Natural events and human activities are responsible for the generation and transport of large amounts of micro-sized particles, which could contaminate several engineering devices like solar panels, wind turbines, and aero-engines. In industrial processes, systems as heat exchangers, fans, and dust collectors are continuously affected by nanoparticles’ interaction. For several applications, the adhesion of such nanoparticles is detrimental, generating safety and performance issues. Particle-to-particle and particle-to-surface interactions are well known, even if a general explanation of nanoparticle deposit growth is still unknown. In the present paper, an interpretation of deposit growth due to nanoparticle deposition can predict particle adhesion, and layer accretion is proposed. A statistical model and a set of coefficients are used to generalize nanoparticle deposits’ growth by an S-shaped function. In particular, the nanoparticle deposits grow analogously to a typical autonomous population settlement in a virgin area following statistical rule, which includes the initial growth, the successive stable condition (development), and catastrophic events able to destroy the layer. This approach generalizes nanoparticle adhesion/deposition behavior, overpassing the constraints reported in common deposition models, mainly focused on the mechanical aspect of the nanoparticle impact event. The catastrophic events, such as layer detachment, are modeled with a Poisson’s distribution, related to material characteristics and impact conditions. This innovative approach, analogies, and coefficients applied to common engineering applications may be the starting point for improving the prediction capability of nanoparticle deposition.

Ceramic matrix composites can offer clear potential for a variety of engineering applications where the temperature capabilities of conventional metals are exceeded. Continued mechanical characterisation is essential to gain an understanding of their associated damage and failure mechanisms across a wide range of representative temperatures. The present paper will report ongoing research to characterize the initiation of matrix cracking at room temperature under tensile stress and subsequent damage development under fatigue loading in a SiC f /SiC composite. Imaging and mechanical property data were obtained via in-situ loading within a scanning electron microscope. The temporal nature of damage development was also recorded through the selective employment of acoustic emission. Metrics to describe the spatial distribution of cracks, crack lengths and crack opening displacement under load will be presented. The inspections also provided detailed evidence of the associated crack closure phenomena. The understanding of matrix crack saturation and matrix/fibre interfacial mechanics will be explored, together with the implications for the use of X-ray tomographic inspection of engineering components during service. The potential for these emergent techniques as a basis for future CMC characterization, via automated image recognition and machine learning, will be highlighted.

Enabled by national commercialization of massive shale resources, Gas Turbines continue to be the backbone of power generation in the US. With the ever-increasing demand on efficiency, GT combustion sections have evolved to include shorter combustion lengths and multiple axial staging of the fuel, while at the same time operating at ever increasing temperatures. This paper presents the results of very detailed Large Eddy Simulations of one (or two) combustor can(s) for a 7HA GE Gas Turbine Engine over a range of operating parameters. The model of the simulated combustor can(s) includes (include) all the details of the combustor from compressor diffuser to the end of the stationary part of the first stage of the turbine. It includes the geometries of multiple pre-mixers within the combustion can(s) and the complete design features for axial fuel staging. All simulations in this work are performed using the CharLES flow solver developed by Cascade Technologies. CharLES is a suite of massively parallel CFD tools designed specifically for multiphysics LES in high-fidelity engineering applications. Thermo acoustic results from LES were validated first in the physical GE lab and then in full-engine testing. Both the trend as well as the predicted amplitudes for the excited axial dominant combustion mode matched the data produced in the lab and in the engine. The simulations also revealed insight into the ingestion of hot gases by different hardware pieces that may occur when machine operates under medium to high combustion dynamics amplitudes. This insight then informed the subsequent design changes which were made to the existing hardware to mitigate the problems encountered.

