Compressor CFD simulation method development : A CFD study

Abstract: This master thesis project consisted of three parts that all were performed through CFD simulations with the purpose to develop Scania's methods in the subject of CFD. All parts included simulations on Scania's SC92T70 centrifugal compressor. Part one consisted of performing a mesh study for the purpose of reliability, to investigate the convergence of different parameters by refining the boundary layer. The method used is an inflation option called First layer thickness. Five different meshes were generated where the Richardson extrapolation method was used to examine the parameters between the mesh renements. From the result from the examined parameters, an approximate relative error could be calculated to be less than 0.52 %, and a numerical uncertainty of less than 0.35 %, between Mesh3 and Mesh4. In addition to that, Mesh3 had a simulation time of one hour less than for Mesh4. These results motivated the use of mesh3 to be refined enough for further work in this thesis project. This mesh ended at 37, 915, 257 number of elements. The second part consisted of performing steady state CFD simulations, to examine different parameters in order to find indications of the phenomena surge. Here, experimental data was used as reliance to perform CFD simulations on the compressor. Design points from experimental data was used, that ranged from low mass flow rates where surge arises, to high mass flow rates where another phenomena called choke occur. Except for the design points taken from experimental data, a few extra design points where included at low mass flow rates (in the region of surge). The goal was that the analysis of the different parameters would generate fluctuations on the result for the design points in surge region. Four different rotational speeds on the compressor were examined, 56k, 69k, 87k and 110k revolutions per minute. A total of 140 different parameters were examined, where 10 of these indicated on surge. All of these parameters that indicated on surge where found in regions of vicinity to the compressor wheel, which are the regions subjected to the phenomena.The parameters indicating on surge where mass flow, pressure coefficient, static pressure and temperature. Indications where found at the wheel inlet, ported shroud, and wheel outlet interfaces. The indications were only found for the two lower rotational speeds of the compressor wheel. To capture the behaviour on higher rotational speeds, more design points in the region of surge are needed, or transient simulations. Part three of the thesis project consisted of investigating the methodology of performing a Conjugate Heat Transfer model (CHT) with the CFD code CFX. This part has not been performed by Scania before, so a big part of the problem was to investigate if it actually was achievable. The goal was to use this model to calculate the heat transfer between fluid and solid parts, as well as between the solid parts and the ambient. One question Scania wanted to answer was if the CHT model could generate aerodynamic performance that corresponds to Scania's traditional adiabatic model, as well as to experimental data of the compressor. In this part, both solid and fluid domains were included in the geometryto calculate heat transport, in contrast to the traditional adiabatic model that only uses the fluid domains. Because of that, a big part of the work consisted of defining all interfaces connecting together surfaces between all domains. This is needed to model heat transport between the domains. In the set up part in CFX, the CHT model differed a lot from the traditional adiabatic model in that way that the outer walls was not set up as adiabatic anymore. In the CHT model, instead heat transfer is allowed between the outer walls of the fluids and the solids. From the result simulations, one could see that the CHT model was able to compute the heat transfer between fluids and solids. It also managed to export thermal data such as heat flux and wall heat transfer coefficient to be used for mechanical analysis, which is an important part in Scania's work. From the analysis of aerodynamic performance, a conclusion was drawn that the CHT model was able to compute efficiency and pressure ratio that followed the behaviour ofthe traditional adiabatic model as well as experimental data. However, for lowermass flows, the CHT model started to underpredict which could be explained by the geometrical differences between the CHT and adiabatic model. By analysis of temperature, one could see quantitative differences compared to the traditional adiabatic model. For other parameters (static and total pressure), there were no experimental data to be used for comparison. Because of that, an important part in future work of this CHT method development is to perform more experimental test for CFD data to be compared against. Another important part to compare the models is to have an identical geometry. Without an identical geometry, deviations in result will occur that depends on geometry.