Fanzhou Zhao

Next-generation turbofan aero-engines are expected to feature larger fan diameters to reduce specific thrust and enhance overall efficiency. To counteract the associated weight and drag penalties, more compact nacelles with shorter intakes are being considered. This paper examines the impact of reducing the intake length on the flutter bite. This work is carried out using a three-dimensional unsteady Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model. The flutter characteristics of the fan blade are first analysed using an infinitely long intake, followed by a conventional intake (L/D = 0.5), and finally using a short intake (L/D = 0.25). The results indicate that the flutter bite has moved from part speed to design speed, making it crucial information for aero-engine manufacturers and academics.

This paper aims to establish an efficient and accurate computational fluid dynamic (CFD) method for calculating the flutter stability of fan blades in the presence of inlet distortion due to crosswind. Due to the asymmetry of the flow and interaction of fan and distortion, this type of analysis will require a whole assembly computational model. Therefore, reducing the computational cost needed to obtain accurate aerodynamic damping values is paramount. Mode-tracking free-flutter analyses are computationally expensive and troublesome due to the presence of many frequencies in the response signals and, hence, require long physical times to converge the aerodynamic damping. Moreover, the unsteady flow field associated with the distortion can be more significant than the one due to flutter, giving rise to additional numerical difficulties. On the other hand, the energy method approach is commonly performed for a single nodal diameter (ND) at a time, requiring many computations to establish the least stable ND. This paper proposes an alternative approach based on the multi-ND energy method. The underlying hypothesis is that the unsteady pressure scales linearly with the blade displacements, and the scattering of circumferential modes due to the distortion is negligible. The general method presented here is general and can be used to compute the aerodynamic damping for other types of distortion (such as downstream distortions due to pylon and structure).

In this paper, a new aeroelastic phenomena for fans, referred to as non-synchronous forced vibration (NSFV), is presented. This type of aeroelastic instability can occur at high crosswind conditions when the flow at the intake lip separates and the disturbances caused by flow separation become unsteady. The results show that in the presence of unsteady separation in the intake, the fan can experience non-synchronous frequency excitations, which can result in resonant response in modes that are not identified by the Campbell diagram. The findings are corroborated by aeroacoustic theories. To the best of authors knowledge, this is the first time that fan forced response due to unsteady distortion is studied and the findings can unlock some of unexplained and unexpected vibrations experienced by engines.

This work investigates the impact of acoustically treated intakes on fan flutter. The propagation of the fan acoustic perturbations is studied using a simplified model, where the frequency of the waves in the intake is the natural frequency of the fan blade in the stationary frame of reference. The model consists of a constant cross-sectional annular duct, where the acoustic modes are computed for hard wall and lined wall regions, assuming a uniform axial flow. The interfaces between the lined and hard wall sections are solved by doing mode matching. The acoustic reflections in the zero-thickness intake are computed using the Wiener–Hopf technique following Rienstra’s model. Analytical results show that the waves propagating from the fan are reflected and scattered radially at the interfaces between the hard wall and the liner. Furthermore, the liner damps and changes the phase velocity of acoustic modes. Due to the low frequency of the flutter waves, the radial scattering can activate different cut-off modes, which need to be retained in order to make accurate predictions. The likelihood of fan flutter is estimated using the phase of the reflected cut-on waves reaching the fan. This strategy is used to assess the impact of the acoustic liners on the stability of a realistic fan. It is concluded that the impact of the phasing and reflections induced by the acoustic liners is comparable to that of the intake and can alter the flutter characteristics of the fan significantly.

Modern aircraft engines need to meet ever more stringent requirements that greatly increase the complexity of design, which strives for enhanced performance, reduced operating costs, emissions and noise simultaneously. The drive for performance leads to the development of thin, lightweight, highly loaded fan and compressor blades which are increasingly more prone to incur high, sustained vibratory stresses and aeroelastic problems such as flutter. The current practice employs preliminary design tools for flutter that are often based on empiricism or simplified analytical models, requiring extensive use of computational fluid dynamics to verify aeroelastic stability. As the industry moves to new designs, fast and accurate prediction tools are needed. In this work, data-driven techniques are employed to model the aeroelastic response of compressor blades. Machine learning has been applied to a plethora of engineering problems, with particular success in the field of turbulence modelling. However, conventional, black-box data-driven methods based on simple input parameters require large databases and are unable to generalise. In this work a combination of machine learning techniques and reduced order models is proposed to address both limitations at the same time. Previous knowledge of flutter is introduced in the physics guided framework by formulating relevant, steady state input features, and by injecting results from low-fidelity analytical models. The models are tested on several unseen cascades and it is found that training on even a single geometry yields accurate results. The models developed here allow flutter prediction of fan and compressor flutter stability based on the steady state flow only without a need for any CPU intensive unsteady simulations. Hence, one can predict flutter stability of a given blade for different mechanical properties (mode shape, frequency) at near zero additional cost once the mean flow is known.

