Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-dh8gc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-17T17:16:10.071Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Influence of distorted inflows on the performance of a contra-rotating fan

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 November 2020

M.P. Manas Open the ORCID record for M.P. Manas [Opens in a new window]  and
A.M. Pradeep
M.P. Manas*
Affiliation:
Department of Aerospace Engineering Indian Institute of Technology Bombay Mumbai India
A.M. Pradeep
Affiliation:
Department of Aerospace Engineering Indian Institute of Technology Bombay Mumbai India
*
[email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

A contra-rotating fan offers several aerodynamic advantages that make it a potential candidate for future aircraft engine configurations. Stall in a contra-rotating axial fan is interesting since instabilities could arise from either or both of the rotors. In this experimental study, a contra-rotating axial fan is analysed under clean or distorted inflow conditions to understand its performance and stall inception characteristics. The steady and unsteady measurements identified the relative contribution of each rotor towards the performance of the stage. The tip of rotor-1 is identified to be the most critical region of the contra-rotating fan. The contribution of rotor-2 to the overall loading of the stage is observed to be relatively less than rotor-1. The penalty due to distortion in the stage pressure rise is mostly felt by rotor-1, while rotor-2 also shows a reduction in performance for distorted inflows. Rotor-2 stalls at a high flow coefficient marking the initiation of partial stall of the stage, and the stall of the whole stage occurs once rotor-1 stalls. A fluid phenomenon that is attached to the blade surface marks the stall of rotor-1, and this fluid phenomenon initially rotates at a speed close to the speed of rotation of the blade. As the stage moves towards the fully developed stall, this fluid phenomenon sheds from the blade surface. The fluid phenomenon thus propagates at a speed much lower than the rotational speed of the blade during fully developed stall.

Keywords

Contra-rotating fanaxial compressorStall and surgeUnsteady flows
Type
Research Article
Information
The Aeronautical Journal , Volume 125 , Issue 1286 , April 2021 , pp. 702 - 719
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Royal Aeronautical Society

