Prédiction de la génération des pertes des écoulements compressibles anisothermes appliquée aux distributeurs hautes pressions de turbine avec les simulations aux grandes échelles

Afin d'améliorer l'efficacité des moteurs aéronautiques, une des solutions envisagées par les industriels est d'augmenter la température d'entrée de la turbine. Cependant, ces hautes températures induisent de fortes contraintes thermiques sur les pales de turbine ce qui réduit leur durée de vie. Pour surmonter ces problèmes thermiques, des systèmes de refroidissement efficaces sont nécessaires. Afin d'évaluer la performance de ces systèmes, une prédiction précise de la température de paroi des pales de turbine et des pertes générées par ces systèmes est requise. Profitant de l'opportunité de récents développements d'outils de prédiction haute-fidélité, cette thèse financée par Safran Helicopter Engines à travers le projet FUI CASCADE, a pour but de valider la prédiction de la température de paroi des pales de turbine refroidie et des pertes générées par ces systèmes avec la Simulation aux Grandes Echelles (SGE). Pour atteindre ces objectifs, différentes configurations académiques et industrielles refroidies par film de refroidissement ont été simulées et étudiées. Les résultats obtenus dans cette thèse montrent que la SGE est capable de prédire l'aérodynamique et l'environnement thermique pour de tels systèmes. Pour faciliter l'utilisation de la SGE dans l’industrie et limiter le coût CPU lié à la résolution de l'écoulement dans le système de refroidissement des pales, un modèle de jets de refroidissement a été proposé et évalué dans ce travail. Les résultats montrent que ce modèle permet de reproduire l'aérodynamique des jets de refroidissement et la température de paroi des pales sans mailler le système de refroidissement. Pour évaluer les pertes dans ce contexte, l’approche Second Law Analysis (SLA) est adoptée. Contrairement aux bilans de température et pression totales, cette approche donne directement accès aux champs de perte 3D qui sont construits à partir des termes sources de l’entropie résolus sur le maillage. Ainsi, le mécanisme de génération de perte peut être localement étudié et ne requière pas de procédure de moyenne contrairement aux modèles de perte 1D. Ces champs de perte sont décomposés en deux contributions : une contribution aérodynamique et une contribution thermique liée au mélange chaud-froid. L'étude de ces champs montre que les pertes aérodynamiques sont principalement générées dans les régions de fort cisaillement (couche limite et de mélange) alors que les pertes de mélange sont générées dans les films de refroidissement et dans le sillage des pales. Des analyses avancées des champs de perte mettent en évidence que les fluctuations turbulentes dominent la génération des pertes pour ces systèmes. Ce dernier résultat met en évidence les bénéfices de l'approche Second Law Analysis pour prédire les pertes à partir des champs obtenus avec la SGE. En effet et contrairement aux approches RANS, les contributions turbulentes des pertes sont directement résolues sur le maillage avec la SGE et ne requiert aucune stratégie de modélisation. La principale conclusion de cette thèse est que l'approche Second Law Analysis couplée avec la SGE est une méthodologie très prometteuse et pertinente pour la prédiction des écoulements et des pertes pour les futurs designs de pale de turbine industriel

A Detailed Loss Analysis Methodology for Centrifugal Compressors

A deep understanding of loss mechanisms inside a turbomachine is crucial for the design and analysis work. By quantifying the various losses generated from different flow mechanisms, a targeted optimization can be carried out on the blading design. In this paper an evaluation method for computational fluid dynamics simulations has been developed to quantify the loss generation based on entropy production in the flow field. A breakdown of losses caused by different mechanisms (such as skin friction, secondary flow, tip clearance vortex and shock waves) is achieved by separating the flow field into different zones. Each zone is defined by the flow physics rather than by geometrical locations or empirical correlations, which makes the method a more general approach and applicable to different machine types. The method has been applied to both subsonic and transonic centrifugal compressors, where internal flow is complex due to the Coriolis acceleration and the curvature effect. An evaluation of loss decomposition is obtained at various operational conditions. The impact of design modification is also assessed by applying the same analysis to an optimized design

Hydraulic loss analysis in a pump-turbine with special emphasis on local rigid vortex and shear

Since the pump as turbine is increasingly employed in energy storage, improving efficiency in both pump and turbine modes is required for economic benefits. This study aims to analyze vortex flow characteristics and vortex control methods in both modes to reduce hydraulic loss. In this paper, a delayed detached eddy simulation was applied in a low specific speed pump-turbine. Based on the entropy production analysis and vorticity binary decomposition in the local vortices, the results show that the local shear is the leading cause of hydraulic loss instead of the existence of vortices. The average wake loss can be 1.6 times higher than the loss in jet regions in pump mode, but there is little difference in the distribution of shear and vortices in the wake flow in turbine mode. The local loss caused by the rotor-stator interaction with a tongue effect at blade passing frequency is up to threefold over the loss without a tongue effect in both modes. Reducing shear and ratio of shear to rigid vorticity of the local vortices via modification in the volute tongue angle to suppress the tongue effect can be an effective way to decrease hydraulic loss in both modes

Direct numerical simulation of a tip-leakage flow in a planar duct with a longitudinal slit

A planar duct flow configuration with a cross-flow injected from a longitudinal slit close to the upper wall of the duct is studied by using a direct numerical simulation approach to explore the underlying flow mechanism in relation to the tip-leakage vortex (TLV), which is one of the most important flow phenomena in turbomachinery. Major characteristics of TLV in a rotor of turbomachinery are identified in the current flow model. The analysis of mean and instantaneous flow fields reveals that the interaction between the main (axial) flow and jet (cross) flow is the primary source of the generation of the TLV. The evolution of the TLV is then investigated, and a vortex breakup phenomenon is identified. The evolution of TLV can be divided into three phases, i.e. the formation phase, the break-up phase, and the diffusion phase. Mean streamlines and turbulence kinetic energy (TKE) budgets are analysed, showing that the high TKE central spot in the formation phase is due to the interaction between highly swirling vortex filaments and mean velocity gradient. In the outer part of the TLV, the TKE is mainly produced in the shear-layer and transported towards the centre by the turbulence transport

Numerical Investigation of Subsonic Flow through an Aggressive Flat Bottom Diffuser

Airflow through an aggressive, constant pressure gradient, flat-bottomed 2D diffuser is simulated with the compressible version of the stabilized, implicit finite element code PHASTA. The freestream Mach number of fluid entering the diffuser is held at a value of M = 0.7 with a PI feedback loop. For a quasi 1D flow, the expansion ratio of AAIP / AInlet = 2.33 produces a Mach number of 0.25 by the end of the diffuser or Aerodynamics Interface Plane (AIP). However, the compact geometry and high targeted pressure gradient of dp/dx=162 kPa/m result in massive asymmetric separation off of the curved ceiling. To improve this situation, wall suction is applied to the ceiling, floor, and corners of the duct as a flow control surrogate while the geometry is iterated to better achieve the targeted pressure gradient. After iterating geometry, the separation dynamics are then studied in greater detail with both Unsteady Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes (URANS) and Delayed Detached-eddy Simulations (DDES). The duct naturally develops a strong vortical structure downstream of the AIP which can be limited to the upper half of the duct with corner suction. However, the structure of the secondary flow with just corner suction differs substantially between RANS and DDES. Experimental results are not yet available for comparison. Tangential blowing is also studied, but results are only available for flow control on the floor. RANS simulations indicate that floor blower is moderately more effective at maintaining steady, attached flow at the AIP than the floor suction used in other simulations