The present work shows an innovative design framework for fluid Topology Optimization (TO) able to fully exploit the flexibility offered by Additive Manufacturing (AM) in the production of fluid-structure interaction systems. We present a geometry optimization method able to automatically design complex and efficient heat exchangers, adapted to maximizing fluid-structure heat transfer while minimizing turbulent flow pressure drop. The core of the method is the in-house Fluid Topology Optimization solver extended to include conjugate heat transfer problems. The TO method consists in emulating a sedimentation process inside an empty cavity in which a fluid dynamics problem is numerically solved. A design variable, in this case impermeability, is iteratively updated across the fluid dynamics domain. This mechanism leads to the formation of internal solid structures accordingly to a Lagrangian multi-objective optimization approach, adopted to include a multi-objective function. The solution of the optimization routine is the set of solidified structures, shaping the final optimized geometry. In order to match engineering applications, real conditions are implemented: an impermeability dependent thermal conductivity is included and a smoother operator is adopted to bound numerical thermal conductivity gradients across solid and fluid regions. The optimization is performed on a 3-dimensional straight duct: on the walls the temperature is constant and a coolant turbulent flow is simulated (Re 10000) inside the duct. The solver builds structures enhancing the heat transfer level between the walls of the domain and a coolant flow, by generating counter rotating vortices and complex fluid patterns. This is consistent to solution proposed in the open literature, such as v-shaped ribs, even if the geometry generated is more complex and efficient. The solution is validated with a high fidelity numerical simulation on StarCCM+, using a Detached Eddy Simulation (DES). Validation results shows higher heat transfer efficiency compared to the results present in the literature: the average Nusselt number computed on the domain walls is about 20% higher than the value obtained through experimental investigations on v-shape ribbed ducts. It is the first time that this method is applied and validated on real working conditions.

Impingement cooling is a well-established technique to reduce the thermal load of hot gas components in gas turbines. Although the technique is widely used, correlations are nonetheless the standard design method, as the flow field and heat transfer are notoriously difficult to predict with state-of-the-art commercially viable CFD calculations. The primary challenges to CFD are phenomena such as shear layers and crossflow interactions. Therefore, a demand for spatially highly resolved measurements exists. An experimental investigation of a confined row of round jets impinging on a flat surface representative of gas turbine geometries with and without an initial crossflow has been conducted. The effect of the distance between the impingement plate and the target surface as well as the effect of the crossflow flow rate on the interaction of the jets with each other and with the crossflow are assessed. The three-dimensional impingement flow field and the heat transfer characteristics on the target surface are measured. The former has been visualised by Magnetic Resonance Velocimetry (MRV). This measurement technique is relatively novel for engineering applications, but very well suited for low-Mach number flows in complex geometries. It yields millions of measurement points and is thus ideal for a comparison with CFD. The local Nusselt number distribution is obtained using steady-state Thermochromic Liquid Crystals (TLC) on the same test set-up. Secondary losses and errors associated with this method are evaluated by means of an energy balance. The experiments are accompanied by a CFD simulation using an approach typically used for designing impingement configurations in industry as well as a more advanced method.

Data-driven tools and techniques have proved their effectiveness in many engineering applications. Machine-learning has gradually become a paradigm to explore innovative designs in turbomachinery. However, industrial Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) experts are still reluctant to embed similar approaches in standard practice and very few solutions have been proposed so far. The aim of the work is to prove that standard wall treatments can obtain serious benefits from machine-learning modelling. Turbomachinery flow modeling lives in a constant compromise between accuracy and the computational costs of numerical simulations. One of the key factors of process is defining a proper wall treatment. Many works point out how insufficient resolutions of boundary layers may lead to incorrect predictions of turbomachinery performances. Wall functions are universally exploited to replicate the physics of boundary layers where grid resolution does not suffice. Widespread wall functions were derived by the observation of a few canonical flows, further expressed as a simple polynomial of Reynolds number and turbulent kinetic energy. Despite their popularity, these functions are frequently applied in flows where the ground assumptions cease to be true, such as rotating passages or swirled flows. In these flows, the mathematical formulations of wall functions do not account for the distortion on the boundary layer due to the combined action of centrifugal and Coriolis forces. Here we will derive a wall function for rotating passages, through means of machine-learning. The algorithm is directly implemented in the N-S equations solver. Cross-validation results show that the machine-learnt wall treatment is able to effectively correct the turbulent kinetic energy field near the solid walls, without impairing the accuracy of the RANS turbulence model in any way.

