bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Nonparametric k-Sample Test on Shape Spaces with Applications to Mitochondrial Shape Analysis
Authors: Zhang Ruiyi , Ogden R. Todd , Picard Martin , Srivastava Anuj
Published: September 2021

An important hypothesis in animal cell biology is that an animal’s acute exercise regimen affects some subcellular structures, for example mitochondrial morphology, in its muscle tissue. This paper investigates that hypothesis using a nonparametric metric-based energy test for comparing mitochondrial populations. It explores two shape spaces—the elastic shape space and Kendall shape space—and five corresponding shape metrics on these spaces. The results overwhelmingly point to the statistical significance of the effect of an acute exercise regimen on the shape of SS-type mitochondria. Although past studies based on specific morphological features derived from mitochondria failed to detect this significance. In this analysis, a potentially significant factor is cell membership and a k-sample generalization of the energy test—the DISCO test shows that the cell effect is indeed significant. The energy test cannot be applied directly due to the hierarchical structure of the distance matrix. We propose a compression method to remove the significant cell effect while testing for the exercise effect. With this compression, only the elastic scaled metric shows statistical significance of the exercise factor in this more complicated scenario. This result is because the elastic-scaled metric is more sensitive to subtle changes in mitochondrial shapes caused by acute exercise.
Concentric versus eccentric cycling at equal power output or effort perception: Neuromuscular alterations and muscle pain
Authors: Clos Pierre , Mater Adrien , Laroche Davy , Lepers Romuald
Published: September 2021

This study aimed to compare neuromuscular alterations and perceptions of effort and muscle pain induced by concentric and eccentric cycling performed at the same power output or effort perception. Fifteen participants completed three 30‐min sessions: one in concentric at 60% peak power output (CON) and two in eccentric, at the same power output (ECCPOWER) or same perceived effort (ECCEFFORT). Muscle pain, perception of effort, oxygen uptake as well as rectus femoris and vastus lateralis electromyographic activities were collected when pedaling. The knee extensors maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) torque, the torque evoked by double stimulations at 100 Hz and 10 Hz (Dt100; Dt10), and the voluntary activation level (VAL) were evaluated before and after exercise. Power output was higher in ECCEFFORTthan CON (89.1 ± 23.3% peak power). Muscle pain and effort perception were greater in CON than ECCPOWER(p < 0.03) while muscle pain was similar in CON and ECCEFFORT(p > 0.43). MVC torque, Dt100, and VAL dropped in all conditions (p < 0.04). MVC torque (p < 0.001) and the Dt10/ Dt100 ratio declined further in ECCEFFORT(p < 0.001). Eccentric cycling perceived as difficult as concentric cycling caused similar muscle pain but more MVC torque decrease. A given power output induced lower perceptions of pain and effort in eccentric than in concentric yet similar MVC torque decline. While neural impairments were similar in all conditions, eccentric cycling seemed to alter excitation‐contraction coupling. Clinicians should thus be cautious when setting eccentric cycling intensity based on effort perception.
Cognitive Sociology after Relational Biology1
Authors: Ignatow Gabe
Published: September 2021

This article advances an argument first made fourteen years ago (Ignatow 2007) that sociologists interested in culture and cognition should theorize cognition as an embodied phenomenon rather than in terms of abstract information processing. I further develop the theoretical element of the 2007 argument by considering the implications of research on the microbiome‐gut‐brain axis (MGB) from contemporary biology for the theoretical foundations of cognitive sociology. I also further develop the argument methodologically by considering how nutritional surveys and other tools developed within the life sciences and psychiatry can be used productively by sociologists in research on crime, social and political attitudes, and religion. I conclude that MGB research challenges core assumptions of contemporary cognitive sociology, and that cognitive sociology will advance more rapidly if sociologists recognize the fundamental electrochemical mechanisms through which cognition is embodied, and that what is happening in the brain is at all times inseparable from what is happening in the microbiome and the gut.
A Numerical Investigation Into the Heat Transfer Performance and Particle Dynamics of a Compressible, Highly Mass Loaded, High Reynolds Number, Particle Laden Flow
Authors: Hassan Kyle , Kunz Robert , Hanson David , Manahan Michael
Published: September 2021

In this work, we study the heat transfer performance and particle dynamics of a high mass-loaded, compressible, particle-laden flow in a horizontally oriented pipe using an Eulerian–Eulerian (two-fluid) computational model. Previous experimental work by our group provides the basis for the study. Specifically, a 17 bar coflow of nitrogen gas and copper powder are modeled with inlet Reynolds numbers of 3 × 104, 4.5 × 104, and 6 × 104 and mass loadings of 0, 0.5, and 1.0. Eight binned particle sizes were modeled to represent the known powder properties. Significant settling of all particle groups is observed leading to asymmetric temperature distributions. Wall and core flow temperature distributions are observed to agree well with measurements. In high Reynolds number cases, the predictions of the multiphase computational model were satisfactorily aligned with the experimental results. Low Reynolds number model predictions were not as consistent with the experimental measurements.
Shear-Based Deformation Processing of Age-Hardened Aluminum Alloy for Single-Step Sheet Production
Authors: Bai Xiaolong , Kustas Andrew B. , Mann James B. , Chandrasekar Srinivasan , Trumble Kevin P.
Published: September 2021

