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Computational Fluid Dynamics in Gas Turbines

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A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "J2: Thermodynamics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2024 | Viewed by 6599

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Roberto Pacciani

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Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Florence, via di Santa Marta, 3, 50139 Florence, Italy
Interests: computational fluid dynamics; CFD simulation; fluid mechanics; numerical simulation; computational fluid mechanics; numerical modeling aerodynamics; numerical analysis; modeling and simulation; engineering thermodynamics
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Dr. Michele Marconcini

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Guest Editor

Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Florence, via di Santa Marta, 3, 50139 Florence, Italy
Interests: development of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) techniques for steady/unsteady viscous solvers
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Turbine and compressor performance is a crucial aspect in terms of increasing efficiency and reducing emissions for multiple applications, such as aeroengines and power-generation systems. The manufacturers of aircraft engines, gas turbines or industrial compressors are forced to pursue interdisciplinary design approaches involving aerodynamics, aeromechanics, and heat transfer in order to improve performance and durability, reduce fuel consumption, and minimize the environmental footprint. Today, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is a key enabler allowing the pursuit of such goals. However, current aerodynamic design tools, mainly based on RANS/URANS approaches, frequently fail to predict flow details in blade passages. In consideration of this fact, researchers in the field of CFD are progressively moving towards the study of high-fidelity approaches in order to gain further insights into turbomachinery flows.

This Special Issue invites high-quality research papers covering a wide range of topics related to the development and application of CFD methods for turbomachinery design and analysis. All topics related to gas turbines, such as fans, compressors, turbines, etc., are within its scope.

We hope that researchers involved in the aforementioned fields will consider participating in this Special Issue.

Prof. Dr. Roberto Pacciani
Prof. Dr. Michele Marconcini
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

turbine aerodynamics
turbine aeromechanics
turbine aeroacustics
compressor aerodynamics
compressor aeromechanics
gas turbine heat transfer
turbulence and transition modelling for turbomachinery flows
high fidelity simulations of turbomachinery flows
off-design predictions

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 7330 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Analysis of the Flow Capacity of Variable Cycle Split Fans at the Middle Speed

by Guangfeng An, Rui Zhou, Xianjun Yu, Baojie Liu and Guanghan Wu

Energies 2024, 17(5), 1194; https://doi.org/10.3390/en17051194 - 02 Mar 2024

Viewed by 453

Abstract

The next-generation variable cycle engine imposes stricter requirements on a fan’s flow capacity at the middle speed. To tackle this challenge, the implementation of split fans presents as a potential solution. In the present study, we conducted numerical simulations using the commercial software NUMECA to investigate the aerodynamic performance variation with bypass ratios for variable cycle split fans in “1 + 2” and “2 + 1” configurations at 80% rpm. The results indicate that the flow capacity of the split fans exhibits an increasing trend with a rise in the bypass ratio at 80% rpm and subsequently stabilizes upon reaching a certain bypass ratio. Specifically, the flow capacity of the “2 + 1” split fans is particularly stronger at the small bypass ratios, whereas the “1 + 2” split fans exhibit superior maximum flow capacity at the high bypass ratios. Additionally, there is a significantly faster increase in the flow capacity of the “1 + 2” split fans compared to that of the “2 + 1” split fans. Furthermore, when the flow capacity of the split fans reaches its maximum, both the efficiency and stall margin achieve their optimal values, indicating that the corresponding bypass ratio is optimal. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Computational Fluid Dynamics in Gas Turbines)

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20 pages, 12715 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Numerical Investigation of Unsteady Rotor–Stator Interaction Mechanism and Wake Transportation Characteristics in a Compressor with Non-Uniform Tip Clearance Rotor

by Guochen Zhang, Zhipeng Li, Qijiao Wang, Zhihui Xu and Zhiyuan Cao

Energies 2023, 16(23), 7907; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16237907 - 04 Dec 2023

