Influence of global rotation and Reynolds number on the large-scale features of a turbulent Taylor–Couette flow

We experimentally study the turbulent flow between two coaxial and independently rotating cylinders. We determined the scaling of the torque with Reynolds numbers at various angular velocity ratios Rotation numbers and the behavior of the wall shear stress when varying the Rotation number at high Reynolds numbers.We compare the curves with particle image velocimetry analysis of the mean flow and show the peculiar role of perfect counter-rotation for the emergence of organized large scale structures in the mean part of this very turbulent flow that appear in a smooth and continuous way: the transition resembles a supercritical bifurcation of the secondary mean flow

Influence of design parameters on the global performances of low-speed counter-rotating axial-flow fans

The present work aims at experimentally investigating the effects of some parameters on the performances of a counter-rotating stage, and on the instationary flow between the rotors. Three counter-rotating fans, which have the same design point, have been designed. These systems differ by the distribution of the loading and of the ratio of angular velocity between the front rotor and the rear rotor. All the configurations have been tested in a normalized test rig, where the ratio of angular velocities and the axial distance between the two rotors can be varied. The influence of these parameters are then addressed by analysing the experimental results of the static pressure rise and static efficiency, as well as of the wall pressure fluctuations registered by a microphone at the wall. The three systems achieve the design point with a high efficiency. The counter-rotating systems lead to at least a 10 percentage points gain in static efficiency at the design flow rate, compared to the typical peak efficiency of a traditional rotor-stator stage. Meanwhile, counter-rotating systems display good working stabilities at very low volume flow rates. In addition, at the design speed ratio, the overall performance decreases almost monotonically with the axial distance. Nevertheless, an optimum in axial distance can be found for higher speed ratios. Finally, the investigations of the wall pressure fluctuations show that the amplitudes of power spectral density corresponding to the blade passing frequency of the rear rotor are significantly higher than that of the front rotor. The interaction peaks are also stronger for an equal distribution of the work on the two rotors

On the dynamics and breakup of a bubble immersed in a turbulent flow

Experimental investigations of the dynamics of a deformable bubble rising in a uniform turbulent flow are reported. The turbulence is characterized by fast PIV. Time-resolved evolutions of bubble translation, rotation and deformation are determined by three-dimensional shape recognition from three perpendicular camera views. The bubble dynamics involves three mechanisms fairly decoupled: (i) average shape is imposed by the mean motion of the bubble relative to liquid; (ii) wake instability generates almost periodic oscillations of velocity and orientation; (iii) turbulence causes random deformations that sometimes lead to breakup. The deformation dynamics is radically different from that observed in the absence of a significant sliding motion due to buoyancy. Large deformations that lead to breakup are not axisymmetric and correspond to elongations in the horizontal direction. The timescale of decay of shape oscillations is of the same order as their natural frequency f2, so that breakup always results from the interaction with a single turbulent eddy. This overdamping causes the statistics of large deformations and the statistics of breakup identical to the statistics of turbulence. The bubble response time f2 however controls the duration of individual breakup events

Experimental comparison between a counter-rotating axial-flow fan and a conventional rotor-stator stage

Based on the requirement of energy consumption level and weight and dimension restriction, compact axial machines are highly demanded in many industrial fields. The counter-rotating axial-flow fans could be a promising way to achieve these requirements. Because of the reduction of rotational speed and a better homogenization of the flow downstream of the rear rotor, these machines may have very good aerodynamic performances. However, they are rarely used in subsonic applications, mainly due to poor knowledge of the aerodynamics in the mixing area between the two rotors, where very complex structures are produced by the interaction of highly unsteady flows. The purpose of the present work is to compare the global performances (static pressure rise and static efficiency) and the wall pressure fluctuations downstream of the first rotor for three different stages operating at the same point: a single subsonic axial-flow fan, a conventional rotor-stator stage and a counter-rotating system that have been designed with in-house tools. The counter-rotating system allows large savings of energy with respect to the other two systems, for lower rotation rates and by adjusting the distance between the two rotors, a solution with comparable wall pressure fluctuations levels for the three systems is found

Experimental and Numerical Analysis of the Flow Inside a Configuration Including an Axial Pump and a Tubular Exchanger

In centrifugal and axial pumps, the flow is characterized by a turbulent and complex behavior and also by physical mechanisms such as cavitation and pressure fluctuations that are mainly due to the strong interactions between the fixed and mobile parts and the operating conditions. These fluctuations are more important at the tip clearance and propagate upstream and downstream of the rotor. The control of the fluctuating signal amplitudes can be achieved by incrementing the distance between the components mentioned above. This paper presents experimental and numerical results concerning the operation of a configuration that includes an axial pump and a bundle of tubes that mimics the cool source of a heat exchanger. The pump used in the tests has a low solidity and two blades designed in forced vortex, the tip clearance is approximately 3.87% of tip radius. The experimental measures were carried out using a test bench built for this purpose at the DynFluid Laboratory which was accomodated conveniently with a variety of instruments. Firstly, the characteristic curves were drawn for the pump at 1500 rpm and then a set of measurements concerning the use of pressure sensors was done in order to recover for different flow rates the static pressure signals upstream and downstream the pump and the exchanger. The pressure fluctuations and the performance curve were compared to the numerical results. The numerical simulations were carried out by using a Fluent code, the URANS (Unsteady Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes) approach and the k-ω SST turbulence model were applied to solve the unsteady, incompressible and turbulent flow. To record the fluctuating pressure signal, virtual sensors were necessary and placed at the same positions as in the experiments