On the numerical simulation of compressible flows

In this thesis, numerical tools to simulate compressible flows in a wide range of situations are presented. It is intended to represent a step forward in the scientific research of the numerical simulation of compressible flows, with special emphasis on turbulent flows with shock wave-boundary-layer and vortex interactions. From an academic point of view, this thesis represents years of study and research by the author. It is intended to reflect the knowledge and skills acquired throughout the years that at the end demonstrate the author’s capability of conducting a scientific research, from the beginning to the end, present valuable genuine results, and potentially explore the possibility of real world applications with tangible social and economic benefits. Some of the applications that can take advantage of this thesis are: marine and offshore engineering, combustion in engines or weather forecast, aerodynamics (automotive and aerospace industry), biomedical applications and many others. Nevertheless, the present work is framed in the field of compressible aerodynamics and gas combustion with a clear target: aerial transportation and engine technology. The presented tools allow for studies on sonic boom, drag, noise and emissions reduction by means of geometrical design and flow control techniques on subsonic, transonic and supersonic aerodynamic elements such as wings, airframes or engines. Results of such studies can derive in new and ecologically more respectful, quieter vehicles with less fuel consumption and structural weight reduction. We start discussing the motivation for this thesis in chapter one, which is placed into the upcoming second generation of supersonic aircraft that surely will be flying the skies in no more than 20 years. Then, compressible flows are defined and the equations of motion and their mathematical properties are presented. Navier Stokes equations arise from conservation laws, and the hyperbolic properties of the Euler equations will be used to develop numerical schemes. Chapter two is focused on the numerical simulation with Finite Volumes techniques of the compressible Navier-Stokes equations. Numerical schemes commonly found in the literature are presented, and a unique hybrid-scheme is developed that is able to accurately predict turbulent flows in all the compressible regimens (subsonic, transonic and supersonic). The scheme is applied on the flow around a NACA0012 airfoil at several Mach numbers, showing its ability to be used as a design tool in order to reduce drag or sonic boom, for example. At subsonic regimens, results show excellent agreement with reference data, which allowed the study of the same case at transonic conditions. We were able to observe the buffet phenomenon on the airfoil, which consists of shock-waves forming and disappearing, causing a dramatic loss of aerodynamic performance in a highly unsteady process. To perform a numerical simulation, however, boundary conditions are also required in addition to numerical schemes. A new set of boundary conditions is introduced in chapter three. They are developed for three-dimensional turbulent flows with or without shocks. They are tested in order to assess its suitability. Results show good performance for three-dimensional turbulent flows with additional advantages with respect traditional boundary conditions formulations. Unfortunately, compressible flows usually require high amounts of computational power to its simulation. High speeds and low viscosity result in very thin boundary layers and small turbulent structures. The grid required in order to capture this flow structures accurately often results in unfeasible simulations. This fact motivates the use of turbulent models and wall models in order to overcome this restriction. Turbulent models are discussed in chapter four. The Reynolds-Averaged Navier Stokes (RANS) approach is compared with Large-Eddy Simulation (LES) with and without wall modeling (WMLES). A transonic diffuser is simulated in order to evaluate its performance. Results showed the ability of RANS methods to capture shock-wave positions accurately, but failing in the detached part of the flow. LES, on the other hand, was not able to reproduce shock-waves positions accurately due to the lack of precision on the shock wave-boundary-layer interaction (SBLI). The use of a wall model, nevertheless, allowed to overcome this issue, resulting in an accurate method to capture shock-waves and also flow separation. More research on WMLES is encouraged for future studies on SBLIs, since they allow three-dimensional unsteady studies with feasible levels of computational requirements. With all these tools, we are able to solve at this point any problem concerned with the aerodynamic design of high-speed vehicles which were identified in previous paragraphs. Finally, multi-component flows are discussed in chapter five. Our hybrid scheme is upgraded to deal with multi-component gases and tested in several cases. We demonstrate that with a redefinition of the discontinuity sensor multi-components flows can be solved with low levels of diffusion while being stable in the presence of high scalar gradients. Because of the work of this thesis, a complete numerical approach to the numerical simulation of compressible turbulent multi-component flows with or without discontinuities in a wide range of Reynolds and Mach numbers is proposed and validated. Direct applications can be found in civil aviation (subsonic and supersonic) and engine operation.En aquesta tesis es presenten tècniques numèriques per a la simulació de compressibles en una gran varietat de situacions. L’objectiu és el de donar un pas endavant en la investigació científica de la simulació numèrica de fluids compressibles, amb especial èmfasi en fluxos turbulents amb interaccions entre ones de xoc, capa límit y vòrtex. Algunes de les aplicacions que es poden beneficiar d’aquesta investigació són: enginyeria marítima, combustió en motors, predicció meteorològica, aerodinàmica en la industria automotriu y aeronàutica, aplicacions biomèdiques y moltes altres. Tot i així, aquest treball s’emmarca en el camp de l’aerodinàmica compressible y la combustió de gasos amb un clar objectiu: el transport aeri i la tecnologia de motors. Les ferramentes presentades permeten l’estudi del sònic boom, resistència aerodinàmica, soroll y reducció d’emissions mitjançant el disseny geomètric i tècniques de control de flux en elements aerodinàmics tals com ales o motors en règims subsònics, transsònics i supersònics. Els resultats de tals estudis poden donar lloc a nous vehicles més ecològics, respectuosos amb el medi ambient, més silenciosos, amb menor peso estructural i menys consum de combustible.Postprint (published version

