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Numerical study on the effect of the tip clearance of a 100 HP axial fan on the aerodynamic performance and unsteady stall characteristics

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Abstract

In this study, a numerical analysis was conducted to investigate the effect of the tip clearance on the aerodynamic performance, internal flow characteristics, and stall region characteristics of an axial fan. Three-dimensional steady and unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) calculations were conducted with a shear stress transport (SST) turbulence model. Tip clearance ratios of 0, 0.01, and 0.02 were applied to the impeller. As the tip clearance ratio increased, the aerodynamic performance of the axial fan decreased at both the design and the off-design conditions. The correlation between the tip leakage vortex (TLV) and the flow angle of the velocity triangle was presented for the difference in the tip clearance and flow rate. As the flow rate increased, the differences in the aerodynamic performance induced by the tip clearance ratio decreased. As the tip clearance ratio increased, the size of the TLV increased and gradually moved in the circumferential direction to interfere with the main flow at the low flow rate. Meanwhile, the size of the TLV was similar and gradually moved in the axial direction even if the tip clearance ratio increased at the high flow rate. The pressure fluctuations were observed by the fast Fourier transformation (FFT) analysis to compare and analyze internal flow characteristics at the stall region and design point. The static pressure was converted to the appropriate magnitude. The locations of the highest magnitude were shown to be different at the stall region and the design point, respectively.

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Abbreviations

C :

Absolute velocity

C 2 :

Absolute velocity at blade outlet

C m :

Meridional component of absolute velocity

C m2 :

Meridional component of absolute velocity at blade outlet

C z :

Axial component of absolute velocity

C θ :

Circumferential component of absolute velocity

C θ2 :

Circumferential component of absolute velocity at blade outlet

D :

Diameter of axial fan shroud

D shr :

Diameter of the impeller shroud

i :

Incidence angle at impeller LE

k :

Turbulence kinetic energy

N s :

Specific speed

P :

Total pressure or static pressure

P t :

Total pressure

Q :

Volume flow rate

R hub :

Radius of impeller hub

R shr :

Radius of the impeller shroud

TC :

Tip clearance of the impeller

TR :

Tip clearance ratio of the impeller

U :

Blade speed

U 2 :

Blade speed at blade outlet

u :

Instantaneous velocity in the x-axis direction

ū :

Mean velocity in the x-axis direction

v :

Instantaneous velocity in the y-axis direction

\(\overline {\rm{v}} \) :

Mean velocity in the y-axis direction

W :

Relative velocity

W 1 :

Relative velocity at the blade inlet

W 2 :

Relative velocity at blade outlet

W θ2 :

Circumferential component of relative velocity at blade outlet

w :

Instantaneous velocity in z-axis direction

\(\overline {\rm{w}} \) :

Mean velocity in the z-axis direction

Z :

Arbitrary location in axial direction

\({Z_{im{p_{LE}}}}\) :

Hub location of impeller LE in axial direction

β :

Relative flow angle

β 1 :

Relative flow angle at the blade inlet

β 1b :

Blade inlet angle

β 2 :

Relative flow angle at blade outlet

β 2b :

Blade outlet angle

Y :

Normalized axial distance.

δ :

Deviation angle at impeller TE

ρ :

Air density

Φ:

Flow coefficient

Ψ:

Pressure coefficient

ω:

Angular velocity

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Acknowledgments

This research was conducted under a grant (No. 20172010106010) from the Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning (KETEP). The authors gratefully acknowledge this support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Green Process and Energy System Engineering, Korea University of Science and Technology, 217 Gajeong-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 34113, Korea

    Seul-Gi Lee, Yong-In Kim & Young-Seok Choi

  2. Thermal and Fluid System R&D Group, Korea Institute of Industrial Technology, 89 Yangdaegiro-gil, Ipjang-myeon, Seobuk-gu, Cheonan-si, Chungcheongnamdo, 31056, Korea

    Seul-Gi Lee, Yong-In Kim, Hyeon-Mo Yang, Sung Kim, Kyoung-Yong Lee & Young-Seok Choi

  3. Research Department, Samwon Environment and Blower Co., Ltd., 233 Jeongwangcheon-ro, Siheung-si, Gyeonggi-do, 15078, Korea

    Sang-Yeol Lee & Sang-Ho Yang

Authors
  1. Seul-Gi Lee
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  2. Yong-In Kim
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  4. Sung Kim
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  6. Kyoung-Yong Lee
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  8. Young-Seok Choi
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Young-Seok Choi.

Additional information

Seul-Gi Lee received her B.S. degree from Myongji University, Korea, in 2018, and her M.S. degree in Green Process and Energy System Engineering from the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology (KITECH) School of University of Science & Technology (UST) in 2020. Her research interests include computational fluid dynamics, design optimization, and experimental tests.

Yong-In Kim received his B.S. degree from Chungnam National University, Korea, in 2016. Since March 2017, as a student researcher, he is pursuing his integrated course in Turbomachinery from the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology (KITECH) Campus of University of Science & Technology (UST). His research interests include computational fluid dynamics, design optimization, and experimental tests.

Hyeon-Mo Yang received his B.S. and M.S. degrees from the Korea University of Technology and Education (KOREA TECH), Korea, in 2005 and 2013, respectively. Currently, he is a researcher in the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology (KITECH). His research interests include turbomachinery design, numerical analyses, and experimental tests.

Sung Kim received his B.S. degree from from the Korea University of Technology and Education (KOREA TECH) in 2006, and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the Hanyang University in 2009 and 2019, respectively. He is currently a researcher in the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology (KITECH). His research interests are turbomachinery design, numerical analyses, optimization techniques, and experimental tests.

Sang-Yeol Lee received his Master’s degree from Kangwon National University. Since 2019, he has been working as a researcher in the field of blower at Samwon&B Co., Ltd. Currently, he is carrying out various national research projects for axial fans.

Kyoung-Yong Lee received his B.S. degree from Korea University of Technology and Education (KOREA TECH), Korea, in 2002 and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the same university in 2004 and 2017, respectively. He has been a Senior Researcher in the Thermal & Fluid System R&D Group, at KITECH, Korea. His research interests include turbomachinery design, numerical analyses, system loss analyses, and experimental tests.

Sang-ho Yang has majored in Mechanical System Engineering at the Korea Polytechnic University and received a Master’s degree and Ph.D. in Engineering. From 40 years ago to the present, he is an expert in the design and manufacture of industrial fans and blowers, performance tests, on-site installation supervision and commissioning. In the many time, he has conducted national research projects for industrial centrifugal fans and axial flow fans, and has many research papers and patents.

Young-Seok Choi received his B.S. degree from Seoul National University in 1988, and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the same university in 1990 and 1996, respectively. He is currently a Principal Researcher at Korea Institute of Industrial Technology (KITECH) and a Professor at University of Science and Technology (UST). His research interests include computational fluid dynamics and design optimization of turbomachinery.

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Lee, SG., Kim, YI., Yang, HM. et al. Numerical study on the effect of the tip clearance of a 100 HP axial fan on the aerodynamic performance and unsteady stall characteristics. J Mech Sci Technol 34, 5117–5137 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-020-1115-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-020-1115-2

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