As the load of the turbine components of aircraft engines continuously increases, shock loss becomes the dominant factor of turbine stage loss and has become a hot topic. Schlieren technique is one of the few effective experimental methods to observe and study shock wave and, thus, has been widely used. Nevertheless, limited by camera accuracy and computer image processing technology, quantitative schlieren analysis methods were difficult to achieve in engineering applications. Fortunately, several quantitative schlieren methods have been developed with the help of new digital technology. Applying schlieren technique to the highly-loaded turbine cascade test is of great significance to the study of shock wave in highly-loaded turbine cascades. In this paper, the results of quantitative density field and shock intensity and loss in the cascade are obtained by using a double reflection type monochrome schlieren device. The boundary condition of density field is obtained by pressure test, and MATLAB software is used as image processing calculation tool. The quantitative results of this paper prove the feasibility of applying quantitative schlieren method to highly-loaded turbine cascade tests. Also, the implemented image processing method and density boundary condition acquisition method are suitable and convenient for cascade flow and shock measurement tests.

Over the next few decades air travel is predicted to grow, with international agencies, manufacturers and governments predicting a considerable increase in aviation use. However, based on current fuel type, International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) project emissions from aviation are estimated to be seven to ten times higher in 2050 than in 1990. These conflicting needs are problematic and have led to the EU Flightpath 2050 targeting dramatic emissions reductions for the sector (75% CO2, 90% NOX by 2050). One proposed solution, decreasing carbon emissions without stunting the increase in air travel, is hydrogen propulsion; a technology with clear environmental benefits. However, enabling the safe application of this fuel to aviation systems and industrial infrastructure would be a significant challenge. High-profile catastrophic incidents involving hydrogen, and the flammable and cryogenic nature of liquid hydrogen (LH 2 ) have led to its reputation as a more dangerous substance than existing or alternative fuels. But, where they are used (in industry, transport, energy), with sufficient protocols, hydrogen can have a similar level of safety to other fuels. A knowledge of hazards, risks and the management of these becomes key to the integration of any new technology. Using assessments, and a gap analysis approach, this paper examines the civil aviation industry requirements, from a safety perspective, for the introduction of LH 2 fuel use. Specific proposed technology assessments are used to analyze incident likelihood, consequence impact, and ease of remediation for hazards in LH 2 systems, and a gap analysis approach is utilized to identify if existing data is sufficient for reliable technology safety assessment. Outstanding industry needs are exposed by both examining challenges that have been identified in transport and industrial areas, and by identifying the gaps in current knowledge that are preventing credible assessment, reliable comparison to other fuels and the development of engineering systems. This paper demonstrates that while hydrogen can be a safe and environmentally friendly fuel option, a significant amount of work is required for the implementation of LH 2 technology from a mass market perspective.

Surface waves are observed in many situations including natural and engineering applications. Experiments conducted at the Gas Turbine and Transmissions Research Centre (G2TRC) used high speed imaging to observe multiscale wave structures close to an aeroengine ball bearing in a test rig. The dynamic behavior and scale of the waves indicate that these are shear-driven although highly influenced by gravity at low shaft speed. To understand the interactions between gas and liquid phases including momentum and mass transfers, characterization of the observed waves and ligaments was undertaken. Waves were studied at surfaces close to the ball bearing and ligaments were assessed near the cage. Characterization was in terms of frequency and wavelength as functions of speed, flow-rate, bearing axial load and gravity. The assessments confirmed the existence of gravity-capillary waves and capillary waves . Gravity-capillary waves were measured to have a longer mean wavelength on the co-current side of the bearing (gravity and shear acting together) compared to the counter-current side (gravity and shear opposing). Using a published definition of critical wavelength (λ crit ), measured wavelengths at 3,000 rpm were 2.56λ crit on the co-current side compared to 1.86λ crit at the countercurrent location. As shaft speed increases, wavelength reduces with transition to capillary waves occurring at around 0.83λ crit . At shaft speeds beyond 5000 rpm, capillary waves were fully visible and the wavelength was obtained as 0.435λ crit . Flow-rate and load did not significantly influence wavelength. Wave frequency was found to be proportional to shaft speed. The gravity-capillary waves had frequencies within the range 13–25 Hz while capillary waves exhibited a frequency well beyond 100 Hz. The frequencies are highly fluctuating with no effect of load and flow rate observed. Ligaments were characterized using Weber number and Stability number. The number of ligaments increased with shaft speed. A correlation for ligament number based on operating conditions is proposed.