Shear-based deformation processing by hybrid cutting-extrusion and free machining are used to make continuous strip, of thickness up to 1 mm, from low-workability AA6013-T6 in a single deformation step. The intense shear can impose effective strains as large as 2 in the strip without pre-heating of the workpiece. The creation of strip in a single step is facilitated by three factors inherent to the cutting deformation zone: highly confined shear deformation, in situ plastic deformation-induced heating, and high hydrostatic pressure. The hybrid cutting-extrusion, which employs a second die located across from the primary cutting tool to constrain the chip geometry, is found to produce strip with smooth surfaces (Sa < 0.4 μm) that is similar to cold-rolled strip. The strips show an elongated grain microstructure that is inclined to the strip surfaces—a shear texture—that is quite different from rolled sheet. This shear texture (inclination) angle is determined by the deformation path. Through control of the deformation parameters such as strain and temperature, a range of microstructures and strengths could be achieved in the strip. When the cutting-based deformation was done at room temperature, without workpiece preheating, the starting T6 material was further strengthened by as much as 30% in a single step. In elevated-temperature cutting-extrusion, dynamic recrystallization was observed, resulting in a refined grain size in the strip. Implications for deformation processing of age-hardenable Al alloys into sheet form, and microstructure control therein, are discussed.
Design of the Wearable Spatial Gravity Balance Mechanism
Authors: Peng Yijia , Bu Wanghui , Chen Jing
Published: September 2021

Gravity compensation mechanisms are widely used in manipulators and exoskeletons as passive components that generate counter-gravity force and save energy. While there have been making great progresses in the design of gravity compensators, a strict condition that the axes of the gravity compensators are aligned with the axes of the links being balanced (LBBs) exactly is usually assumed implicitly, which is difficult to achieve for exoskeletons in practice. In this paper, the design method of the wearable spatial gravity compensator compatible to the misalignment between the rotation centers of the LBB and the compensator is carefully studied. First, the design of the planar gravity compensation unit (PGCU) is presented for each link when rotating in the yaw plane, and next, the PGCU is adapted into the spatial gravity compensation unit (SGCU) to accommodate the general rotation of the LBB. Then, the type synthesis of the SGCU is conducted followed by the analyses of the acting patterns of synthesized SGCUs on the LBBs and gravity compensation performances when the misalignments occur. Finally, the SGCUs are combined with timing belt mechanisms (TBMs) to construct gravity compensation mechanisms for spatial serial linkages. Simulations of an exoskeleton constructed by SGCUs are conducted to verify the performance of gravity balance and the effectiveness of the proposed design method.
Comparison of Film Cooling Performance for Different Purge Slot Configurations in a Cylindrical and State-of-the-Art Nozzle Guide Vane
Authors: Landfester Christian , Müller Gunther , Krewinkel Robert , Domnick Clemens , Böhle Martin
Published: September 2021

This comparative study is concerned with the advances in nozzle guide vane (NGV) design developments and their influence on endwall film cooling performance by injecting coolant through the purge slot. This experimental study compares the film cooling effectiveness and the aerodynamic effects for different purge slot configurations on both a flat and an axisymmetrically contoured endwall of a NGV. While the flat endwall cascade was equipped with cylindrical vanes, the contoured endwall cascade consisted of modern NGVs, which represent state-of-the-art high-pressure turbine design standards. Geometric variations, e.g., the slot width and injection angle, as well as different blowing ratios were realized. The mainstream flow parameters were set to meet real engine conditions with regard to Reynolds and Mach numbers. Pressure-sensitive paint was used to determine the adiabatic film cooling effectiveness. Five-hole probe measurements were performed to measure the flow field in the vane wake region. For a more profound insight into the origin of the secondary flows, oil dye visualizations were carried out. The results show that the advances in NGV design have a significantly positive influence on the distribution of the coolant. This has to be attributed to lesser disturbance of the coolant propagation by secondary flow for the optimized NGV design, since the design features are intended to suppress the formation of secondary flow. Therefore, it is advisable to take these effects into account when designing the film cooling system of a modern high-pressure turbine.
An Interval Approach for the Availability Optimization of Multi-State Systems in the Presence of Aleatory and Epistemic Uncertainties
Authors: Akrouche J. , Sallak M. , Châtelet E. , Abdallah F. , Haj Chhadé H.
Published: September 2021

