Title: Modelling of compressible periodic flows with application to turbomachinery seals

Authors: G. Chochua, W. Shyy, J. Moore

Addresses: Department of Aerospace Engineering, Mechanics & Engineering Science, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA. Department of Aerospace Engineering, Mechanics & Engineering Science, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA. Dresser-Rand Co., Paul Clark Dr., Olean, NY 14760, USA

Abstract: Gas annular seals are commonly adopted for leakage control in turbomachinery applications. Due to repeated geometric patterns of the seals, it is desirable to develop suitable strategies to treat a small portion of the flow domain and extrapolate the information to the entire seal. This paper presents such a technique. The following issues are addressed: validation of results obtained using periodic boundary conditions accounting for turbulent and compressible flows; effect of the rotor rotation and inlet swirl ratio on flow development in the seal; extrapolation of the full-length results from limited periodic simulations; and distribution of the friction factor on contributing pressure and shear stress components. The computational techniques presented can help address the design-related issues more economically, and with better insight into the fluid physics.

Keywords: compressible turbulent flow; gas annular damper seal; periodic boundary condition; turbomachinery.

DOI: 10.1504/PCFD.2002.003315

Progress in Computational Fluid Dynamics, An International Journal, 2002 Vol.2 No.1, pp.9 - 19

Published online: 08 Oct 2003 *

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