A comprehensive study of several labyrinth seals has been performed in the framework of both single-objective and multi-objective optimizations with the main focus on the effect of stator grooves formed due to the rubbing during gas turbine engine operation. For that purpose, the developed optimization workflow based on the DLR-AutoOpti optimizer and ANSYS-Workbench CAE environment has been employed to reduce the leakage flow and windage heating for several seals. The obtained results indicate that the seal designs obtained from optimizations without stator grooves have worse performance during the lifecycle than those with the stator grooves, justifying the importance of considering this effect for real engineering applications.

Magnetic Resonance Thermometry (MRT) is a maturing diagnostic used to measure three-dimensional temperature fields. It has great potential for investigating fluid flows within complex geometries leveraging medical grade MRI equipment and software along with novel measurement techniques. The efficacy of the method in engineering applications increases when coupled with other well established MRI-based techniques such as Magnetic Resonance Velocimetry (MRV). In this study, a challenging geometry is presented with direct application to a complex gas turbine blade cooling scheme. Turbulent external flow with a Reynolds number of 136,000 passes a hollowed NACA-0012 airfoil with internal cooling features. Inserts within the airfoil, fed by a second flow line with an average temperature difference of 30 K from the main flow and a temperature-dependent Reynolds number in excess of 1,800, produce a conjugate heat transfer scenario including impingement cooling on the inside surface of the airfoil. The airfoil cooling scheme also includes zonal recirculation, surface film cooling, and trailing edge ejection features. The entire airfoil surface is constructed of a stereolithography resin — Accura 60 — with low thermal conductivity. The three-dimensional internal and external velocity field is measured using MRV. The fluid temperature field is measured within and outside of the airfoil with MRT and the results are compared with a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) solution to assess the current state of the art for combined MRV/MRT techniques for investigating these complex internal and external flows. The accompanying CFD analysis provides a prediction of the velocity and temperature fields, allowing for errors in the MRT technique to be estimated.

Modern gas turbine endwall is operating in harsher conditions for the application of low NOx combustor. Non-axisymmetric endwall has been extensively studied for aerodynamic performance improvement, because endwall contouring can decrease the pressure gradient between the pressure side (PS) and the suction side (SS) in the blade passage. In addition to the influence of pressure gradient on aerodynamic losses, the vortical structures induced by pressure gradient are also the sources of high heat transfer regions in the passage. Consequently, thermal loads might be reduced by decreasing the pressure gradient thus weakening the strength of the secondary flows. In terms of engineering applications, distribution of thermal load is very important for the design of endwall cooling scheme, and it is necessary to take both aerodynamic and heat transfer performances into consideration for the endwall profile design. In this work, aero-thermal coupled design optimization of a turbine blade endwall was carried out. The endwall contour was obtained by multiplying heights of two curves in the streamwise and pitchwise directions. The streamwise curve was controlled by non-uniform B-spline (NUBS) and the pitchwise one was obtained by employing the sinusoidal function. The optimization method adopted in this research was the multi-objective genetic algorithm (MOGA) coupled with Kriging (KRG) model, which has been validated by benchmark functions. Numerical validation shows that static pressure coefficients on the blade surfaces and the Nusselt number ( Nu ) on the endwall agree well with the experimental results. The design variables were the endwall profile parameters, and the objective functions were maximizing total pressure recovery coefficient (ξ) at the blade outlet and minimizing the Nu on the endwall. Two optimal cases were selected from the Pareto front and analyzed in detail. It is indicated that the turbine blade aerodynamic performance can be improved while the heat transfer is restrained simultaneously. For the optimal Case I, mass flow-averaged ξ increases by 0.88%, and for Case II, area-averaged Nu reduces by about 7.78%.

One typical fusing structure ( fused device or load reduction device, a variable supporting stiffness structure used in bearing supporting in aero-engine design) was introduced in this paper. Based on the rotor-bearing system simulation model, a dynamic calculation under the condition of variable supporting stiffness was conducted aimed at providing data for the rotor system safety design. Results showed that: rotor working in supercritical state had a benefit to the dynamic characteristics, as when the supporting stiffness suddenly lost, transient excessively increasing vibration was restrained, steady vibration also remained at a low level. Transient response peak value and impact response increased with the increase of stiffness loss, steady vibration ratio decreased with the increase of stiffness loss. Therefore, a compromise on the choosing of an optimal stiffness loss value was necessary. We also got some other significant conclusions that are instructive for further engineering applications.