An essential step in the safe design of systems is choosing the system configuration that will maximize the overall availability of the system and minimize its overall cost. The main objective of this paper is to propose an optimization method of multistate system availability in the presence of both aleatory and epistemic uncertainties, to choose the best configuration for the system in terms of availability, cost, and imprecision. The problem is formulated as follows: let us consider several configurations of a system, with each configuration consisting of components with different working states, and imprecise failure and repair rates provided in the form of intervals. The aim is to find the best configuration regarding the system's imprecise availability, cost, and imprecision. First, the imprecise steady availability of each configuration is computed by using an original method based on Markovian approaches combined with interval contraction techniques. Then an objective function incorporating cost, the lower and upper bounds of availability, and imprecision is defined and computed to provide the best configuration. To illustrate the proposed method, a use case is discussed.
Case Closed: The Completion of the United States Navy 501-K34 Gas Turbine Engine RADCON Program (2011 - 2019)
Authors: Patterson Jeffrey S. , Fauvell Kevin , Russom Dennis , Durosseau Willie A. , Petronello Phyllis , Moralez Javier O.
Published: September 2021

The United States Navy (USN) 501-K Series Radiological Controls (RADCON) Program was launched in late 2011, in response to the extensive damage caused by participation in Operation Tomodachi. The purpose of this operation was to provide humanitarian relief aid to Japan following a 9.0 magnitude earthquake that struck 231 miles northeast of Tokyo, on the afternoon of March 11, 2011. The earthquake caused a tsunami with 30 foot waves that damaged several nuclear reactors in the area. It was the fourth largest earthquake on record (since 1900) and the largest to hit Japan. On March 12, 2011, the United States Government launched Operation Tomodachi. In all, a total of 24,000 troops, 189 aircraft, 24 naval ships, supported this relief effort, at a cost in excess of $90.0 million. The U.S. Navy provided material support, personnel movement, search and rescue missions and damage surveys. During the operation, 11 gas turbine powered U.S. warships operated within the radioactive plume. As a result, numerous gas turbine engines ingested radiological contaminants and needed to be decontaminated, cleaned, repaired and returned to the Fleet. During the past eight years, the USN has been very proactive and vigilant with their RADCON efforts, and as of the end of calendar year 2019, have successfully completed the 501-K Series portion of the RADCON program. This paper will update an earlier ASME paper that was written on this subject (GT2015-42057) and will summarize the U.S. Navy’s 501-K Series RADCON effort. Included in this discussion will be a summary of the background of Operation Tomodachi, including a discussion of the affected hulls and related gas turbine equipment. In addition, a discussion of the radiological contamination caused by the disaster will be covered and the resultant effect to and the response by the Marine Gas Turbine Program. Furthermore, the authors will discuss what the USN did to remediate the RADCON situation, what means were employed to select a vendor and to set up a RADCON cleaning facility in the United States. And finally, the authors will discuss the dispensation of the 501-K Series RADCON assets that were not returned to service, which include the 501-K17 gas turbine engine, as well as the 250-KS4 gas turbine engine starter. The paper will conclude with a discussion of the results and lessons learned of the program and discuss how the USN was able to process all of their 501-K34 RADCON affected gas turbine engines and return them back to the Fleet in a timely manner.
Upgrading Marine Engine Materials for Future Navy Ships
Authors: Shifler David A. , Hoffman Donald
Published: September 2021

U.S. Navy marine gas turbine engines serve as primarye and auxiliary power sources for several current classes of ships. Early observations noted in the 1960s and 1970s revealed severe corrosion attack on the first stage blade and vane components of a shipboard marine gas turbine engine that caused engine failure after only several hundred hours. In gas turbine development, there is always a drive and need to enhance the performance and life of engines. The virtues of using Ni-base superalloys in hot-section components has been well recognized and practiced as a means of substantial increase in turbine-inlet temperature, resulting in improvements in thermal efficiency, durability, and performance of engines. The USN shipboard environment (the marine environment) is high in salt laden air and water, coupled with air and fuel sulfur species that cause aggressive corrosion in gas turbine hot sections. Materials that can function in this environment are considered to be “Marinized”.

Higher engine power density and pressure ratios for new engine designs will increase maximum blade, vane, and rotor metal temperatures from a mainly Low Temperature Hot Corrosion (LTHC) regime into both the High Temperature Hot Corrosion (HTHC) and Oxidation Corrosion regions. It is expected that future increased surface combatant loads and operational changes will require increased gas turbine operating temperatures and change the associated operating environment to one where Type I and Type II hot corrosion AND oxidation will be prevalent in newly anticipated operational profiles. The advanced gas turbine upgrade package will include better corrosion and oxidation resistant capability and/or higher temperature capable materials and their associated component overhaul methodologies. New materials need to be created and developed for use in more aggressive environments and higher temperature operations.

The main cause of the shorter time between overhauls is the materials deterioration of the engine components associated with the hot section of the engine, e.g. turbine airfoils. The deterioration mechanisms are hot corrosion, with Type 1 hot corrosion mechanism becoming operative at the higher temperatures. The goal of this paper is to evaluate methods to enable running the engine at high power while getting back to the longer mean time between overhauls. The method to achieve the longer time is to evaluate and propose for implementation materials, which can withstand the higher temperatures and at the same time mitigate the operative corrosion mechanisms associated with marine environments.
Design of a Cooled sCO2 Combustion Test Rig for Steady-State Kinetics Testing
Authors: Katcher Kelsi M. , Allison Timothy C. , Marshall Michael , Jin Yuin , Lim Chansun , Chang Sungho
Published: September 2021

Within the research area of sCO2 power cycles, the direct-fired oxy-combustion cycle is of great interest because the inherent carbon capture makes it a desirable option for clean power generation. In order to better understand the combustion kinetics of the direct-fired cycle in sCO2, a laboratory-scale combustion test rig was designed. The design and thermal-mechanical analysis of the combustor test rig for steady-state open-loop combustion testing is presented. The test rig is designed for operating conditions of 265 bar and full-scale oxy-combustion temperatures. The test rig incorporates a laser igniter and modular fully premixed injector to enable testing with step- or swirl-style flame holders. The rig also employs an existing dense-phase sCO2 pump to provide a closed-loop high-flow cooling circuit to enable cost-effective short-lead manufacturing of liner and pressure casing components. Finally, the test rig’s multi-zone copper alloy C18150 liner design minimizes thermal stresses and allows for independent control of dilution flow in each zone to vary combustion temperatures. Planned measurements include exit temperature profile and chamber dynamic pressures. The sensitivity of CO oxidation and other reaction rates to temperature will be indirectly evaluated using post-combustion gas sampling for comparison with combustion simulations.
Assessment of Non-Standard Procedure in Field Testing of Gas Turbine Driven Centrifugal Compressors
Authors: Casari Nicola , Fadiga Ettore , Pinelli Michele , Suman Alessio , Kurz Rainer , Davis Kevin C. , Marin Flavio
Published: September 2021

Gas turbine driven centrifugal compressors often undergo a detailed performance analysis either for the acceptance by the user or to evaluate their existing condition. Often, the tests are conducted at site, where the compressor and its driver must prove their capability to fulfill the requirements of the project specifications. Typical field testing of gas turbine compressor packages requires the evaluation of head, efficiency, capacity, fuel consumption, as well as the available driver power. The process is not straightforward since the conditions at which the compressor package is tested are typically different from the originally agreed upon conditions. In particular, the ambient conditions, as well as the load conditions at the test are usually different. There are a number of standard procedures for carrying out a field test. In this work, one of them is considered for quantifying how the variation in some parameters can impact the result of the field test. Particular attention is given to the evaluation and data correction for the gas turbine. The results of the test can be affected by several factors. Some of them are related to the installation, such as the array of RTDs used. Further, the influence of the accuracy of the input data that are used for the calculations must be considered by determining the effect of test uncertainty. Other parameters that can affect the results are related to the modeling: The natural gas exhibits real gas behavior at the test conditions, and an equation of state has to be used for data conversion. The choice of an equation of state can translate into a differences in the test results. An assessment of the impact of these factors on the outcome of a field test is reported. From the results of this work, the expected error as consequence of deviation from the specification can be quantified.
Design and Validation of a Novel Test-Rig for RQL Flame Dynamics Studies
Authors: March Martin , Renner Julian , Hirsch Christoph , Sattelmayer Thomas
Published: September 2021

In this paper a novel test-rig for the investigation of low-frequency thermoacoustic instabilities in aero-engines with air-staging RQL (rich-quench-lean) is presented. The new approach is to separate the rich primary zone from the lean secondary zone to allow for an isolated thermoacoustic characterization of each combustion zone. In addition the test-rig offers the possibility to combine both zones to judge the transferability of the findings from the separated to the compact configuration. The high modularity of the test-rig is already considered in the design-phase and allows a cost and time efficient manufacturing. Heat losses in the primary zone and the transition duct between the two zones play a crucial role for the functionality of the facility and are estimated during design to guarantee a stable re-ignition in the secondary zone. The main design steps in the secondary zone for achieving complete burn-out of the hot primary combustion gases are described. The realization of the acoustic excitation via loudspeakers is described and damping measures to improve combustor stability are explained. The operation of both zones, their acoustic behavior and the operational limits of the test-rig are demonstrated experimentally. They include first thermoacoustic measurement data of naturally occurring instabilities, the corresponding eigenfrequencies and the validation of the test-rig design. Finally an outlook on the future work in the research project concludes this paper.
On the Experimental Dynamic Force Performance of a Squeeze Film Damper Supplied Through a Check Valve and Sealed With O-Rings
Authors: San Andrés Luis , Rodríguez Bryan
Published: September 2021