Crosswind can reduce the operability of an aeroengine significantly at static or near static operating conditions. Computational fluid dynamics predictions of the flow at crosswind conditions will play an important part in future designs, however, accurate numerical predictions of the flow within the intake remain challenging even for simulations of cases with intake only. The main objective of this paper is to demonstrate the importance of numerical setup and to determine an optimal computational model for crosswind investigations that can be used by other researchers. By considering the flow to be inherently unsteady, the influence of inlet and exit boundary conditions, and grid sensitivity is studied by using unsteady Reynolds-average Navier–Stokes (URANS) simulations. Numerical predictions of the time-averaged intake pressure recovery (IPR) and the motion of the vortex on the ground are compared against the existing experimental data. The results show that for an intake under crosswind, the ground vortex that forms under the intake and the in-duct separation, when present, exhibit unsteady behavior that become stronger as the crosswind velocity is increased. The steady-state simulation is only representative at lower crosswinds. The intake flow separation and ground vortex predictions are influenced by the inlet boundary layer profiles. Moreover, acoustic reflection was observed at the intake exit boundary which propagates upstream, creating artificial unsteady frequencies in IPR. The reflection is generated from the use of uniform boundary conditions at the intake exit and is not dissipated in the grid due to the long wavelength; this can be mitigated by using a choked nozzle at the intake exit. Acoustic reflection was also observed at the far-field exit boundary. These reflections are caused from interaction of trailing vortex and far-field boundary.

Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) tools have revolutionized the way to design engineering systems, but most established codes are proprietary and closed-source, making it difficult, if not impossible, to modify, debug, or add new features to the code. To provide a freely available open-source CFD code for turbomachinery aerodynamics and aeroelasticity, this paper enhances the turbomachinery capabilities of the open-source SU2 code and demonstrates its capabilities of single-passage steady simulation, full-annulus unsteady simulation, and aeroelasticity analysis in two high-speed compressors, namely NASA Stage 35 and TUDa-GLR-OpenStage, and a linear cascade SC1. For the single-passage steady simulation of NASA Stage 35, the SU2 results are validated against the measured data and verified against the commercial solver ansys cfx, and the performance characteristics results are in reasonably good agreement with each other. For the single-passage steady simulation of TUDa-GLR-OpenStage, grid and turbulence model sensitivity studies are performed and results are validated against the measured data, and SU2 can predict both the performance characteristics and the radial profiles with sufficient accuracy. For the full-annulus unsteady simulation of NASA Stage 35, it is demonstrated that SU2 can predict the propagation of inlet distortion equally well as ansys cfx. For the linear cascade, SU2 can predict the unsteady pressure and aerodynamic damping coefficient accurately. The presented results demonstrate the turbomachinery aerodynamics and aeroelasticity capabilities of SU2. The major modifications of SU2 made in this work will be shared with the code maintainer and the community in the future.

In this paper an efficient numerical strategy for computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation of surge events in a three-shaft engine compression system is presented. Numerical results are compared against measured data and the sources of discrepancies and uncertainties are addressed. It is discovered that the engine bleed system has a major impact in reducing the aerodynamic loading during surge in the core system. To the best knowledge of the authors, this is the first time that such a complex CFD computation is attempted and compared against real engine measured data and will provide valuable information to other CFD users as well as gas turbine manufacturers.

A simulation framework for three-dimensional particle trajectory tracking, snow accumulation and ice accretion modelling on solid bodies in high-speed air flow is presented. The framework, named HADICE, solves the aerodynamic flow field as Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS), with optional hybrid RANS/LES capabilities for modelling complex turbulent flows. Particle trajectory tracking is performed in an Eulerian-Lagrangian approach and wall collision is modelled using a hard collision model with reflect condition and a momentum based trap condition. A novel accurate and robust iterative evaluation method for the local collection efficiency is proposed for arbitrary 3D geometry and flow. Ice accretion is modelled in a multi-step approach and iced geometry is updated through mesh deformation using a radial basis function (RBF) interpolation method. Snow accumulation and ice accretion predictions based on the framework are validated against climatic wind tunnel experimental measurements. A full 3D simulation is demonstrated for snow accumulation and ice accretion on a 1:8 scaled high-speed train model. Using the presented framework, snow accumulation and icing simulation for high-speed trains can be conducted in an accurate and efficient manner, which is of great importance for physical investigations and the design of anti-snow and ice protection systems.