Lean Blow-off (LBO) is important in gas turbine combustion. In this paper, numerical simulation and experiment are conducted to develop a new method for LBO prediction of gas turbine combustors based on Damköhler (Da) number and practical reaction zone (PRZ). PRZ is established based on OH concentration in the reacting flow of combustor, and it is simplified to a perfectly stirred reactor (PSR) due to the drastic mixing caused by swirling flow. Flow time scale (Ft) and chemical time scale (Ct) contained in Da number are all specified based on PRZ. Flow time scale (Ft) is defined as the residence time of fuel flowing through the PRZ, and chemical time scale (Ct) is defined as the shortest time needed to trigger the chemical reaction in PRZ. Da numbers, which introduce the physical competition between Ft and Ct, are calculated under LBO conditions and design point. The average Da number at LBO is about 1, ranging from 0.6 to 1.86, and the Da number of design condition is 4.33, showing that the method proposed in the paper is reliable and has the potential for practical engineering applications.

A pocket cavity is generated at the connection of two parts, such as the transition part between the low pressure turbine (LPT) and outlet guide vane (OGV) in a gas turbine engine. A bluff body, working as a heat transfer enhancement part or supporting strength part, has tremendous engineering applications in turbomachinery. In the present work, the effect of the pocket on the heat transfer of endwall with a bluff body in the rear part of gas turbine is investigated. A simplified triangular pocket cavity is built in a rectangular channel and two bluff bodies, a cylinder or a cuboid is attached downstream on the endwall. The heat transfer and fluid flow on the endwall are investigated experimentally and numerically. Liquid Crystal Thermography (LCT) is employed to measure the heat transfer over the pocket surface with Reynolds number ranging from 87,597, to 218,994. The turbulent flow details are provided by numerically calculations based on the commercial software Fluent 17.0. Based on the results, high heat transfer areas are usually found at the boundary of the pocket cavity and vortex street shedding regions around the bluff body. When a pocket cavity is placed in the upstream of a bluff body, the endwall heat transfer around the bluff body is obviously decreased due to the disturbance by the pocket. There are no recirculating flows in front of the tested cylinder while this is not applicable for the cuboid case. The recirculating flow behind the bluff bodies forms a three-dimensional flow structure rotating in two directions.

Turbine blades and the disks are connected by tenons. There is a pair of jagged assembly clearance between each tenon and corresponding mortise. In practical engineering applications, flow and heat transfer characteristics in assembly clearance used to be simplified. In order to obtain more accurate temperature fields of the turbine blades and disks, detailed study of the flow and heat transfer mechanism in tenon joint gap is necessary. In this paper, two typical assembly clearances under the stationary and rotating conditions were investigated numerically, including double S-shaped and double Crescent-shaped. The inlet Reynolds numbers range from 5,500 to 50,000 and the Rotation numbers range from 0 to 0.005. The results show that the fluids in the two branches of the double S-shaped channel have different flow characteristics under rotating conditions. A vortex is formed at the corner of the left branch and the vortex scale can be influenced by Re and Ro. The large vortex decreases the local heat transfer coefficient. In the right branch, the three-dimensional flow from the flat wall to the concave wall increases the local heat transfer coefficient of different regions. For the double Crescent-shaped channel, the region with higher velocity is offset to the right of the channel which leads to higher local heat transfer coefficient under rotating conditions. The simulation results have great significance to the heat transfer analysis of turbine blades and disks.

Three different optimization methods using genetic algorithms have been developed, aiming to achieve better aggressive intermediate turbine duct (ITD) performance. To overcome defects of simple genetic algorithms, a niche genetic algorithm is used, for its better adaptability to multi-peak function. These three methods are two-dimensional optimization for pursuing the highest static pressure coefficient; two-dimensional optimization via controlling static pressure coefficient; and a further three-dimensional optimization. The second method introduces a restrainer to make sure the maximum value of static pressure coefficient gradient less than a limitation. A simulation case, an ITD with eight struts, was implemented to demonstrate the capabilities of the presented optimization methods. Compared to the baseline ITD, the results show as follow. The first method obtains a best static pressure coefficient but a severe separation. The second optimization method with static pressure coefficient gradient control can definitely suppress separation in the ITD, the second method also obtains better static pressure coefficient and the lowest total pressure loss coefficient. The third method, a further three-dimensional optimization can obtain better ITD overall performance because of a more realistic simulation. Nevertheless, the second two-dimensional optimization method can get good enough results while it is apparently much more time-saving compared to three-dimensional one, which make it more suitable for engineering applications.