Detached Eddy Simulation for Aerospace Applications

With the continuous growth in air traffic that we see nowadays, comes an increase in the requirements needed to be satisfied in order to certify an aircraft for operation. These stricter regulations affect aspects such as CO2 emissions, sound pollution and so on, pushing manufacturers to aim for lighter, more efficient, more robust designs. These improvements might be achieved in two different ways; by improving/optimizing existing technology, or by developing new technological concepts. In either of the two scenarios, numerical tools, such as optimization methods or reliable fluid flow simulations play a paramount role. In this thesis, new functionalities implemented into the in-house compressible Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) solver, G3D::Flow, are described. These new additions have been put in place with the objective of performing turbomachinery simulations using hybrid RANS/LES methods as well as nozzle flow simulations. Some of the additions to G3D::Flow include: phase-lagged pitch-wise and rotor-stator interfaces based on the chorochronic method as well as a method based on Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD), sliding grid interface and synthetic turbulence injection. The added capabilities, enable G3D::Flow to perform high-fidelity turbomachinery CFD simulations, which were not affordable before due to their high computational cost, since truncated domains can be used.A hybrid RANS/LES simulation of the VOLVO S6 nozzle contour operating under overexpanded conditions is performed. This same geometry, under the same conditions, was previously simulated and reported using a different hybrid RANS/LES methodology. A reduction of over $50\%$ in the difference between the predicted standard deviation of the side loads and those measured in a previous experimental is observed in the current simulation.In this work, an optimization framework called HAMON is also presented, which is based on evolutionary algorithms. In cases where the optimization is based on computationally heavy tasks, such as 3D CFD simulations, meta-modeling techniques can be used to speed up the optimization processes. HAMON can be used to fine tune an existing design, or as it has been used here, as black-box approach. It has been able to design counter rotating open rotors with more than acceptable performance where no knowledge about propeller aerodynamics was assumed, giving all the design variables more freedom than probably needed. This black-box approach might be specially useful when optimizing new technologies for which no prior knowledge exist, allowing not only to, hopefully, find good designs but also to show the trends of what a good design should be like

Mixed acoustic–entropy combustion instabilities in gas turbines

A combustion instability in a combustor terminated by a nozzle is analysed and modelled based on a low-order Helmholtz solver. A large eddy simulation (LES) of the corresponding turbulent, compressible and reacting flow is first performed and analysed based on dynamic mode decomposition (DMD). The mode with the highest amplitude shares the same frequency of oscillation as the experiment (approximately 320 Hz) and shows the presence of large entropy spots generated within the combustion chamber and convected down to the exit nozzle. The lowest purely acoustic mode being in the range 700–750 Hz, it is postulated that the instability observed around 320 Hz stems from a mixed entropy–acoustic mode, where the acoustic generation associated with entropy spots being convected throughout the choked nozzle plays a key role. The DMD analysis allows one to extract from the LES results a low-order model that confirms that the mechanism of the low-frequency combustion instability indeed involves both acoustic and convected entropy waves. The delayed entropy coupled boundary condition (DECBC) (Motheau, Selle & Nicoud, J. Sound Vib., vol. 333, 2014, pp. 246–262) is implemented into a numerical Helmholtz solver where the baseline flow is assumed at rest. When fed with appropriate transfer functions to model the entropy generation and convection from the flame to the exit, the Helmholtz/DECBC solver predicts the presence of an unstable mode around 320 Hz, in agreement with both LES and experiments

Entropy Generation of Secondary Flow in a Turning Passage with Different Boundary Layer Characteristics

© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).The development of secondary flow along a curved channel is a fundamental flow phenomenon occurring in a wide range of engineering applications, including turbomachinery, aerospace, heating, ventilation, air conditioning, etc. The underlying flow physics about end-wall secondary flows has been well-documented in the open literature, while the interaction between a secondary flow and a side-wall boundary layer, which is critical to the aerothermal performance of a side-wall surface, has not been comprehensively studied. In this study, the entropy generation of secondary flow and the interaction between an end-wall passage vortex and a side-wall boundary layer were numerically investigated by Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) CFD for a 90° curved channel. The transportation effect of secondary flow and the generation mechanism of an induced vortex pair on the side wall is reported. It was also found that the growth of the secondary flow can be suppressed due to the displacement effect of the side-wall boundary layer. Furthermore, it was found that the interaction between a secondary flow and a side-wall boundary layer provides a suppression effect on side-wall boundary layer separation.Peer reviewe