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

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 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 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 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

Experimental study of hydraulic transport of large particles in horizontal pipes

This article presents an experimental study of the hydraulic transport of very large solid particles (above 5 mm) in an horizontal pipe. Two specific masses are used for the solids. The solids are spheres that are large with respect to the diameter of the pipe (5, 10 and 15%) or real stones of arbitrary shapes but constant specific mass and a size distribution similar to the tested spherical beads. Finally, mixtures of size and / or specific mass are studied. The regimes are characterized with differential pressure measurements and visualizations. The results are compared to empirical models based on dimensionless numbers, together with 1D models that are based on mass and momentum balance. A model for the transport of large particles in vertical pipes is also proposed and tested on data available in the Literature, in order to compare the trends that are observed in the present experiments in a horizontal pipe to the trends predicted for a vertical pipe. The results show that the grain size and specific mass have a strong effect on the transition point between regimes with a stationary bed and dispersed flows. The pressure drops are moreover smaller for large particles in the horizontal part contrary to what occurs for vertical pipes, and to the predictions of the empirical correlations

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

Cavitation regime detection through Proper Orthogonal Decomposition: dynamics analysis of the sheet cavity on a grooved convergent-divergent nozzle

The unsteady character of the sheet cavity dynamics on the suction side of hydrofoils, on convergent–divergent nozzles or on blades in turbines and propellers is responsible for many issues like erosion, noise and vibrations. This two-phase flow dynamics is investigated using a robust method based on Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD). This method is applied to sequences of sheet cavity images, in order to identify the cavitation regimes (sheet cavity or cloud cavitation regimes). Once this method is validated on a reference case, POD calculation is used to evaluate the efficiency of a passive control method. Different longitudinal grooved surfaces are machined on the diverging wall of a Venturi. The grooves geometry allows to change the cavitation regime for a fixed cavitation number, and even to avoid the cloud cavitation shedding, which may damage structures

Experimental study of the instationary flow between two ducted Counter-rotating rotors

The purpose of this work is to study experimentally the aerodynamic characteristics of a subsonic counter-rotating axial-flow fans system operating in a ducted configuration. The fans of diameter D = 375 mm were designed to match the specification point using an original iterative method: the front rotor blade cascade is designed with a conventional inverse method, setting the radial distribution of the Euler work. The through-flow is then computed using an axisymmetric and radial equilibrium asumption, with empirical models of losses. The rear rotor is not conventional but is designed to straighten the radial profile of the tangential velocity. The design of the front rotor is then modified until the stage meets the requirements. The experimental setup is arranged such that the rotation rate of each fan is independently controlled and that the axial distance between the rotors can be varied from 17% to 310% of the mid-span chord length. Systematic measurements of the global performances and local measurements of the velocity field and of the wall pressure fluctuations are performed, in order to first validate the design method, and to explore the effects of the two specific free parameters of the system: the axial spacing and the ratio of rotation rates. The results show that the efficiency is strongly increased compared to a conventional rotor or to a rotor-stator stage. The developed design method slightly over-predicts the pressure rise and slightly under-predicts the best ratio of rotation rates. Flow angle measurements downstream of the stage show that the outflow is not completely straightened at the design point. Finally, the system is highly efficient on a wide range of flow-rates and pressure rises: this system has thus a very flexible use, with a large patch of high efficient operating points in the parameter space

Etude expé́rimentale du transport hydraulique de grandes particules en conduite horizontale et en forme de S

We study the pressure drop and flow regimes for large spheres with respect to the diameter of the pipe (5, 10 and 15%) by differential pressure measurements and visualizations. Two densities are used. The losses are smaller for large grain sizes, and density has a strong effect on the transition point between regimes with a stationary bed flow and dispersed flows. Models based on the Froude number are tested. Finally, we study mixtures of size and / or density. We are also interested in plugging and unplugging transients