Convective cooling channels are applied in a two-dimensional compressor vane to use the intercooling method to improve the efficiency of Brayton cycle and reduce the temperature of the vane. In this paper, we analyze the effect of coolant to the aerodynamic performance and heat transfer performance of the main stream and the vane. For the case of a two-dimensional compressor vane NACA65-(12A 2 I 8b )10, the vane which has five convective cooling channels has been numerically simulated in different test conditions by discontinuous Galerkin (DG) method. The coolant is supercritical carbon dioxide whose pressure is 10MPa. Conjugate heat transfer method has been used in this paper. The numerical simulation result is similar to the experiment data and has been compared with the result of the vane without cooling channels to prove the effect of cooling channels. Cooling channels have large effect on the distribution of temperature and heat transfer coefficient. In addition, the relationship between Nu and Re on the fluid-solid interface has been analyzed and a suitable empirical equation has been obtained. This work analyzes the effect of intercooling system in the compressor and give several advice on future engineering applications in aero engines and gas turbines.

Gas turbines are one of the most important energy conversion methods in the world today. This is because using gas turbines, large scale, high efficiency, low cost and low emission energy production is possible. For this type of engines, low pollutants emissions can be achieved by very lean premixed combustion systems. Numerical simulation is foreseen to provide a tremendous increase in gas turbine combustors design efficiency and quality over the next future. However, the numerical simulation of modern stationary gas-turbine combustion systems represents a very challenging task. Several numerical models have been developed in order to reduce the costs of flame simulations for engineering applications. In the present paper the Flamelet-Generated Manifold (FGM) chemistry reduction method is implemented and extended for the inclusion of all the features that are typically observed in stationary gas-turbine combustion. These consist of stratification effects, heat loss and turbulence. The latter is included by coupling FGM with the Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes (RANS) model. Three control variables are included for the chemistry representation: the reaction evolution is described by the reaction progress variable, the heat loss is described by the enthalpy and the stratification effect is expressed by the mixture fraction. The interaction between chemistry and turbulence is considered through a presumed probability density function (PDF) approach, which is considered for progress variable and mixture fraction. This results in two extra control variables: progress variable variance and mixture fraction variance. The resulting manifold is therefore five-dimensional, in which the dimensions are progress variable, enthalpy, mixture fraction, progress variable variance and mixture fraction variance. A highly turbulent and swirling flame in a gas turbine model combustor is computed in order to test the 5-D FGM implementation. The use of FGM as a combustion model shows that combustion features at gas turbine conditions can be satisfactorily reproduced with a reasonable computational effort. The implemented combustion model retains most of the physical accuracy of a detailed simulation while drastically reducing its computational time, paving the way for new developments of alternative fuel usage in a cleaner and more efficient combustion.

Adjoint method is an important tool for design refinement of multistage compressors. However, the radial static pressure distribution deviates during the optimization procedure and deteriorates the overall performance, producing final designs that are not well suited for realistic engineering applications. In previous development work on multistage turbomachinery blade optimization using adjoint method and thin shear-layer N-S equations, the entropy production is selected as the objective function with given mass flow rate and total pressure ratio as imposed constraints. The radial static pressure distribution at the interfaces between rows is introduced as a new constraint in the present paper. The approach is applied to the redesign of a five-stage axial compressor, and the results obtained with and without the constraint on the radial static pressure distribution at the interfaces between rows are discussed in detail. The results show that the redesign without radial static pressure distribution constraint (RSPDC) gives an optimal solution that shows deviations on radial static pressure distribution, especially at rotor exit tip region. On the other hand, the redesign with the RSPDC successfully keeps the radial static pressure distribution at the interfaces between rows and make sure that the optimization results are applicable in a practical engineering design.