Viewed by 705

Abstract

This study aims to numerically investigate a transonic compressor by solving the unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations. The flow mechanisms related to unsteady flow were carefully examined and compared between rotors with non-uniform tip clearance (D1) and small-value tip clearance (P1). The unsteady flow field near the 50% and 95% blade span characterized by unsteady rotor–stator interaction was analyzed in detail for near-stall (NS) conditions. According to the findings, the perturbation of unsteady aerodynamic force for the stator is much bigger than that of the rotor. At the mid-gap between the rotor and stator, the perturbation of tangential velocity of the D1 scheme in the rotor and stator frame is reduced. At the rotor’s outlet region, the perturbation intensity is divided into three main perturbation regions, which are respectively concentrated in the TLV near the upper endwall, the corner separation at the blade root, and the wake of the whole blade span. Through the analysis of the wake transportation characteristics, it was found that when the wake passes through the stator blade surface, the wake exerts a substantial influence on the flow within the stator passage. It further leads to notable pressure perturbations on the stator’s surface, as well as affecting the development and flow loss of the boundary layer. The negative jet effect induces opposite secondary flow velocity on both sides of the wake near the stator’s surfaces. Therefore, the velocity at a specific point on the stator’s suction surface will decrease and then increase. Conversely, the velocity at a particular point on the pressure surface will increase and then decrease. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Computational Fluid Dynamics in Gas Turbines)

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21 pages, 8437 KiB

Open AccessArticle

RANS Prediction of Losses and Transition Onset in a High-Speed Low-Pressure Turbine Cascade

by Nicola Rosafio, Gustavo Lopes, Simone Salvadori, Sergio Lavagnoli and Daniela Anna Misul

Energies 2023, 16(21), 7348; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16217348 - 30 Oct 2023

Viewed by 852

Abstract

Current trends in aero-engine design are oriented at designing high-lift low-pressure turbine blades to reduce engine weight and dimensions. Therefore, the validation of numerical methods able to correctly capture the boundary layer transition at cruise conditions with a steady inflow for high-speed blades is of great relevance for turbine designers. The present paper details numerical simulations of a novel open-access high-speed low-pressure turbine test case that are performed using RANS-based transition models. The test case is the SPLEEN C1 cascade, tested in transonic conditions at the von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics. Both physics-based and correlation-based transition models are employed to predict blade loading, boundary layer characteristics, and wake development. 2D simulations are run for a wide range of operating conditions ranging from low to high transonic Mach numbers (0.7–0.95) and from low to moderate Reynolds numbers (70,000–120,000). The

γ

{\tilde{R e}}_{θ t}

transition model shows a good performance over the whole range of simulated operating conditions, thus demonstrating a good capability in both reproducing blade loading and average losses, although the wake’s width is underestimated. This leads to an overestimation of the total pressure deficit in the center of the wake which can exceed experimental measurements by more than 50%. On the other hand, the k-

ν^{2}

ω

model achieves satisfactory results at Ma

_{6, i s}

= 0.95, where the boundary layer state is affected by the presence of a weak shock impinging on the blade suction side which thickens the boundary layer, leading to a predicted shape factor equal to five, downstream of the shock. However, at low and moderate Mach numbers, the k-

ν^{2}

ω

model predicts long or open separation bubbles contrary to the experimental findings, thus indicating insufficient turbulence production downstream of the boundary layer separation. The slow boundary layer transition in the aft region of the suction side that is exhibited by the k-

ν^{2}

ω

model also affects the prediction of the outlet flow, featuring large peaks of a total pressure deficit if compared to both the experimental measurements and the

γ

{\tilde{R e}}_{θ t}

predictions. For the k-

ν^{2}

ω

model, the maximum overestimation of the total pressure deficit is approximately 60%. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Computational Fluid Dynamics in Gas Turbines)

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15 pages, 10309 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Improving the Efficiency of Fuel Combustion with the Use of Various Designs of Embrasures

by Ruslan V. Fedorov, Dmitry A. Generalov, Vyacheslav V. Sherkunov, Valeriy V. Sapunov and Sergey V. Busygin

