• International Journal of Fluid Machinery and Systems
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.31-39
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• 2009

The flow instability in a low specific speed mixed-flow pump, having a positive slope of head-flow characteristics was investigated. Based on the static pressure measurements, it was found that a rotating stall in the vaned diffuser occurs at about 65% flow rate of best efficiency point (BEP). A dynamic Particle Image Velocimetry (DPIV) measurement and the numerical simulations were conducted in order to investigate the flow fields. As a result, the diffuser rotating stall was simulated even by Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and the calculated periodic flow patterns agree well with the measured ones by DPIV. It is clarified that a periodical large scaled backflow, generated at the leading edge of the suction surface of the diffuser vane, causes the instability. Furthermore, the growth of the strong vortex at the leading edge of the diffuser vane induces the strong backflow from the diffuser outlet to the inlet. The scale of one stall cell is covered over four-passages in total thirteen vane-passages.

• The KSFM Journal of Fluid Machinery
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• v.7 no.3 s.24
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• pp.23-31
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• 2004

An experimental study on the performance and instability development characteristics of a centrifugal compressor equipped with an adjustable inlet guide vane has been performed with varying guide vane angles. The test was conducted at the design speed of 20,800 rpm for 6 guide vane angles : $-30^{\circ},\;-20^{\circ},\;10^{\circ},\;0^{\circ},\;10^{\circ},\;20^{\circ},\;30^{\circ}$. Unsteady pressures were measured using high-frequency pressure transducers at the inducer to investigate the instability phenomena such as rotating stall and surge inside the compressor. From the unsteady measurements, it is found that the transient process from rotating stall to surge was mainly affected by inlet guide vane angles. The results of the present study can be applied to the instability control of the centrifugal compressors using a adjustable inlet guide vane.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.26 no.8
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• pp.1123-1131
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• 2002

An experimental study on the performance and instability development characteristics of a centrifugal compressor equipped with a cambered variable diffuser has been performed with varying diffuser vane angles. The test was conducted at the design speed of 20,800 rpm and the 80% design speed of 16,640 rpm for 5 diffuser angles : 65$^{\circ}$, 70$^{\circ}$, 75$^{\circ}$, 77.5$^{\circ}$, 80$^{\circ}$ The steady performance test results showed that choking mass flow rate decreases and total pressure ratio increases with a narrowed surge margin as the diffuser vane angle increases. Unsteady pressures were measured using high-frequency pressure transducers at the inducer and the diffuser throat to investigate the instability phenomena such as rotating stall and surge inside the compressor. From the unsteady measurements, it is found that the transient process from rotating stall to surge was mainly affected by diffuser angles. The results of the present study can be applied to the instability control of the centrifugal compressors using a variable diffuser.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.75-84
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• 2000

Performance and flow characteristics of a small forward swept propeller fan for home refrigerators are studied experimentally. An unusual discontinuity is observed in the performance curve of the fan. Mean flow fields measured with as-hole Pitot probe reveal that the flow is axial at the high flow rate and radial at the low flow rate. The flow structure changes abruptly across the discontinuity. Unsteady flow measurements with a set of hot-wire probes indicate that near the discontinuity a single-cell stall rotates at 40% speed of the fan speed, while away from the discontinuity the flow shows periodic variation corresponding to the blade passage frequency. Phase-lock averaged flow fields measured with a triple-sensor hot-wire probe show that there appears radially inward flow over the pressure side of the blade and the outward passage flow over the tip.

• International Journal of Fluid Machinery and Systems
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.110-124
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• 2014

Surge phenomena in the zone of reduced speeds in a system of a nine-stage axial flow compressor coupled with ducts were studied analytically by use of a surge transient simulation code. Main results are as follows. (1) Expansion of apparently stable, non-surge working area of the pressure vs. flow field beyond the initial stage-stall line was predicted by the code in the lower speed region. The area proved analytically to be caused by significantly mismatched stage-working conditions, particularly with the front stages deep in the rotating stall branch of the characteristics, as was already known in situ and in steady-state calculations also. (2) Surge frequencies were found to increase for decreasing compressor speeds as far as the particular compressor system was concerned. (3) The tendency was found to be explained by a newly introduced volume-modified reduced surge frequency. It suggests that the surge frequency is related intimately with the process of emptying and filling of air into the delivery volume. (4) The upstream range of movement of the fluid mass having once passed through the compressor in surge was found to reduce toward the lower speeds, which could have caused additionally the increase in surge frequency. (5) The concept of the volume-modified reduced surge frequency was able to explain, though qualitatively at present, the behaviors of the area-pressure ratio parameter for the stall stagnation boundary proposed earlier by the author.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2004.11a
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• pp.1383-1388
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• 2004

