limiting properties of MgB2 wires subjected to pulse overcurrents have been experimentally investigated in an AC environment in the self-field at 50Hz. The quench currents extracted from the pulse measurements were in a range of 200-328A for different samples, corresponding to an average engineering critical current density (Je) of around 4.8 × 10 4Acm-2 at 25K in the self-field, based on the 1νVcm-1 criterion. This work is intended to compare the quench behaviour in the Nb-barrier monofilamentary and multifilamentary MgB2 wires with CuNi and Cu/CuNi sheaths. The experimental results can be applied to the design of fault current limiter applications based on MgB2 wires. © IOP Publishing Ltd.

A novel MPT noise prediction methodology for highly-integrated propulsion systems with inlet flow distortion

Embedded propulsion systems, such as for example used in advanced hybrid-wing body aircraft, can potentially offer major fuel burn and noise reduction benefits but introduce challenges in the aerodynamic and acoustic integration of the high-bypass ratio fan system. A novel approach is proposed to quantify the effects of non-uniform flow on the generation and propagation of multiple pure tone noise (MPTs). The new method is validated on a conventional inlet geometry first. The ultimate goal is to conduct a parametric study of S-duct inlets in order to quantify the effects of inlet design parameters on the acoustic signature. The key challenge is that the mechanism underlying the distortion transfer, noise source generation and propagation through the non-uniform flow field are inherently coupled such that a simultaneous computation of the aerodynamics and acoustics is required. The technical approach is based on a body force description of the fan blade row that is able to capture the distortion transfer and the MPT noise generation mechanisms while greatly reducing computational cost. A single, 3-D full-wheel unsteady CFD simulation, in which the Euler equations are solved to second-order spatial and temporal accuracy, simultaneously computes the MPT noise generation and its propagation in distorted mean flow. Several numerical tools were developed to enable the implementation of this new approach. Parametric studies were conducted to determine appropriate grid and time step sizes for the propagation of acoustic waves. The Ffowcs-Williams and Hawkings integral method is used to propagate the noise to far field receivers. Non-reflecting boundary conditions are implemented through the use of acoustic buffer zones. The body force modeling approach is validated and proof-of-concept studies demonstrate the generation of disturbances at both blade-passing and shaft-order frequencies using the perturbed body force method. The full methodology is currently being validated using NASA's Source Diagnostic Test (SDT) fan and inlet geometry. Copyright © 2009 by Jeff Defoe, Alex Narkaj & Zoltan Spakovszky.