Energies 2023, 16(11), 4452; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16114452 - 31 May 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 940

Abstract

Currently,

N O_{X}

Currently,

N O_{X}

emission requirements for thermal power plants and power equipment are being tightened. Regime and technical measures are being developed to improve the efficiency of fuel combustion in boilers. Due to the high cost of field studies, and in some cases the impossibility of conducting them, mathematical modeling tools allow one to work out technical and tactical measures. In this paper, the multidisciplinary STAR-CCM+ platform with GMU-45 type burners is used to simulate the combustion of gaseous fuel in a digital model of an energy boiler of the type TGME-464. By conducting numerical experiments, the possibility of reducing

N O_{X}

emissions by using flue gas recirculation is considered, and the efficiency of burner devices is compared when using different embrasure configurations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Computational Fluid Dynamics in Gas Turbines)

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14 pages, 2724 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Predicting the Impact of Compressor Flexibility Improvements on Heavy-Duty Gas Turbines for Minimum and Base Load Conditions

by Martina Ricci, Marcello Benvenuto, Stefano Gino Mosele, Roberto Pacciani and Michele Marconcini

Energies 2022, 15(20), 7546; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15207546 - 13 Oct 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1706

Abstract

The increasing importance of renewable energy capacity in the power generation scenario, together with the fluctuating consumer energy demand, forces conventional fossil fuel power generation systems to promptly respond to relevant and rapid load variations and to operate under off-design conditions during a major fraction of their lives. In order to improve existing power plants’ flexibility in facing energy surplus or deficit, retrofittable solutions for gas turbine compressors are proposed. In this paper, two different operation strategies, variable inlet guide vanes (IGVs) and blow-off extraction (BO), are considered for enabling partial load and minimum environmental load operation, and thus to identify implementation opportunities in existing thermal power plants. A typical 15-stage F-class gas turbine compressor is chosen as a test case and some energy demand scenarios are selected to validate the adopted solutions. The results of an extensive 3D, steady, CFD analysis are compared with the measurements coming from an experimental campaign carried out in the framework of the European Turbo-Reflex project. It will be shown how the combined strategies can reduce gas turbine mass flow rate and power plant output, without significantly penalizing efficiency, and how such off-design performance figures can be reliably predicted by employing state-of-the-art CFD models. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Computational Fluid Dynamics in Gas Turbines)

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21 pages, 8809 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of Loading Level on the Variation of Flow Losses in Subsonic Axial Compressors

by Ruoyu Wang, Xianjun Yu, Baojie Liu and Guangfeng An

Energies 2022, 15(17), 6251; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15176251 - 27 Aug 2022

Viewed by 1065

Abstract

The development of the aircraft industry seeks an increase in compressor loading, bringing unique flow phenomena and design problems; thus, insights into the ultrahigh loaded compressor are in great need. To reveal the loss characteristics of the ultrahigh loaded subsonic axial compressors, four well comparable compressor stages are carefully designed with the loading coefficient varying from 0.41 to 0.65. A novel flow-based loss decomposition method is performed to investigate the variation of different kinds of losses (including blade profile loss, tip leakage loss, casing endwall loss, and hub endwall loss) with the change in compressor loading level and operating condition. Results show that the blade profile loss always occupies the largest part of the total loss. In rotor passages, the percentage of the blade profile loss at the design point is increased from 69% to 76% with the increase in the compressor loading. Meanwhile, the proportion of the tip leakage loss decreases as the loading increases. For a specific compressor stage, the total loss of the rotor passage tends to increase with the increase in stage pressure rise coefficient along the operation line, whereas the proportion of the blade profile loss is squeezed by the tip leakage loss. As for stator passages, the proportion of blade profile loss to the total passage loss is nearly constant along the compressor operating line, but increases from 79% to 90% with the increase in the compressor loading level. By correlating the losses with blade solidity, it was found that the increase in flow losses in the highly loaded compressor, i.e., the decrease in efficiency, stems mainly from the high blade solidity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Computational Fluid Dynamics in Gas Turbines)

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