In rotor-bearing systems, squeeze film dampers (SFDs) assist to reduce vibration amplitudes while traversing a critical speed and also offer a means to suppress rotor instabilities. Along with an elastic support element, SFDs are effective means to isolate a rotor from its casing. O-rings (ORs), piston rings (PRs) and side plates as end seals reduce leakage and air ingestion while amplifying the viscous damping in configurations with limited physical space. ORs also add a centering stiffness and damping to a SFD. The paper presents experiments to quantify the dynamic forced response of an O-rings sealed ends SFD (OR-SFD) lubricated with ISO VG2 oil supplied at a low pressure (0.7 bar(g)). The damper is 127 mm in diameter (D), short in axial length L = 0.2D, and the film clearance c = 0.279 mm. The lubricant flows into the film land through a mechanical check valve and exits through a single port. Upstream of the check valve, a large plenum filled with oil serves to attenuate dynamic pressure disturbances. Multiple sets of single-frequency dynamic loads, 10 Hz to 120 Hz, produce circular centered orbits with amplitudes r = 0.1c, 0.15c and 0.2c. The experimental results identify the test rig structure, ORs and SFD force coefficients; namely stiffness (K), mass (M) and viscous damping (C). The ORs coefficients are frequency independent and show a sizeable direct stiffness, KOR ∼ 50% of the test rig structure stiffness, along with a quadrature stiffness, K0∼0.26 KOR, demonstrative of material damping. The lubricated system damping coefficient equals CL = (CSFD + COR); the ORs contributing 10% to the total. The experimental SFD damping and inertia coefficients are large in physical magnitude; CSFD slightly grows with orbit size whereas MSFD is relatively constant. The added mass (MSFD) is approximately four-fold the bearing cartridge mass; hence, the test rig natural frequency drops by ∼50% once lubricated. A computational physics model predicts force coefficients that are just 10% lower than those estimated from experiments. The amplitude of measured dynamic pressures upstream of the plenum increases with excitation frequency. Unsuspectedly, during dynamic load operation, the check valve did allow for lubricant backflow into the plenum. Post-tests verification demonstrates that, under static pressure conditions, the check valve does work since it allows fluid flow in just one direction.
Reconstruction of a Steam Turbine Blade Using Piecewise Bernstein Polynomials and Transfinite Interpolation
Authors: Pérez Rubio Luis David , Galván González Sergio Ricardo , Domínguez Mota Francisco Javier , Cerriteño Sánchez Angel , Tamayo Soto Miguel Angel , Delgado Sánchez Giovanni
Published: September 2021

Turbine blades are designed to achieve its maximum efficiency, but deformations caused by the exposition to extreme operating environments provokes reduction in the engine performance. Often, operators choose to repair a damaged blade instead of replacing it to save money, however, reconstructing its virtual model, commonly the first step in the repairing process, can be challenging due to the geometrical complexity of the blades, variability in deformations and the requirement to meet the dimensions specified by the manufacturer. This paper presents the reconstruction methodology of the clean virtual model of a steam turbine blade through numerical tools, as a previous step for regenerating a worn blade. First, few cross-sectional airfoil profiles are extracted from the damaged blade and are regenerated using Bernstein polynomials; then, using the previously obtained data, many more profiles are interpolated and stacked along the spanwise direction of the blade via Transfinite Interpolation in order to obtain a smooth and continuous representation of the reference blade. Final deviation between the reference and reconstructed model resulted in an average value of 1.5496 × 10−3 % and 9.685 × 10−5 % relative to the rotor diameter in the pressure and suction sides respectively, showing an accuracy that could be considered to be used in industrial applications or optimization.
On the Effect of Noise Induced Dynamics on Linear Growth Rates of Oscillations in an Electroacoustic Rijke Tube Simulator
Authors: Vishnoi Neha , Wahi Pankaj , Saurabh Aditya , Kabiraj Lipika
Published: September 2021

Suppressing self-excited thermoacoustic oscillations in combustion chambers is essential for gas turbine system stability. Passive acoustic damping devices such as Helmholtz resonators are commonly employed in modern combustors to address the problem of thermoacoustic instabilities. The estimation of deterministic parameters characterizing flame-acoustic coupling, specifically the stability margins and linear growth/decay rates, is a prerequisite for designing these devices. As gas turbine combustors are typically noisy systems due to the presence of highly turbulent flows and unsteady combustion, it is essential to understand the role of noise and its impact on the estimated system stability. Recently several new results on the stochastic dynamics of thermoacoustic systems and the use of noise-induced dynamics to estimate system stability characteristics have been reported. In the present work, we study the different approaches previously reported on the estimation of linear growth/decay rates from noise-induced dynamics on an electroacoustic Rijke tube (a prototypical thermoacoustic system) simulator. We estimate the growth rates from noisy data obtained from the subthreshold, bistable, and linearly-unstable regions of the observed subcritical Hopf bifurcation and investigate the effect of additive noise intensity. We find that the noise intensity affects the stability boundaries and the estimated growth rates.
Noise Reduction Analysis of Electronic Device Cooling Fan With Duct and Its Application Under Variable Working Conditions
Authors: Sun Zonghan , Tian Jie , Liśkiewicz Grzegorz , Du Zhaohui , Ouyang Hua
Published: September 2021

A noise reduction method for axial flow fans using a short inlet duct is proposed. The pattern of noise reduction imposed by the short inlet duct on the axial flow cooling fan under variable working conditions was experimentally and numerically examined. A 2-cm inlet duct was found to reduce tonal noise. As the tip Mach number of the fan increased from 0.049 to 0.156, the reduction in the total average sound pressure level at 1 m from the fan increased from 0.8 dB(A) to 4.3 dB(A), and further achieved 4.8 dB(A) when a 1-cm inlet duct was used. The steady computational fluid dynamics (CFD) showed that the inlet duct has little effect on the aerodynamic performance of the fan. The results of the full passage unsteady calculation at the maximum flow rate showed that the duct has a significant influence on the suction vortexes caused by the inlet flow non-uniformity. The suction vortexes move upstream to weaken the interaction with the rotor blades, which significantly reduces the pulsating pressure on the blades. The sound pressure level (SPL) at the blade passing frequency (BPF) contributed by the thrust force was calculated to reduce by 36 dB at a 135° observer angle, reflecting the rectification effect of the duct on the non-uniform inlet flow and the improvement in characteristics of the noise source. The proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) of the static pressure field on the blades verified that the main spatial mode is more uniformly distributed due to the duct, and energy owing to the rotor-inlet interaction decreases. A speed regulation strategy for the cooling fan with short inlet duct is proposed, which provides guidance for the application of this noise reduction method.
Reduced-Order Modeling of Extreme Speed Turbochargers
Authors: Fellows David W. , Bodony Daniel J. , McGowan Ryan C.
Published: September 2021

In order to improve their efficiency and performance, aircraft intermittent combustion engines often incorporate turbochargers that are adapted from ground-based applications. These turbochargers experience conditions outside of their design operating envelope and are found to experience high-cycle fatigue brought on by aerodynamically-induced blade resonances. The onset of fluid-structural interactions, such as flutter and forced response, in turbochargers at these conditions has not been extensively studied. A reduced-order model of the aeroelastic response of the turbine is developed using the Euler-Lagrange equation informed by numerical data from uncoupled computational fluid dynamic (CFD) and computational structural dynamic (CSD) calculations. The structural response of the reduced-order model is derived from a method of assumed modes approach. The unsteady fluid response is described by a modified version of piston theory as a first step towards including inhomogeneous aerodynamic forcing. Details of the reduced order model are given. The capability of the reduced-order model to predict the presence of flutter from a subset of the uncoupled numerical simulation data is discussed.
A Discussion: Issue Improving the Accuracy of Turbine Blade Heat Transfer Simulation
Authors: Zhang Shenghui , Ding Shuiting , Liu Chuankai , Zhao Gang , Wang Jie
Published: September 2021

To be able to set uniform inlet boundary conditions in simulation, there must be an inlet extension at the first guide vane. In the inlet extension, turbulence experiences strong numerical dissipation, which has not been paid attention to. In the current paper, the influence of the numerical dissipation of turbulence on accuracy in predicting heat transfer was discussed. Two cases, where the numerical dissipation of turbulence was neglected, were analysed. In the first case, wrong conclusion about effect of turbulence scale on heat transfer was drawn: blade heat transfer increases with inlet turbulence scale under the same inlet turbulence intensity. The mechanism for the wrong conclusion is that turbulence with larger scale numerically dissipates more slowly in the inlet extension so that turbulence intensity at blade leading edge is greater under turbulence with larger scale, it is the turbulence intensity not turbulence scale itself really affects heat transfer. In the second case, when the numerical dissipation of turbulence is neglected and turbulence parameters at measuring plane of inlet are directly as input for turbulence boundary condition, flow transition is postponed downstream and heat transfer error is greater, however, when the numerical dissipation of turbulence is considered and turbulence parameters at measuring plane are regard as benchmark and matched by adjusting parameters of inlet turbulence boundary condition, the result shows better agreement with experiment. Thus, the correct way to set turbulence boundary condition is to match turbulence parameters at measuring plane by adjusting parameters of inlet turbulence boundary.
Experimental Study on Lean Blowout Limits of Turbulent Premixed Hydrogen/Ammonia/Air Mixtures
Authors: Goldmann Andreas , Dinkelacker Friedrich
Published: September 2021

As the demand for greenhouse gas neutral transportation and power generation solutions is growing, alternative carbon-free fuel such as hydrogen (H2) and ammonia (NH3) are gaining more attention. Mixtures of both fuels allow the adjustment of combustion properties. With future fuels also the vision of very clean combustion can be taken into the focus, being for instance based on lean premixed and for liquid fuels prevaporized combustion for gas turbines. For the utilization of such concepts, however, flame stability is essential. In this study the upper stability limits, i.e. lean blowout of turbulent hydrogen/ammonia/air flames, is experimentally investigated in a generic non-swirl premixed burner at atmospheric conditions. Special focus is laid on a measurement setup with fully automatized measurement procedure, to reach the stability limits, as these limits tend to depend for instance on the approach speed towards the limit. The ammonia content was varied from 0 vol% to 50 vol% in 10 vol% steps with the rest being hydrogen, for a broad range of fuel-air-equivalence ratios. The lean blowout limit is increasing almost linearly with increasing fuel-air-equivalence ratios, whereas with increasing ammonia content the limit is decreasing. Furthermore, a model for the lean blowout limits were derived, which is able to predict the acquired experimental data with high accuracy.
Impact of Plant Siting on Performance and Economics of Indirect Supercritical CO2 Coal Fired Power Plants
Authors: Pidaparti Sandeep R. , White Charles W. , Weiland Nathan T.
Published: September 2021

Indirect-fired supercritical CO2 (sCO2) power cycles are being explored as an attractive alternative to steam Rankine cycles for a variety of heat sources including fossil, concentrated solar power (CSP), nuclear, waste heat, etc. Due to the near-ambient CO2 critical temperature of 31°C, the effects of ambient temperature on sCO2 power cycles performance are expected to be more significant than for steam Rankine cycles.

This study presents the impact of plant siting on the performance and economics of coal-fired utility scale power plants based on indirect sCO2 power cycles with carbon capture and storage (CCS). Four different plant sites across the United States have been selected for investigation: Chicago, IL; Kemmerer, WY; Houston, TX; Knoxville, TN. For each plant site, local parameters such as design ambient conditions, coal type and prices, captured CO2 transportation and storage (T&S) costs are considered for the techno-economic analyses (TEA). To determine the optimum plant design for each location, two power cycle configurations (recompression cycle, partial cooling cycle with reheat) and two cooling technologies (dry and adiabatic cooling) are examined. The optimization was conducted using automated derivative-free optimization (DFO) algorithms available under NETL’s Framework for Optimization and Quantification of Uncertainty and Sensitivity (FOQUS) platform. The optimization design variables include parameters such as turbine inlet temperatures and pressure, sCO2 cooler outlet temperatures, recuperators approach temperature and pressure drop etc. The study demonstrates the variability in optimal plant design for different ambient and fuel input conditions. The results will be used in future sCO2 technology market analyses.
AI Assisted High Fidelity Multi-Physics Digital Twin of Industrial Gas Turbines
Authors: Krishnababu Senthil , Valero Omar , Wells Roger
Published: September 2021

Data driven technologies are revolutionising the engineering sector by providing new ways of performing day to day tasks through the life cycle of a product as it progresses through manufacture, to build, qualification test, field operation and maintenance. Significant increase in data transfer speeds combined with cost effective data storage, and ever-increasing computational power provide the building blocks that enable companies to adopt data driven technologies such as data analytics, IOT and machine learning. Improved business operational efficiency and more responsive customer support provide the incentives for business investment. Digital twins, that leverages these technologies in their various forms to converge physics and data driven models, are therefore being widely adopted.

A high-fidelity multi-physics digital twin, HFDT, that digitally replicates a gas turbine as it is built based on part and build data using advanced component and assembly models is introduced. The HFDT, among other benefits enables data driven assessments to be carried out during manufacture and assembly for each turbine allowing these processes to be optimised and the impact of variability or process change to be readily evaluated. On delivery of the turbine and its associated HFDT to the service support team the HFDT supports the evaluation of in-service performance deteriorations, the impact of field interventions and repair and the changes in operating characteristics resulting from overhaul and turbine upgrade. Thus, creating a cradle to grave physics and data driven twin of the gas turbine asset.

In this paper, one branch of HFDT using a power turbine module is firstly presented. This involves simultaneous modelling of gas path and solid using high fidelity CFD and FEA which converts the cold geometry to hot running conditions to assess the impact of various manufacturing and build variabilities. It is shown this process can be executed within reasonable time frames enabling creation of HFDT for each turbine during manufacture and assembly and for this to be transferred to the service team for deployment during field operations.

Following this, it is shown how data driven technologies are used in conjunction with the HFDT to improve predictions of engine performance from early build information. The example shown, shows how a higher degree of confidence is achieved through the development of an artificial neural network of the compressor tip gap feature and its effect on overall compressor efficiency.
Understanding the Dynamics of Critical Transitions in a Contra-Rotating Fan
Authors: Madasseri Payyappalli Manas , Pradeep A. M.
Published: September 2021

In this experimental study, we investigate the fundamental behaviour of a low speed contra-rotating fan and describes the reasons leading to the instabilities in the fan at low mass flow rates. A contra-rotating fan is a possible alternative to conventional fans and has potential aerodynamic advantages. This study identifies certain features that are unique to a contra-rotating configuration. Rotor-1 and rotor-2 behaves differently at low mass flow rates. Though rotor-1 is stable up to low mass flow rates, rotor-2 enters into an unstable mode of operation at mass flow rates close to the design mass flow rate. The critical region where the instability arise in rotor-1 is its tip and in rotor-2 is its hub. The instability is also found to change the structure as it propagates along the annulus. It is identified that the presence of rotor-2 downstream of rotor-1 under-loads rotor-1 and thus significantly affects the loading on rotor-1. The instability arises due to the tip-leakage vortex at high frequencies and due to modal waves at low frequencies. The study thus identifies the major regions of the rotors which are the sources of instabilities and also identifies the process of transition to instability in the contra-rotating fan.
Experimental and Computational Investigation of Integrated Internal and Film Cooling Designs Incorporating a Thermal Barrier Coating
Authors: Horner Matthew J. , Yoon Christopher , Furgeson Michael , Oliver Todd A. , Bogard David G.
Published: September 2021