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Heikurinen, K. and Townsend, P. Pratt, and Whitney Canada Corp, , Low hub-to-tip ratio fan for a turbofan gas turbine engine. U.S. Patent 9,303,589, 2019.Google Scholar
Wennerstrom, A.J. Low aspect ratio axial flow compressors: Why and what it means, J. Turbomach., 1989, 111, (4), pp 357–365.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gunn, E.J. and Hall, C.A. Aerodynamics of boundary layer ingesting fans, ASME Turbo Expo 2014, Vol. 45578, pp V01AT01A024.Google Scholar
Giuliani, J.E. and Chen, J.P. Fan response to boundary-layer ingesting inlet distortions, AIAA J., 2016, 54, (10), pp 3232–3243.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mennicken, M., Schnweitz, D., Schnoes, M. and Schnell, R. Conceptual fan design for boundary layer ingestion, Turbo Expo 2019, Vol. 58578, pp V02CT41A009.Google Scholar
Perovic, D., Hall, C.A. and Gunn, E.J. Stall inception in a boundary layer ingesting fan, J. Turbomach., 2019, 141, (9), pp 091007.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gray, J.S. and Martins, J.R. Coupled aeropropulsive design optimisation of a boundary-layer ingestion propulsor, Aeronaut. J., 2019, 123, (1259), pp 121–137.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Emmons, H.W. Compressor surge and stall propagation, Trans. ASME, 1955, 77, (4), pp 455–467.Google Scholar
Moore, F.K. A theory of rotating stall of multistage compressors: Part I-III, J. Eng. Gas Turbines Power Trans. ASME, 1984, 106, pp 313–349.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McDougall, N.M., Cumpsty, N.A. and Hynes, T.P. Stall inception in axial compressors, J. Turbomach., 1990, 112, (1), pp 116–123.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Garnier, V.H., Epstein, A.H. and Greitzer, E.M. Rotating waves as a stall inception indication in axial compressors, J. Turbomach., 1991, 113, (2), pp 290–301.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Day, I.J., Stall inception in axial flow compressors, J. Turbomach., 1993, 115, (1), pp 1–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Camp, T.R. and Day, I.J. A Study of Spike and Modal Stall Phenomena in a Low-Speed Axial Compressor, Paper no. 97-GT-526, 1998, pp V001T03A109.Google Scholar
Sharma, P.B., Jain, Y.P. and Pundhir, D.S. A study of some factors affecting the performance of a contra-rotating axial compressor stage, Proc. Inst. Mech. Eng. Part A Power Process Eng., 1988, 202, (1), pp 15–21.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roy, B., Ravibabu, K., Rao, P.S., Basu, S., Raju, A. and Murthy, P.N. Flow studies inducted twin-rotor contra-rotating axial flow fans, ASME 1992 international gas turbine and aeroengine congress and exposition, Paper no. 92-GT-390, pp V001T01A131.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nouri, H., Ravelet, F., Bakir, F., Sarraf, C. and Rey, R. Design and experimental validation of a ducted counter-rotating axial-flow fans system, J. Fluids Eng., 2012, 134, (10), pp 104504.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chen, Y.Y., Liu, B., Xuan, Y. and Xiang, X.R. A study of speed ratio affecting the performance of a contra-rotating axial compressor, Proc. Inst. Mech. Eng. Part G J. Aerospace Eng., 2008, 222, (7), pp 985–991.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mistry, C. and Pradeep, A.M. Effect of variation in axial spacing and rotor speed combinations on the performance of a high aspect ratio contra-rotating axial fan stage, Proc. Inst. Mech. Eng. Part A J. Power Energy, 2013, 227, (2), pp 138–146.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Toge, T.D. and Pradeep, A.M. Experimental investigation of stall inception of a low speed contra rotating axial flow fan under circumferential distorted flow condition, Aerospace Sci. Tech., 2017, 70, pp 534–548.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Toge, T.D. and Pradeep, A.M. Experimental investigation of stall inception and its propagation in a contra rotating axial fan under radial inflow distortion, ASME Turbo Expo 2017, Paper no. GT2017-63432, pp V02DT46A006.Google Scholar
Manas, M.P. and Pradeep, A.M. Stall inception mechanisms in a contra-rotating fan operating at different speed combinations, Proc. Inst. Mech. Eng. Part A J. Power Energy, 2019, 234, (8), pp 1041–1052.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ehrich, F. Circumferential inlet distortions in axial flow turbomachinery, J. Aeronaut. Sci., 1957, 24, (6), pp 413–417.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sandercock, D.M. and Sanger, N.L. Some observations of the effects of radial distortions on performance of a transonic rotating blade row, NASA TN D-7842, 1974, pp 1–48.Google Scholar
Schmidt, J.F. and Ruggeri, R.S. Performance with and without inlet radial distortion of a transonic fan stage designed for reduced loading in the tip region, NASA-TP-1294, 1978.Google Scholar
Hah, C., Rabe, D.C., Sullivan, T.J. and Wadia, A.R. Effects of inlet distortion on the flow field in a transonic compressor rotor, J. Turbomach., 1998, 120, (2), pp 233–246.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cousins, W.T. and Davis, M.W. Evaluating complex inlet distortion with a parallel compressor model: Part 1-Concepts, theory, extensions, and limitations, ASME Turbo Expo 2011, Paper no. GT2011-45067, pp 1–12.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cousins, W.T. and Davis, M.W. Evaluating complex inlet distortion with a parallel compressor model: Part 2-Applications to complex patterns, ASME Turbo Expo 2011, Paper no. GT2011-45068, pp 13–23.Google Scholar
Gunn, E.J., Tooze, S.E., Hall, C.A. and Colin, Y. An experimental study of loss sources in a fan operating with continuous inlet stagnation pressure distortion, J. Turbomach., 2013, 135, (5), pp 051002.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yang, B. and Gu, C.G. The effects of radially distorted incident flow on performance of axial-flow fans with forward-skewed blades, J. Turbomach., 2013, 135, (1), pp 011039.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mistry, C. and Pradeep, A.M. Experimental Study of the effect of radially distorted inflow on a contra-rotating fan stage, Int. J. Rotating Mach., 2014, 2014, pp 503579.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mistry, C. and Pradeep, A.M. Influence of circumferential inflow distortion on the performance of a low speed, high aspect ratio contra rotating axial fan, J. Turbomach., 2014, 136, (7), pp 071009.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Manas, M.P. and Pradeep, A.M. Understanding unsteady flow behaviour in a low aspect ratio contra-rotating axial fan under radially distorted inflow, ASME Turbo Expo 2019, Paper no. GT2019-90252, pp V02AT45A003.Google Scholar
To, H.O. and Miller, R.J. The effect of aspect ratio on compressor performance, J. Turbomach., 2019, 141, (8), pp 081011.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Torrence, C. and Compo, G.P. A practical guide to wavelet analysis, Bull. Am. Meteorol. Soc., 1998, 79, (1), pp 61–78.2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar