Efficient Modeling Strategy of an
Axial Compressor Fan-Stage Under
Inlet Distortion
GT2016-57467
Bryan Lobo Laith Zori
Paul Galpin William Holmes
ANSYS Inc.
1
Outlines
Fan Inlet Distortion
Solution Method & Strategy
Results
Summary
2
Overview
Inlet Distortion
Inlet Distortion
o Alters engine performance
o Fan sees once-per-revolution variation
o Often requires full wheel modeling
o Expensive
Previous work
o GT2013-95059
o Simpler geometry. Fan (alone) under distortion
o Faster solution obtained
Using Fourier Transformation method
Only two passages required
5X faster , 11X less mem. Req., than Full wheel
From GT2013-95059
3
Overview
Inlet Distortion
Current work
o Complex fan-stage configuration
Add nice graphics
Once per revolution inlet distortion
for full wheel
22 rotors, 34 stators Rotor/stator
o Fan rotor subjected to:
Once-per-revolution inlet distortion
Stator blade passing signals
o Evaluate solution strategy to efficiently compute
the flow and capture both inlet distortion signal Add nice graphics
and the stator blade passing signal while using For only
reduced geometry model Rotor/stator
o How to represent clocking effect of the inlet
distortion on the downstream stator?
Each stator operating at different flow condition
4
ANSYS CFX Solver
R17.0
Coupled Pressure-based solution method
Implicit coupled AMG solver
Unstructured, Element-based FV
2nd-O spatial & temporal discretization
Scalable parallelization
Range of turbulence models: Eddy-viscosity models, Reynolds stress models, LES & DES,
transition and reattachment models
Wide range of blade row models:
o Steady : Mixing-Plane (MP) , Frozen Rotor (FR)
o Transient: Full-Domain (TRS) , Pitch-change : Profile-Transformation (PT) ,
Time-Transformation (TT) , Fourier-Transformation (FT)
Transient Periodic Flow: Time-Marching , Harmonic Balance solution method
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Fourier Transformation (FT) Pitch-Change Model
Based on the Shape-Correction method of
L. He (1989, 1992, 2002)
Applicable to multi-disturbance
Double-passage strategy is used
FCs accumulated between two passages on
the sampling plane
FCs then used for reconstruction of solution history on pitchwise boundary with
appropriate phase shift
Applicable for all speed, and ideal for very large pitch-ratio disturbance
Fan-stage inlet distortion is modeled as multi-disturbance frozen gust analysis
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NASA Rotor 67 Fan-Stage
Transonic fan-stage
o Stage 67 (22 R/ 34 S)
o 16043 RPM
Sensitivity Analysis
o Three mesh densities, Steady-State solution
o Medium mesh selected for transient simulation
Mesh Size (R,S) Po ratio To ratio Efficiency
Coarse 0.65M, 0.5M 1.6643 1.1726 91.712
Medium 1.3 M, 1M 1.6747 1.1736 92.271
Fine 2.6 M, 2M 1.6740 1.1732 92.482
Fan-Stage inlet distortion
o Impose 2% Total pressure variation
Po 101325 (1 0.02Cos )
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R67 Fan-Stage Under Inlet Distortion
Flow Details
Inlet distortion in Fan-Stage
Figure from Full Wheel
o Both fan and stator will see the pressure Transient solution
variation Showing
o Each passage of the stator operates at Inlet distortion
different pressure level, due to inlet Pressure variation
distortion In Rotor
In Stator
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R67 Fan-Stage Under Inlet Distortion
Flow Details
Inlet distortion in Fan-Stage
o Both fan and stator will see the pressure
variation
o Each passage of the stator operates at
different pressure level, due to inlet
distortion
9
R67 Fan-Stage Under Inlet Distortion
Flow Details
Inlet distortion in Fan-Stage
o Both fan and stator will see the pressure
variation
o Each passage of the stator operate at
different pressure level, due to inlet
distortion
To model as frozen gust with multi-
disturbance
o Impose inlet distortion as Po profile
o Impose outlet profile contain
Stator potential variation
Distortion pressure variation
10
R67 Fan-Stage Under Inlet Distortion
Flow Details
Inlet distortion in Fan-Stage
o Both fan and stator will see the pressure
variation
o Each passage of the stator operates at
different pressure level, due to inlet
distortion
To model as frozen gust with multi-
disturbance
o Impose inlet distortion as Po profile
XY-Plot show that
Pressure variation in Stator
o Impose outlet profile representing
Stator potential variation
Distortion pressure variation
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Multiple Mixing Plane (MMP) Steady Approach
Basic Concept
Fan-Stage MMP is used to capture Multi-disturbance
Under Inlet Distortion Stator Pressure Variation Frozen Gust Model
Stator pressure profile
Combination of
1- Once-per-revolution P variation
2- Stator potential field variation
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Multiple Mixing Plane (MMP) Steady Approach
Basic Concept
Based on Stein GT2015-42632
o Rotor/ Stator coupling established via MMP
o Each MP connect multiple rotor blades to corresponding stator blades
o Capture local potential pressure variation and circumferential variation due to
inlet distortion
o Steady-state MP calculation not expensive
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Multiple Mixing Plane (MMP) Approach
Implementation on R67 Fan-stage
11 MP used to capture pressure profile
variation in the stator row
o Note the profile difference between 1, 5
and 11 MMP
profile
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Multiple Mixing Plane (MMP) Approach
Implementation on R67 Fan-stage
11 MP used to capture pressure profile
variation in the stator row
o Note the profile difference between 1, 5
and 11 MMP
o Trend between MMP profile and the
instantaneous solution from FWT is in
good agreement
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Transient simulation
FWT vs. Reduced Geometry Model
Transient simulation
o Full wheel transient FWT 56 blades
22 R + 34 S
o Reduced geometry 2 passage
Use FT pitch-change
30 time-step per stator blade passing
o 1020 time-step per revolution
o Considered coarse
Can FT provide similar solution to
FWT?
On Inlet On Exit:
Impose distortion Impose profile from
Profile MMP
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Transient simulation
FWT vs. Reduced Geometry Model
Static Pressure History Comparison Static Pressure History Comparison
FWT vs. FT @ three LE locations FWT vs. FT @ three TE locations
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Transient simulation
FWT vs. Reduced Geometry Model
Full wheel transient (FWT)
o Requires 7 revolution
o Some monitors not fully convergence at
end of 7th revolution
Reduced geometry model
o multi-disturbance frozen gust
o FT pitch-change Axial Velocity Comparison
FWT vs. FT @midspan at TE
o Required 14 revolution
But overall reduced geometry model was:
o 16 X faster than FWT
o 28 X less memory than FWT
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Transient simulation
FWT vs. Reduced Geometry Model
Circumferential average Static Pressure Circumferential average Static Pressure
(top) and Mach number (Bottom) (top) and Mach number (Bottom)
Along rotor span @ LE Along rotor span @ TE
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Transient simulation
FWT vs. Reduced Geometry Model
FFT monitor near Rotor LE FFT monitor near Rotor TE
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Transient simulation
FWT vs. Reduced Geometry Model
Pressure Total Pressure Total Temperature
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Summary
Strategy to model fan-stage under inlet distortion using frozen gust analysis
The multiple mixing plane (MMP) concept was shown to be capable of
capturing the stator pressure profile
o Stator pressure profile is combination of stator potential pressure field
variation and inlet distortion variation
Multi-disturbance Fourier-Transformation pitch-change method was then
used to model the fan-Stage under inlet distortion
The reduced geometry FT model matched the full wheel model
The reduced geometry model was 16X faster and required about 28X less
memory than full wheel modeling
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Thank You
For
Your Attention
23
Blade Row Methods
Steady-State Mixing-Plane model (MP) MP
o Single-passage per row
o Implicit interface discretization
o Conservative circumferential
averaging procedure
Transient Rotor/Stator (Ref)
o Modeling all blades
o Fully implicit and conservative
discretization
o Sliding interface account for accurate
circumferential position of rotor
Replace this figure with R67stage
relative to stator.
Full wheel
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