Few studies in the open literature have studied the effect of thermal barrier coatings when used in combination with shaped hole film cooling and enhanced internal cooling techniques. The current study presents RANS conjugate heat transfer simulations that identify trends in cooling design performance as well as experimental measurements of overall effectiveness using a flat-plate matched-Biot number model with a simulated TBC layer of 0.42D thickness, where D is the film cooling hole diameter. Coolant is fed to the film cooling holes in a co-flow configuration, and the results of both smooth and rib-turbulated channels are compared. At a constant coolant flow rate, enhanced internal cooling was found to provide a 44% increase in spatially-averaged overall effectiveness, ϕ ̿ , without a TBC. The results show that the addition of a TBC can raise ϕ ̿ on a film-cooled component surface by 47%. The optimum velocity ratio was found to decrease with the addition of enhanced cooling techniques and a TBC as the film provided minimal benefit at the expense of reduced internal cooling. While the computational results closely identified trends in overall system performance without a TBC, the model over-predicted effectiveness on the metal-TBC interface. The results of this study will inform turbine component design as material science advances increase the reliability of TBC.
Making Better Swirl Brakes Using Computational Fluid Dynamics: Performance Enhancement From Geometry Variation
Authors: Yang Jing , San Andrés Luis
Published: September 2021

A fluid with a large swirl (circumferential) velocity entering an annular pressure seal influences the seal cross-coupled dynamic stiffness coefficients and hence it affects system stability. Typically comprising a large number of angled vanes around the seal circumference, a swirl brake (SB) is a mechanical element installed to reduce (even reverse) the swirl velocity entering an annular seal. SB design guidelines are not readily available and existing configurations appear to reproduce a single source. By using a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model, the paper details a process to engineer a SB upstream of a sixteen-tooth labyrinth seal (LS) with tip clearance Cr = 0.203 mm. The process begins with a known nominal SB* geometry and considers variations in vane length (LV* = 3.25 mm) and width (WV* = 1.02 mm), and stagger angle (θ* = 0°). The vane number NV* = 72 and vane height HV* = 2.01 mm remain unchanged. The SB-LS operates with air supplied at pressure PS = 70 bar, a pressure ratio PR = exit pressure Pa / PS = 0.5, and rotor speed Ω = 10.2 krpm (surface speed ΩR = 61 m/s). Just before the SB the pre-swirl velocity ratio = average circumferential velocity U / shaft surface speed (ΩR) equals α = 0.5. For the given conditions, an increase in LV allows more space for the development of vortexes between two adjacent vanes. These are significant to the dissipation of fluid kinetic energy and thus control the reduction of α. A 42% increase in vane length (LV = 4.6 mm) produces a ∼ 43% drop in swirl ratio at the entrance of the LS (exit of the SB), from αE = 0.23 to 0.13. Based on the SB with LV = 4.6 mm, the stagger angle θ varies from 0° to 50°. The growth in angle amplifies a vortex at ∼ 70% of the vane height while it weakens a vortex at 30% of HV. For θ = 40°, the influence of the two vortexes on the flow produces the smallest swirl ratio at the LS entrance, αE = −0.03. For a SB with LV = 4.6 mm and θ = 40°, the vane width WV varies from 0.51 mm to 1.52 mm (± 50% of WV*). A reduction in WV provides more space for the strengthening of the vortex between adjacent vanes. Therefore, a SB with greater spacing of vanes also reduces the inlet circumferential velocity. For WV = 0.51 mm, αE further decreases to −0.07. Besides the design condition (α = 0.5), the engineered SB having LV = 4.6 mm, θ = 40° and WV = 0.51 mm effectively reduces the circumferential velocity at the LS entrance for other inlet pre-swirl ratios equaling α = 0 and 1.3. Rather than relying on extensive experiments, the CFD analysis proves effective to quickly engineer a best SB configuration from the quantification of performance while varying the SB geometry and inlet swirl condition.
Improving the Film Cooling Performance of a Turbine Endwall With Multi-Fidelity Modeling Considering Conjugate Heat Transfer
Authors: Bu Hongyan , Yang Yufeng , Song Liming , Li Jun
Published: September 2021

The gas turbine endwall is bearing extreme thermal loads with the rapid increase of turbine inlet temperature. Therefore, the effective cooling of turbine endwalls is of vital importance for the safe operation of turbines. In the design of endwall cooling layouts, numerical simulations based on conjugate heat transfer (CHT) are drawing more attention as the component temperature can be predicted directly. However, the computation cost of high-fidelity CHT analysis can be high and even prohibitive especially when there are many cases to evaluate such as in the design optimization of cooling layout. In this study, we established a multi-fidelity framework in which the data of low-fidelity CHT analysis was incorporated to help the building of a model that predicts the result of high-fidelity simulation. Based upon this framework, multi-fidelity design optimization of a validated numerical turbine endwall model was carried out. The high and low fidelity data were obtained from the computation of fine mesh and coarse mesh respectively. In the optimization, the positions of the film cooling holes were parameterized and controlled by a shape function. With the help of multi-fidelity modeling and sequentially evaluated designs, the cooling performance of the model endwall was improved efficiently.