Experimental study of blade thickness effects on the global and local performances of a Controlled Vortex Designed axial-flow fan

The purpose of this work is to study the effects of blade thickness on the performances of an axial-flow fan. Two fans that differ only in the thickness of their blades were studied. The first fan was designed to be part of the cooling system of an automotive vehicle power unit and has very thin blades. The second fan has much thicker blades compatible with the rotomoulding conception process. The global performances of the fans were measured in a test bench designed according to the ISO-5801 standard. The curve of aerodynamics characteristics (pressure head versus ow-rate) is slightly steeper for the fan with thick blades, and the nominal point is shifted towards lower flow-rates. The efficiency of the thick blades fan is lower than the efficiency of the fan with thin blades but remains high on a wider flow-rate range. The mean velocity field downstream of the rotors are very similar at nominal points with less centrifugation for the thick blades fan. The thick blades fan moreover maintains an axial exit-flow on a wider range of flow-rates. The main dierences concern local properties of the flow: Phase-averaged velocities and wall pressure fluctuations strongly differ at the nominal flow-rates. The total level of fluctuations is lower for the thick blades fan that for the thin blades fan and the spectral decomposition of the wall fluctuations and velocity signals reveal more harmonics for the thick blades fan, with less correlation between the different signals. For this kind of turbomachinery, the use of thick blades could lead to a good compromise between aerodynamic and acoustic performances, on a wider operating range

Experimental study of blade rigidity effects on the global and the local performances of a thick blades axial-flow fan

An experimental investigation on the aerodynamic performances of thick blades axial-flow fans was carried out in this study. Two fans are considered, the first one is rotomoulded (in plastic) and the second one is milled (in aluminium). Both have exactly the same shape, excepting that the rotomoulded fan has hollow blades. They were designed from an existing fan (manufactured by plastic injection process) used in the cooling system of an automotive vehicle power unit. As far as shape is concerned, the only difference between the two first fans and the traditional injected fan is the blade thickness, whereas as far as rigidity is concerned, the only difference between the rotomoulded and the milled fans is the ability of the rotomoulded fan to be deformed easier than the milled fan. The aim of this study is to determine on the one hand the influence of the blade thickness and on the other hand the way the deformation of the hollow blades may affect the global and the local performances. The global performances of the fans were measured in a test bench designed according to the ISO 5801 standards. The curve of the aerodynamics characteristics (pressure head versus flow rate) and of the global efficiency are slightly lower for the rotomoulded fan. The wall pressure fluctuations were also investigated for three flow rates: one corresponding to the maximum efficiencies of both fans and two others corresponding to an under-flow and an over-flow rate. The power spectral density (PSD) levels, estimated by the Welch method, are between six and nine times higher for the rotomoulded fan at nominal flow rate. At partial flow rate, however, the PSD levels are close for both fans

High Accuracy Volume Flow Rate Measurement Using Vortex Counting

A prototype device for measuring the volumetric flow-rate by counting vortices has been designed and realized. It consists of a square-section pipe in which are placed a two-dimensional bluff body and a strain gauge force sensor. These two elements are separated from each other, unlike the majority of vortex apparatus currently available. The principle is based on the generation of a separated wake behind the bluff body. The volumetric flow-rate measurement is done by counting vortices using a flat plate placed in the wake and attached to the beam sensor. By optimizing the geometrical arrangement, the search for a significant signal has shown that it was possible to get a quasi-periodic signal, within a good range of flow rates so that its performances are well deduced. The repeatability of the value of the volume of fluid passed for every vortex shed is tested for a given flow and then the accuracy of the measuring device is determined. This quantity is the constant of the device and is called the digital volume (V_p). It has the dimension of a volume and varies with the confinement of the flow and with the Reynolds number. Therefore, a dimensionless quantity is introduced, the reduced digital volume (V_r) that takes into account the average speed in the contracted section downstream of the bluff body. The reduced digital volume is found to be independent of the confinement in a significant range of Reynolds numbers, which gives the device a good accuracy

Experimental investigation on ducted counter-rotating axial flow fans

An experimental study on counter-rotating axial-flow fans was carried out. The fans of diameter D = 375 mm were designed using an inverse method. The counter-rotating fans operate in a ducted-flow configuration and the overall performances are measured in a normalized test bench. The rotation rate of each fan is independently controlled. The axial spacing between the fans can vary from 10 to 50 mm by steps of 10 mm. The results show that the efficiency is strongly increased compared to a conventional rotor or to a rotor-stator stage. The effects of varying the rotation rates ratio on the overall performances are studied and show that the system is highly efficient on a wide range of flow-rates and pressure rises. However, the change of the axial distance between rotors from 10 to 50 mm does not seem to change the overall performances. This system has thus a very flexible use, with a large patch of high efficient operating points in the parameter space. Further local studies including velocity measurements and wall-pressure fluctuations in the space between the rotors are needed to better understand the interactions between the rotors and to optimize the system