The flow characteristics in the blade passage of a low speed axial flow fan have been investigated by experimental analysis using a rotating hot-wire sensor for design and off-design operating conditions. The results show that the tip leakage vortex is moved upstream when flow rate is decreased, thus disturbing the formation of wake flow near the rotor tip. The tip leakage vortex interfaces with blade pressure surface, and results in high velocity fluctuation near the pressure surface. From the relative velocity distributions near the rotor tip, large axial velocity decay is observed at near stall condition, which results in large blockage compared to that at the design condition. Througout the flow measurements using a quasi-orthogonal measuring points to the tip leakage vortex, it is noted that the radial position of the tip leakage vortex is distributed between 94 and 96 percent span for all flow conditions. High spectrum density due to the large fluctuation of the tip leakage vortex is observed near the blade suction surface below the frequency of 1000 Hz at near stall condition.

• Journal of computational fluids engineering
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.55-61
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• 2008

The Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes(RANS) analysis of the 3-D steady flow around the NREL Phase VI horizontal axis wind turbine(HAWT) rotor was performed. The CFD analysis results were compared with experimental data at several different wind speeds. The present CFD model shows good agreements with the experiments both at low wind speed which formed well-attache flow mostly on the upper surface of the blade, and at high wind speed which blade surface flow completely separated. However, some discrepancy occurs at the relatively high wind speeds where mixed attached and separated flow formed on the suction surface of the blade. It seems that the discrepancy is related to the onset of stall phenomena and consequently separation prediction capability of the current turbulence model. It is also found that strong span-wise flow occurs in stalled area due to the centrifugal force generated by rotation of the turbine rotor and it prevents abrupt reduction of normal force for higher wind speed than the designed value.

• International Journal of Fluid Machinery and Systems
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• v.3 no.3
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• pp.211-220
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• 2010

The objective of this study is to clarify the occurrence of the high-speed mode of unsteady swirling flows in straight tubes. The unsteady flows generated in the tube were measured by means of a semiconductor-type pressure transducer and an FFT analyzer. The high-speed mode measured has rotational speed which is approximately equal to or higher than the peripheral velocity of the swirling flow. The unsteady flow is due to cell rotation in the circumferential direction of the tube. The occurrence of the high-speed mode was confirmed, and the characteristics (rotational speed, pressure amplitude, and phase) of this mode were clarified. In order to understand the measured unsteady flows, the three dimensional vortex core profiles were discussed based on the distributions of the pressure amplitude and phase.

• International Journal of Fluid Machinery and Systems
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.217-222
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• 2011

The rotordynamic fluid forces acting on a closed type impeller in whirling motion were measured and the influence of the clearance geometry on the stability of the impeller was examined. At small positive whirling speed, the rotordynamic forces acted as destabilizing forces for all casings. A small clearance between the shroud of the impeller and the casing caused large fluid force, but did not change the destabilizing region. Radial grooves in the clearance were effective for reducing the fluid forces and destabilizing region due to the reduction of the circumferential velocity without the deterioration of the pump performance. A rotating phenomenon like a rotating stall of the impeller occurred at low flow rate and the resonance between it and the whirling motion led to a sudden increase in force at the whirling speed ratio of 0.7.

• Journal of computational fluids engineering
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.107-112
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• 2005

A cross-flow fan is generally used on the region within the low static pressure difference and the high flow rate. It relatively makes high dynamic pressure at low rotating speed because a working fluid passes through an impeller blade twice and blades have a forward curved shape. At off-design points, there are a rapid pressure head reduction, a noise increase and an unsteady flow. Those phenomena are remarkably influenced by the setting angle of a stabilizer. Therefore, it should be considered how the setting angle of a stabilizer affects on the performance and the flow fields of a cross-flow fan. It is also required to investigate the effect of the volumetric flow rate before occurring stall. Two-dimensional, unsteady governing equations are solved using a commercial code, STAR-CD, which uses FVM. PISO algorithm, sliding grid system and standard k - ε turbulence model are also adopted. Pressure and velocity profiles with various setting angles are graphically depicted. Furthermore, the meridional velocity profiles around the impeller are plotted with different flow rates for a given rotating speed.